Saturday, October 3, 2009
Afghanistan: ‘Obama’s War’ Teaser, Frontline, October 13th
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Photo: US Marines from 2/3 Fox Company Keep Watch, by David Furst
Friday, September 18, 2009
Military News: Natick Camo Study and a Review By Soldier Systems Blog
Interesting news and we will see how this goes. I have personally thought that UCP was a terrible pattern for the areas of operation we are in right now. It works great for sage brush country though, and I highly recommend it for coyote hunting here in Boise, Idaho. It is also great for hiding on sofas. lol But for Iraq or Afghanistan, I just don’t see it.
Overall, my favorite pattern is the Desert MARPAT uniform for desert stuff. It looks like that is one of the top uniforms according to the Natick study as well. I own a combat jacket that is Desert MARPAT and it is great for work. Although I would probably suggest getting a jacket with the quick dry shirts built in the main body of the shirt. Those work great for body armor, and it looks like there are some fire resistant models coming out that will make that uniform even more sensible. (check out the Propper story below this one at the SS blog)
If I was to match a pattern to our AO’s, I would say Desert MARPAT for Iraq and maybe Multicam for Afghanistan. But having one pattern for the troops, for all environments we fight in is just stupid. Bravo to the Marines for at least recognizing the need for regional camo patterns for their troops and that is taking care of your people.
One thing I would be interested in, is if Natick studies patterns that have been washed out over time? Soldiers and Marines wear their uniforms for awhile out there, and the color contrasts change and get lighter on the uniforms. Combat and field use tends to do that to a uniform. So a study on what uniform works best when aged would be very cool. I know UCP gets really light blue looking when it gets old.
I highly suggest putting Soldier Systems blog on your RSS reader, or whatever you use to track blogs and websites. They are definitely equipment mavens and thanks to Matt for giving me the heads up. –Matt
——————————————————————
From Soldier Systems Blog
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, or failing to read Soldier Systems Daily, you know that in response to Congressional calls for a new camo pattern for operations in Afghanistan, the Army announced that they would test two patterns in October. The Army Times obtained a Natick test report for a camouflage study conducted from 2007 – 2009 of 18 different patterns. This report has now been released by the Army to the press and Soldier Systems Daily has extracted some of the major points from this test report. This is the first in a series of reports that attempt to make some sense of the report and cut through much of the conjecture and hyperbole found on the internet.
Check out the blog and story here.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Logistics: Marines’ Beasts of Burden are Again Leading the Pack
This was a great story and it got me thinking. Matter of fact, Tim’s recent post and the challenge posed by Small Wars Journal got me thinking about the infantryman’s load in Afghanistan, and some of the solutions for making that lighter. Obviously, donkeys are a good choice, and this article tells it all.
But that also made me think of how far would this concept go in terms of the current conflict? Would companies be contracted out to lead mule trains up to Combat Outposts and FOB’s? Would security contractors escort these mule trains as they try to bring them in safely to the destination, much like security contractors in Iraq (and Afghanistan) have been doing with vehicle convoy operations? With the Marines, we are not talking about a few ODA teams out in the hinterland, we are talking about infantry units that need supplies up in the mountains, and the possibility is there I guess for companies to get involved with that. Or not.
I guess the thing to think about with this is that how many units will it take to command these pack trains as they go through the mountains? What would be the percentage of pack trains that would get attacked and the precious cargo destroyed? So that would leave the idea of having a very involved pack train system, just so that these combat outposts could have somewhat dependable supply deliveries. Could the military keep up with that, or would there come a point where contractors would have to be brought in? Interesting stuff and we will see.
On a side note, these pack trains are great. In the smokejumpers, we used them all the time to haul gear in and out of the mountains. Although it seems I still ended up hiking a lot of gear all over the place. I have also trained up at Pickle Meadows up at Bridgeport, and that is some beautiful country. –Matt
——————————————————————
Marines’ beasts of burden are again leading the pack
For centuries, donkeys and mules have been the preferred mode of military transport in Afghanistan. At a training center in the Sierra Nevada, Marines learn how to handle the sure-footed animals.
By Tony Perry
July 7, 2009
From the Los Angeles Times
Reporting from Bridgeport, Calif. — With 75 pounds of military gear cinched on her furry back, Annie was stubborn the whole way.
The two Marines assigned to her pushed, pulled and sweet-talked her up the steep, twisting trail on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Military News: The Marine Corps Lioness Program and Counter-insurgency
Cool program and glad to see it having an impact. I have never heard of such a thing, and this is certainly some out of the box thinking on the part of the Marines. Maybe the companies out there should work to hire a few female security contractors in order to have this kind of capability out there? Especially if you could get a few of these Lioness veterans. Semper Fi. –Matt
——————————————————————
Lionesses work to improve community in local Iraq city
6/12/2009
By Byline Lance Cpl. Melissa A. Latty ,
Unit 2nd Marine Logistics Group
CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq —
Female Marines from Combat Logistics Battalion 7, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), have been participating in civil affairs missions with the Civil Affairs Group 10, 2nd Marine Division for approximately three months in various cities surrounding Camp Korean Village, Iraq.
The women are part of an all-female team called Lioness that was first formed several years ago to implement culturally-sensitive methods of searching Iraqi women to deter the enemy’s use of females to conduct terrorist attacks.
However, Lionesses aren’t just female searchers. In fact, they now do little to no searching at all.