Military Veterans and Patriots

Tag: USMC

  • FAFO Warning: Marine Corps Commandant Edition

    FAFO Warning: Marine Corps Commandant Edition

    Jason Hirschfeld

    BEEGE WELBORN HotAir

    This week is always difficult for Marines. The memory of the Beirut bombing is one of those sores that never heals. It’s a betrayal that you never fully learn to deal with if you were active duty when it happened. You keep the memory alive both to honor your fallen brothers and to keep fresh the manner of enemy they were dealing with. Still dealing with to this very day.

    Screencap @COJacksonville

    That’s why this year’s anniversary – the 40th since the bombing of the Marine barracks with its horrific losses – was especially poignant but particularly in focus.

    Marines are being sent back to those same shores at this very moment to deal with the exact same barbarians.

    Only instead of a patriot as president, we have a befuddled, malevolent vegetable whose own administration has financed and succored both the perpetrators of the October 7th massacre in Israel, and their ideological and material godfathers in Iran.

    An administration so morally twisted that they can claim they “stand with Israel” as it roots out those responsible for the horrors inflicted upon its innocent citizens in their very homes, even as they actively work against the Israeli plans.

    The Biden administration is actively holding the Israelis back from finishing the savages off. There are myriad reasons and didn’t David just post on the most recent. Possibly the scariest.

    Oh FFS.

    The story about why Israel has yet to make a ground invasion of Gaza is becoming clear, and it is yet another embarrassment for the United States under Joe Biden.

    Israel has been prepared to enter Gaza to eliminate Hamas, but the ground invasion keeps getting delayed. The reason why?

    The US is unprepared to defend US military installations in the area.

    These pathetic, waffling doofuses – perpetually running 6 steps behind even as they commit US troops to the theater.

    https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1717242923308237296?

    Hamas gets stronger and regroups with every break in the action. Iran has to be gloating at the complete lack of strength projection in the US posture. Instead of threatening the mullahs with death raining from the skies if their militias – who have already injured some 2 dozen US troops with their drone attacks – launch one more zoomzoom at our Syrian or Iraqi outposts, what does POTATUS do?

    Basically tell our kids to…DUCK!!

    …The White House on Monday said Iran was in some cases “actively facilitating” rocket and drone attacks by Iranian-backed proxy groups on U.S. military bases in Iraq and Syria, and President Biden has directed the Department of Defense to brace for more and respond appropriately.

    YGTBFKM

    One person who doesn’t seem to be a ducking type, nor is he ruffled by the constantly changing plans is the new commandant of the Marine Corps – Gen. Eric Smith.

    As I said at the top, he’s got Marines en route to the Eastern Med right now. His focus is on them, with the memories…

    https://twitter.com/CMC_MarineCorps/status/1716465718382739811?

    …and hard learned lessons in mind that run deep through the very sinews of the Corps.

    War in Middle East looms over Marines’ 40th memorial of Beirut attack

    …But with Israel at war with Hamas following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants, the dread of more violence on U.S. service members in the region was present in the ceremony’s speeches.

    The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, a special operations capable unit of approximately 2,400 Marines and sailors, was sailing in the direction of the East Mediterranean, the Marine Corps confirmed, having left an exercise in Kuwait early because of the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.

    The 26th MEU has not been tasked with a specific mission but is “on a high readiness status prepared to respond should the department have need,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement to Marine Corps Times on Monday.

    Similar to the battalion that suffered immense losses in Lebanon in 1983, the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit is part of II Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

    Leave the waffling and mealy-mouthed talk to the weakling, winking Bidens, Blinkens and nodding yes-men who enable this perfidious pack of political pimps to slip and slide through every slimy orifice of international double-dealing. In the face of the American military representation evinced by the likes of Milley, Austin, and their host of woke Army and Air Force generals, the Marine Corps commandant’s words during the Beirut memorial service, especially with Marines who could soon be in harm’s way, brooked no misunderstanding and implied no kumbayahs of respite, resupply, or reconciliation for any of the jihadis.

    ‘T’weren’t nuthin’ but a good, old-fashioned FAFO.

    …Gen. Eric Smith, the Marine commandant, had a blunt message for anyone who would target the Marine expeditionary unit now heading into the region near Israel.

    “The secretary of defense has been very clear that, whatever their mission may be, don’t target those Marines — he said it very carefully — because they come ready to respond,” Smith said during his keynote address at the ceremony in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

    “I’ll be less diplomatic and more Marine-like,” Smith said, to cheers from the audience, according to a live-streamed video of the event.

    “For those that are in the area, if that MEU has to go in, if you target them, someone else will raise your children.”

    That’s how it’s done.

    #SemperFi

    Original Here

  • The Lost F-35 Saga

    The Lost F-35 Saga

    I refrained from jumping in on this story, at least publicly, until now. That was mostly because of a lack of data for me to comment intelligently.

    What we know for sure

    We know that the missing jet was a Marine F-35 B (The ‘B’ model is the VTOL variant) from MCAS Beaufort. The single-seat fighter assigned to “The Warlords” of Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron (VMFAT) 501 went down north of Charleston, S.C., after taking off from nearby Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.

    The pilot ejected from the aircraft at an altitude of approximately 1,000 feet and one mile north of the Charleston International Airport. The pilot then landed safely in a residential backyard. The pilot, whose name has not been released, had no major injuries and was in stable condition before being discharged from a local hospital. No civilian injuries have been reported from the incident.

    After a lengthy search the debris field from the crash was located.

    https://twitter.com/laraseligman/status/1703903143338168709?s=20

    “The debris was discovered two hours northeast of Joint Base Charleston,” reads a statement from Joint Base Charleston, S.C., “Teams from Joint Base Charleston, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing out of MCAS Cherry Point, Navy Region Southeast, the FAA, the Civil Air Patrol, as well as local, county, and state law enforcement across South Carolina have been working together to locate the U.S. Marine Corps F-35B.”

    Flight path of FOXX840, a Navy UC-12 Huron ELINT aircraft. The missing F-35 was found in that approximate area.

    What we might know

    There have been several unconfirmed reports that the pilot engaged the auto-pilot before ejecting. I have to stress that those reports are, as of now, unconfirmed. If and when those reports are confirmed, I would like to know why. I can think of at least one reason, and that was because the craft was over a populated area, but that is just rank speculation.

    There have also been reports that the transponder, a radio device that broadcasts the location of the jet to air traffic control, was either inoperable or off. While it is not uncommon for US military flight to have the transponder off, it is not common for a military flight to take off with an inoperable transponder.

    What we don’t know

    At this point, three days after the crash, we still do not know why the pilot ejected. Was there a major systems malfunction? Did the pilot go all Leeroy Jenkins? We also do not know why it took so long to find the debris field. Hopefully we’ll get answers to those questions sometime soon.

    Some more stuff

    The Marines have called an Aviation stand-down.

    Following three Class-A aviation mishaps over the last six weeks, Acting Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Eric M. Smith, directed all Marine Corps aviation units to conduct a two-day stand down in operations this week to discuss aviation safety matters and best practices. 

    During the stand down, aviation commanders will lead discussions with their Marines focusing on the fundamentals of safe flight operations, ground safety, maintenance and flight procedures, and maintaining combat readiness.  This stand down is being taken to ensure the service is maintaining operational standardization of combat-ready aircraft with well-prepared pilots and crews.  

    This stand down invests time and energy in reinforcing the Marine aviation community’s established policies, practices and procedures and ensures Marine Corps remains a ready and highly-trained fighting force.

    For media queries on the recent F-35B mishap, contact 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Communication Strategy and Operations at 2ndmawcommstrat@usmc.mil.

    For updates on the ongoing search and recovery operations for the F-35B, contact Joint Base Charleston Public Affairs at 843-963-5608 or https://www.jbcharleston.jb.mil/Contact-Us/.

    The other two Class A mishaps were the Aug. 24 crash that killed Maj. Andrew Mettler who was piloting a F/A-18D Hornet during a training flight originating from MCAS Miramar, Calif and the MV-22 crash on Melville Island off the coast of northern Australia, that killed Maj. Tobin Lewis, Capt. Eleanor LeBeau and Cpl. Spencer Collart. Five other Marines were hospitalized.

    The Military classifies ‘mishaps’ based on the dollar value of the damage and whether or not someone died. A Class A mishap is when the loss exceeds $2m and/or someone loses their life as a result of the mishap.

  • The US Marine Corps Doesn’t Have a Commandant Today Because ‘One Man With Courage Is a Majority’

    The US Marine Corps Doesn’t Have a Commandant Today Because ‘One Man With Courage Is a Majority’

    Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III speaks with Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama prior to appearing the Senate Armed Services Committee. (DoD Photo by Chad J. McNeeley)

     streiff | RedState

    Today is the last day on active duty for Commandant of the Marine Corps David Berger. There will be hosanas sung in a lot of quarters at the departure of the man who has gutted the ability of the US Marine Corps to perform as an expeditionary force through the ill-conceived Force Design 2030 reorganization and work will start to try to mitigate the damage. But that isn’t what is drawing attention, though it should.  When the helicopter lifts Berger off the roof of Henderson Hall this evening, the US Marine Corps will be without a confirmed commandant.

    (For more info about Force Design 2030 read THIS)

    Why doesn’t the Marine Corps have a Senate-confirmed commandant? The answer is two words and one US Senator: Alabama’s Tommy Tuberville. The issue is the Department of Defense subsidizing the expenses of military women to travel to a pro-Moloch state to get an abortion when they aren’t available at their station of duty.

    A lone Senate Republican’s bid to reverse a Pentagon policy ensuring abortion access for service members is delaying the smooth transfer of power at the highest echelons of the armed forces, including in the ranks of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as a monthslong partisan dispute over social policy drags on.

    Senator Tommy Tuberville, a conservative from Alabama, has been single-handedly blocking hundreds of promotions for high-ranking generals and admirals since February, refusing to relent unless the Defense Department scraps a policy — instituted after the Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion last year — offering time off and travel reimbursement to service members who need to go out of state for abortions.

    Now, Mr. Tuberville’s tactics are on the brink of disrupting the Pentagon’s ability to fill its top ranks. More than half of the current Joint Chiefs are expected to step down from their posts during the next few months without a Senate-approved successor in place, leaving the president’s chief military advisory body in an unprecedented state of flux at a time of escalating tensions with China and Russia.

    I wrote about this controversy weeks ago in Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville Reminds the Defense Department That One Determined Man Is a Majority.

    Untrammeled wokeness inevitably leads to hubris and open revolt. The Department of Defense is barred from allowing abortions in military medical facilities. Shortly after the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision overturning the legal and moral travesty that was Roe vs. Wade was handed down in June 2022, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced that the military would pay for the travel of pregnant soldiers AND their family members to states that were abortion-friendly as well as providing three weeks of free time off. The policy became final in February.

    Austin was correct in guessing that a Democrat-led Senate would prevent any action from being taken. What he was wrong about was the ability of one determined senator to upend the abortion applecart. In December, Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville told Austin that if he persisted in doing this end run around the law, he would prevent all promotions of general officers and their civilian equivalents.

    U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) today announced his intent to place a hold on all future U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) civilian and general flag officer nominees should the department choose to move forward with a planned policy change to fund travel and paid time off for service members and their dependents seeking an abortion. The announcement from Senator Tuberville comes in response to his office being briefed by Department of Defense officials on the policy change earlier in the week. By covering travel expenses and paid time off, Senator Tuberville believes the DoD is blatantly flouting the law.

    Tuberville’s “hold” on senior Defense appointments leaves limited options. The easiest one is for Austin to recognize that his action is illegal and rescind it. That doesn’t seem to be in the works. As all senior Defense nominees require the Senate to “advise and consent,” Tuberville’s lone objection can only be bypassed by Chuck Schumer, allowing debate and a vote on each nominee. This would require an investment of time that he just can’t afford.

    Instead of blaming Tuberville, anger should be directed against the pompous, self-important Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin who is trying to score political points for the Democrats on the back of military readiness. When General Berger retires into well-earned obscurity this evening, you know what happens tomorrow? The sun will come up. Birds will sing. Children will play. The woke left will be outraged. In other words, life goes on. The Marine Corps will have an “acting commandant.”

    https://twitter.com/CraigCaplan/status/1678354726692216833?

    [Note: I have no idea why Caplan says, “1st time USMC has no confirmed commandant since 1859.” The list of Marine Corps Commandants shows that the Marines have frequently had breaks of days or months without a commandant. The last time it happened was when Major General George Elliot retired in November 1910 and wasn’t replaced until February 1911.]

    An acquaintance made an impassioned appeal for Tuberville to back off.

    https://twitter.com/OnDemocracyPod/status/1678173102545465344?

    I think Tuberville has correct stance on this. The only people inconvenienced by Tuberville’s hold is a handful of senior officers whose assignments need senatorial approval. While this may upset some career apple carts, the idea that failing to confirm them affects readiness is dishonest. If the miliary has reached the point where there is a finite number of generals capable of commanding, we might as well just fold our tent and slink away.

    Letting Austin do what he wants is rewarding the Defense Department for behaving like the spoiled, bratty toddler it is. Austin needs to do what is right legally, which is to pull the plug on his end run of federal law, and morally, which is to get Defense out of the baby-killing business.

    Original Here

  • The Marine Corps Is Waging ‘Civil War’ With A Secretive Group Of Retired Officers Over The Service’s Future

    The Marine Corps Is Waging ‘Civil War’ With A Secretive Group Of Retired Officers Over The Service’s Future

    MICAELA BURROW | Daily Caller

    • The Marine Corps is under fire from retired officers who say that outgoing commandant Gen. David Berger’s radical restructuring plan will undercut both national security and the service’s fundamental character.
    • Berger’s plan calls for smaller, lighter and more technologically-adept units he says will better assist the U.S. in a fight with China.
    • “Their ‘debate’ is indeed a cultural issue, not a war fighting issue,” Brian Kerg, a fellow at the Marine Corps University’s Kulak Center, wrote in a social media statement. 

    The U.S. Marine Corps is facing fire from high-ranking retired officers as the outgoing commandant passes on responsibility to implement his radical changes to new leadership, according to experts and a review of arguments by current and retired Marines.

    A secretive group of retired Marine Corps generals, including two previous commandants, renewed a years-long assault against what they characterized in multiple articles as dangerous narrow-mindedness underlying Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger’s plan to revamp the force, of which the latest update was released on Monday. As Berger is slated to depart by the end of this year and be replaced with his second-in-command, the service will face new struggles amid new leadership and political pressures, where the stakes could mean failure in a conflict with China, according to an expert and the retired officers.

    “There is an intellectual civil war going on in the Marine Corps,” Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Corps Reserve colonel and senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. 

    In 2020, Berger unveiled a new vision for the Marine Corps, Force Design 2030 (FD30), hinging in part on assumptions China would pose the greatest threat to the U.S. in the coming decade and the Indo-Pacific would serve as the major theater of conflict.

    Opponents said the plan risks national security by limiting the force’s ability to address different kinds of threats worldwide, violating protocol and undermining the Marine Corps ethos.

    Aware of the mounting information campaign against FD30, Berger shaped the 2023 update to address some of those concerns.

    “The first two pages of the update seek to refute the generals’ criticisms, portraying FD 2030 as global, combined arms, force in readiness,” Cancian told the DCNF.

    In December, retired generals, part of a mostly anonymous group that goes by “Chowder II” in reference to the 1946 Chowder Society that saved the Marine Corps from extinction, published a series of articles in the National Interest detailing their opposition to FD2030. It’s unclear exactly how many members Chowder II has, but they include former commandants Gen. James Amos and Gen. Charles Krulak.

    “The retired generals want a more traditional design that applies globally and uses combined arms, whereas FD 2030 is targeted at the Western Pacific and China and centers around missile units,” Cancian explained.

    Berger ditched all of the service’s tanks — its “maneuver” element — and slashed the number of infantry Marines and artillery units to fund experimentation and investment in island-defending “Stand-in Forces” and “Expeditionary Advanced Based Operations,“ according to a CSIS analysis. That means it will be less suited to conduct simultaneous infantry, artillery, armor and close air support operations, a foundational component of the force’s mission and structure as required by law, Krulak and former Marine and commander of U.S. Central Command Gen. Anthony Zinni argued.

    The war in Ukraine, with its heavy reliance on ground-based maneuver warfare, underscores the risks inherent in Berger’s strategy, which prioritizes light and highly mobile amphibious units, according to Cancian.

    However, under FD30, the Corps will be returning to its maritime roots and following guidance from the military commander in chief, proponents argue. Berger is responding to the positioning of China as the major strategic challenge for the U.S. military in President Trump’s 2018 National Defense Strategy and Biden’s 2022 version, they say.

    “These officers are, in essence, urging the commandant to ignore strategic guidance from the president and the secretary of defense,” former under secretary of defense and Marine Corps artillery officer Robert Work wrote in a May response to Chowder II’s articles, adding that it is high time for the retired officers to let up on their campaign to tank FD30.

    “We’re not waiting for 2030 or 2027 or 2025. Your Marines are ready to handle any crisis today,” the promotional video for the 2023 FD30 update states.

    The 2023 update does not implement major changes, instead announcing that the Marine Corps has completed the “divest” stage and is ready to double down on “investing.” It calls for experimenting toward a fleet of kamikaze attack drones and, notably, scaling the number of infantry units up to 811 from an initial goal of 735.

    “The infantry has traditionally been the center of the Marine Corps, so the structure of the infantry battalions is very important,” Cancian told the DCNF.

    The update mentions redesigned reconnaissance units, hypersonic rocket boosters and a “Long-Range Attack Munition” capable of traveling distances across the Pacific, according to Breaking Defense. It also acknowledges that acquiring 35 of a certain type of warship in the specified time frame is infeasible given Berger’s objective to remain within budget, while making an argument for 31 amphibious warships.

    “The original FD 2030 argued that large amphibious ships were too expensive and too vulnerable, so [the Office of the Secretary of Defense] and the Navy proposed cutting them to 24-27. The Marine Corps has been working with Congress ever since to justify higher numbers,” Cancian said.

    ‘Only Part Of The Problem’

    Congress appears to be largely in favor of the Marine Corps’ reorganization.

    Congressional appropriators lauded Berger’s gutsy modernization moves, taking on significant risk associated with shedding certain capabilities, in a May 15 letter. They especially appreciated that Berger planned the transition without seeking or expecting additional budgetary support, with savings to the tune of $15.8 billion against the Department of Defense’s topline budget.

    Berger “made difficult investment and divestment decisions that were a departure from institutional and doctrinal norms,” the bipartisan group of lawmakers wrote, nodding to the opposition including Chowder II. “However, we should commend the Marine Corps on its willingness to make difficult decisions for the Nation’s strategic advantage and security.”

    President Joe Biden has not commented on FD30. For now, the Pentagon appears on board with the rapid changes the Corps is undergoing, according to Cancian.

    “The concept has received strong support from the secretary of the Navy and, to a lesser extent, from the Defense Secretary and Chairman,” he said.

    Biden tapped Marine Corps Assistant Commandant Gen. Eric Smith to succeed Berger on May 31. Smith has been at the forefront of advocating for FD30 against detractors and implementing its proposals, according to Breaking Defense.

    “This also shows that [President Biden] is on board with the reshaping of the Corps,” former Senate candidate and Marine Lt. Col. Amy McGrath said in a social media statement.

    In addition, Sgt. Maj. Carlos Ruiz will in August replace Sgt. Maj. Troy Black, who has served as the principal enlisted adviser to the commandant, responsible for issues of morale and discipline among the ranks since 2019, according to a press release.

    The new sergeant major will have to address challenges arising from FD30-related mandates.

    “The Marine Corps is also flirting with the idea of bringing in specialists without all the military skills the Marine Corps has been known for. To the extent this happens, the new sgt. major will have to deal with pushback from the senior enlisted Marines,” Cancian said.

    The Marine Corps, with an authorized size of 177,000 troops, feels pressure to uphold its reputation as the anytime, anywhere rapid response force. Although the Marine Corps struggled less with recruiting than the remaining military branches, bringing on 28,608 active-duty enlisted personnel and 1,592 active-duty officers in fiscal year 2022 just above goals, it foresees difficult recruiting challenges, according to Marine Corps Times.

    “FD 2030 is only part of the problem,” Marine Rob Barrow wrote on a forum for discussion about the service, saying the force has also caved to political pressures such as opening the service to women and allowing transgender Marines to serve in their claimed gender.

    “What would Chowder II would say if asked their stance on these issues? May reveal that their ‘debate’ is indeed a cultural issue, not a war fighting issue,” Brian Kerg, a fellow at the Marine Corps University’s Kulak Center, wrote in a social media statement. 

    Original Here

  • BREAKING: Military Plane Crashes in California

    BREAKING: Military Plane Crashes in California

    There are reports coming out about a military plane crash near El Centro NAS in California. It is initially believed to be a V-22 Opsrey. The Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force all operate versions of that airframe. It is believed that all five crew members have died in the crash.

    https://twitter.com/MalikEarnest/status/1534635412928417792?s=20&t=tu1-GcsOmEWgBgrmRMfG2A
    https://twitter.com/MalikEarnest/status/1534640839313346560?s=20&t=tu1-GcsOmEWgBgrmRMfG2A

    There are reports that the aircraft was transporting “nuclear materials” at the time of the crash.

    https://twitter.com/Jezus_s/status/1534632278801776641?s=20&t=s14jNf2PcJ99WP0l8xBiLA

    Naval Air Facility El Centro has confirmed it was a V-22 Osprey operated by the 3rd MAW. The base also indicated there was no Nuclear materials on the flight.

    This is a breaking story and will be updated as more details become available.