BattlelandMilitary Women
One problem with insurgent wars – like that we waged in Iraq, and are currently fighting in Afghanistan – is that there are no front lines. Without sharply-defined FEBAs – Forward Edge of the Battle Area – or FLOTs – Front Line of Own Troops — how do you keep women out of combat?
Bottom line: you can’t. That’s why the …
BattlelandKorea
Korea-watchers had been holding their breath, after South Korea offered its pest-control services Tuesday to North Korea to help eradicate pests at ancient tombs in North Korea revered by those on both sides of the 38th Parallel. The unspecified pests are apparently killing pine trees surrounding the Koguryo tombs, located in the …
BattlelandAir Force
The Pentagon inspector general is investigating the Air Force’s official probe into a fatal F-22 crash that concluded the pilot was to blame. “The assessment will focus on the adherence of the AIB [Accident Investigation Board] …
BattlelandNavy
The U.S. Navy fleet peaked at 568 battle-force ships (aka “big boats”) in 1987.
Ever since, the Navy has been on a glideslope to a smaller fleet, according to a Congressional Research Service report sent to lawmakers Tuesday, and obtained by Battleland:
The report notes that the fleet has shrunk to 284 ships – precisely 50% …
BattlelandProcurement
The Pentagon is determined to hunt down and kill explosive devices – including crude roadside bombs – that account for about 50% of U.S. casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq. Here’s its latest effort, in a contract solicitation posted Wednesday: it wants 15-pound Engineering Squad Robots to hunt those killers down and destroy them, …
“[The Taliban] didn't reach the tempo they had the year before. It was down about 9% overall in a year...their complex attacks are down about 36% compared to last year. Their offensive activities are down…between 13 and about 25% here as we went out of the summer into the fall.”
BattlelandMilitary Spending
The Conservative Political Action Conference is rolling into Washington on Thursday, and you can feel a change in the air on military matters.
Sure, Battleland’s own Mackenzie Eaglen will be on a panel arguing for more:
…but retired Army office Doug MacGregor will be a one-man band (hey, you gotta start somewhere) arguing …
BattlelandIran
This dispatch comes from the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot about an amphibious assault “launched” by Marines during this week’s Bold Alligator exercise along the North Carolina-Virginia coast:
Operating on information gathered
…
“If military personnel costs continue growing at the same rate as the past decade while the overall budget remains flat, personnel costs will consume the entire defense budget by FY 2039.”
BattlelandIraq
The U.S. is planning to cut the 16,000 personnel it has assigned to its embassy in Baghdad by up to half, the New York Times reports Wednesday. Apparently, the diplomats feel they’re too threatened by the locals now that the U.S. military has pulled out. As some of Battleland’s uniformed friends will say: Typical.
BattlelandMilitary
Apparently, three members of the Icelandic Parliament have nominated Army PFC Bradley Manning for the Nobel Peace Prize. On February 1, 2012, Birgitta Jónsdóttir, Margrét Tryggvadóttir, and Þór Saari, all members of the Icelandic Parliament, sent their nominating letter to the Nobel nominating committee.
This is, of course, …
BattlelandMilitary Benefits
Sure, there have always been those anti-war sites, trying to undermine support for the nation’s wars by showing us how much they cost; the dollars – which just topped $1.3 trillion, according to this calculation — flash by like a Times Square news ribbon.
Then there is this, more personal cost calculator just launched by the …
BattlelandJapan
If you’re into planes, the hilltop park overlooking the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma is not a bad place to be. You can watch cargo planes make wide circles over the green hills of Okinawa all day, swooping down to the …
