XBradTC

The success of Hacksaw Ridge, the ficitonalized story of how conscientious objector Desmond Doss would go  on to earn the Medal of Honor, was hardly surprising.

But what about the real Desmond Doss. Here he is, telling a bit of his story.

Explosive demolitions have a very wide range of military applications, and there are  a very  wide range of tools available from choices of explosives to choices of detonating systems.  When I was serving in the 80s and 90s, the two primary detonating systems were either time fuse or electric blasting caps. Today, “shock tube” initiation is very popular. 

Demolitions, especially electrically primed demo, is primarily an Engineer function, though a demolition kit is standard equipment in the Infantry company TO&E, and I was fortunate enough to spend some range time blowing stuff up. Of the two, I greatly preferred non-electric priming, but it was good to have the training on electric systems. And not much has changed since this film was made.

Aug. 5, 1932 – Mar. 6, 2016 Mae "Pogo" Humphries Barie passed away peacefully in her sleep at her home in Palm Desert, CA.

Pogo spent her childhood in Lineville, AL, and received her BA from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. She married Lt. Arthur Harper Barie, USN in 1956. They lived and traveled all over the world, settling in Oak Harbor, WA after retirement.

Pogo was always active in charities and civic organizations. She enjoyed reading, gardening, and visiting friends and family; history and travel were her key interests.

Pogo was preceded in death by her parents David Ramon and Ada New Humphries; husband Capt. Arthur H. Barie (USN, Ret.), brothers David and Bill Humphries and sisters Dorothy Ringold and Joyce Blanton; and daughter Clary. She is survived by her children Viki, Tania, Art, Jr., granddaughter Jamie (Jed Van Den Bosch) and 3 great-grandchildren; dearly loved sisters Frances Sudderth, Margaret Bell, Jody Speer, Reba Barnes, and sister-in-law Mildred Barie; dozens of nieces and nephews and cousins; and friends all over the country.

A private inurnment will be in Midway Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Powder Springs, GA. Memorial services are pending.

From five years ago:

At about 9:15am yesterday morning, the hazards of Naval Aviation claimed the life of CAPT Carroll F. LeFon, USN (Ret.).

“Lex” was one of the first blogs I bookmarked, sometime back in 2003 or 2004. From his days on active duty, his retirement flying light planes out of San Diego, to his most recent endeavors flying the F-21 Kfir as a contractor supporting US Navy fighter training, he told the tale of flying. His ability with words moved the hearts and souls out thousands of loyal readers.

He loved flying. But more than flying, he loved his family- his wife, The Hobbit, his son, SNO, and his two daughters, The Biscuit and The Kat. He was awed by the sacrifices his family had endured so that he could serve his nation, and deeply troubled that he may somehow have done less than his best as a father.

His abilities as a warrior were impressive. Serving in the fleet as an F/A-18 pilot, and numerous tours in the Adversary community, honing the edge of other pilots in the unforgiving arena of aerial combat. Serving as XO of TOPGUN (one word, all caps!) and commanding an F/A-18 squadron. He loved aviators, he loved his sailors, he loved his Navy.

He loved writing. He was one of the earliest “milbloggers” and unlike so many, he was in it for the long haul. I was always astonished that a man that had so many things going on with work and family and social life should have to time to not merely post, but put up posts of such wonderful quality and thoughtfulness. His craftsmanship with words was legendary.  His compendium, Rhythms, a fictional account of a day in the life of a carrier, is superb, and all should read it.

After his retirement from active duty, he felt free to address issues beyond sea stories, and commented on the news of the day, with a wisdom and insight that made most professional pundits pale in comparison. Indeed, as a blogger myself, I was often discouraged. So many times I found something I wanted to address, only to find that Lex had already done so, and done so far better than I could ever hope to.

His words, obvious warmth and compassion, his keen wit and sense of humor made Neptunus Lex a daily must read for thousands of people. Fellow aviators were comfortable, but more remarkably, so were many folks whose only exposure to Naval Aviation and the military world were his words on their computer screen. The comments of all were welcome and treated with respect and dignity not often found today.

I only met him once, but I’ve known him my whole life. I grew up around Naval Aviators, and am the son of one.  When we met briefly a couple years ago, the awkward introductory phase lasted about 2 minutes, and then it was as if we’d sat in that bar many times before, and just picked up the conversation where we’d left off.

My prayers go out to him, and to his family. Godspeed, sir.

So, I stumbled across this interesting, but rather poorly written, account of using the A-10 Warthog to attack swarms of small boats.

About 35 local boat captains simulated swarming attack maneuvers in fishing boats rigged with machine guns while fighter jets, attack helicopters, and the A-10 "Warthog" simulated attacks from above in Florida’s Choctawhatchee Bay.

The Air Force at Eglin Air Force Base organized the simulation, called Combat Hammer, to address one of the more pressing threats to the US Navy: attacks from swarming fast-attack craft.

In the Persian Gulf, Iran has repeatedly used small, agile attack craft to harass US Navy ships in encounters that could lead to a broader conflict in a moment’s notice.

US Navy ships have gone as far as to fire warning shots at approaching vessels, but that was before Iranian-backed Houthi militants used a suicide boat laden with explosives to kill two aboard a Saudi navy vessel off the coast of Yemen.

Contracting with local boat owners, and visually modifying them with simulated machine guns was pretty innovative.

After working with those, a live fire portion of the evaluation was conducted using unmanned target boats.

Combat Hammer is the program code name for the Weapon System Evaluation Program for air to ground weapons. It is run by the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group based at Tyndall AFB in Florida.

Essentially, after Development Test and Evaluation, and Operational Test and Evaluation, WSEP does Follow On Test and Evaluation.  FOT&E is where the tactics, techniques and  procedures to use a weapon, or a family of weapons, or even complete weapon systems, are evaluated, to give operational squadrons guidance on how best to address a given threat.

Rather than using their own fleet of aircraft, Combat Hammer hosts detachments from the squadrons that will actually be using the weapons and tactics.  Thus, in addition to  validating TTPs, the squadrons get valuable experience using weapons on a fantastic  range complex, training they might not ordinarily be able to conduct.

Combat Hammer hosts virtually every type of USAF aircraft with an air to ground capability. In addition, friendly foreign air forces are often invited to participate.

On the air to air side, WSEP also runs Combat Archer, and even has the little discussed Combat Sledgehammer, which develops TTPs for nuclear weapons.

Royal Navy light cruisers are probably the hardest tech tree to operate well. I get slaughtered almost every time I take one out.

Grump, on the other hand, manages a damn fine battle here.

Sweden has decided to reintroduce a military draft for both men and women over security concerns and a growing threat from Russia.

The Nordic country mothballed compulsory military service seven years ago, but military activity in the Baltic region has increased since, in the wake of Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, prompting Sweden to step up military preparedness.

Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist said the left-leaning government is reintroducing the draft because of a deteriorating security environment in Europe and around Sweden.

Under the newly approved plan, at least 4,000 18-year-olds could be called up each year, starting in January.

via www.independent.co.uk

Probably a good idea, for the Swedes at least.

I don’t know what it is that causes LT Rusty to run into so many TKs in WoWs, but he does.

Look, we all make mistakes. Yes, I’ve torped a friendly before.  But to not even realize you not just torped, but sunk a teammate, well, that’s hardcore stupid.

You might think, well, it’s an ARP ship, maybe he’s just not used to Tier VII. Uh, no. Guy has thousands of battles under his belt, and was absolutely clueless. Heck, he almost torps another friendly.

And answer me this, Marines in my audience- Is there a single US Marine anywhere that thinks the Battle of Belleau Wood took place in 1919?

So, I just saw this over at Wired.

SINCE 1996, THE Chinese military has steadily expanded its umbrella of land-based missiles, strike aircraft, and submarines designed to overwhelm both US air bases and carrier strike groups. That buildup aims to discourage the US military from potentially intervening in China’s territorial disputes with neighboring Asian countries. Now, the US response appears to be taking shape, first in the form of a new use for an old weapons system.

In late 2016, the Pentagon announced that it would convert the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), a weapon typically fired from a truck-mounted rocket launcher, into a guided ballistic missile capable of hitting moving warships. That represents a planned upgrade of an existing Army missile that can strike targets at distances of about 186 miles. It could also form the linchpin of a US “forward defense” strategy meant to keep China from becoming too aggressive with its growing naval power.

Mind you, they   post a picture of a conventional MLRS rocket, instead of an ATACMS. They do use a common launcher, however.

The details of what exact guidance system would be spliced into the nose of the missile are kinda fuzzy. I’ve heard the same SM-6 Standard Missile that has been upgraded to an anti-ship capability. Which would make some sense. And adding such a capability would tend to tie in well with the Navy’s evolving Distributed Lethality initiative, which seeks to complicate the enemy’s defense.

As a passing thought, a similar conversion of the Guided MLRS might be worth taking a look at. It would have a much shorter range, but would also be able to fit 6 rounds in a launcher cell.

Heck, if a Marine MEU is in the area, why not have a HIMARS on the flight deck of the LPD ready to salvo against any surface ship threats?

For reasons of economy, US Marines in certain specialties have long trained for specific skills at US Army bases. For instance, after Boot Camp, Marine artillerymen undergo instruction at the US Army Artillery Center and School (or whatever they call it now) at Ft. Sill, OK.

Likewise, as seen in this 2001 video, Marine tank crewmen trained at Ft. Knox.  A lot has changed since then, but being a tanker will always involve a lot of hard, dirty work for the payoff of the fun of sending rounds downrange.

Especially moving is the reaction of the Marines when they learn of the World Trade Center attacks of 9/11.