Agiel's all things military

[Woldan]

US Marines train with UK royal Marines at the Follingsby training facility. Thats what I call an explosive entry. 

 

 

Edited September 29, 2015 by Woldan

[obyknven]

Russians bomb Al-Nusra ISIS in Syria officially now.

http://youtu.be/oqJPVlDdLek

[Raithe]

Since the way the pictures are embedded, I can't be bothered figuring out how to link the best ones here.. I'll just throw the link for the whole lot..

 

65 Perfectly Timed Military Photos

 

[Malcador]

[obyknven]

http://youtu.be/hiA0JUdWR6M

 

http://youtu.be/s_h8YISqJRQ

[ShadySands]

Marines unveil new gender-neutral standards for 29 jobs

 

I don't understand the hate for this as it seems like a good thing to me

 

At the end of the Marines' nine-month study, only two women in the infantry-trained rifleman platoons were left standing. There were roughly two dozen women in the infantry company when the experiment began, but most were dropped due to injury.

 

The new requirements could be difficult for some men entering into certain MOSs as well. During the experiment, Capt. Mark Lenzi, the commanding officer of the weapons company, which consisted of machine gun, anti-armor and mortar platoons, said some male Marines aren't up to the tasks that come with serving in the infantry.

 

Sometimes, he said, unit leaders are forced to give weaker Marines an administrative or clerical position in order to avoid moving them out of the unit. Gender-neutral standards would prevent that Marine from ever joining a unit with which they can't keep up, he said.

 

"If you're [5 feet, 6 inches tall] and 120 pounds, you have virtually no chance of doing this job, whatsoever," Lenzi said.

 

The Marines' study has led to controversy, however. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus called the experiment flawed, and alleged that some male Marines went into it not wanting to see the women succeed. He also criticized the Corps for measuring average performance instead of looking at individual capabilities.

 

But the Marine involved with the study fired back at Mabus' remarks. When the study began, researchers went into it with the expectation that they would see no differences between the all-male teams and those that included women, he said.

 

"The use of averages is merely a way to categorize overall performance of the different groups," the Marine said. "If the study had seen no difference in the 'averages' it would conclude that the introduction of women has no effect — be it positive or negative.  However, given that differences existed, the GCEITF study conducted further analysis at the individual level."

 

It was then that researchers began looking at the traits of each Marine in a crew, squad or team to see whether individual physical characteristics proved essential for all members to be able to carry out a specific mission. That, the Marine said, would help determine what all Marines in that job should be able to prove they can do.

 

"Identifying individual characteristics is important because it would help to establish gender-neutral standards that could be applied to future applicants to those MOSs."

Edited October 5, 2015 by ShadySands

[ManifestedISO]

 

 

Gender-neutral standards would prevent that Marine from ever joining a unit with which they can't keep up, he said.

 

 

Makes sense to me, I don't see why the Navy Secretary would throw a wrench into this. 

[Gromnir]

 

Marines unveil new gender-neutral standards for 29 jobs

 

I don't understand the hate for this as it seems like a good thing to me

 

At the end of the Marines' nine-month study, only two women in the infantry-trained rifleman platoons were left standing. There were roughly two dozen women in the infantry company when the experiment began, but most were dropped due to injury.

 

The new requirements could be difficult for some men entering into certain MOSs as well. During the experiment, Capt. Mark Lenzi, the commanding officer of the weapons company, which consisted of machine gun, anti-armor and mortar platoons, said some male Marines aren't up to the tasks that come with serving in the infantry.

 

Sometimes, he said, unit leaders are forced to give weaker Marines an administrative or clerical position in order to avoid moving them out of the unit. Gender-neutral standards would prevent that Marine from ever joining a unit with which they can't keep up, he said.

 

"If you're [5 feet, 6 inches tall] and 120 pounds, you have virtually no chance of doing this job, whatsoever," Lenzi said.

 

The Marines' study has led to controversy, however. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus called the experiment flawed, and alleged that some male Marines went into it not wanting to see the women succeed. He also criticized the Corps for measuring average performance instead of looking at individual capabilities.

 

But the Marine involved with the study fired back at Mabus' remarks. When the study began, researchers went into it with the expectation that they would see no differences between the all-male teams and those that included women, he said.

 

"The use of averages is merely a way to categorize overall performance of the different groups," the Marine said. "If the study had seen no difference in the 'averages' it would conclude that the introduction of women has no effect — be it positive or negative.  However, given that differences existed, the GCEITF study conducted further analysis at the individual level."

 

It was then that researchers began looking at the traits of each Marine in a crew, squad or team to see whether individual physical characteristics proved essential for all members to be able to carry out a specific mission. That, the Marine said, would help determine what all Marines in that job should be able to prove they can do.

 

"Identifying individual characteristics is important because it would help to establish gender-neutral standards that could be applied to future applicants to those MOSs."

 

this kinda thing happens every couple years with fire and police departments nationwide.  if too many female applicants fail, the test is deemed discriminatory.  nyc recently graduated a woman who repeatedly failed the physical fitness test. one reason given for graduating her despite her failure were that the city wanted to avoid the predictable lawsuit.

 

'course, keep in mind that various minority groups has successful altered fire department testing 'cause o' discriminatory practices related to seeming neutral testing.  nyc recently paid near $100 million to settle such a lawsuit. 

 

one would think that basic physical fitness tests and elementary math skills exams is gender and race neutral, but that ain't the case.  

 

*shrug*

 

is almost ironic, but many organizations use a "gestalt" application process so that they can achieve greater diversity goals, and is the lack o' transparency and objectivity in such application process that then open the fire and police departments up to additional litigation from marginalized groups.  if there is no set "fail" point for a physical test, then, for example, women who are physically marginal can be be passed with the gestalt approach if they do particular well with academics.  such a nebulous approach, implemented to increase diversity, ends up being the reason such hiring practices fail judicial scrutiny.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[ManifestedISO]

Bear with me, I have limited analytical skill. Those police and fire cases are for initial hiring, though, right, I mean these Marines are already hired, but not all of them, male or female, can do every job, so it seems logical to establish gender-neutral physical standards to be able to perform certain military occupational specialties.  

[Gromnir]

you are not looking at it from the pov of a female marine... one who, from her perspective, will potential be excluded from combat roles for what she sees as arbitrary reasons.  join marines and then find out that she is deemed only fit for clerical positions? is not quite so easy to quit the marines if you don't get the training you wanted. we suspect is even worse for officers as  when comes time for promotions, and "battlefield experience" is a premium...

 

"discrimination" after being "hired" is not gonna lessen the sense o' being cheated, eh?

 

HA! Good Fun!

Edited October 5, 2015 by Gromnir

[ShadySands]

Is it that much different than what happens right now? You already can forfeit being whatever you signed up to be

 

For example, when I was in my MOS (job) school we had a few people fail to pass certain milestones and they were dropped, dropped from having that job altogether and not just dropped from that class and picking up with the next training cycle. They were treated as having what we call an "open contract" since they failed to meet the requirements of the job field that they signed up for and were sent off to whichever jobs needed bodies at that moment. 

[Gromnir]

keep in mind that Gromnir believes that physical requirements testing for jobs that is physically demanding is hardly representing some kinda bias.  nevertheless, if you got women disproportionately fail to meet minimum requirements, you will hear claims o' bias and discrimination.  the physical test was set up so that women would fail, which is why women failed.  the math test were rigged so that hispanics or native americans or whomever would fail.  

 

"The Marines' study has led to controversy, however. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus called the experiment flawed, and alleged that some male Marines went into it not wanting to see the women succeed. He also criticized the Corps for measuring average performance instead of looking at individual capabilities."

 

is nothing preventing a woman from being a smart and capable leader with excellent marksmanship skills who who could contribute in some meaningful capacity to infantry, but lumped averages would still suggest that she would be a failure in infantry... or so goes one argument.

 

*shrug*

 

again, you is looking for the wrong guy to argue against clear unbiased minimum requirements tests for essential jobs.  we want a fireman to be strong enough to move heavy hoses and be able to get an adult male outta a burning building, just as we would want a marine to be strong enough to carry his own freaking pack and drag the body o' an injured squaddie out of the line o' fire... or whatever. nevertheless, anytime a particular group fails disproportionately, there will be cries o' discrimination.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Woldan]

I just saw two Sikorsky CH53 flying over my house! 

Edited October 6, 2015 by Woldan

[obyknven]

Russia Allahu Akbar!

http://youtu.be/zQOM0ZXKJmo

 

 

http://stop-imperialism.com/2015/10/05/9013/

“We have been working on it for more than a year, we are absolutely prepared for combat activity. We are ready to go, we have tens of thousands of volunteers. ISIS recruits our brothers, the terrorists are preparing them to commit terrorist attacks against our people aiming at destabilizing the situation in Russia. The sooner we finish with them, the more easy it will be to live for the world community. We are waiting for the opportunity to participate in the fight against these devils, ” Ramzan Kadyrov said.

The head of Chechnya says that the Russian Federation is not only a defender of its own people, but also as a fighter against international terrorism, and in this context we are not talking about the support of some of the Syrian side – President Bashar al-Assad or the opposition.

“We see the murders of innocent people. The existence of ISIS endangers the safety of our country. So why should we wait for them at home, if they can be destroyed in their own lair? We are ready to go, we have volunteers, tens of thousands of people. In 1999, we took an oath on the Koran that to the end of life we ​​will fight against these devils, and we will destroy them wherever they may be “, he stressed in his speech.

[Gfted1]

You gotta dig a rousing speech.

[Gromnir]

You gotta dig a rousing speech.

we don't watch much tv, but we did do a bit o' channel surfing a couple days ago and we came across a vampire thing on fx.  strain?  anywho, we lost interest kinda quick as were character driven and we had no idea who the characters were, so we were 'bout to change channel, but then there is this nosferatu looking vampire giving a freaking st. crispin's day speech to a bunch o' sureños.

 

...

 

utter ridiculous and kinda surreal. am not sure if it were s'posed to be campy.

 

HA! Good Fun! 

[Enoch]

So, we finally have an NDAA conference report!  Do we think the Administration is going to let them get away with using the OCO dodge to get around the discretionary budget caps?  Vetoing an NDAA can be a tough sell, but they've laid out reasonable rhetorical grounds for it.  And how about that "simplification" of the defense business systems acquisition review statute?!

 

...

 

I tend to have a different perspective on the military than most people I know. 

[Agiel]

I believe that if it's been proven that truly exceptional women can hack it  to be in infantry or even special forces units (just as exceptional or at least well above average men can), then the current physical standards should remain in place. And absolutely no one is contesting that those exceptional women do exist (for instance the three women who managed Ranger School, and I've read somewhere at least four women are operators in the Australian Tier 1, mosaics-over-faces, "we can neither confirm nor deny that we were never here" outfit, the SASR).

Edited October 7, 2015 by Agiel

[Malcador]

Seems Putin has a clone army.

 

 

Just because missile launches at night are pretty

Edited October 7, 2015 by Malcador

[Fighter]

Seems Putin has a clone army.

 

Unlike oby I have exactly zero enthusiasm for these clones. They have no loyalty to Russia only to Putin and that only as long as he pays for Kadyrov pea****ing like some African dictator. They will be a huge headache in the future.

[obyknven]

Russian Syrians Army begin offensive against terrorists.

 

http://youtu.be/x21fA3U8uWI

 

Meanwhile Yemenites continue raep Saudi invaders. 

http://youtu.be/BKsRlW2Qkg0

Interesting, somebody in the West do even understand what strategy game occur in Middle East now? Small hint: Mecca under Shia control

 

 

 

Seems Putin has a clone army.

 

Unlike oby I have exactly zero enthusiasm for these clones. They have no loyalty to Russia only to Putin and that only as long as he pays for Kadyrov pea****ing like some African dictator. They will be a huge headache in the future.

 

Zionist propaganda detected.

 

 

[Leferd]

Airman Stone seems to have a lot of bad luck with knives.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/08/us/california-spencer-stone-stabbing/

[obyknven]

Russian  trolling as warfare. Victim of Russians in Syria.

http://youtu.be/MzWqpaFFyt8

 

Moar trollolo warriors are prepared for sending into Syria and Afghanistan

http://youtu.be/9ySY752g8Wk

[Gfted1]

Army’s first shoulder-fired “smart weapon” close to final test.

[Raithe]

Tickld - Military Pilot Shares A Story

 

 

 

 

 

There were a lot of things we couldn’t do in an SR-71, but we were the fastest guys on the block and loved reminding our fellow aviators of this fact.

People often asked us if, because of this fact, it was fun to fly the jet. Fun would not be the first word I would use to describe flying this plane. Intense, maybe. Even cerebral. But there was one day in our Sled experience when we would have to say that it was pure fun to be the fastest guys out there, at least for a moment.

 

It occurred when Walt and I were flying our final training sortie. We needed 100 hours in the jet to complete our training and attain Mission Ready status. Somewhere over Colorado we had passed the century mark. We had made the turn in Arizona and the jet was performing flawlessly.

My gauges were wired in the front seat and we were starting to feel pretty good about ourselves, not only because we would soon be flying real missions but because we had gained a great deal of confidence in the plane in the past ten months. Ripping across the barren deserts 80,000 feet below us, I could already see the coast of California from the Arizona border. I was, finally, after many humbling months of simulators and study, ahead of the jet.

 

I was beginning to feel a bit sorry for Walter in the back seat. There he was, with no really good view of the incredible sights before us, tasked with monitoring four different radios. This was good practice for him for when we began flying real missions, when a priority transmission from headquarters could be vital.

It had been difficult, too, for me to relinquish control of the radios, as during my entire flying career I had controlled my own transmissions. But it was part of the division of duties in this plane and I had adjusted to it. I still insisted on talking on the radio while we were on the ground, however.

Walt was so good at many things, but he couldn’t match my expertise at sounding smooth on the radios, a skill that had been honed sharply with years in fighter squadrons where the slightest radio miscue was grounds for beheading. He understood that and allowed me that luxury.

 

Just to get a sense of what Walt had to contend with, I pulled the radio toggle switches and monitored the frequencies along with him. The predominant radio chatter was from Los Angeles Center, far below us, controlling daily traffic in their sector. While they had us on their scope (albeit briefly), we were in uncontrolled airspace and normally would not talk to them unless we needed to descend into their airspace.

 

We listened as the shaky voice of a lone Cessna pilot asked Center for a readout of his ground speed. Center replied: “November Charlie 175, I’m showing you at ninety knots on the ground.”

 

Now the thing to understand about Center controllers, was that whether they were talking to a rookie pilot in a Cessna, or to Air Force One, they always spoke in the exact same, calm, deep, professional, tone that made one feel important. I referred to it as the "Houston Center voice."

 

I have always felt that after years of seeing documentaries on this country’s space program and listening to the calm and distinct voice of the Houston controllers, that all other controllers since then wanted to sound like that, and that they basically did. And it didn’t matter what sector of the country we would be flying in, it always seemed like the same guy was talking. Over the years that tone of voice had become somewhat of a comforting sound to pilots everywhere. Conversely, over the years, pilots always wanted to ensure that, when transmitting, they sounded like Chuck Yeager, or at least like John Wayne.

Better to die than sound bad on the radios.

 

Just moments after the Cessna’s inquiry, a Twin Beech piped up on frequency, in a rather superior tone, asking for his ground speed. “I have you at one hundred and twenty-five knots of ground speed.” Boy, I thought, the Beechcraft really must think he is dazzling his Cessna brethren.

Then out of the blue, a navy F-18 pilot out of NAS Lemoore came up on frequency. You knew right away it was a Navy jock because he sounded very cool on the radios.

“Center, Dusty 52 ground speed check”. Before Center could reply, I’m thinking to myself, hey, Dusty 52 has a ground speed indicator in that million-dollar ****pit, so why is he asking Center for a readout?

Then I got it, ol’ Dusty here is making sure that every bug smasher from Mount Whitney to the Mojave knows what true speed is. He’s the fastest dude in the valley today, and he just wants everyone to know how much fun he is having in his new Hornet. And the reply, always with that same, calm, voice, with more distinct alliteration than emotion: “Dusty 52, Center, we have you at 620 on the ground.”

 

And I thought to myself, is this a ripe situation, or what? As my hand instinctively reached for the mic button, I had to remind myself that Walt was in control of the radios. Still, I thought, it must be done – in mere seconds we’ll be out of the sector and the opportunity will be lost. That Hornet must die, and die now. I thought about all of our Sim training and how important it was that we developed well as a crew and knew that to jump in on the radios now would destroy the integrity of all that we had worked toward becoming. I was torn.
 

Somewhere, 13 miles above Arizona, there was a pilot screaming inside his space helmet. Then, I heard it.

The click of the mic button from the back seat. That was the very moment that I knew Walter and I had become a crew. Very professionally, and with no emotion, Walter spoke: “Los Angeles Center, Aspen 20, can you give us a ground speed check?” There was no hesitation, and the replay came as if was an everyday request. “Aspen 20, I show you at one thousand eight hundred and forty-two knots, across the ground.”

 

I think it was the forty-two knots that I liked the best, so accurate and proud was Center to deliver that information without hesitation, and you just knew he was smiling. But the precise point at which I knew that Walt and I were going to be really good friends for a long time was when he keyed the mic once again to say, in his most fighter-pilot-like voice: “Ah, Center, much thanks, we’re showing closer to nineteen hundred on the money.”
 

For a moment Walter was a god. And we finally heard a little crack in the armor of the Houston Center voice, when L.A.came back with, “Roger that Aspen, Your equipment is probably more accurate than ours. You boys have a good one.”

 

It all had lasted for just moments, but in that short, memorable sprint across the southwest, the Navy had been flamed, all mortal airplanes on freq were forced to bow before the King of Speed, and more importantly, Walter and I had crossed the threshold of being a crew. A fine day’s work. We never heard another transmission on that frequency all the way to the coast.
 

For just one day, it truly was fun being the fastest guys out there.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 14, 2015 by Raithe