Category Archives: War On Terror

Profile of a 70s Domestic Terrorist

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Back in the Nixon years, a real threat to National Security was the Weather Underground Organization (WUO). Made up of hippies, yippies and neo-anarchists, they were for the most part just bored middle class white kids who read just enough Proudhon and Kropotkin to be dangerous. With Vietnam and Watergate going on, they declared war on the federal and state governments and made a few high profile bombings to include the Pentagon, U.S. Capitol, and NYPD Headquarters.

The Capitol, after WUO renovations.

The Capitol, after WUO renovations.

Well their chief bomb maker managed to stay underground until the heat was off, outlive the statute of limitations (although the WUO did chalk up a few victims, his bombs at least didn’t kill anyone), and retire as a public school teacher in New York.

Now, he looks like Santa Claus and rides around in a Subaru Forrester on his pension but has no regrets.

ronald-fliegelman-feature

There is an interesting story on him in the Post

UK’s Army Cadet Force

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Here in the states we have JROTC. In the UK and Canada they have the Cadets which have been around in one form or another since 1859. Made up of some 46,000 cadets and 8,500 adult volunteers in over 1,700 locations, these youth age 12-18 learn everything from basic to advanced small unit tactics, land nav, buddy care, and of course the standard marching and military courtesy expected from such an organization.

However as you see in the below Vice doc, they are pretty squared away for a bunch of kids.

–It should be noted that, during the great invasion scare of 1940, the Cadets were in many areas issued ammunition and helped train the local home guards before Dad’s Army was fully set up.

Happy St. Paddy’s: Those ‘red-headed’ AR18 rifles

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And here is a bonus in honor of all those who wore green to work today…

Ireland never really had that much of a firearms industry, but when you mention the AR18 across the pond, you should know that it was (almost) the most iconic rifle of “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland during the last part of the 20th century

female ira terrorist with AR180 ar-18 ar18 rifle

More in my column at Guns.com

Iran scratches up their new supercarrier

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Remember that weird 1:1.25 scale mock-up of the USS Nimitz that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards put together last year?

Well, it seems they finished the target barge up, towed her out towards the Straits of Hormuz, and went at it with missiles, rockets and small fast attack craft (which the footage looks kinda creepy of that mind you).

Anyway, the Iranians were super psyched, saying, “The message of these wargames is that others should pay good heed to the point that they should not take any action near the Islamic Republic’s security circle,” Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, the Guard’s chief commander said.

“We believe (Iran) to be the defenders of the Strait of Hormuz’ security and showed this in our wargames today.”

To which Big Blue replied after watching the tape of the JV’s scrimmage :

Cmdr. Kevin Stephens, the spokesman for the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet in Bahrain, downplayed the attack on the mock ship, saying the U.S. military was “not concerned about this exercise.”

“We’re quite confident of our naval forces’ ability to defend themselves,” he said, according to AP. “It seems they’ve attempted to destroy the equivalent of a Hollywood movie set.”

Anyways, take a look at the B-roll.

MILF Rebels give PI Forces back the goods

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The horribly abbreviated Moro Islamic Liberation Front, who has been fighting the government of the Philippines for autonomy since the 1960s off and on, has had something of a truce for the past three years. The thing is, with 11,000 heavily armed rebels in the field armed with everything from slingshots to Chinese-made RPGs and Dshk guns, their surplus stockpiles of arms figured in at least one very messy overseas sales scheme that wound up taking down a California state senator, old Leland “Tough on Guns” Yee.

Well the MILFs stumbled across a force of Philippine National Police Special Action Force commandos poking around in their area in January and, in an incident termed a “misencounter” by both sides, some 44 cops were left dead and much of their U.S. supplied (via the War on Terror) hardware, to include M249s, M4s, M60s, M240s, and other goodies, were captured.

This led to the rebels turning over a collection of 16 of these pieces this week in an effort to keep the peace.

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Of course, some in the government pointed out that most of what the commandos lost is still unaccounted for, but hey, its the Southern Philippines, mano.

Anyway, for more in-depth, I did a piece at Guns.com yesterday on it.

Want to buy a Navy trials boat? Cheap?

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"Experimental Sea Slice The experimental Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull ship "Sea Slice" returns to its homeport of Naval Station San Diego, Calif., Nov. 30, 2005. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Zack Baddorf"

“Experimental Sea Slice The experimental Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull ship “Sea Slice” returns to its homeport of Naval Station San Diego, Calif., Nov. 30, 2005. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Zack Baddorf”

If you read this blog odds are you know what the LCS is (the Littoral Combat Ship) and that two versions of that frigate that isn’t and part time minesweeper exist. Well this is a trails ship from 1996 that was used as a testbed of sorts by Lockheed Martin. You see in the early 90s the original LCS concept was for a whole host of small, expendable ships, a street-fighter concept, that could go and get down and dirty in shallow water.

Aerial view of the experimental Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull (SWATH) ship Sea Slice, an experimental ship built by Lockheed-Martin, operating off the coast of Port Hueneme, CA., 3 August 2002, during Fleet Battle Experiment Juliet (FBE-J). Fleet Battle Experiment Juliet is a joint warfighting experiment combining both live field forces and computer simulation at various locations throughout the United States during “Millennium Challenge 2002” (MC-02). Millennium Challenge is the nation's premier joint integrating event, bringing together both live field exercises and computer simulations throughout the Department of Defense. Note; Sea Slice is carrying modular mission packages, which simulate the US Navy's proposed Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The modular mission packages provide a range of warfare capabilities, including Mine Countermeasures (MCM), Antisubmarine Warfare (ASW), Force Protection and Time Critical Targeting. Some of its weapons tested during FBE-J include the joint Lockheed Martin and Oerlikon Contraves 35mm Millennium Gun and the NetFires System and launcher, intended to launch Loitering Attack Munitions (LAM).US Navy photo #'s, 020802-N-2706D- by JO2 Terry Dillon

Aerial view of the experimental Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull (SWATH) ship Sea Slice, an experimental ship built by Lockheed-Martin, operating off the coast of Port Hueneme, CA., 3 August 2002, during Fleet Battle Experiment Juliet (FBE-J). Fleet Battle Experiment Juliet is a joint warfighting experiment combining both live field forces and computer simulation at various locations throughout the United States during “Millennium Challenge 2002” (MC-02). Millennium Challenge is the nation’s premier joint integrating event, bringing together both live field exercises and computer simulations throughout the Department of Defense. Note; Sea Slice is carrying modular mission packages, which simulate the US Navy’s proposed Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The modular mission packages provide a range of warfare capabilities, including Mine Countermeasures (MCM), Antisubmarine Warfare (ASW), Force Protection and Time Critical Targeting. Some of its weapons tested during FBE-J include the joint Lockheed Martin and Oerlikon Contraves 35mm Millennium Gun and the NetFires System and launcher, intended to launch Loitering Attack Munitions (LAM).US Navy photo #’s, 020802-N-2706D- by JO2 Terry Dillon. Via Navsource

The Navy tested a number of small-waterplane-area twin-hull (SWATH) designs that now continue as the Fast Sea Frame concept. One of these was the HSV Sea Slice

This would defeinatly turn a head at the local small craft harbor

How she looks today minus her teeth. This would turn a head at the local small craft harbor

While that company went with a more traditional mono-hull design for its successful entry to the program, you can see a lot of scaled down similarities in the Sea Slice, a 105-foot multihull that is for sale for a meager $180,000.

Stern

Stern

When you consider that your typical USCG 87-foot patrol boat runs some $3 million on the sticker price, this one-off ship, even though its 20 years old, seems a comparative steal. Gone however are the “35-mm Millennium Gun; NetFires missile launching system; FLIR Systems Inc. furnished Forward-Looking Infrared sensors; and a complete combat information center with the Lockheed Martin developed COMBATSS command and control core architecture system utilizing Q-70 VALIANT consoles as well as Time Critical Targeting technology for precision strike,” she carried a decade ago. 

Heck, it cost the Navy $15 milly to build.

This thing screams party barge

This thing screams party barge

Specs
LOA: 105 ft 0 in
Beam: 55 ft 0 in
Minimum Draft: 11 ft 6 in
Maximum Draft: 14 ft 0 in
Displacement: 472640 lbs
Dry Weight: 378560 lbs
Total Power: 6960 HP from 2 16V396TB94 MTU Pod drive diesels, 2 Cat 3606 gennies
Cruising Speed: 23 knots
Maximum Speed: 30 knots
Fresh Water Tanks: 2 (400 Gallons)
Fuel Tanks: (11112 Gallons)
Accommodations
Number of single berths: 12
Number of cabins: 5
Number of heads: 1
Seating Capacity: 149

All that's missing is a margarita machine

All that’s missing is a margarita machine

“We are the shield”

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SEATTLE, Wash. (Jan. 13, 2015) The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Swordfish (WPB-87358), homeported in Port Angeles, Wash., escorts the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) during the carrier's homeport shift from Naval Base Everett, Wash., to Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton, Wash. (U.S. Navy photo by U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Amanda Norcross/Released) Click to big up

SEATTLE, Wash. (Jan. 13, 2015) The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Swordfish (WPB-87358), homeported in Port Angeles, Wash., escorts the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) during the carrier’s homeport shift from Naval Base Everett, Wash., to Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton, Wash. (U.S. Navy photo by U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Amanda Norcross/Released) Click to big up

The above is a commonly performed but often overlooked mission for the Coasties.

While the majority of the 73 Coast Guard 87-foot Marine Protector patrol boats are based at SAR stations around the country to perform coastal interdiction, fisheries patrol and rescue missions, there are a few whose bread and butter is fleet protection.

CGC-SEADOG-1

You see, while speedy little Navy patrol boats manned by bluejackets may be ideal, the fact that the Coast Guard is mandated to perform domestic law enforcement without that whole Posse comitatus thing getting involved is the key.

sub

The Navy even pays for four WPBs, Sea Dragon (87367) and Sea Dog (87373) at Kings Bay; Sea Devil (87368) and Sea Fox (87374) at Kitsap, to ride shotgun on SSBNs headed in and out on deterrent patrols. While most 87s only have two M2s forward and a 9-man crew, these up-armored Maritime Force Protection Unit models mount a third remotely controlled mount and carry up to 15-man crews.

Tell me these don't look like fun

Tell me these don’t look like fun. Note the forward remote .50 and the low-freeboard access point for easy boardings.

Then of course there are the seldom talked about Navy-owned, USCG-manned and marked 64-foot Special Purpose Craft Screening Vessels stationed at major naval bases (Norfolk, Bangor, etc).

Mine Baby Samuel B Roberts back home for good…

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“Frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) Returns to Naval Station Mayport. Courtesy HD Video | Navy Media Content Services | Date: 12.15.2014. Family and friends welcome back the guided-missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) to Naval Station Mayport. Samuel B. Roberts returned from deployment to the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe and Africa. The ship is scheduled for decommissioning on May 22, 2015. (U.S. Navy video by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Nathan Lang/Released)”

If the ship sounds familiar, the Sammy B was in the very last batch of Oliver Hazard Perry (FFG-7) class frigates to commission in April 1986. You could still smell the new paint on board when she was sent to the Persian Gulf to stand guard between Saddam’s Iraq and the Iranian rogue state. It was there on 14 April 1988, as part of  Operation Earnest Will, the escort of re-flagged Kuwaiti tankers during the Iran–Iraq War, that she struck a Soviet-made M-08 naval mine in the central Persian Gulf. The mine blew a 15-foot hole in her, knocked her GE LM2500 turbines off their mounts, and broke her keel.

16 April 1988: Dubai - A view looking through the hole in the hull of Samuel B. Roberts sustained when the ship struck a mine while on patrol in the Persian Gulf. The ship is in dry dock undergoing temporary repairs. (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-93-01451 by PH2 Rudy D. Pahoyo)

16 April 1988: Dubai – A view looking through the hole in the hull of Samuel B. Roberts sustained when the ship struck a mine while on patrol in the Persian Gulf. The ship is in dry dock undergoing temporary repairs. (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-93-01451 by PH2 Rudy D. Pahoyo)

 

30 July 1988: Newport RI- An aerial view of the Dutch heavy lift ship Mighty Servant II transporting the guided missile frigate Samuel B. Roberts. (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-ST-89-01414 by PH2(SW) Jeff Elliott)

30 July 1988: Newport RI- An aerial view of the Dutch heavy lift ship Mighty Servant II transporting the guided missile frigate Samuel B. Roberts. (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-ST-89-01414 by PH2(SW) Jeff Elliott)

Normally, this would have been a death sentence for such a small “tincan”. However Sammy was rebuilt, the Iranians, whose mine it was, were plastered in Operation Preying Mantis which sank the Iranian frigate IS Sahand (F74), and things got back to being normal.

Unlike most of the Perrys that are being decommed, the 29-year old Sammy B will not be going overseas as Foreign Aid to some needy third world fleet.

She will be scrapped after her planned decommissioning in May.

Will Glock be the next U.S. military handgun?

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With the competition heating up on the Army’s Modular Handgun System bidding process, expected to garner as many as a half million new pistols to replace the military’ current stock of sidearms, the short list includes seems to include a certain polymer wonder from Austria.

In 2013, the U.S. Army requested bids for what they called their Modular Handgun System. This would be a commercially available off the shelf replacement for their current handguns, namely the Beretta 92F (adopted in 1986 as the M9) and the Sig-Sauer P-228 (adopted in 1990 as the M11). The former is used by all branches of the Department of Defense military (the Coast Guard uses P-229R pistols along with most of the rest of the Department of Homeland Security). Primarily investigators and military police use the M11.

What the Army wants to phase these guns out is an accurate handgun (at a range of 50-meters/164-feet, it has to have a 90% or better probability of hit on a 4 inch circle when fired from a test fixture). It needs an accessory rail and capability to have a threaded barrel to accept tactical lights, lasers, and sound suppressors as needed. It also should have enhanced ergonomics so that most females can handle it. Other requirements are an at least 35,000 round Service Life and the ability to provide up to 550,000 handguns with U.S.-based production after the third year of the contract.

Oh yeah, and it will likely not be a 9mm.

In an interview earlier this year with Army Times, Daryl Easlick, a project officer with the Army’s Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, Ga, said that the legacy round, adopted in 1986, is somewhat dead in the water.

“The 9mm doesn’t score high with soldier feedback,” said Easlick, explaining that the Army, and the other services, want a round that will have better terminal effects — or cause more damage — when it hits enemy combatants. “We have to do better than our current 9mm.”

Since .40S&W doesn’t suppress well, and service life of guns chambered in that round is not seen as being as long as that of .45ACP caliber weapons, the new round may be the good old .45– which is still in service with Marine special ops units and the SOCCOM commando’s Mk.23 offensive handgun.

norwegian commando with glock 17

Why Glock is a contender? Read more in my article at Glock Forum.

“See you later, pal”

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Broken neck? Check. TBI? Check.

400 pieces of shrapnel and rocks imbedded in your fleshy bits? Check.

Died twice on the casevac back to base? Check.

Still kicking and refusing to give in? Oh you know that’s a check

Royal Marine Corporal Paul Vice survived an explosion in Afghanistan in 2011 and picked up an amazing 114 wounds to go along with his MC. And after a three year battle with his own body, he has decided to part ways with a good bit of it.

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But on-going problems with his left leg have stopped him from enjoying life with his wife Tessa and their four children Honey, Alfie, Frankie and Harley. So he made the difficult decision to remove the troublesome limb, which he referred to as ‘the wet fish’.

Before having the leg removed, he wrote a message on the limb which read: ‘Dear leg, thanks for all the misery and admin you have caused over the last three years. See you later pal.’

The rest here

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