Category: Military

Nazzo Fast, Guido (Part 3)

Foreign Affairs, Military, Trumpism

The problem with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky) is that he’s a firm believer in this Constitution Nostra.  In a way, he’s like the Constitution Goblin that sits on our shoulder whispering, “Show me where in the Constitution it says you can do that”.

As he does now.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) claimed President Donald Trump’s military strikes against suspected drug boats were not legal.

Host Kristen Welker said, “President Trump has authorized military strikes against suspected drug boats in the Caribbean, as you know, so far more than 20 people, senator, have been killed in six different strikes. Do you believe that these strikes against these suspected drug boats are legal?”

Paul said, “No, they go against all of our tradition. When you kill someone if you’re not in war, and not in a declared war you really need to know someone’s name, at least. You have to accuse them of something and you have to present evidence. All of these people have been blown up without us knowing their name and without evidence of a crime. For decades and if not centuries when you stop people at sea in international waters or in your own waters you announce that you’re going to board the ship and you’re looking for contraband, smuggling or drugs. This happens every day off of Miami, but we know from Coast Guard statistics that about 25% of the time the Coast Guard boards a ship there are no drugs. So if our policy now is to blow up every ship we suspect or accuse of drug running, that would be a bizarre world in which 25% of the people might be innocent.”

And I agree with him.

In the first place, these are not Venezuelan Navy ships that our boys are sending off to that Big Drydock In The Sky;  they’re privately-owned.  And yes, they may have been sponsored by that godless Commie VenPres Maduro, but we don’t really know that, do we?

Me, I’d rather have the Navy board a ship when intercepted, and if they find evidence of drugs — like, sacks of cocaine powder in the hold — they should thank the ship’s crew politely, get off the ship… and then blow it the shit out of the water.

I don’t agree with this part of ol’ Rand’s little diatribe, though:

“The other thing about these speed boats is they’re 2,000 miles away from us. If they have drugs they’re probably peddling drugs to one of the islands of Trinidad or Tobago off Venezuela.”

Don’t care where the destination of the drugs may be:  la coca  is illegal in pretty much every country on earth — oh, and by the way, just because the drugs may be headed for Trinidad or Tobago, that doesn’t mean that those islands are their final destination:  they might just be a stop over, en route to the U.S. (and probably are, being just part of the distribution network).

I also suspect that the “25%” of the time statistic is because the drug runners see the USN or USCG ships coming, and dump the contraband overboard — which is fine because whatever, the drugs aren’t going to reach their destination.

I know why The Donald is doing this:  it’s to create a negative incentive for drug smuggling, a way to persuade these assholes to find another way to earn a living.  It might work;  but it’s not legal.

And we’re not (yet) at war with Venezuela, last time I looked, and given the craven nature of Congress as it stands right now, I doubt very much whether they’d give the go-ahead to nuke Caracas, tempting though that prospect might be.

It’s a tough problem, but I’m not sure that bombing ships out in the middle of the ocean is the correct one.  Rand Paul doesn’t;  and I think in this case, he has the right of it.

I am prepared to hear opinions to the contrary, of course.

Cutting The Fat

Good Stuff, Military

SecWar (how I love that new title) Pete Hegseth has apparently read the Riot Act to the fat cats at the upper end of the chain of command:

“The era of politically correct, overly sensitive don’t-hurt-anyone’s-feelings leadership ends right now at every level,” Hegseth said at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia.

He also announced at the meeting new directives for troops that include “gender-neutral” or “male-level” standards for physical fitness as well as an end to “woke” culture in the military, according to the Associated Press.

Hegseth also said he is changing fitness and appearance standards for the military, while setting the “Golden Rule” test.

Hegseth began his speech by saying: “Welcome to the War Department.”  He also said: “The era of the Department of Defense is over.”

The secretary said the mission of the Pentagon is “warfighting: preparing for war and preparing to win, unrelenting and uncompromising in that pursuit.”

“Our warfighters are entitled to be led by the best and most capable leaders,” he said. “That is who we need you all to be.”

“We lost our way, and we became the ‘woke’ department, but not anymore,” Hegseth also said.

The secretary said that he is sending out 10 new DOD directives regarding physical fitness and grooming requirements, including a return to “the highest male standard” for combat positions.

“If you do not meet the male level physical standards for combat positions, cannot pass a PT test, or don’t want to shave and look professional, it’s time for a new position or a new profession,” he said.

Hegseth added that “it’s tiring to look out at combat formations, or really any formation, and see fat troops. Likewise, it’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon and leading commands around the world. It’s a bad look.”

Everyone agreeing with Pete, raise your hands…

Watch what happens to recruitment numbers…

Nice People, They Are

Military, Sports

There are several good reasons to like the Finns — they’re private people, keep themselves to themselves, and they like to kick Russian ass.  To name but some.

Here’s a good reason to like one of their F1 drivers:

Valtteri Bottas has opened up about his time as a sniper in the Finnish army. The 10-time Grand Prix winner was forced to complete his nation’s mandatory military service between 2008 and 2009 as he was climbing the ladder to F1.

Sadly (I suspect) he didn’t get to shoot any Russians, but hey, that’s just the luck of the draw.  In any event, he’s a fine driver, but just happens to have drawn the short straw most recently, careerwise.  Let’s hope he gets to drive with a team in 2026.

In And Out

Good Stuff, Military, Trumpism

…and no, this isn’t some fevered fantasy involving Salma Hayek in a silk nightie.  (sorry)

But it is the best thing I’ve read in a long time.  Read it all, but here’s just a taste:

Fulcher helped redirect nearly $50 billion from bureaucratic bloat into actual defense readiness. He streamlined software procurement timelines from years to months, modernizing critical IT systems across the department. He contributed to acquisition program reviews focused on strengthening military lethality and America’s defense industrial base.

In six months.

LOL Krauts

Military, Mocking Furriners

I see that Krautland politicians are trying to rebuild old habits (dating back to Bismarck’s time):

Since the war in Ukraine began, the German establishment has sought to reintroduce conscription. A year ago, under the previous coalition, a defence ministry document given to Der Spiegel presented ‘options for a German military service model’. Defence minister Boris Pistorius of the Social Democratic Party wanted to make the country ‘fit for war’.

Sehr gut.  However, there are a few snags:

The traditional motive of patriotism will not be needed. Indeed, German politicians do not want nationalist AfD supporters signing up. The Bundeswehr will be filled with modern diverse youth, as urged by a recent article in Stern magazine. This latest media support for conscription was inspired by author Tilmun Gerwien, who tells younger compatriots (he being too old for active service) that they must ‘grow up’.

Okay, quit that unseemly sniggering, you lot, because it gets better:

The marketing is aimed at woke youngsters. Females will be encouraged to fight for gender equality, homosexuals for LGBT rights, and brown-skinned incomers for a multicultural Germany.

Yeah, that’s gonna work really well.  And guess who they’re going to rely on the most for their recruits?

The front cover of Stern, however, features a white boy. As Remix website observed, when the duty to defend and die for your country arises, suddenly white men are prominent rather than women, Arabs, Blacks or Turks.

Just not the AfD whitebois.

Fucking idiots.

New Same As Old

Military, The Gun Thing

I see that the U.S. Army’s new rifle is having some problems.

Okay, the XM7 per se  isn’t having problems, but its bells-‘n-whistles sighting system is.

The fiscal 2024 report on the Army’s Next-Generation Squad Weapon program from the Pentagon’s Director, Operational Test and Evaluation published last week indicates that the XM157 Fire Control smart scope that’s intended to augment the program’s XM7 Next Generation Rifle and XM250 Next Generation Automatic Rifle received negative ratings from soldiers during testing last year.
“The XM7 with mounted XM157 demonstrated a low probability of completing one 72-hour wartime mission without incurring a critical failure.”

On the positive side, the XM7 rifle itself, and its new ammo (6.8x51mm) was very much liked.  That’s good.  But a rifle without sights is useless (except at very close range).  But why isn’t the “Fire Control” system working?  I mean:

A 1-8×30 variable magnification direct view optic built by Vortex Optics subsidiary Sheltered Wings, the XM157 incorporates advanced technologies such as a laser rangefinder, aiming lasers, environmental sensors, ballistic solver, compass and a digital display overlay, all of which are designed to “increase the probability of hit and decrease the time to engage”.
The XM157 also features wireless connectivity that will purportedly allow it to integrate with heads-up displays like the Army’s current Enhanced Night Vision Goggle-Binocular, or ENVG-B, and future Integrated Visual Augmentation System, or IVAS, do-it-all goggles, allowing soldiers to survey the battlefield from cover using a live video feed from their weapon optic.

I’m just amazed there isn’t a coffee-making capability included.

Ah yes, the old “advanced technologies” bugaboo.  The more technologies involved, the greater the number of potential failure points.

Now I’m not suggesting that we go back to iron aperture sights (as good as they are), and by the way, I see that the XM7 has no provision for any kind of backup sights (which pleaseth me not).

I’m all for giving our boys the best gear possible to kill assholes I mean our country’s enemies.  But the shit’s gotta work, FFS.

So what’s the Army doing about it?

Despite the documented issues detailed in the DOT&E report, the Army is still plowing ahead with the system’s development. Indeed, the service released a sources sought notice in late January for “novel technologies or ongoing research that would be beneficial for the XM157 system as a module and/or software that provides enhanced capability.” 

Yeah, so instead of scaling back the complexity until we get something that works perfectly, and building it back up from that base, let’s make the system still more complicated than the (non-working) thing already is.  That’s a proven recipe for success, of course.

We were always drilled that there are three ways to do things:  the right way, the wrong way, and the Army way.

I’ll leave it to you to decide what’s happening here.