Feral Jundi

Friday, December 2, 2011

Iraq: US Military Hands Camp Victory Over To Iraqis

Filed under: Iraq,Military News — Tags: , , — Matt @ 1:10 PM

Man, to see Camp Victory go is quite the thing. That FOB was such a huge and important base in the war, and everyone that ever worked or served in Iraq has probably cycled through that base at one point or another.

The thing I would be interested in is what are they going to do with the T-Wall art? On all of these bases over there, units cycled through year after year, and many of them painted some really cool unit logos on T-Walls (protective cement barriers, shaped like ‘T’s) That art would make for a great coffee table book, that’s for sure. lol

As to it’s future? Maybe the Iraqis will turn it into an amusement park, or maybe keep it as a base? Only time will tell.

So farewell Camp Victory. You will forever be a memory in the minds of thousands of veterans and contractors who lived there….-Matt

 

U.S. Military Hands Camp Victory Over to Iraqis
December 02, 2011
CAMP VICTORY, Iraq –  The U.S. military says it has handed over Camp Victory, a sprawling base at the edge of Baghdad that used to be the headquarters for the U.S. military, to the Iraqi government.
The handover of the sprawling complex of grandiose former palaces of Saddam Hussein, encircled by 27 miles of blast walls, comes as American troops prepare to pull out by the end of the month after nearly nine years.
“The Victory Base Complex was officially signed over to the receivership of the Iraqi government this morning [Friday]. The base is no longer under U.S. control and is now under the full authority of the government of Iraq,” Col. Barry Johnson, a spokesman for the U.S. forces in Iraq, was quoted as saying by AFP.
He added, “There was no ceremony, just a signing of paperwork akin to the closing of a home sale.”
U.S. vice president Joe Biden spoke Thursday at one of the palaces during a ceremony to mark the imminent U.S. withdrawal, which Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki has dubbed “the day of fulfilling the promise.”
The Iraqi claimants to the compound are numerous, and the ideas for its use are many, ranging from the somber — military barracks, Hussein museums and cultural centers — to the more business-minded, such as five-star hotels or an amusement park, The Wall Street Journal reported.

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Friday, November 25, 2011

Mobile Apps: Palantir Mobile For Military And Law Enforcement

Filed under: Mobile Apps — Tags: , , , — Matt @ 3:36 PM

After checking out some of the videos on Palantir’s youtube channel, I came across these videos that talked about putting Palantir on mobile. I like that, and that puts a lot of capability in the hands of the guys out in the field. And notice the military and law enforcement applications? Very cool…..but what about a contractor application? lol

But on a serious note, tools like this could be very helpful to private industry as they operate in the various war zones of the world. There is so much open source data that could be tapped into in order to assist in the planning for operations. In order to take full advantage of that sea of data, you need tools like Palantir that can quickly process it for you and present it into a logical format that is easy to understand and interpret. It could save lives and help accomplish the mission.

Either way, check it out and let me know what you think? Everyone has smart phones now, and to not take advantage and fully leverage that capability is really missing the boat. If your company is interested in using this app, you will have to contact Palantir directly about it. –Matt

 

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Industry Talk: Up To 763 Contractors And 157 US Military Trainers To Train Iraqi Forces Post-2011

Filed under: Industry Talk,Iraq — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 2:15 PM

Well I guess there goes that whole idea that ‘all troops will be out of Iraq’? lol Sure, they will be out by Christmas, but according to this article, military trainers will be in Iraq ‘post-2011’. So how is that a departure of the troops?

The big one here is that we have some solid numbers on how many contractors will be involved with training.  Iraq has made some weapons purchases that require lots of training, and contractors/military advisers are a necessity for training the Iraqis on how to use that stuff.

Also, with the economy as it is, weapons sales to other countries is a matter of importance to the US and our defense companies. Nothing new going on there, and we have quite the history of selling military hardware to allies throughout the region. The Vinnell Arabia contract in Saudi Arabia is a prime example, and those guys have been training Saudis to use American gear for a long time. Iraq will be no different and I have written about this in the past. Although with these contracts, Iraq will still be a dangerous place to operate in. –Matt

 

Up to 763 contractors to train Iraqi forces: US
By W.G. Dunlop
November 23, 2011
A maximum of 763 civilian contractors and 157 US military personnel will train Iraqi security forces post-2011, if the Iraqi government gives its approval, a US officer said on Wednesday.
US President Barack Obama announced on October 21 that US troops would depart Iraq by year’s end, after negotiations with Baghdad on a larger-scale post-2011 US military training mission broke down.
The military personnel and contractors are part of the Office of Security Cooperation – Iraq (OSC-I), which falls under US embassy authority, Lieutenant Colonel Tom Hanson, director of strategic communications for OSC-I, told AFP.
“The 157 (military personnel) are here, and the up to 763 number is based on the number of active foreign military sales cases at any given time,” he said.
As not all are active at once, the 763 contractors will probably not be in Iraq at the same time, he added.
The contractors are “involved in some aspect of bringing the equipment to the Iraqis and helping them learn how to operate it, and bringing (them) to a minimum level of proficiency on it, whether it’s a tank or an airplane or an air traffic control system or a radar,” Hanson said.

(more…)

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Military News: The 236th Marine Corps Birthday Message

Filed under: Military News — Tags: , , — Matt @ 9:49 AM

Happy birthday Marines and Semper Fidelis! –Matt

 

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Military News: US Sends Military Advisers To Africa To Hunt Down Joseph Kony And The LRA!

Filed under: Military News,Uganda — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 4:50 PM

Yes! This is a mission that just makes sense and I will be cheering it on all the way. It is about time and hopefully these guys can find them and eliminate them. Especially since Invisible Children has set up a communications network to give a voice to the people.

Perhaps that will be a big focus in the beginning, and that would be to upgrade the communications networks and even expand them throughout all of the villages.  That map I posted shows exactly the areas that the LRA is at, and the more updates and data coming in from that network, the better. Couple that with some of the toys that these advisers will have, and I am hoping that this mission won’t take long.

But who knows?  The LRA are some serious jungle dwellers, and have survived this long. Personally, I could care less how long it takes, because this is one of those deals that should have been taken care of a long time ago. It is worth the push and it is worth the effort. –Matt

 

Obama sends military advisers to central Africa
By Matt Spetalnick and Laura MacInnis
Oct 14, 2011
President Barack Obama said on Friday he was sending about 100 U.S. troops to central Africa to help and advise government forces battling Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army rebels accused of murder, rape and kidnapping children.
Obama — who once denounced the LRA as an “affront to human dignity” — made clear the troops would serve as trainers and advisers in efforts to hunt down rebel leader Joseph Kony and would not engage in combat except in self-defense.
In a letter to Congress, Obama said the first U.S. forces arrived in Uganda on Wednesday and would be deployed to South Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo “subject to the approval of each respective host nation.”
Obama’s decision commits U.S. forces to help confront a rebel group that has drawn international condemnation for decades of chilling violence, including hacking body parts off victims and the abduction of young boys to fight and young girls for use as sex slaves.
While the U.S. military has maintained a large base in Djibouti since 2003, the latest mission marks an expanded role in conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa by putting U.S. troops in the field to support local forces in direct combat with insurgents.

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