Feral Jundi

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Aviation: The Martin Jetpack

Filed under: Aviation,Video — Tags: , , — Matt @ 5:07 PM

One of the things I like about this is it’s ability to get an individual quickly and efficiently from a low point to a high point. To really have command of the high ground. A soldier could come in from a very high point, much like a parachutist, and have the ability to  precisely land, or back off–much like a helicopter pilot could.

Imagine the ability to instantly place observers or snipers onto high ground as the battle takes place?  Or to go and rescue folks with either a pilot operating the pack, or to use it like a UAV and remotely rescue someone? The delivery of life saving medical supplies/ammo/food/water etc. could also be accomplished. Lots of ideas.

The rescue feature is interesting as well. It is so small and maneuverable that I could see folks using this to grab someone off a cliff or a burning building.  That would be a great use.  Besides, it would be really fun to fly this thing around. –Matt

 

Publications: Texas Border Security–A Strategic Military Assessment, 2011

Filed under: Law Enforcement,Publications,Texas — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 12:31 PM

This is a great little publication and a big hat tip to retired Generals McCaffery and Scales for putting together such an enlightening report.

The bottom line here folks, is as the Mexican authorities become better at countering the cartels, the cartels will increasingly depend upon safe havens to continue business and operations. So strategically speaking, the cartels are looking to set up sanctuary in the US border regions and play the border like a rib bone.

I should say that they ‘are’ using the US as sanctuary, just because if you combine this report with the other report I posted, then it isn’t too hard to put two and two together. And in a war sense, this is akin to the Taliban using Pakistan as a sanctuary so they can continue operations in Afghanistan.

The other element of sanctuary is the idea that cartels are operating along the seams of the law and law enforcement agencies, both federal or state, or between two countries. These guys are playing the borders in the literal sense, and in the legal sense, and definitely taking advantage of the grey areas.

Here are some quotes from this thing that jumped out at me:

A successful sanctuary permits insurgents to move freely and operate on whichever side offers greater security. In a curious twist of irony, the more successful the Mexican military becomes in confronting the cartels, the greater likelihood that cartels will take the active fight into Texas as they compete against each other in the battle to control distribution territories and corridors….

…..This paper will be the first to conclude that the cartels are following a twofold strategic plan:
1. First, to create a “sanitary zone” inside the Texas border — one county deep — that will provide sanctuary from Mexican law enforcement and, at the same time, enable the cartels to transform Texas’ border counties into narcotics transshipment points for continued transport and distribution into the continental United States.
2. Second, to increasingly rely on organized gangs to provide expendable and unaccountable manpower to do their dirty work inside Texas and elsewhere in the country. These gangs are recruited on the streets of Texas cities and inside Texas prisons by top-tier gangs who work in conjunction with the cartels.

Check it out and let me know what you think?  Definitely pass this around and get the word out. –Matt

 

Texas Border Security: A Strategic Military Assessment, 2011

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Funny Stuff: The Ultimate Contractor Beard–Beard Beanies!

Filed under: Funny Stuff — Tags: , , — Matt @ 4:34 PM

This is hilarious. Thanks to Matt for sending me this one–and just in time for the winter fighting season. lol I really like this Crochet Assyrian Bearded Helmet Beard Beanie below, and go check out the others at the website. Maybe they can make an ODA Beard Beanie on special order? –Matt

Website here.

Libya: Five Contractors For Locating And Securing 20,000 MANPADS?

The more I read about this particular aspect of the Libyan conflict, the more I just shake my head. If there are 20,000 MANPADS in this country, and it has been torn apart by a civil war that we are assisting in, then why are we not putting more of an effort into locating and securing every MANPAD there is?  How is assigning ‘5 contractors’ to the problem an effective solution? lol I mean contractors are good, but are five guys going to be able to physically accomplish the task of actually securing these things?

Or are these five contractors there to just train Libyans with the hopes that they ‘might’ locate and turn them in to a secure location?  I say might, because if you look at the economics of the situation, either they could locate and turn them in for free, or they could sell them on the black market and make a good little profit.

The other reason why I mention the economics of this type of deal, is that who is the command and control of all of the field units of such a rag tag army of rebels?  Are we seriously saying that there is any kind of control at all with this motley crew?  And especially in the beginning stages of the war when these weapons depots were first getting ransacked? Ha! I will say this, I guarantee that these things have found their way out into the black market.

But probably the most concerning aspect of this story, is that Al Qaeda has a presence in Libya. And they would certainly have an interest in these rocket launchers. Oh, and did I mention that many of the suicide bombers in Iraq that killed our troops were from Libya? So to me, how could anyone assume that Al Qaeda ‘has not’ put their grubby little hands all over these things?  pfffft.

So what does this all mean?  Well, if we start seeing helicopters being shot out of the sky in Afghanistan, that might be a sign. Or I imagine some key airline passenger jets will be shot down using these things. I mean there are all sorts of uses for this kind of weapon, and it was incredibly irresponsible of us to not instantly recognize this issue very early on and effectively deal with it.

Didn’t we learn anything from Iraq?  The insurgents there ransacked the arms depots right after the invasion, and the scene was akin to what happened with the looters in Walmart during hurricane Katrina. All because we did not make it a priority to secure those depots. The result?  Lots and lots of IEDs made from artillery rounds captured from those depots. –Matt

 

Hey Alli, how much do you think these things go for on the black market?

 

U.S. ramps up weapons search in Libya
September 16, 2011
The United States is taking an increasingly active role to secure thousands of rocket launchers, mines and small arms from Muammar Qaddafi’s once vast arsenal in Libya and prevent them from fueling an insurgency or falling into the hands of al Qaeda or other extremist militants operating across North Africa, government officials said Friday.
As an urgent measure, the Obama administration is sending several additional weapons experts to Libya to help train local units to locate and destroy weapons, the officials told The Associated Press. The top focus is on the estimated 20,000 shoulder-launched missiles called MANPADs which Qaddafi assembled during his four-decade rule. The weapon can be used to shoot down helicopters or civil jetliners.
“My team has no higher priority than addressing this threat,” said Andrew Shapiro, the assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs. “We are utilizing every possible tool to reduce the availability of loose missiles from Libya.”
The decision to increase weapons-related aid comes after U.S. officials received a request Friday from Libya’s National Transitional Council for greater assistance in securing Qaddafi’s former stocks of conventional weapons. The deposed Libyan dictator, who is still at large, halted his weapons of mass destruction programs in 2004. U.S. and international officials believe his leftover stocks of chemical and nuclear material are safe — and in a form that cannot be quickly be weaponized.

(more…)

Maritime Security: Cyprus Merchant Ships To Carry Gunmen Against Piracy, CNA Says

Unfortunately, this is all I could get on this story. There might have been stuff hidden in Cyprus news sites, but I could find anything, and translation mechanisms kind of sucked. Either way Lloyd’s List reported in June about Cyprus lawmakers introducing legislation that would make it legal for their flagged vessels to have armed guards. So hopefully this story below indicates some movement towards this becoming a reality?

I also imagine that the ‘cooking beans‘ incident, where a Cyprus vessel was set on fire by pirates as the crew cowered in their little safe room, probably brought just a little too much negative attention to the matter. lol  Hopefully we will see this law passed, and armed guards can get on these boats. –Matt

 

Cyprus Merchant Ships to Carry Gunmen Against Piracy, CNA Says
By Stelios Orphanides
Sep 26, 2011
Cyprus’s government is preparing a change to the law that will allow its merchant ships to carry gunmen as protection against pirates, Cyprus News Agency reported, citing a shipping official.
The east Mediterranean island is close to completing a bill which will be submitted to the parliament aimed at protecting Cypriot ships, CNA said, citing Sergios Sergiou, director of the Cypriot Department of Merchant Shipping.
Story here.

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