The Books of 2010

This has been a tough year for me and books. I have mostly cuckholded my library as my time has been very limited. A start-up year is a time sponge. That and two wonderful daughters, a demanding Mrs. Salamander, an wide estuary for my boat, two new dogs, and a newly purchased deep-country acreage for my dacha and hunting retreat have kept me away from books. That and my magazines and decades long news addiction made worse by the internet.

Oh, that and I blog.

Pathetic excuses, but I did manage a few books. Looking back - some I still need to finish the last 50-or-so pages (a bad habit I share with Mrs. Salamander who reads about 4x as much as I do), the there is a mixed story in the collection.

There are the comfort food of books I have re-read for the umpteenth time; USNIPress's superb The Emden-Ayesha Adventure: German Raiders in the South Seas and Beyond, 1914 is a perfect example of this. If you have never read this, you have not lived a full and informed life.

The classic The Long March: Xenophon and the Ten Thousand was another return. It is all there. Over 2,000 years old and most all you need to know about leadership in adversity and the characteristics of good and bad leaders is there.

As I could not have made the civilian transition the way I did if I were not a little lucky and a little smart with money over the years, I re-read Monster Stocks: How They Set Up, Run Up, Top and Make You Money. It paid off again after the September follow-through day. This week I locked in some very nice gains on a quad of stocks. Not luck - informed decisions and hard work. It is there for you to if you take the time to read.

Next year, I will re-read O'Neil's How to Make Money in Stocks: A Winning System in Good Times and Bad, Fourth Edition, this time in its new addition that came out in '09. I really should have read it this year - but didn't.

If you have never read a book on how to understand the stock market - read that book. 'Nuff said.

On a more personal note, it was neat to read about something about my corner of the war - something I was involved with on the side in "parallel play" during the first months of the Long War, Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan. What a great story that will make a great movie one day.

There were also books I read by acquaintances & friends I have met over the years as my alter-ego "Sal," and have had as guests on Midrats; James S. Robbins's This Time We Win: Revisiting the Tet Offensive and Bruce Fleming's Bridging the Military-Civilian Divide: What Each Side Must Know About the Other - And About Itself fit that niche.

Other Midrats guests books include Such Men as These: The Story of the Navy Pilots Who Flew the Deadly Skies over Korea, an important book covering a subject we touched on a few times this year, The Korean War.

Finally, there was a book that was simply horrible; James Bradley's The Imperial Cruise: A Secret History of Empire and War. It read like some graduate history student trying to get laid with his far-left faculty advisor. What a horrible misuse of an important story. Post-modernism flavored with white guilt and national self-loathing. Pathetic.

So, that was the year in books.

On a side-note, the end of the year has me feeling a bit off to be candid. This is my first full year as a civilian since the early/mid-80s. I miss it in some ways - but am enjoying being a father while I can. Children don't wait for you. It is good to have a place to grow roots, have a nice boat, a home, extended family a short drive, some acreage, and all that I take for granted so many gave so much so I could have just a bit.

I am very happy in what I do now, but ... still. I miss the sea. I know I am not a warrior monk, but still. The military is a calling, not a job - at least it was to me. You can't have it all, but I tried as long as I could and then something had to give.

I come from a line that does not make the military a living, and Mrs. Salamander definately does not. I've returned to the place and position I was supposed to be at a decade and a half ago - but I am glad I waited.

No, wouldn't change a thing. Not one. 2010 was a different year.

2011 - with hope I will see 2012.

So much to do, so little time.

Fullbore Friday

Lt. Gen John Kelly, USMC has returned to Fullbore Friday.

There is no reason for me to say anything more.

SEMPER FI SOCIETY OF ST LOUIS SPEECH, 13 NOV 2010

Nine years ago two of the four commercial aircraft took off from Boston, Newark, and Washington. Took off fully loaded with men, women and children-all innocent, and all soon to die. These aircraft were targeted at the World Trade Towers in New York, the Pentagon, and likely the Capitol in Washington, D.C... Three found their mark. No American alive old enough to remember will ever forget exactly where they were, exactly what they were doing, and exactly who they were with at the moment they watched the aircraft dive into the World Trade Towers on what was, until then, a beautiful morning in New York City. Within the hour 3,000 blameless human beings would be vaporized, incinerated, or crushed in the most agonizing ways imaginable. The most wretched among them-over 200-driven mad by heat, hopelessness, and utter desperation leapt to their deaths from 1,000 feet above Lower Manhattan. We soon learned hundreds more were murdered at the Pentagon, and in a Pennsylvania farmer's field.

Once the buildings had collapsed and the immensity of the attack began to register most of us had no idea of what to do, or where to turn. As a nation, we were scared like we had not been scared for generations. Parents hugged their children to gain as much as to give comfort. Strangers embraced in the streets stunned and crying on one another's shoulders seeking solace, as much as to give it. Instantaneously, American patriotism soared not "as the last refuge" as our national-cynical class would say, but in the darkest times Americans seek refuge in family, and in country, remembering that strong men and women have always stepped forward to protect the nation when the need was dire-and it was so God awful dire that day-and remains so today.

There was, however, a small segment of America that made very different choices that day...actions the rest of America stood in awe of on 9/11 and every day since. The first were our firefighters and police, their ranks decimated that day as they ran towards-not away from-danger and certain death. They were doing what they'd sworn to do-"protect and serve"-and went to their graves having fulfilled their sacred oath. Then there was your Armed Forces, and I know I am a little biased in my opinion here, but the best of them are Marines. Most wearing the Eagle, Globe and Anchor today joined the unbroken ranks of American heroes after that fateful day not for money, or promises of bonuses or travel to exotic liberty ports, but for one reason and one reason alone; because of the terrible assault on our way of life by men they knew must be killed and extremist ideology that must be destroyed. A plastic flag in their car window was not their response to the murderous assault on our country. No, their response was a commitment to protect the nation swearing an oath to their God to do so, to their deaths. When future generations ask why America is still free and the heyday of Al Qaeda and their terrorist allies was counted in days rather than in centuries as the extremists themselves predicted, our hometown heroes-soldiers, sailors, airmen, Coast Guardsmen, and Marines-can say, "because of me and people like me who risked all to protect millions who will never know my name."

As we sit here right now, we should not lose sight of the fact that America is at risk in a way it has never been before. Our enemy fights for an ideology based on an irrational hatred of who we are. Make no mistake about that no matter what certain elements of the "chattering class" relentlessly churn out. We did not start this fight, and it will not end until the extremists understand that we as a people will never lose our faith or our courage. If they persist, these terrorists and extremists and the nations that provide them sanctuary, they must know they will continue to be tracked down and captured or killed. America's civilian and military protectors both here at home and overseas have for nearly nine years fought this enemy to a standstill and have never for a second "wondered why." They know, and are not afraid. Their struggle is your struggle. They hold in disdain those who claim to support them but not the cause that takes their innocence, their limbs, and even their lives. As a democracy-"We the People"-and that by definition is every one of us-sent them away from home and hearth to fight our enemies. We are all responsible. I know it doesn't apply to those of us here tonight but if anyone thinks you can somehow thank them for their service, and not support the cause for which they fight-America's survival-then they are lying to themselves and rationalizing away something in their lives, but, more importantly, they are slighting our warriors and mocking their commitment to the nation.

Since this generation's "day of infamy" the American military has handed our ruthless enemy defeat-after-defeat but it will go on for years, if not decades, before this curse has been eradicated. We have done this by unceasing pursuit day and night into whatever miserable lair Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and their allies, might slither into to lay in wait for future opportunities to strike a blow at freedom. America's warriors have never lost faith in their mission, or doubted the correctness of their cause. They face dangers everyday that their countrymen safe and comfortable this night cannot imagine. But this has always been the case in all the wars our military have been sent to fight. Not to build empires, or enslave peoples, but to free those held in the grip of tyrants while at the same time protecting our nation, its citizens, and our shared values. And, ladies and gentlemen, think about this, the only territory we as a people have ever asked for from any nation we have fought alongside, or against, since our founding, the entire extent of our overseas empire, as a few hundred acres of land for the 24 American cemeteries scattered around the globe. It is in these cemeteries where 220,000 of our sons and daughters rest in glory for eternity, or are memorialized forever because their earthly remains are lost forever in the deepest depths of the oceans, or never recovered from far flung and nameless battlefields. As a people, we can be proud because billions across the planet today live free, and billions yet unborn will also enjoy the same freedom and a chance at prosperity because America sent its sons and daughters out to fight and die for them, as much as for us.

Yes, we are at war, and are winning, but you wouldn't know it because successes go unreported, and only when something does go sufficiently or is sufficiently controversial, it is highlighted by the media elite that then sets up the "know it all" chattering class to offer their endless criticism. These self-proclaimed experts always seem to know better-but have never themselves been in the arena. We are at war and like it or not, that is a fact. It is not Bush's war, and it is not Obama's war, it is our war and we can't run away from it. Even if we wanted to surrender, there is no one to surrender to. Our enemy is savage, offers absolutely no quarter, and has a single focus and that is either kill every one of us here at home, or enslave us with a sick form of extremism that serves no God or purpose that decent men and women could ever grasp. St Louis is as much at risk as is New York and Washington, D.C... Given the opportunity to do another 9/11, our merciless enemy would do it today, tomorrow, and every day thereafter. If, and most in the know predict that it is only a matter of time, he acquires nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons, these extremists will use these weapons of mass murder against us without a moment's hesitation. These butchers we fight killed more than 3,000 innocents on 9/11. As horrible as that death toll was, consider for a moment that the monsters that organized those strikes against New York and Washington, D.C. killed only 3,000 not because that was enough to make their sick and demented point, but because he couldn't figure out how to kill 30,000, or 300,000, or 30 million of us that terrible day. I don't know why they hate us, and I don't care. We have a saying in the Marine Corps and that is "no better friend, no worse enemy, than a U.S. Marine." We always hope for the first, friendship, but are certainly more than ready for the second. If its death they want, its death they will get, and the Marines will continue showing them the way to hell if that's what will make them happy.

Because our America hasn't been successfully attacked since 9/11 many forget because we want to forget...to move on. As Americans we all dream and hope for peace, but we must be realistic and acknowledge that hope is never an option or course of action when the stakes are so high. Others are less realistic or less committed, or are working their own agendas, and look for ways to blame past presidents or in some other way to rationalize a way out of this war. The problem is our enemy is not willing to let us go. Regardless of how much we wish this nightmare would go away, our enemy will stay forever on the offensive until he hurts us so badly we surrender, or we kill him first. To him, this is not about our friendship with Israel, or about territory, resources, jobs, or economic opportunity in the Middle East. No, it is about us as a people. About our freedom to worship any God we please in any way we want. It is about the worth of every man, and the worth of every woman, and their equality in the eyes of God and the law; of how we live our lives with our families, inside the privacy of our own homes. It's about the God-given rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable right." As Americans we hold these truths to be self-evident. He doesn't. We love what we have; he despises who we are. Our positions can never be reconciled. He cannot be deterred...only defeated. Compromise is out of the question.

It is a fact that our country today is in a life and death struggle against an evil enemy, but America as a whole is certainly not at war. Not as a country. Not as a people. Today, only a tiny fraction-less than a percent-shoulder the burden of fear and sacrifice, and they shoulder it for the rest of us. Their sons and daughters who serve are men and women of character who continue to believe in this country enough to put life and limb on the line without qualification, and without thought of personal gain, and they serve so that the sons and daughters of the other 99% don't have to. No big deal, though, as Marines have always been "the first to fight" paying in full the bill that comes with being free...for everyone else.

The comforting news for every American is that our men and women in uniform, and every Marine, is as good today as any in our history. As good as what their heroic, under-appreciated, and largely abandoned fathers and uncles were in Vietnam, and their grandfathers were in Korea and World War II. They have the same steel in their backs and have made their own mark etching forever places like Ramadi, Fallujah, and Baghdad, Iraq, and Helmand and Sagin, Afghanistan that are now part of the legend and stand just as proudly alongside Belleau Wood, Iwo Jima, Inchon, Hue City, Khe Sanh, and Ashau Valley, Vietnam. None of them have every asked what their country could do for them, but always and with their lives asked what they could do for America. While some might think we have produced yet another generation of materialistic, consumeristic and self-absorbed young people, those who serve today have broken the mold and stepped out as real men, and real women, who are already making their own way in life while protecting ours. They know the real strength of a platoon, a battalion, or a country that is not worshiping at the altar of diversity, but in a melting point that stitches and strengthens by a sense of shared history, values, customs, hopes and dreams all of which unifies a people making them stronger, as opposed to an unruly gaggle of "hyphenated" or "multi-cultural individuals."

And what are they like in combat in this war? Like Marines have been throughout our history. In my three tours in combat as an infantry officer and commanding general, I never saw one of them hesitate, or do anything other than lean into the fire and with no apparent fear of death or injury take the fight to our enemies. As anyone who has ever experienced combat knows, when it starts, when the explosions and tracers are everywhere and the calls for the Corpsman are screamed from the throats of men who know they are dying-when seconds seem like hours and it all becomes slow motion and fast forward at the same time-and the only rational act is to stop, get down, save yourself-they don't. When no one would call them coward for cowering behind a wall or in a hole, slave to the most basic of all human instincts-survival-none of them do. It doesn't matter if it's an IED, a suicide bomber, mortar attack, sniper, fighting in the upstairs room of a house, or all of it at once; they talk, swagger, and, most importantly, fight today in the same way America's Marines have since the Tun Tavern. They also know whose shoulders they stand on, and they will never shame any Marine living or dead.

We can also take comfort in the fact that these young Americans are not born killers, but are good and decent young men and women who for going on ten years have performed remarkable acts of bravery and selflessness to a cause they have decided is bigger and more important than themselves. Only a few months ago they were delivering your paper, stocking shelves in the local grocery store, worshiping in church on Sunday, or playing hockey on local ice. Like my own two sons who are Marines and have fought in Iraq, and today in Sagin, Afghanistan, they are also the same kids that drove their cars too fast for your liking, and played the God-awful music of their generation too loud, but have no doubt they are the finest of their generation. Like those who went before them in uniform, we owe them everything. We owe them our safety. We owe them our prosperity. We owe them our freedom. We owe them our lives. Any one of them could have done something more self-serving with their lives as the vast majority of their age group elected to do after high school and college, but no, they chose to serve knowing full well a brutal war was in their future. They did not avoid the basic and cherished responsibility of a citizen-the defense of country-they welcomed it. They are the very best this country produces, and have put every one of us ahead of themselves. All are heroes for simply stepping forward, and we as a people owe a debt we can never fully pay. Their legacy will be of selfless valor, the country we live in, the way we live our lives, and the freedoms the rest of their countrymen take for granted.

Over 5,000 have died thus far in this war; 8,000 if you include the innocents murdered on 9/11. They are overwhelmingly working class kids, the children of cops and firefighters, city and factory workers, school teachers and small business owners. With some exceptions they are from families short on stock portfolios and futures, but long on love of country and service to the nation. Just yesterday, too many were lost and a knock on the door late last night brought their families to their knees in a grief that will never-ever go away. Thousands more have suffered wounds since it all started, but like anyone who loses life or limb while serving others-including our firefighters and law enforcement personnel who on 9/11 were the first casualties of this war-they are not victims as they knew what they were about, and were doing what they wanted to do. The chattering class and all those who doubt America's intentions, and resolve, endeavor to make them and their families out to be victims, but they are wrong. We who have served and are serving refuse their sympathy. Those of us who have lived in the dirt, sweat and struggle of the arena are not victims and will have none of that. Those with less of a sense of service to the nation never understand it when men and women of character step forward to look danger and adversity straight in the eye, refusing to blink, or give ground, even to their own deaths. The protected can't begin to understand the price paid so they and their families can sleep safe and free at night. No, they are not victims, but are warriors, your warriors, and warriors are never victims regardless of how and where they fall. Death, or fear of death, has no power over them. Their paths are paved by sacrifice, sacrifices they gladly make...for you. They prove themselves everyday on the field of battle...for you. They fight in every corner of the globe...for you. They live to fight...for you, and they never rest because there is always another battle to be won in the defense of America.

I will leave you with a story about the kind of people they are...about the quality of the steel in their backs...about the kind of dedication they bring to our country while they serve in uniform and forever after as veterans. Two years ago when I was the Commander of all U.S. and Iraqi forces, in fact, the 22nd of April 2008, two Marine infantry battalions, 1/9 "The Walking Dead," and 2/8 were switching out in Ramadi. One battalion in the closing days of their deployment going home very soon, the other just starting its seven-month combat tour. Two Marines, Corporal Jonathan Yale and Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter, 22 and 20 years old respectively, one from each battalion, were assuming the watch together at the entrance gate of an outpost that contained a makeshift barracks housing 50 Marines. The same broken down ramshackle building was also home to 100 Iraqi police, also my men and our allies in the fight against the terrorists in Ramadi, a city until recently the most dangerous city on earth and owned by Al Qaeda. Yale was a dirt poor mixed-race kid from Virginia with a wife and daughter, and a mother and sister who lived with him and he supported as well. He did this on a yearly salary of less than $23,000. Haerter, on the other hand, was a middle class white kid from Long Island. They were from two completely different worlds. Had they not joined the Marines they would never have met each other, or understood that multiple America's exist simultaneously depending on one's race, education level, economic status, and where you might have been born. But they were Marines, combat Marines, forged in the same crucible of Marine training, and because of this bond they were brothers as close, or closer, than if they were born of the same woman.

The mission orders they received from the sergeant squad leader I am sure went something like: "Okay you two clowns, stand this post and let no unauthorized personnel or vehicles pass." "You clear?" I am also sure Yale and Haerter then rolled their eyes and said in unison something like: "Yes Sergeant," with just enough attitude that made the point without saying the words, "No kidding sweetheart, we know what we're doing." They then relieved two other Marines on watch and took up their post at the entry control point of Joint Security Station Nasser, in the Sophia section of Ramadi, al Anbar, Iraq.

A few minutes later a large blue truck turned down the alley way-perhaps 60-70 yards in length-and sped its way through the serpentine of concrete jersey walls. The truck stopped just short of where the two were posted and detonated, killing them both catastrophically. Twenty-four brick masonry houses were damaged or destroyed. A mosque 100 yards away collapsed. The truck's engine came to rest two hundred yards away knocking most of a house down before it stopped. Our explosive experts reckoned the blast was made of 2,000 pounds of explosives. Two died, and because these two young infantrymen didn't have it in their DNA to run from danger, they saved 150 of their Iraqi and American brothers-in-arms.

When I read the situation report about the incident a few hours after it happened I called the regimental commander for details as something about this struck me as different. Marines dying or being seriously wounded is commonplace in combat. We expect Marines regardless of rank or MOS to stand their ground and do their duty, and even die in the process, if that is what the mission takes. But this just seemed different. The regimental commander had just returned from the site and he agreed, but reported that there were no American witnesses to the event-just Iraqi police. I figured if there was any chance of finding out what actually happened and then to decorate the two Marines to acknowledge their bravery, I'd have to do it as a combat award that requires two eye-witnesses and we figured the bureaucrats back in Washington would never buy Iraqi statements. If it had any chance at all, it had to come under the signature of a general officer.

I traveled to Ramadi the next day and spoke individually to a half-dozen Iraqi police all of whom told the same story. The blue truck turned down into the alley and immediately sped up as it made its way through the serpentine. They all said, "We knew immediately what was going on as soon as the two Marines began firing." The Iraqi police then related that some of them also fired, and then to a man, ran for safety just prior to the explosion. All survived. Many were injured...some seriously. One of the Iraqis elaborated and with tears welling up said, "They'd run like any normal man would to save his life." "What he didn't know until then," he said, "and what he learned that very instant, was that Marines are not normal." Choking past the emotion he said, "Sir, in the name of God no sane man would have stood there and done what they did." "No sane man." "They saved us all."

What we didn't know at the time, and only learned a couple of days later after I wrote a summary and submitted both Yale and Haerter for posthumous Navy Crosses, was that one of our security cameras, damaged initially in the blast, recorded some of the suicide attack. It happened exactly as the Iraqis had described it. It took exactly six seconds from when the truck entered the alley until it detonated.

You can watch the last six seconds of their young lives. Putting myself in their heads I supposed it took about a second for the two Marines to separately come to the same conclusion about what was going on once the truck came into their view at the far end of the alley. Exactly no time to talk it over, or call the sergeant to ask what they should do. Only enough time to take half an instant and think about what the sergeant told them to do only a few minutes before: "...let no unauthorized personnel or vehicles pass." The two Marines had about five seconds left to live.

It took maybe another two seconds for them to present their weapons, take aim, and open up. By this time the truck was half-way through the barriers and gaining speed the whole time. Here, the recording shows a number of Iraqi police, some of whom had fired their AKs, now scattering like the normal and rational men they were-some running right past the Marines. They had three seconds left to live.

For about two seconds more, the recording shows the Marines' weapons firing non-stop...the truck's windshield exploding into shards of glass as their rounds take it apart and tore in to the body of the son-of-a-bitch who is trying to get past them to kill their brothers-American and Iraqi-bedded down in the barracks totally unaware of the fact that their lives at that moment depended entirely on two Marines standing their ground. If they had been aware, they would have know they were safe...because two Marines stood between them and a crazed suicide bomber. The recording shows the truck careening to a stop immediately in front of the two Marines. In all of the instantaneous violence Yale and Haerter never hesitated. By all reports and by the recording, they never stepped back. They never even started to step aside. They never even shifted their weight. With their feet spread should width apart, they leaned into the danger, firing as fast as they could work their weapons. They had only one second left to live.

The truck explodes. The camera goes blank. Two young men go to their God. Six seconds. Not enough time to think about their families, their country, their flag, or about their lives or their deaths, but more than enough time for two very brave young men to do their duty...into eternity. That is the kind of people who are on watch all over the world tonight-for you.

We Marines believe that God gave America the greatest gift he could bestow to man while he lived on this earth-freedom. We also believe he gave us another gift nearly as precious-our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Coast Guardsmen, and Marines-to safeguard that gift and guarantee no force on this earth can every steal it away. It has been my distinct honor to have been with you here today. Rest assured our America, this experiment in democracy started over two centuries ago, will forever remain the "land of the free and home of the brave" so long as we never run out of tough young Americans who are willing to look beyond their own self-interest and comfortable lives, and go into the darkest and most dangerous places on earth to hunt down, and kill, those who would do us harm. God Bless America, and...SEMPER FIDELIS!

Thanks to Alan Fraser over at TheAmericanThinker for the full text.

Keeping an Eye on the Long Game: Part XXXIV

There is more to military planning than the POM cycle - than the election cycle ideas. The Chinese know this - do you?

"In the coming five years, our military will push forward preparations for military conflict in every strategic direction," said Liang Guanglie in an interview published by several state-backed newspapers in China. "We may be living in peaceful times, but we can never forget war, never send the horses south or put the bayonets and guns away," Mr Liang added.
...
As China modernises, Mr Liang pledged that its armed forces would also increasingly use homegrown Chinese technology, which analysts say still lags behind Western technology even as China races to catch up.

"The modernisation of the Chinese military cannot depend on others, and cannot be bought," Mr Liang added, "In the next five years, our economy and society will develop faster, boosting comprehensive national power. We will take the opportunity and speed up modernisation of the military."

Understand the Chinese. Understand their history; one literally more than an order of magnitude greater than ours.

You don't send your horses south because, you see, the Mongolians are to the north.

You always maintain a trade surplus because of the severe damage the opium trade did to empty out anything of value from China.

Also remember that the Chinese tend to exaggerate a bit where weak - and hide strength where strong. They read Sun Tsu better than we do.

They also know they are a land power that relies on maritime trade to feed and employ its people - to enrich their nation and its military. As long as you are not a threat to their access to natural resources or trade - they will probably leave you alone.

Besides some minor border issues with India and Vietnam, smaller ones with other nations- the only major border issues are with Taiwan and Russia.

What is the big threat to us from China? Only if it goes neo-Imperial or tries Argentina-82 style to externalize domestic unrest; and only then if we decide to make their quarrel ours.

Always judge a nation by its future capabilities though - not its present intentions - that goes both ways.

LCS: it makes your nogg'n nogg'l

Step 1: Take a deep breath.

Step 2: Try. Not. To. Make. Personal. Attacks.

Check state of shipbuilding budget and warfighting requirements.

Repeat steps 1 & 2.

Continue.

---

OK - Press Release time.

The Navy has awarded Lockheed Martin Corp. and Austal USA each a fixed-price incentive contract for the design and construction of a 10 ship block-buy, for a total of 20 littoral combat ships from fiscal 2010 through fiscal 2015.

The amount awarded to Lockheed Martin Corp. for fiscal 2010 littoral combat ships is $436,852,639. The amount awarded to Austal USA for the fiscal 2010 littoral combat ships is $432,069,883. Both contracts also include line items for nine additional ships, subject to Congressional appropriation of each year’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program requirements. When all 10 ships of each block buy are awarded, the value of the ship construction portion of the two contracts would be $3,620,625,192 for Lockheed Martin Corp., and $3,518,156,851 for Austal USA. The average cost of both variants including government-furnished equipment and margin for potential cost growth across the five year period is $440 million per ship.

OK; calm.

No mention of mission module cost; combat systems integration; NLOS; ASW NMC toy boats; survivability; manning; endurance; habitability etc. Shiny happy people happy talk.

All is well.

Assume lotus position.

Light candle.

Strike bells and gong three times; spin Mani.

Quoteth el jefe;

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead praised the Navy’s plan to add both ship designs to the fleet: “The LCS is uniquely designed to win against 21st century threats in coastal waters posed by increasingly capable submarines, mines and swarming small craft. Both designs provide the capabilities our Navy needs, and each offers unique features that will provide fleet commanders with a high level of flexibility in employing these ships.”

Cleansing breath.

Consult Proverbs 26:11.

Ease.

Release.

OK; Points:
1. What is unique about a large Corvette, a design and mission well over a century old?
2. What can it do with an ASW mission module that cannot support anything but itself in only the most calm and permissive waters?
3. MIW mission module. Really? That well developed, eh?
4. Swarming small craft? Should be able to hold its own as long as the 57mm and 30mm fully function with the combat systems ... but really - is that what we are buying for our shipbuilding buck?
5. Fleet Commander Flexibility. OK. C5F has four LCS with MIW mods in area X. History happens and they find themselves about 1 hr from needing to conduct ASUW; but C5F needs half of them to search for submarines 800KM away. How is that Mission Module swap out logistics and maintenance support looking?

One thing you will hear discussed on a regular basis will be the cost per unit in this announcement. This is what gets me twitchy the most as that is a stripped down LCS with no mission modules. Just the baseline model. It is like buying a baseline car with no radio, no AC, etc. You cannot compare per unit or per ton cost of LCS with FFG and DD/DDG that already are configured for full multi-mission operation, vice the uni-mission LCS. Remember, the quote does not represent the per unit cost even close. Even if it did - the tactical utility of the whole class is still snake bit.

Inside DC, there is a love of programatics and number games where costs are fudged and victory is seen as getting a check in the block with money attached - that is their battlefield. That is not why you have shipbuilding programs though. The goal of shipbuilding is to produce the best tradeoff between cost and capability and to give to the Sailors at sea the best ability to operate, fight, win, and survive in war at sea and power projection ashore.

That is the measure. By that measure, LCS continues to be a rolling disgrace.

I like what the GAO says; very Salamanderesque circa 2006 - but better late than never I guess:

To safeguard against excess quantities of ships and mission packages being purchased before their combined capabilities are demonstrated, we recommended in our August 2010 report that the Secretary of Defense update the LCS acquisition strategy to account for operational testing delays in the program and resequence planned purchases of ships and mission packages, as appropriate. The Department of Defense agreed with this recommendation, stating that an updated schedule was under development to better align seaframe and mission module production milestones. However, it is unclear how the department’s concurrence with our recommendation can be reconciled against the Navy’s current request to increase the planned seaframe commitment, particularly since no operational testing involving mission packages—or any of their individual systems—has since taken place. Until mission package and operational testing progresses—and key mine countermeasures, surface warfare, and antisubmarine warfare systems are proven effective and suitable onboard seaframes—the Navy cannot be certain that the LCS will deliver the full capability desired. This risk would increase with a commitment to higher quantities. The Navy believes this increased commitment is appropriately balanced against competing risks in the program.
...
... our analysis shows that developmental delays to individual systems have caused all of the LCS mission packages—mine countermeasures, surface warfare, and antisubmarine warfare—to experience test disruptions and procurement delays. In fact, none of the mission packages—either in partial or full configuration—has completed operational testing onboard an LCS seaframe.

Read the whole thing here.

1. Take deep breaths.
2. Center.
3. Peace.

In the end, the Navy will have a Corvette that will be able to contribute. How much and at what opportunity cost; well I think we know that. Talk to Fleet Commanders and N3s and ask them what they would rather have - 4 LCS of Mission Module of unknown type and quality, or 4 ABSALON/NANSEN/DE ZEVEN PROVINCIEN with American crews.

My nogg'n nogg'l's.

Wazup at Wanat?

My default position when looking at the tactical is that one needs to be careful when you do after-action forensics. You need a detailed and exact timeline and must do your best not to use 20/20 hindsight to pound leaders on the ground who made decision based on adequate training (the best training in only adequate at best), marginal supplies (you never have all or enough supplies at the pointy end), and incomplete information (one never has perfect information) - and most of all - the leader on the ground only has a 24 hour day.

I pound Beltway types without mercy, but that is because they are not engaged in combat - they are just administrators. The combat leader though - you need to give him a wide lane to run in. To make "mistakes." To make the imperfect choice when all others are equally imperfect. Non-optimal decisions can be made, but only those of gross incompetence made with intent, malice or laziness should be used subject to punishment. Only having 3 of X instead of 4 of X is fine - not having X because you decided to go home early - that is different.

There is a lot of gnashing of teeth over the report by Wanat. There are family members of those killed, so you need to be conscious of that. The Army also has a recent history of fudging the truth and, unlike the Navy, has some trouble firing unit level commanders for poor performance.

In that environment - give this a read at WaPo and then come back.

If you have time, read the Army Combat Studies Institute report here or download the PDF.

In this case - I would give the Army the benefit of the doubt. War is messy. War in AFG exceptionally so, especially in 2008 where we had just started to understand that having NATO run the show was a mistake, war was not new, allies were not USA quality outside just a few nations, would never be there in quantity, and that we needed to change course in AFG if we wanted to create the right effects.

The battle took place in Regional Command East - the only place run by the USA at that time - though still under NATO and still in the under-resourced environment we were at that time, in the middle of a pivot taking the keys back from NATO and the theories that didn't play out.

We are still trying to get things right. On that note, I think the Army got this right - as right as a human institution can. The leaders on the ground did the right thing defending their name as well. After all - they were there.

This is war, not football. Lex and Jimbo have some good thoughts as well.

Hat tip LT B.

Diversity Thursday

What does race have to do with this again?

R 071600Z DEC 10
FM COMNAVRESFOR NORFOLK VA//N7//
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INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC//N095//
COMNAVRESFORCOM NORFOLK VA N7//
BT
UNCLAS //N01520//
MSGID/GENADMIN/NAVRESFOR/COMNAVRESFOR NORFOLK VA/N7//
SUBJ/NAVY RESERVE OPPORTUNITIES AT THE NATIONAL DEFENSE UNIVERSITY FOR THE RESERVE COMPONENT NATIONAL SECURITY COURSE (RCNSC)//
REF/A/DOC/COMNAVRESFOR/20010726//
AMPN/REF A IS COMNAVRESFORINST 1520.6//
POC/[redacted]/YN1(AW)/COMNAVRESFORCOM N711A/COMM:(757)322-[redacted]/DSN:
262-[redacted]/FAX: (757)444-[redacted]/E-MAIL: MICHAEL.[redacted](AT)NAVY.MIL//
POC/EARNEST/LCDR/COMNAVRESFORCOM N71/ COMM: (757)322-[redacted]/DSN: 262-[redacted]/
FAX: (757)444-[redacted]/E-MAIL: STEVEN.[redacted](AT)NAVY.MIL//
RMKS/1. BACKGROUND. THIS MESSAGE ADVERTISES AND SOLICITS APPLICATIONS
FOR THE RESERVE COMPONENT NATIONAL SECURITY COURSE (RCNSC) OFFERED AT
THE NATIONAL DEFENSE UNIVERSITY. DETAILS ABOUT THIS COURSE CAN BE FOUND
AT: HTTP://WWW.NDU.EDU/JRAC.
COURSE: RESERVE COMPONENT NATIONAL SECURITY COURSE (SPRING).
APPLICATION DUE DATE: 31 JANUARY 2011
COURSE DATES: 11 APR TO 22 APR 2011
COURSE: RESERVE COMPONENT NATIONAL SECURITY COURSE (SUMMER)
APPLICATION DUE DATE: 15 APRIL 2011
COURSE DATES: 18 JUL TO 29 JUL 2011
2. DISCUSSION: THE RESERVE COMPONENT NATIONAL SECURITY COURSE
(RCNSC) IS A 2-WEEK SEMINAR OFFERED TO O4(SEL) AND ABOVE, CWO3-CWO5 AND NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS (E8-E9) OF THE U.S. RESERVE COMPONENTS. THE RCNSC IS DESIGNED TO LAY A FOUNDATION FOR STUDENTS ON JOINT COMMAND MANAGEMENT AND STAFF RESPONSIBILITIES IN A MULTINATIONAL, INTERGOVERNMENTAL, OR JOINT NATIONAL SECURITY SETTING. THE CURRICULUM CONSISTS OF LECTURES, PANEL DISCUSSIONS, SEMINARS, ON SITE VISITS AND SIMULATION EXERCISES WITH NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY AND DEFENSE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT. THE PRESENTERS ARE FACULTY MEMBERS OF NAVAL WAR COLLEGE, INDUSTRIAL COLLEGE OF THE ARMED FORCES, INFORMATION RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COLLEGE, AND OTHER DISTINGUISHED SPEAKERS.
3. DRILLING RESERVE OFFICER APPLICATIONS MUST CONTAIN THE FOLLOWING:
A. BIOGRAPHY WITH LAST 5 YEARS ACTIVE AND RESERVE BILLETS HELD, AND ANNUAL TRAINING (AT) ACCOMPLISHMENTS. INCLUDE CURRENT MAILING ADDRESS, TELEPHONE NUMBERS, AND E-MAIL ADDRESS. COPY OF OSR AND PSR IN PDF FORMAT WILL SUFFICE. THESE DOCUMENTS CAN BE FOUND AT WWW.BOL.NAVY.MIL.
B. ENDORSEMENT FROM THE APPLICANTS PARENT COMMAND. THIS ENDORSEMENT MUST CERTIFY APPLICANT IS ELIGIBLE FOR ACCESS TO A FINAL SECRET CLEARANCE, AND PROVIDE LATEST PHYSICAL READINESS STATUS.
C. ONE PAGE COVER LETTER FROM APPLICANT STATING RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND JUSTIFICATION FOR SELECTION. LETTER ALSO MUST CONTAIN SEX, RACE AND DESIGNATOR.
4. FULL-TIME SUPPORT (FTS) OFFICER APPLICATIONS MUST CONTAIN THE FOLLOWING:
A. BIOGRAPHY FROM LAST 5 YEARS OF MILITARY CAREER. INCLUDE CURRENT MAILING ADDRESS, TELEPHONE NUMBERS, AND E-MAIL ADDRESS. COPY OF OSR AND PSR IN PDF FORMAT WILL SUFFICE. THESE DOCUMENTS CAN BE FOUND AT WWW.BOL.NAVY.MIL .
B. COMMANDING OFFICERS ENDORSEMENT MUST INCLUDE A STATEMENT ACKNOWLEDGING FINANCIAL OBLIGATION FOR REQUIRED TRAVEL ASSOCIATED WITH SELECTION. THIS ENDORSEMENT MUST CERTIFY APPLICANT IS ELIGIBLE FOR ACCESS TO A FINAL SECRET CLEARANCE, AND PROVIDE LATEST PHYSICAL READINESS STATUS.
C. ONE PAGE COVER LETTER FROM APPLICANT STATING RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND JUSTIFICATION FOR SELECTION. LETTER ALSO MUST CONTAIN SEX, RACE AND DESIGNATOR.
5. ANY E8/E9 PERSONNEL (DRILLING RESERVE OR FTS) WISHING TO ATTEND MUSTPOSSESS A BACHELORS DEGREE OR HIGHER, HAVE COMPLETED NO MORE THAN 24 YEARS OF SERVICE, AND BE A COMMAND MASTER CHIEF AND OR SENIOR ENLISTED ADVISOR (SEA) OR SERVING IN A COLLATERAL DUTY POSITION OF COMMAND MASTER CHIEF.
A. BIOGRAPHY WITH ALL ACTIVE AND RESERVE BILLETS HELD IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS INCLUDING ANNUAL TRAINING (AT) ACCOMPLISHMENTS. INCLUDE CURRENT MAILING ADDRESS, TELEPHONE NUMBERS, AND E-MAIL ADDRESS. COPY OF OSR AND PSR IN PDF FORMAT WILL SUFFICE. DOCUMENTS CAN BE FOUND AT WWW.BOL.NAVY.MIL .
B. COMMAND ENDORSEMENT SHOULD COMMENT ON MEMBERS POTENTIAL FOR SUCCESS IN A DEMANDING ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT, PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS, PROVIDE LATEST PHYSICAL READINESS STATUS, AND CERTIFY APPLICANT IS ELIGIBLE FOR A FINAL SECRET CLEARANCE. ADDITIONALLY, FOR FTS PERSONNEL, ENDORSEMENT MUST INCLUDE A STATEMENT ACKNOWLEDGING FINANCIAL OBLIGATION OF PARENT COMMAND FOR REQUIRED TRAVEL ASSOCIATED WITH SELECTION.
C. COPY OF COLLEGE TRANSCRIPT SHOWING POSSESSION OF A BACHELORS DEGREE OR HIGHER FROM A REGIONALLY ACCREDITED COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY.
D. ONE PAGE COVER LETTER FROM APPLICANT STATING RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND JUSTIFICATION FOR SELECTION. LETTER ALSO MUST CONTAIN SEX, RACE AND DESIGNATOR.
6. ALL APPLICATIONS AND ENDORSEMENTS SHOULD BE SUBMITTED DIRECTLY TO COMMANDER, NAVY RESERVE FORCES COMMAND (COMNAVRESFORCOM) (N7) RCNSC SELECTION BOARD, 1915 FORRESTAL DR NORFOLK, VA 23551-4615; FACSIMILES AND E-MAIL TRANSMITTALS IN LIEU OF PAPER MAILINGS ARE ENCOURAGED TO BE SENT TO [redacted]@NAVY.MIL AND POCS LISTED ABOVE.
7. SUBMISSION OF A TIMELY AND ACCURATE PACKAGE IS MEMBERS RESPONSIBILITY.
8. COMNAVRESFORCOM WILL SELECT ATTENDEES VIA A SELECTION BOARD. SELECTION RESULTS WILL BE PUBLISHED VIA NAVRESFOR MESSAGE AND LISTSERV/N7 SHARE POINT.
9. MEMBERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND USING ACTIVE DUTY FOR TRAINING (ADT) SCHOOLS FUNDING. ADT FUNDING WILL BE CONSIDERED ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS FOR VOLUNTARY TRAINING UNIT MEMBERS. OFFICERS SERVING ON ACTIVE DUTY MUST BE FUNDED BY PARENT COMMAND.
10. RELEASED BY CAPT J. F. HUGHES, N7 DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF, NAVY RESERVE FORCE.//
BT

Is that where we are now? Really? You can't even get slotted for a class unless they know your self-designated race?

Disgraceful. Shame on all of us.

A matter of faith

From IBD, a little clarity as you try to scrape your windshield.

The weather turns cold and wet? It's global warming, they say. Weather turns hot? Global warming. No change? Global warming. More hurricanes? Global warming. No hurricanes? You guessed it.

Nothing can disprove their thesis. Not even the extraordinarily frigid weather now creating havoc across most of the Northern Hemisphere. The Los Angeles Times, in a piece on the region's strangely wet and cold weather, paraphrases Jet Propulsion Laboratory climatologist Bill Patzert as saying, "In general, as the globe warms, weather conditions tend to be more extreme and volatile."

Got that? No matter what the weather, it's all due to warming. This isn't science; it's a kind of faith. Scientists go along and even stifle dissent because, frankly, hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants are at stake. But for the believers, global warming is the god that failed.

Why do we continue to listen to warmists when they're so wrong? Maybe it's because their real agenda has nothing to do with climate change at all. Earlier this month, attendees of a global warming summit in Cancun, Mexico, concluded, with virtually no economic or real scientific support, that by 2020 rich nations need to transfer $100 billion a year to poor nations to help them "mitigate" the adverse impacts of warming.

This is what global warming is really about — wealth redistribution by people whose beliefs are basically socialist. It has little or nothing to do with climate. If it did, we might pay more attention to Piers Corbyn, a little-known British meteorologist and astrophysicist who has a knack for correctly predicting weather changes. Indeed, as London's Mayor Boris Johnson recently noted, "He seems to get it right about 85% of the time."

How does he do it? Unlike the U.N. and government forecasters, Corbyn pays close attention to solar cycles that, as it turns out, correlate very closely to changes in climate. Not only are we not headed for global warming, Corbyn says, we may be entering a "mini ice age" similar to the one that took place from 1450 A.D. to 1850 A.D.

We don't know if Corbyn's right or not. But given his record, he deserves as much attention as the warm-mongers whose goal is not to arrive at the truth but to reorganize society in a radical way.

VQ/VPU being pulled inside the castle walls ...

Let's see if we can define this pedigree.

• Waste a few years chasing a DC PPT centric ACS program that Line 13XX told everyone who would listen would not work - and then try to get on the P-8 program.
• Wait until the last minute to do actual airframe testing using realistic and sound engineering principals on the P-3 airframe and discovering - shock - that all our rosy scenario fatigue life predictions were fried air.
• Our closest ally got rid of their Maritime Patrol Aircraft after the Dutch did: precedent.
• No one wants to talk about unsexy "High Demand - Low Density" aircraft - a hesitancy that has nothing to do with their "Dare Not Speak Its Name" whatevertheydo.
• Huge budget crunch coming.
• All other Navy Air programs bunching-up and bloating.
• 13XX Senior Leadership looking for something to throw under the TACAIR lov'n bus.

.... and then; someone has a friend in Congress.

BEHOLD THE BASTARD CHILD!

(b) REQUIREMENT TO MAINTAIN CAPABILITIES.—
(1) PROHIBITION ON RETIREMENT OF PLATFORMS.—The Secretary of the Navy may not retire (or to prepare to retire) the EP-3E Airborne Reconnaissance Integrated Electronic System II or Special Projects Aircraft platform.
(2) MAINTENANCE OF PLATFORMS.—The Secretary of the Navy shall continue to maintain, sustain, and upgrade the EP-3E Airborne Reconnaissance Integrated Electronic System II and Special Projects Aircraft platforms in order to provide capabilities necessary to operate effectively against rapidly evolving threats and to meet combatant commander operational intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance requirements.
(3) CERTIFICATION.—Not later than February 1, 2011, and annually thereafter, the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff shall jointly certify to Congress the following:
(A) The Secretary of the Navy is maintaining and sustaining the EP-3E Airborne Reconnaissance Integrated Electronic System II and Special Projects Aircraft platform in a manner that meets the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance requirements of the commanders of the combatant commands.
(B) Any plan for the retirement or replacement of the EP-3E Airborne Reconnaissance Integrated Electronic System II or Special Projects Aircraft platform will provide, in the aggregate, an equivalent or superior capability and capacity to the platform concerned.
(4) TERMINATION.—The requirements of this subsection with respect to the EP-3E Airborne Reconnaissance Integrated Electronic System II or the Special Projects Aircraft platform shall expire on the commencement of the fielding by the Navy of a platform or mix of platforms and sensors that are, in the aggregate, equivalent or superior to the EP-3E Airborne Reconnaissance Integrated Electronic System II (spiral 3) or the Special Projects Aircraft (P909) platform.

Of course, the fun question will be how good the VQ/VPU/VP folks will be in protecting their Command slots - Skippy can brief you.

PACOM says "OBTW"

What has been said cannot be unsaid; once in a thicket, it is very difficult to quietly back out. Via Asahi.

Q [Yoichi Kato]: Let me go into China’s anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capabilities. What is the current status of China’s anti-ship ballistic missile development, and how close is it to actual operational deployment?

A [Admiral Robert F. Willard, Commander, U.S. Pacific Command]: The anti-ship ballistic missile system in China has undergone extensive testing. An analogy using a Western term would be “initial operational capability,” whereby it has—I think China would perceive that it has—an operational capability now, but they continue to develop it. It will continue to undergo testing, I would imagine, for several more years.

Q: China has achieved IOC?

A: You would have to ask China that, but as we see the development of the system, their acknowledging the system in open press reporting and the continued testing of the system, I would gauge it as about the equivalent of a U.S. system that has achieved IOC.

Q: Has China already perfected the technology to fly that missile and also the sensor systems for targeting? Has the entire system integration been completed?

A: Typically, to have something that would be regarded as in its early operational stage would require that that system be able to accomplish its flight pattern as designed, by and large.

Q: But they have not conducted the actual flight test or the test to attack moving ships yet, have they?

A: We have not seen an over-water test of the entire system.

Q: But do you believe they already have that capability?

A: I think that the component parts of the anti-ship ballistic missile have been developed and tested.

At the top of my programming guide for Midrats, I have in big red letters "REMEMBER CLASSIFICATION" as sometimes I forget where I am.

The fact that we think they are IOC didn't come from thin air or the New York Times. I balked when I read this, but I'm just a retired CDR - I think ADM are a tad smarter than I am, so this was intentional.

PRC ASBM IOC is big news. The interesting question is; why bring it up now?

No shock to regular readers of CDRSalamander --- and neither should this.

Q: Is it a bigger threat to the United States than submarines in terms of their A2/AD capabilities?

A: No, I don’t think so. Anti-access/area denial, which is a term that was relatively recently coined, is attempting to represent an entire range of capabilities and capacities that China has developed and that other countries have developed.

Wait; let me read that again - "Anti-access/area denial" is recently coined? Huh? Did today's teenagers just discover s3x?

That make me sad. Maybe PACOM's Aide needs to make sure he gets more sleep. One less person on the CNO short-list, I guess.

Hat tip Andrew S. Erickson.

---

UPDATE: Oh, can't believe I forgot to add this. Visuals are good, they tend to focus the mind.

When the axe starts to fall ...

It is coming: the budget wars of the next two decades will be like nothing this nation has seen in living memory.

The initial battle lines are being drawn. How are things starting to look? What is the slowest Wildebeest in the DOD herd?

We're talking about it over at USNIBlog. Join us.

I don't need a pilot; I don't need a tug

More Failblog than Facebook ...

... with some facepalm thrown in.

Navy personnel did more than a half million dollars' damage to their helicopters while trying to shoot photos for their Facebook page over Lake Tahoe, military investigators revealed.

A report released this week described how ten U.S. Navy crew members narrowly averted disaster when their helicopters accidentally dipped into Lake Tahoe in September while they tried to take photos for the squadron's Facebook page.

Crew members from HSM-41 at North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego were returning from an air show in Sacramento when they tried to maneuver their helicopters about 70 feet above the lake to take the Facebook photos.

DDG-1000: Do this please II: Electric Boogaloo

Oh hai. Reality here.

I thought you dogged the door ....

The sea don't play.


Yep, that door was driven right through the frame and into the gear locker.

Midrats Boxing Day Special: Admiral Stavridis on writing

Ealier this year, I had another opportunity to hear Admiral James Stavridis, USN - Supreme Allied Commander Europe - speak in person. On this occasion it was at the U.S. Naval Institute Honors Night Commemorating the Naval Institute's 137th Anniversary. He gave the keynote speech titled, "Whispers on a Wall."

You can find the text at the link above - but as with most speeches, it is better listened to. For this Christmas, EagleOne and I will provide you this gift.

The audio is a little rough, so be patient; is is worth it. It will be a short show as well, so you'll have plenty of time to get back to cleaning up the post-Christmas mess.

Join us live if you can today Sunday 26 DEC 2010 from 5-5:30EST, and pile in with the usual suspects in the chat room, I'll have it up and running. If you miss the show or want to catch up on the shows you missed - you can always reach the archives at blogtalkradio - or set yourself to get the podcast on iTunes.

We'll have a best of next week's New Year's weekend - but mark your calendars; on January 9th we are going to have a live 2-hr special with an expanded panel discussion you will not want to miss.

Listen to Midrats on Blog Talk Rad

Sunday Funnies

An officer's Christmas ...

It is the simple, unseen acts that demonstrate character. This speaks for itself.

---

Link fixed.

... and to all a good night

Christmas Eve at Skippy's house ...

Fullbore Friday

In a split second the nature of a man can be quickly demonstrated. It is innate; natural; sublime.

Lance Corporal Murfitt – from Barnstaple in Devon and known to Army mates as ‘Murf’ – picks up the story:

“It had been a pretty standard patrol but, when the call came in and we were re-tasked, we were told to get in there fast and provide support. I was in the rear half of my Troop Sergeant’s vehicle ready to give precision fire with my rifle, and the driver stepped on it to get there as quickly as possible.

“Our arrival, with our heavy firepower, seemed to bring the fight to an end fairly quickly, but we stayed alert. Everything was quiet, but then I spotted three men with a child on a compound roof, about 300 yards to the front of the vehicles.

“Suddenly two of the men moved off, leaving one man with the child – it was a girl, no more than 10-years-old. At this point I realised something was wrong – the man picked up a rifle and moved behind the child, taking aim at me.”

LCpl Murfitt immediately told his commander that he could identify a possible insurgent who was using a child as a shield and taking aiming at his vehicle. He was faced by a dilemma: he could protect himself and engage the insurgent but, if he did that, he could not guarantee that the child would be unhurt. Making a split-second call, ‘Murf’ took the decision to wait.

LCpl Murfitt continued:

“I knew I could take him down but, being a dad myself, I didn’t want to run the risk of killing a kid and undoing all the good work we’ve achieved. So I waited, hoping that the child would drop down and give me a clear shot.”

But then, as he was waiting for the moment to strike without putting the girl’s life at risk, the insurgent fired a single shot – it struck LCpl Murfitt on the left hand side of his helmet knocking him to the floor.

Head on over to read the rest of the story.

Hat tip Scott.

Keeping an Eye on the Long Game: Part XXXIII

What is Mandarin for "BOLTER"?

I told you ... I told you .... you all owe me beer.

China may be ready to launch its first aircraft carrier in 2011, Chinese military and political sources said on Thursday, a year ahead of U.S. military analysts' expectations.

Analysts expect China to use its first operational aircraft carrier to ensure the security of its oil supply route through the Indian Ocean and near the disputed Spratly Islands, but full capability is still some years away.

"The period around July 1 next year to celebrate the (Chinese Communist) Party's birthday is one window (for launch)," one source with ties to the leadership told Reuters, requesting anonymity because the carrier programme is one of China's most closely guarded secrets.

The Defense Ministry spokesman's office declined to comment.

The possible launch next year of the ex-Soviet aircraft carrier 'Varyag' for training, and testing technology, will be one step toward building an operating aircraft carrier group, analysts said.

The U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence estimates the Varyag will be launched as a training platform by 2012, and China will have an operational domestically built carrier after 2015.

I snickered when I read this as it is another, "Duh."

People thought I was paranoid when I said that would be a casino about the same time I become a Marine - but remember, you aren't being paranoid if people are actually out to get you.

A Chinese firm bought the then-engineless Varyag from Ukraine in 1998 for $20 million, planning to convert it to a floating casino in Macau, but the Chinese military then bought the vessel.

The learning curve is steep - but the Chinese have plenty of their blood and our treasure to spend on it.

2030 will be interesting.