XBradTC

Back in 1941, the Army did something extreme: it tested its doctrine. Not on tabletop wargames, not in a computer simulation, not with an invasion of a small Latin American country. No, the Army mobilized over 400,000 Regular and National Guard troops, spent a year training them up, and then let them fight each other across 30,000 square miles of Louisiana and Texas in an exercise that would make Jade Helm conspiracy theorists slaver with delight.

Why? Well, it was no secret that World War II would not remain a European affair much longer. The Germans had demonstrated that they had a pretty decent war machine, the likes of which the threadbare U.S. Army could only stare at longingly. The Army had been cut pretty badly after World War I. Pretty badly is an understatement. The Army had been gutted. From a wartime strength of several million men, it was reduced down below 80,000 by 1921. However, Army leaders had been smart; they knew that the next time war came, they would need adaptive and educated leaders. So the officers and non-commissioned officers that they could not retain were shifted over into the National Guard where they helped train up the nation’s reserve. The Army began service schools and professional development courses, open to both Regular and National Guard leaders. Although the Army would not be right-sized for the next conflict, or properly equipped with modern equipment at the outset, it would have a ready cadre of trained and adaptive leaders.

via angrystaffofficer.com

Angry Staff Officer writes a nice little history of the massive Louisiana Maneuvers, and why they were held.

He advocates for a modern series, and has some pretty good reasons why we should.

My questions is, could we even do anything like that today?

Probably not, but we do need to find creative ways to test the ability of the Army to work as a large scale force.

WASHINGTON, March 30, 2016 —
Service members who serve or have served in Iraq or Syria as part of Operation Inherent Resolve will receive the Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced in Tampa, Florida, today.

Carter announced the new award during the U.S. Central Command change-of-command ceremony. Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III transferred the command’s flag to Army Gen. Joe Votel.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced the creation of the Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal, March 30, 2016. DoD Illustration

Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal

Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced the creation of the Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal, March 30, 2016. DoD Illustration

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“It is fitting then, that as we mark the change of command between these two leaders, that we introduce the Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal,” Carter said. “I am pleased to announce today, by the president’s order and upon the chairman’s and my recommendation, that our sai

via www.defense.gov

It was only a matter of time.

A Chinese Way of War.

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RAF considering an active jammer expendable decoy.

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Boeing built a stealth prototype 20 years before Lockheed.

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NAVAL AIR STATION LEMOORE , Calif. (KFSN) —

An investigation is underway at Naval Air Station (NAS) Lemoore after a CHP chase ends with two people dead.

Officials say the incident started around 4 a.m. on Thursday with a wrong way driver on Highway 198 — heading towards NAS Lemoore. The California Highway Patrol chased the vehicle as it crashed through the south fence of the airfield and then crashed into an F/A-18 fighter jet on the south side of Naval Air Station Lemoore.

Both the driver and the passenger of the vehicle died in the crash. They have not been identified.

via abc30.com

Welp, there's your wild story of the day. And you just know the jet is badly enough damaged that it's probably a strike.

And you damn well know the dead driver didn't have insurance.

Lockheed Martin has restarted the production line for its Tactical Missile System (TACMS), the company announced on 29 March.

The weapons, formerly referred to by the contractor as the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), was built for about 20 years near El Paso, Texas, but production was moved to Camden, Arkansas, to "consolidate all of Lockheed Martin's Precision Fires missile and rocket production", the company said.

Accordingly, TACMS production "was temporarily suspended in 2014" and the move was made to Arkansas, Lockheed Martin explained.

TACMS, initially fielded in 1990, includes one missile in a pod and can be fired from the US Army's family of multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), such as the High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and M270 MLRS. The weapon can reach out to 300 km.

via www.janes.com

I'm a little surprised. With the replacement program getting ready for bidding, you'd think the Army would be just relying on existing stocks. I know we've been using some lately, but surely not that many? They're pretty damn expensive.

Lockheed Martin has restarted the production line for its Tactical Missile System (TACMS), the company announced on 29 March.

The weapons, formerly referred to by the contractor as the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), was built for about 20 years near El Paso, Texas, but production was moved to Camden, Arkansas, to "consolidate all of Lockheed Martin's Precision Fires missile and rocket production", the company said.

Accordingly, TACMS production "was temporarily suspended in 2014" and the move was made to Arkansas, Lockheed Martin explained.

TACMS, initially fielded in 1990, includes one missile in a pod and can be fired from the US Army's family of multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), such as the High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and M270 MLRS. The weapon can reach out to 300 km.

via www.janes.com

I'm a little surprised. With the replacement program getting ready for bidding, you'd think the Army would be just relying on existing stocks. I know we've been using some lately, but surely not that many? They're pretty damn expensive.

I spent a lot of time listening to Air Traffic Control. And very often, when an aircraft declares an emergency, they really need to lean on ATC for help. But it is sometimes the case that the crew of the emergency aircraft get behind the aircraft. But not this guy. It’s a very minor emergency, but he’s quick to act with authority, formulate a plan, and let ATC know his intentions.

The Army is cooking up a suite of improvements could double the range of the existing M-777 howitzer. Right now the 155-millimeter gun, in service with the Army and Marines, can lob shells at targets up to 18 miles away.

The M-777ER version the Army is working on “will be able to reach out and hit targets … before the targets can reach them,” David Bound, the lead engineer on the project at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey, told Army reporters. Troops “won’t have to worry about coming into a situation where they are under fire before they can return fire.”

via warisboring.com

URR is always going on about the improvements in tube artillery. Well, this is a big one. The much longer tube means you have more time for powder to burn as the shell begins to move through the tube. And that gives increased acceleration and muzzle velocity, which translates into longer range.

It's also important that the weights aren't going up much, as the M777 was designed to be transported by the CH-47. And it is pretty much on the upper limit of the Chinook's useful payload.

Finally, as the battlespace typically occupied by a Brigade Combat Team is much larger than in the past, the same artillery battalion needs to have much greater range to cover the entire BCT with fires, or it must parcel out tubes in penny packets of platoons or batteries, and lose the ability to mass its fires.

Prototype M777ER- US Army Photo