Thursday, April 30, 2015

Sentinelle II.

This is coolbert:

In the aftermath of Charlie Hebdo those French soldiers currently patrolling and guarding what are referred to "sensitive sites" to be incorporated into a permanent and dedicated force.

"France: 7,000 soldiers to permanently patrol sites"

"French President François Hollande announced on Thursday that a 7,000-strong force would be dedicated to patrolling sensitive sites around the country on a permanent basis as the country boosts security in the aftermath of the Paris terror attacks."

. . . .

"He also said that military patrols at sensitive sites throughout France that were set up after the January attacks would be made permanent, with a 7,000-strong force dedicated to internal security.
That means there will be around 3,000 less troops on the streets guarding synagogues, tourist sites and other sensitive landmarks, as there are currently around 10,000 on duty as part of the post terror attacks operation named Sentinelle."

Sensitive sites to include I might well imagine but not hardly limited to:

* Jewish cemeteries, restaurants, kosher food marts, synagogues.

* The Trocadero and other Parisian tourist attractions.

Presumably those locations also recently the apparent target of surveillance drones, the identifies of the UAV operators NEVER determined with any certainty.

I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO BELIEVE THOSE FRENCH TROOPS WILL NO LONGER BE ON GUARD WITH A FAMAS RIFLE HAVING AN EMPTY INSERTED MAGAZINE. WILL BE ISSUED LIVE AMMO AND GIVEN THE ORDER TO USE SAME IF AND WHEN NEEDED.

coolbert.





White Christmas.

This is coolbert:

"The temperature is one hundred five degrees and rising!!"

Forty years ago the final American evacuation from Saigon had begun.

An end to the Second Indo-China War. With American defeat and communist victory. For all that meant.

And as recalled and seen on public broadcast television by the two-hour documentary "Last Days in Vietnam".

Communist forces closing in on Saigon the "prepare to evacuate" signal given. The "temperature is rising" message followed by the Bing Crosby rendition of the song "White Christmas".

It not being fully remembered if the rendition was sung by Bing or by Tennessee Ernie Ford.

That signal to the last American personnel in Vietnam unmistakably clear - - make for the exits and fast or else!!

Those last American personnel remaining in Vietnam NOT military for the most part civilian contract employees working for the military in some capacity.

That means of evacuation as originally planned to include: [in order of precedence from most to least desirable]

* American and South Vietnamese naval and commercial shipping.

The Mekong river an internationally recognized waterway from the sea all the way inland to Phnom Penh Cambodia.

* Air lift from Tan Son Nhut air base, using commercial and military aircraft.

* Helicopters, heavy-lift, American Chinook and Sea Stallion each having a capacity of about forty persons.

HELICOPTER ROTARY WING EVACUATION SEEN AS THE LEAST DESIRABLE MEANS, A LAST RESORT.

And again as originally planned the intent to evacuate ONLY American citizens, about 5,000 total as was the rough count, PLUS some essential South Vietnamese allied with the United States and deemed as at great risk.

THE FINAL TOTAL OF AMERICAN AND SOUTH VIETNAMESE EVACUATED DURING THE SPAN OF A FEW DAYS ABOUT 120,000!! Done under conditions chaotic and very risky but nonetheless accomplished. THAT PLAN THE BASE FROM WHICH ALL CHANGE WAS MADE!!

Those heavy-lift helicopters, pilots and crews doing yeoman service without qualification, extraordinary, crashes and malfunction in that confined American embassy compound averted and all under the most trying of circumstances most admirable.

EVEN DURING A PERIOD OF DISASTER AND HUMILIATION HEROISM AND GALLANT EFFORT CAN BE FOUND AND WAS!!

coolbert.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Julia Bishop.

This is coolbert:

From a previous blog entry:

"Australian Foreign Minister Julia Bishop reported Monday on the intelligence-sharing deal she had concluded with Iran during her visit to Tehran to track foreign fighters working with ISIS in Iraq. At home, she was criticized by the opposition"

Julia Bishop! A female. Negotiating and having concluded negotiations with the Shia Muslim in Iran.

Having women diplomats or females in a negotiating status in Islamic nations is not a good idea? Here is what the British intelligence officer Colonel John Hughes-Wilson has to say on the matter:

"Unpalatable as it may be to Western liberals, feminists or intellectuals, to send a female ambassador to an Arab country is always a calculated risk. In a culture where only men control power and events, and 'strong' men are much praised, female pleni-potentiaries are always at a disadvantage unless they themselves can demonstrate that they are unusually powerful figures or are capable of wielding power forcefully"

Sending a female to negotiate with the rulers of a Muslim might even be seen as a deliberate and egregious offensive gesture. AN INSULT DELIBERATE AND PROVOCATIVE AND NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN OR EXCUSED?

coolbert.



Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Alexander II.

This is coolbert:

From the "History In An Hour" Internet web site we have the profile and biography of Alexander II. Tsar at the time of the American Civil War. And a man who apparently had a great personal affinity for Abraham Lincoln and the cause of the Union. RUSSIA THE ONLY MAJOR EUROPEAN POWER OFFERING TACIT IF NOT DOWNRIGHT SUPPORT TO THE FEDERALS!

"Alexander II came to the Russian throne, aged 36, following the death of his father, Tsar Nicholas I, in February 1855. Although a believer in autocracy, the reign of Alexander saw a number of fundamental reforms."

Among those various reforms and improvements:

* "expanding Russia’s rail network"
* "industrial and economic expansion."
* "restructured the judicial system"

And military reform to include:

* "reduction of military service"
* "the establishment of military schools"

Additionally and most importantly:

"Emancipation of the Serfs"

"Thus, on 3 March 1861, Alexander II issued what seemed on the face of it the most revolutionary reform in Russia’s history – his Manifesto on the Emancipation of the Serfs. The edict freed 23 million serfs from their bondage to landowners, and the ownership of 85 per cent of Russia’s land was wrestled from private landowners and given to the peasants. The landlords, understandably, opposed such a sweeping change but were told by the tsar,"

"‘It is better to abolish serfdom from above than to wait for the time when it will begin to abolish itself from below’." - - Thus I speak! Alexander, Tsar of all the Russians.

That status of a serf in Imperial Russia less than that of a slave in the United States!!

Those Russian naval squadrons as deployed to American ports [New York and San Francisco] as a show of support for the Union cause and with the POSSIBILITY THAT THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR MIGHT HAVE BECOME PART OF A MUCH WIDER CONFLICT, EVEN A WORLD WAR!!

Alexander as with Lincoln also a victim of assassination!! HEAVY!

coolbert.

Monday, April 27, 2015

Thar Thar.

This is coolbert:

Even in the aftermath of Kobani and Tikrit do not think ISIL down and out. Hardly the case. From only today.

"Islamic State captures dam, overruns base in western Iraq"

"The Islamic State seized control of a dam and overran a military barracks in the Thar Thar area in western Iraq over the past several days. Over 120 Iraqi soldiers and a senior general were killed during the Islamic State offensive."

"In a video released by ‘Amaq News, the Islamic State’s unofficial news agency, the jihadist group claimed to have taken control of the Thar Thar dam, which is located northeast of Fallujah in Anbar province. Islamic State fighters attacked the complex with 'explosive-laden vehicles,' or suicide car bombs, before engaging with Iraqi troops in a firefight"

That Iraqi general office and his troops not merely killed BUT EXECUTED AFTER CAPTURE!

Control of the dam I might think an important objective, also the incorporation of the suicide bomber an integral aspect of all ISIL operations. ISIL remains calm, cool and collected, choosing their targets and offensives with deliberation and forethought.

coolbert.



Bornholm.

This is coolbert:

More on Bornholm. That Danish possession in the Baltic only recently threatened during a Russian military exercise [2014].

Bornholm an itty-bitty little chunk of island in the Baltic but having a positional strategic importance to NATO.


Bornholm that Danish possession in the very bottom left-center of the image. An island with a very strategic location even from Medieval times as is intuitively obvious. Invaluable to NATO I might assume. All Soviet and now Russian naval traffic attempting to exit the Baltic via the Kattegat and the Skagerrak having to pass in close proximity to Bornholm. Kaliningrad as sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland integral Russian territory.

And the military history of the island [for at least the last seventy years] of interest.

During the Second World War [WW2] Bornholm occupied by a significant force of Germans. The island at the VERY END OF THE WAR subjected to intense Soviet attack.

SINCE THE END OF THE WAR [SEVENTY YEARS NOW] AND ALSO SINCE THE FORMATION OF NATO AND DURING THE ENTIRE TIME OF THE ALLIANCE AND THE COLD WAR THE SOVIET/RUSSIAN INSISTING THAT ONLY DANISH MILITARY FORCES BE STATIONED ON THE ISLAND. NO NATO ELEMENTS ALLOWED OTHER THAN DANISH!!

Something of particular interest has stirred the ire of the Russian? Or this is just intimidation of a minor NATO participant and a warning to others?

coolbert.

Bluff!

This is coolbert:

The Battle of Bornholm. A bluff and a notional military exercise but a near thing.

2014. Denmark beware!!

From Colonel Austin Bay through StrategyPage. When the Colonel speaks we all should listen.

NOWHERE ALSO IN THE MAIN STREAM MEDIA DID I SEE THIS COVERED. NATO AND PENTAGON MILITARY PLANNERS MUST HAVE BEEN BITING THEIR NAILS NERVOUSLY DURING THIS PARTICULAR INCIDENT.

"The Bluff Attack on Bornholm: Kremlin Tests NATO Solidarity"

"Denmark's Bornholm Island apparently troubles Vladimir Putin's 21st-century Kremlin war planners as much as it vexed their Cold War Soviet-era predecessors."

"More on Bornholm's specifics in a moment, but first let's cover one more example of Putin Russia's aggressive wrong doing. According to an open-source Danish security assessment, in mid-June 2014, three months after Putin's Kremlin attacked and annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, Russian aircraft carrying live missiles bluffed an attack on Bornholm. Though the report doesn't provide the exact date, the bomber 'probe' occurred during the three-day period the island hosted a touchy-feely 'peoples festival.' The festival's 90,000 participants were unaware they were seeking peaceful solutions on a bulls-eye."

"Finns of 2015 believe Danes, Swedes, Norwegians and maybe even Americans have their back. Putin, however, is dead set on seeding doubt."

Latvians, Estonians, Lithuanians, Poles, Romanians also. The list is growing too.

coolbert.

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Waterloo.

This is coolbert:

That perception is that Americans have an ignorance regarding most history.

So too it seems are the English. Thanks to Freeper.

"Most Britons have no idea about Waterloo"

"With the 200th anniversary of the famous Battle of Waterloo just two months away a survey in Britain has revealed that most of the public know little about it and some even think it's just an Abba song, while many thought the French actually won."

"A survey of Britons published in the build-up to the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo found three-quarters knew little or nothing about it -- while many thought France won."

"The poll of 2,070 people for the National Army Museum found 73 percent either knew nothing or next to nothing about the battle, one of the most important in the nation's history."

. . . .

"'Despite the Battle of Waterloo being an iconic moment in British history, UK public awareness is dramatically low,' said Janice Murray, director-general of the National Army Museum.

An "iconic" battle and one of the most significant in history without question. One hundred years of Pax Brittanica as the result. NO GENERAL EUROPEAN WAR FOR A CENTURY. England without question a most prosperous nation and the undisputed world leader. The Victorian Age with all that means.

Also an end to the endless geo-political machinations of Napoleon and continental [Europe] strife.

coolbert.


Phantom.

This is coolbert:

The culprit has turned himself in. As with the drone found on the White House lawn the miscreant is a disaffected person with grievance, a drunk or just a plain old ordinary dumb idiot.

"‘Protest against nuclear policy’: Japan’s radioactive drone pilot turns himself in"

"A 40-year-old Japanese man has taken responsibility for launching a drone with radioactive material that landed on the roof of the office of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He said he took the course of action to protest the government’s nuclear policy."

. . . .

"A Chinese-made Phantom drone was found near the helicopter-landing pad above Abe’s office on Wednesday. However, it could have been there for several days before it was eventually discovered. The 50 cm diameter remote controlled device was clutching a water bottle containing liquid with trace amounts of cesium - a radioactive compound."

Trace amounts only! OH, I am glad it is trace amounts only!

coolbert.

Saturday, April 25, 2015

DEBKA.

This is coolbert:

From DEBKAfile some items of interest:

1. "Reported death of Saddam Hussein's deputy Al-Dori unconfirmed"

"Iraqi security officials reported Friday that Saddam Hussein's former deputy Izzat Ibrahim Al-Dori, 72, was killed in battle in Tikrit. In his 12 years on the run, Izzat Ibrahim has been reported killed more than once and always turned out to have survived."

DEBKAfile skeptical until proven otherwise! The cat with nine lives? The demise of Al-Dori is much too premature.

2. "Al Qaeda on winning streaks in Yemen and Iraq, exploiting stalemate in proxy wars"

"Thursday and Friday, April 16-17, two branches of Al Qaeda [AQAP and ISIL] took the lead in violent conflicts: In Yemen, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and in Iraq, the Islamic State (ISIS), launched new offensives 3,050 kilometers apart.  Both branches of the Islamist terror movement used the absence of competent adversarial troops on the ground - American and Saudi - to push forward"

The failed state [Yemen] amid the chaos the various factions rival and otherwise able to take advantage of a situation in a high degree of fluidity, unpredictable. HOUTHI ARE NOT THE ONLY TROUBLESOME AND WORRISOME GROUP IN THAT PART OF THE WORLD!

"Thursday, April 16, AQAP embarked on a broad offensive in southern Yemen's Hadhramaut region on the shore of the Gulf of Aden. It captured the important seaport of Mukalla and the coastal towns of Shibam and Ash-Shirh as well as gaining access to the Saudi frontier"

AL QAEDA TOO HAVING A SPECIAL AFFINITY FOR YEMEN? THE ANCESTRAL HOME OF THE BIN LADEN FAMILY WITH ALL THAT MEANS. TRIBAL LOYALTY AND AFFILIATION VERY IMPORTANT!

3. "Australia risks being a pawn in its intel trade-off with Iran - opposition MP"

"Australian Foreign Minister Julia Bishop reported Monday on the intelligence-sharing deal she had concluded with Iran during her visit to Tehran to track foreign fighters working with ISIS in Iraq. At home, she was criticized by the opposition"

Information as provided from Tehran to Canberra reported to be MISLEADING OR DOWNRIGHT DECEPTIVE AND DELIBERATELY SO!! INTELLIGENCE SHARING TOO MEANING THAT YOU MUST GIVE SOMETHING TO GET SOMETHING IN RETURN. THIS IS THE PACT WITH THE DEVIL?

coolbert.

Admiral Parry.


This is coolbert:

We have not heard from this man in a long time. We are now.

Admiral Parry. Retired British career naval office who has predicted a breakdown [possible] of the existing world order.

A constituent element of the breakdown to be a massive movement of persons, trans-national migrants, legal and otherwise, the situation becoming unstable and chaotic. Security threatening.

EXACTLY AS IT IS NOW IN THE MEDITERRANEAN!!

"Admiral Warns: Potential for Islamist Raids on European Islands"

Malta, Crete, Cyprus, Sardinia, Balearic, Corsica, Sicily, etc. Rich pickings for pirates, terrorists and jihadi emulating the razzia of olden times!! Pleasure vessels and cruise ships I might think also.

"The security situation in the Mediterranean will continue to deteriorate to the point where we can expect Islamist raids on European islands, a recently retired Royal Navy Admiral has told Breitbart London."

YOU NEED TO GO READ IT ALL.

"Rear Admiral Chris Parry CBE, the straight-talking former Director General of the Ministry of Defence Development, Concepts, and Doctrine Centre, the government body tasked with foreseeing future strategic threats, made the comments in an interview this week as European nations gathered to discuss the sudden migrant crisis gripping the Mediterranean."

FOR A PERIOD OF ABOUT ONE THOUSAND YEARS THE ENTIRE EUROPEAN COASTLINE OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SUBJECTED TO MUSLIM NAVAL RAZZIA! RAIDS THE PURPOSE OF WHICH WAS THE ACCUMULATION OF BOOTY TO INCLUDE SLAVES!

EUROPEAN MEANS AND METTLE LACKING TO COMBAT EITHER THE INFLUX OF ILLEGAL MIGRATION AND THE POSSIBILITY OF RAZZIA!!

JOHN SOBIESKI AND DON JUAN WHERE ARE YOU?

coolbert.

Friday, April 24, 2015

Adam Gadahn.

This is coolbert:

Adam swims with the fishes? Hot red Flash message! Adam has not been heard in a long time doing the propaganda broadcasts. Now we better understand why!

"Warren Weinstein, Adam Gadahn Killed in U.S. Operation"

"Dr. Warren Weinstein, an American aid worker held hostage by al Qaeda, was accidentally killed in a U.S. drone strike, as was an Italian hostage, Giovanni Lo Porto, and another American who was an al Qaeda leader, the White House announced on Thursday. Officials also announced that a separate operation killed Adam Gadahn, another American who became a prominent propagandist for al Qaeda."

Of Adam Gadahn we have not heard a lot in a long time. Until now. Apparently it has been confirmed that Adam was killed by a drone strike. Hellfire has done the job? Adam the first American charged with treason in over fifty years has now been killed!

Two hostages also killed, and one other man [an American] not-identified other than a Al Qaeda "leader".

Adam from a family in a state of devolution [going backwards]. His grandfather was a judge, his father a hippie and goat rancher, and Adam a terrorist and traitor. Luca Brazzi swims with the fishes and now too does Adam.

P.S. These drone attacks and the deaths as reported occurred in January and only now have come to light and having been made public.

coolbert.





Thursday, April 23, 2015

Blackcurrent.

This is coolbert:

Came across this quite by accident and is germane to a much prior blog entry:

"Let there be light and there was light" - - Genesis 1:3

"An actual life instance, an occurrence of power being provided to a city from a ship docked and anchored, the power plant of a warship hooked to the electric grid in an emergency situation as deemed."

And thanks be to the submarine!

The British submarine HMS M3 during a time of crisis connected to the civilian electrical grid, providing power for essential services:

"From 9 May to 14 May 1926, along with HMS K26 and HMS L23, M3was used to help supply electricity to the Royal Victoria Dock, Royal Albert Dock and  King George V Dock in London, during the General Strike of 1926 in an action named Operation Blackcurrent. M3 alone kept four meat cold stores, two cranes, and many important pumps running."

Diesel engines running, turning a dynamo, that dynamo generating electricity and connected to the civilian power grid.

YEOMAN SERVICE DURING PEACETIME! SUCH A THING COULD BE DONE NOW?

If you are an American submariner let me hear from you on this one!

coolbert.



Ansar Allah.

This is coolbert:

From Joseph and the Internet web site intelNews.org we have further clarification of the situation in Yemen:

"Yemen’s Shiite rebels are not Iran proxies: US intelligence officials"

"American intelligence officials have cautioned against the popular narrative that Yemen’s Shiite rebels are proxies or Iran . . . Known as Houthis, the group formally calls itself Ansar Allah (Supporters of God) and consists almost exclusively of Zaidi tribesmen, who follow an obscure form of Shia Islam. Their denomination, which distinguishes them from Yemen’s Sunni majority, shapes their ethnic identity and has helped fuel their 20-year insurgency against the Yemeni state."

"The [insurgency has] caused many in the Middle East to accuse Iran, whose Shiite government maintains strong religious and ideological connections with Yemen’s Zaidi community, of using the Houthis as a proxy army in order to destabilize Saudi Arabia’s southern regions. The latter are also populated by Shiite tribes, who are ethnically affiliated with the Houthis and view Iran as a kind of spiritual homeland."

"The Huffington Post said on Monday that American intelligence officials are far from convinced that Iran is actually directing the Houthi insurgency"

Aiding and abetting and supporting hardly the same as DIRECTING! That word directing as the word generally, commonly and ordinarily understood.

Houthi as it is called a movement the Zaidi tribe the most prominent and integral component. Trans-national and not recognizing that border between Yemen and Saudi.

"An obscure form of Shia Islam" not a whole unlike the Alawite in Syria also "an obscure form of Shia Islam"?

coolbert.



Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Gangwha Do.

This is coolbert:

From a comment to the blog

"Well I'm certainly relieved to discover that U.S. military intervention was to secure the strategically indispensable Shimonoseki Straits. Where would be today without them? U.S. military action in defense of non-vital interests, especially against a weaker power, appears to have an even longer history than I had suspected." - - Anonymous.

Korea the Hermit Kingdom also during that same approximate time period subjected to punitive expeditions and conflict with the various "western" powers to include the United States.

"The United States expedition to Korea, the Shinmiyangyo, or simply the Korean Expedition, in 1871, was the first American military action in Korea."

"It took place predominantly on and around the Korean island of Ganghwa. The reason for the presence of the American naval force in Korea was to support an American diplomatic delegation sent to establish trade and political relations with the peninsular nation, to ascertain the fate of the merchant ship General Sherman, and to establish a treaty assuring aid for shipwrecked sailors . . . The isolationist nature of the Joseon Dynasty government and the assertiveness of the Americans led to a misunderstanding between the two parties that changed a diplomatic expedition into an armed conflict. On 10 June [1871], about 650 Americans landed and captured several forts, killing over 200 Korean troops with a loss of only three American dead."

Foreign intervention in Korea not isolated to merely American military action.

Think also the French and British active in the area, responding with force as a reaction to endangered national interests as perceived.

coolbert.

Drone Attack!

This is coolbert:

"The purpose of terror is to terrorize!!" - - V.I. Lenin.

"Hot red super FLASH! More drone attack. This incident involving more than a mere approach or landing of the drone.

Drones Japan style!! "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo"

"Drone with radioactive material found on Japanese Prime Minister's roof"

 "Tokyo (CNN)A bizarre and alarming discovery is raising concerns in Japan about the potential for terrorism involving drones."

"A drone carrying traces of a radioactive material was found on the rooftop of Japan's equivalent to the White House on Wednesday, police and government officials said."

Drones, the appearance and flight of with regard to potential targets or vital installations seems to be a growth business.

Even that slightest amount of radiological material a cause for concern, the capability and potentiality as demonstrated hardly to be taken lightly.

See previous blog entries concerning drones sof unknown origin, drone attack, drone hysteria:

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/03/seine-port.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/02/drone-hysteria.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/02/journalists.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/01/rc-drone.html

Like I said, a growth business!

coolbert.

Monday, April 20, 2015

Caspian Flotilla.

This is coolbert:

Black Death in preparation and training.

Russian marines! Always looking for any news items regarding these guys!

"Some 600 Marines Take Part in Anti-Terror Drills in Southern Russia"

"Defense Ministry Southern Military District press service said that around 600 Russian marines from the Caspian Flotilla have begun amphibious assault exercises in the country’s southern republic of Dagestan."

. . . .

"Dagestan is a hotbed of Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus and multiple violent attacks have been recorded in the region over the past decade."

The defector Suvorov making the assertion that Soviet/Russian marines:

"a regiment of marine infantry, with the same equipment as that issued to the Land Forces, is the equivalent in its operational potential of one of the latter's motor-rifle divisions."

Russian marines no longer wearing the all-black uniform WITH CAPE!!

This Sputnik Internet web site often carrying news items with a military dimension!! Devoted readers to the blog might want to bookmark!

coolbert.

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Timor.

This is coolbert:

From MARCONI through Harry:

Further update on the situation in East Timor. Follow up to that most recent original blog entry.

"The silence regarding this subject is deafening, which may, in itself speak volumes!!! Despite monitoring the usual channels used by Royal Australian Navy traffic, nothing is forthcoming save for the attached posting from one of our Australian members today. I would say that on a subject as high risk as this the traffic would be sent in highest form of encryption and almost certainly of Satellite channels of which there are many"

NOTHING FURTHER TO REPORT WHICH OF ITSELF MIGHT INDICATE A GREATER TENSENESS.

That central government of East Timor shaky, rebels in the hills, natural gas exploration contracts to be signed, etc. Local tension exacerbated by the presence of rival foreign factions that competition for influence fierce?

coolbert.

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Black Ships.

This is coolbert:

From a comment to a prior blog entry:

"I can't help but wonder what the U.S. was punishing Japan for in 1863. It seems that minding our own business goes back a long way." - - Anonymous

American naval contingents part of a much larger multi-national-force waging a punitive campaign against rebellious Japanese factions. This was the Shimonoseki Campaign.

"The Shimonoseki Campaign . . . refers to a series of military engagements in 1863 and 1864, fought to control Shimonoseki Straits of Japan by joint naval forces from Great Britain, France, the Netherlands and the United States, against the Japanese feudal domain of Chōshū"

Recalcitrant and objectionable Japanese warlord factions opposed to the agreements of trade and amicable diplomatic relations with the "western" world powers. This all before the Meiji era.

Those American "Black Ships" of the Perry Expedition also producing some interesting Japanese poetry with a military dimension.

"The surprise and confusion these ships inspired are described in this famous kyoka (a humorous poem similar to the 5-line waka)":

"Taihei no
 Nemuri o samasu
 Jokisen
 Tatta shihai de
 Yoru mo nemurezu"

"This poem is a complex set of puns (in Japanese, kakekotoba or pivot words')".

"Taihei means 'tranquil'; Jokisen is the name of a costly brand of green tea containing large amounts of caffeine; and shihai means 'four cups', so a literal translation of the poem is":

"Awoken from sleep
of a peaceful quiet world
by Jokisen tea;
with only four cups of it
one can't sleep even at night."

"There is an alternate translation, based on the pivot words. Taihei can refer to the 'Pacific Ocean' ; jokisen also means 'steam-powered ships' ; and shihai also means 'four vessels'. The poem, therefore, has a hidden meaning":

"The steam-powered ships
break the halcyon slumber
of the Pacific;
a mere four boats are enough
to make us lose sleep at night."

Also this from the book "Flyboys" by Bradley:

"By many standards, Japan [in 1850] had the highest standard of living in the world, with a nationwide system of roads, a national marketing system and 'majestic citadels, many exceeding in size the largest castles in medieval Europe'".

A society of persons too with great sophistication and above all manners. "Among the heathen we shall find none that exceed the Japanese in manners" - - St. Francis Xavier.

coolbert.









Friday, April 17, 2015

King of Clubs.

This is coolbert:

With ISIL there is an unending number of surprises.

This too!! Thanks to Robert for the tip.

"Saddam’s former right hand man, key factor in rise of Islamic State, killed by Iraqi forces"

 
Al-Douri was a professional military man? Was a personal confident of Saddam and a key member of the Iraqi ruling elite during that period of Baathist rule.

"The BBC reports that “Al-Douri, 72, led the Naqshbandi Order insurgent group, a key force behind the recent rise of Islamic State (IS).” The Naqshbandi Order is a Sufi group"

. . . .

"TIKRIT, Salahaddin Province – Former Saddam Hussein deputy, the man pictured as the King of Clubs in the infamous US deck of cards of most-wanted Iraqis, has died along with eight other suicide bombers, a provincial official has told Rudaw."

"Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, an ex-general in the Iraqi Army and the successor to Saddam Hussein as leader of the Baath Party, detonated himself on Friday in an attack on Iraqi forces in the liberated city of Tikrit"

Izzat either blowing himself up as a suicide bomber or was blown up with a bunch of suicide bombers. ISIL incorporating into all operations the suicide bomber and bomb.

Izzat also a professional military man [?] and fugitive during the American adventure into Iraq. Also a mover and shaker behind the military success of ISIL?

coolbert.


Wednesday, April 15, 2015

East Timor.

This is coolbert:

From MARCONI through Harry at Sharkhunters we have some intelligence of significance:

"Seems that China is causing some concern to the Australians as evidenced by this posting today from an Australian based monitor. I know the Australians have a fairly well equipped navy and some territorial interests in East Timor, and will post any further updates I get . . . "

"REGARDING HMAS Diamentiana. The Royal Australian Navy ship HMAS Diamantina (specialty: mine countermeasures)"

"Families of crew of the forenamed vessel have been advised the following":

"That due to a 'change in mission,' sailors would be unable to communicate with their families during the coming three weeks. Rumors among the families are that there is a possible crisis in or near East Timor, with a Chinese flotilla (unknown which ships) headed in that direction. Further rumors are that the Chinese were discovered attempting to establish/refurbish an air base on East Timor, and that this is the reason for the hubbub."

That military relationship between the island of Timor and Australia quite long and storied. Chinese poaching in and area of the world traditionally aligned with Australia is not appreciated by Canberra?

coolbert.


  

Autogyro.

This is coolbert:

Attack of the autogyro.

Once more, what is not supposed to happen has happened. That restricted airspace above Washington D.C. violated with impunity by a disgruntled and disaffected person intent on making a scene.

Arrived at his target in an unimpeded manner with more or less impunity.

"Man in Custody After Gyrocopter Lands on Capitol Grounds"

"U.S. Capitol Police have detained a man who flew over and landed a gyrocopter on Capitol grounds, causing the building and visitor center to be locked down Wednesday afternoon."

"The pilot landed around 1:30 p.m. and was taken into custody after he landed on the West Front grounds."
. . . .

"Downtown Washington is blanketed by restrictions on air traffic that generally prohibit aircraft from flying over the White House, the Capitol, the National Mall and key buildings without special permission."

NONE OF THIS WAS EVER SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN! Even before 9/11 and even more so AFTER 9/11 precautions were taken [??] to prevent incidents of this sort.

But INDEED this man with the little putt-putt weed-hopper type aircraft was able to evade, elude and perhaps even avoid any and all detection by the sophisticated radar, ATC, and warning system in existence.

EVEN IF NO DAMAGE WAS DONE I CAN SUSPECT FOREIGN POWERS AND ENTITIES HOSTILE TO THE UNITED STATES ARE OBSERVING THIS INCIDENT AND PERHAPS EVEN ARRIVING AT THE DANGEROUS AND PROBABLY CORRECT CONCLUSION THAT WASHINGTON D.C. IS SUSCEPTIBLE TO ATTACK FROM ABOVE.

coolbert.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Final Sacrifice.

This is coolbert:

From that prior blog entry:

"A providential message was being sent and received, even the most hardened cynic and skeptic aware and having to give pause and thought to the assassination of Lincoln? This does seem to be the case!"

As was originally reported by the New York Times:

"THIS year [2006], Good Friday, the day commemorating Christ's crucifixion, falls on April 14, as it did in 1865. On that evening, in the balcony box of Ford's Theater in Washington, John Wilkes Booth fired a handmade .41-caliber derringer ball into the back of Abraham Lincoln's head."

"In the days that followed Lincoln's death, his mourning compatriots rushed to compare him to Jesus, Moses and George Washington."

"Despite the Good Friday coincidence, the Jesus parallel was not an obvious one for 19th-century Americans to make. The Protestant population, then as now, included a vigilant evangelical minority who thought that Jesus, sinless on earth, was defamed every time ordinary sinners presumed to imitate him. No mere mortal could be put beside Jesus on a moral balance scale."

"But Honest Abe overwhelmed the usual evangelical reticence . . . He had been offering his body and soul all through the war and his final sacrifice, providentially appointed for Good Friday, showed that God had surely marked him for sacred service."

America at that point in time [1865] a MUCH MORE predominantly Protestant nation the commemoration of  Good Friday and the crucifixion of JESUS at least to my knowledge not an event expressed with religious fervor and devotion.

"his final sacrifice, providentially appointed for Good Friday, showed that God had surely marked him for sacred service."

Whoa! Again, at that exact moment in 1865 that "most hardened cynic and skeptic" did give "pause" for reflection and contemplation as to events as having transpired for the last four years! And made to wonder.

coolbert.

April 1865 V.

This is coolbert:

"Chicago Flashback"

"THE CIVIL WAR 150 YEARS LATER"

Conclusion!

"The Tribune is commemorating the War Between the States by reprinting portions of news coverage from significant battles and events. This the final installment in the series."

Thanks in all instances to Stephan Benzkofer of the Tribune.

Good Friday, April 14, 1865!

"Killing stunned a nation"

That assassination of Abraham Lincoln occurring on that day as designated to commemorate the crucifixion of JESUS.

From the Chicago Tribune the banner headlines as they were one-hundred-fifty years ago and as reported 15 April:

"POSTSCRIPT."

"TERRIBLE NEWS"

"President Lincoln Assassinated at Fords's Theater."

"A REBEL DESPERADO SHOOTS HIM THROUGH THE HEAD AND ESCAPED."

"Secretary Seward and Major Fred Seward Stabbed by Another Desperado."

"THEIR WOUNDS ARE PRONOUNCED NOT FATAL."

"Full Details of the Terrible. Affair."

"UNDOUBTED PLAN TO MURDER SECRETARY STANTON."

"Very latest - - The President is Dying."

A providential message was being sent and received, even the most hardened cynic and skeptic aware and having to give pause and thought to the assassination of Lincoln? This does seem to be the case!

coolbert.





Rapists?

This is coolbert:

American soldiers behaving badly! British soldiers behaving badly! French soldiers behaving badly! Soviet soldiers we already know about behaving badly!

Rape!!

1. "Did Allied troops rape 285,000 German women? That's the shocking claim in a new book. But is the German feminist behind it exposing a war crime - or slandering heroes?"


2. "Postwar Rape: Were Americans As Bad as the Soviets?"


3. "Als die Soldaten kamen (When the Soldiers Came)"

Read it all for yourself.

These figures and the allegations startling, and TRUE OR FALSE DEPENDING ON THE CORRECTNESS OF THE ASSUMPTIONS, DEFINITIONS AND EXTRAPOLATIONS!!

That major assumption being that ONLY ONE IN TWENTY RAPES EVER REPORTED!!

Rape of German women by invading allied troops at the very end of the war [1945] and for a period of time during occupation even unto full and complete German independence [1955].

That U.S. Army stationed in England prior to D-Day [1.5 million men strong] having executed a number of men [about a dozen or so] for having raped Englishwomen.

Soldiers the very nature of their duty calling for discipline and a higher degree of comportment. Violation of discipline often being punished with harsh terms, to include hanging or shooting.

coolbert.


April 1865 IV.

This is coolbert:

As seen the Chicago Tribune from this last Sunday, the banner headlines as were the case one-hundred-fifty years ago.

That conflict known variously as the American Civil War, the War between the States, the War of Northern Aggression, the Rebellion of the Slaveholder finally after almost four years of continuous warfare coming to a climatic end.

"CHICAGO FLASHBACK"

"THE CIVIL WAR ENDS"

Thanks in all cases to Stephan Benzkofer.

"By spring 1865, the outcome of the bloody Civil War was no longer in doubt, and the Tribune claimed the end of the rebellion was nigh. But exactly when that would come seemed frustratingly distant."

At least until April of 1865!!

April 14, 1865.

"NEWS BY TELEGRAPH."

"THE END OF THE WAR."

"The Draft Stopped and No More Recruiting. "

"TRADE RESTRICTIONS RESUMED."

"The expenses of the Army and Numbers of Officers to be Reduced."

"THE NAVY DEPARTMENT REDUCING ITS FORCES."

"Lee Going to Johnston to Stop Further Bloodshed."

"REPORTED DEFEAT OF JOHNSTON'S FORCES."

"The Capture of Selma - - Twenty-three Pieces of Artillery Taken."

"Gen. Grant's Headquarters in Washington."

"Interesting Details of Lee's Surrender."

"VIRGINIA TRYING TO COME BACK INTO THE UNION."

"Louis Napoleon Reported Dangerously Ill."

"The cruel war is well nigh over. The Republic has vindicated its integrity. The union is safe."

One more last incident yet remains to mark the end of the war!  Good Friday 1865!

coolbert.


Sunday, April 12, 2015

AT-802.

This is coolbert:

From a comment to a prior blog entry:

"Great research, FAULTY CONCLUSIONS at times."

Referring to my series of articles the combat seaplane. That combat seaplane as a quick-and-dirty possible solution, an alternative to the super-carrier.

That super-carrier [a USS Gerald Ford the archetype] too expensive to build, maintain and sustain over a period of decades.

Those persons at the Combat Reform Internet web site thinking along the same lines as I am.

Much to my surprise, lo and behold, there is ALREADY a combat seaplane available. This I was not aware of. An AMERICAN agricultural crop duster modified as a COIN [counter-insurgency] warplane AND AN AMPHIBIOUS VERSION EVIDENTLY EXISTING AND CURRENTLY BEING USED TO FIGHT FOREST FIRES AS OCCUR IN THE WESTERN PART OF THE UNITED STATES!!

This is the AT-802. Even Walt Disney likes this airplane!


AT-802 as found in amphibious version. Currently a forest fire fighting aircraft.


That combat version of the AT-802. Heavily modified crop duster aircraft useful in the COIN environment. Appears in this image to be equipped with some sort of Paveway precision-guided munitions.

From the wiki entry that AT-802 combat warplane able to carry a variety of munitions to include:

* Smart bombs [Paveway?].
* Hellfire missile.
* 70 mm rockets.
* 12.7 mm machine guns.

This plane a proven WINNER. Ready to GO NOW!! A seaplane able to operate from expedient bases ashore, modified merchant vessels or floating piers for instance.

FOR A FRACTION OF THE COST OF A NEW SUPER-CARRIER OR THE ORGANIC AIR WING YOU CAN PLACE INTO THE COMBAT ARENA ALMOST AN ABUNDANCE OF SUCH WARPLANES AS THE AT-802!

That capability for the combat seaplane is NOW!

See my previous blog entries the subject matter of which was the combat seaplane:

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/05/seaplanes-i.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/05/seaplanes-ii.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/05/seaplanes-iii.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/05/seaplane-iv.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/05/seaplanes-v.html

coolbert.




C.O.

Conscientious Objector.

Here from the latest issue of World War II magazine some instances of conscientious objectors [CO's] during the period of World War Two [WW2] seeking alternative civilian service.

CO's personally opposed to military duty even during the most perilous of times, citing religious or philosophical reasons for their refusal to serve in the traditional manner.

Alternative service in some cases very hazardous!

1. Wilderness firefighters.

Smokejumpers to be exact. CO trained to fight forest fires in the western part of the United States AND having to parachute into the afflicted area to do so.

"220 CO smokejumpers who spurned the front lines went into the fire line"

MEN ESCHEWING MILITARY SERVICE BUT QUITE WILLING TO JUMP OUT OF A PERFECTLY GOOD AIRPLANE AND FIGHT A FOREST FIRE UPON LANDING..

Personnel fighting forest fires in the western part of the United States having an experience about as close to mortal physical combat on the battlefield without there being an adversary shooting at you. Dangerous nonetheless!

2. The Minnesota Starvation Experiment.

"36 participants . . . picked . . . from among 200 CO volunteers lived on about 1,500 calories a day and walked 45 miles a week. Once a man shed a quarter of his weight, he began to receive calibrated nutrition.

I DON'T THINK THIS SORT OF EXPERIMENTATION WOULD BE ALLOWED TODAY!!

That objective of the experiment to: A. Determine in a scientific and controlled manner what prolonged hunger and starvation can do to the body of a grown adult. B. Determine in a scientific and controlled manner how to rehabilitate a person that has suffered from prolonged hunger and starvation. That intake of food itself much less than desired especially for those persons prisoners of the Japanese, caloric and nutritional deficiency exacerbated by tropical disease in many cases.

coolbert.




Saturday, April 11, 2015

Al Houthi.


This is coolbert:

From a most recent public broadcast television documentary on-the-scene journalist report some items of interest regard the situation in Yemen and the Houthi insurgents:

* Houthi is a movement and not a strictly tribal affiliation.

* Houthi is strictly Shia, one-quarter of the Yemeni population Shia.

* Houthi named after the founder of the movement, Hussein al Houthi.

* Hussein a martyr having perished in fighting with the forces of Yemeni central government. [that central government no longer exists.]

* Houthi as are most Shia fond of martyrdom and the adoration of martyrs.

* Six previous military campaigns by the central government to eradicate the Houthi failing. [again, that central government of Yemen no longer exists.]

* Hussein and his followers strong believers in conspiracy theory and conspiracy. [the 9/11 WTC attacks not done by Bin Laden and Al Qaeda!]

* Houthi trans-national. NOT recognizing borders as exist between Saudi and Yemen for instance.

* Aden too now restive. Aden an integral part of Yemen only since the time of independence from Britain. There existing in Aden a secessionist movement of some seriousness.

Control of Yemen, Aden, Bab-el-Mandeb crucial to that sea-power choke point at that western most extreme point of the Indian Ocean.

Right now, with regard to Yemen, it is all up for grabs! Hold on to your hats and do so tightly!!

coolbert.

Friday, April 10, 2015

Cheyenne Mountain.

This is coolbert:

Hardly can this be seen as a good sign!!

From Freeper and originally at the Daily Mail:

"Why is the military moving back into base deep under the Rocky Mountains?"

"The Cheyenne Mountain Complex is one of the icons of the Cold War - a self-contained and sufficient town buried under the Rockies meant to be impervious to a Soviet nuclear barrage."

"It was home to the North American Aerospace Command (NORAD), scanning the skies for Russian missiles and the military command and control center of the United States in the event of World War Three."

. . . .

"It shut down nearly ten years ago as the threat from Russia seemed to subside, but this week the Pentagon announced that Cheyenne Mountain will once again be home to the most advanced tracking and communications equipment in the United States military."

"The shift to the Cheyenne Mountain base in Colorado is designed to safeguard the command's sensitive sensors and servers from a potential electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack, military officers said."

Servers as in computer servers and I hope free-standing and not networked to the outside. Also we might hope not susceptible to attack by hackers and malware!

coolbert.

April 1865 III.

This is coolbert:

As seen the Chicago Tribune from this last Sunday, the banner headlines as were the case one-hundred-fifty years ago.

 That conflict known variously as the American Civil War, the War between the States, the War of Northern Aggression, the Rebellion of the Slaveholder finally after almost four years of continuous warfare coming to a climatic end.

"CHICAGO FLASHBACK"

"THE CIVIL WAR ENDS"

 Thanks in all cases to Stephan Benzkofer.

 "By spring 1865, the outcome of the bloody Civil War was no longer in doubt, and the Tribune claimed the end of the rebellion was nigh. But exactly when that would come seemed frustratingly distant."

At least until April of 1865!!

April 10, 1865.

"NEWS BY TELEGRAPH."

"THE END."

"THE OLD FLAG VINDICATED."

"LEE AND HIS WHOLE ARMY SURRENDERED YESTERDAY."

"The Official correspondence between Gens. Grant and Lee."

"The Officers and Men to be Paroled and Go Home Until Exchanged."

"All Arms, Artillery and Munitions of War Delivered to Gen. Grant."

"Officers to Retain Side Arms, Horses and Baggage."

"Selma, Ala. Reported Burned by Union Cavalry."

"Later from Mobile - - The City being Gradually Invested."

"Interesting from Richmond - - The Contents of Tremholm's Letter-Book."

R. E. Lee having decided further conflict was pointless and the Army of Northern Virginia no longer a combat entity that surrender a cue for the remaining Confederate senior officers. As goes Lee so goes the rest of the nation [the Confederacy]. Entreaties from Jefferson Davis to continue the war as a guerrilla campaign going unheeded.

coolbert.

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Rose of Jericho.

This is coolbert:

War of the Worlds! Thanks to Sputnik News with this interesting item.

Intentional bio-warfare? You the devoted reader to the blog decide.

As It has been since time immemorial, disease the greatest killer of soldiers historically. Greater than battlefield deaths this NORMALLY THE CASE! Two-thirds of those soldier deaths during the American Civil War can be attributed to disease and not combat!

"Thousands of ISIL Fighters Hit by Terrifying Flesh-Eating Disease"

"As global powers continue to debate the best way to deal with the threat of the self-proclaimed Islamic State, the terrorist group appears to be suffering its own internal problems. Poor hygiene and pollution has led to the spread of a debilitating disease known as the Rose of Jericho."

"As the Islamic State fights for control of large swaths of Syria of Iraq, the group has turned Raqqa into their self-proclaimed capital. But unsanitary living conditions have turned the city into a hotbed for leishmaniasis, also known as the Rose of Jericho."

"Spread by female sandflies, the disease is caused by protozoan parasites which cause large, open wounds. Once bitten, red sores on the skin can erupt within weeks, and the virus can eventually attack the body’s vital organs. Other symptoms include fever, a low red blood cell count, and an enlarged spleen or liver."

Also no preventative prophylactic medicine? This is beyond the capability of ISIL. Medical care for the jihadi primitive at best? PERHAPS THE "GLOBAL POWERS" CANNOT DECIDE HOW TO DEAL WITH ISIL BUT MOTHER NATURE ALREADY HAS!!

coolbert.

Oscar II.

This is coolbert:

Thanks to Sputnik News we have yet one more instance of damage to a submarine while at dock. It seems greater danger to a submarine while in port and not sailing, not under the water!!

"Fire on Russian Nuclear Sub Caused by Safety Violations During Welding"

"The nuclear attack submarine caught fire as a result of safety violations during the welding works"

"Russian Nuclear Sub on Fire to Be Partially Submerged - Shipbuilders"

"MOSCOW, April 7 (Sputnik) — A fire on board a nuclear attack submarine at the Zvezdochka shipyard in northwestern Russia was caused by safety violations during the welding works, a spokesman for the shipyard said on Tuesday."

This is an Oscar II class submarine.

"'Today, as a result of violations of the technical process during the welding works, a fire was ignited in the lower part of the hull of the Orel submarine, which is undergoing planned overhaul'"

PARTIAL SUBMERGENCE OF THE SUBMARINE WHILE AT DOCK THE ONLY 100 % GUARANTEE OF TOTALLY EXTINGUISHING THE FIRE!!

Also this type of news report during the Cold War era would have been totally suppressed by Soviet authorities, a non news-reportable item. NOT NOW!

See other blog entries regarding submarine disaster while at dock:

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/08/ins-sindhurakshak.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/08/uss-miami.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2012/12/fire.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/09/k-150-tomsk.html

coolbert.




Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Tigerfibel.

This is coolbert:

I am Generalinspekteur der panzertruppen and have approved this blog entry!

Elvira and her friends! And don't get on the wrong side of them!

I would have thought this sort of thing would be strictly an American innovation. The use of military service manuals as written and illustrated in a cartoon and almost comic book fashion.

But this is not so!

From that era of the Second World War [WW2] those German soldiers as detailed with the mission of operating in combat the brand-new Tiger tank as provided with a down-to-earth manual and operators guide done in that "comic book and cartoon fashion". Understand too A DOCUMENT EFFECTIVE!

This was the Tigerfibel!

"Tiger crewman went through many hours of both classroom and hands-on training at the panzer school located in Paderborn, Germany."

"a special training booklet for the Tiger students. This booklet was assigned the official publication number of D656/27 and given the name Tigerfibel, which means Tiger primer."

"a manual that would get the attention of the young men training on the Tiger. To do this he used humorous and risque cartoon illustrations along with slang the combat troops would identify with."

 
"The illustrations in the Tigerfibel . . . included allegorical sketches, technical drawings, photographs and cartoons. The cartoons often involved an attractive blonde woman named Elvira who frequently found herself without any clothes or in a romantic setting with cartoon Tiger crewman. The Tigerfibel also contained many short, memorable verses and limericks referred to as 'morals' or 'mottos. All of this was done to capture and hold the attention of the fledgling trainees."

Scroll to the bottom of the Tigerfibel web site and view the entire slide show for yourself. Well worth doing!

coolbert.



Ace!

This is coolbert:

Germans!

Surely during the Second World War [WW2] and also to an extent during the Great War [WW1] the German fond of the "Cult of the Ace". That soldier, airman, or sailor demonstrating the highest form of excellence in combat, head and shoulders even above all others.

"the Nazis sought a new configuration of the relationship between fighting man and machine . . . One significant example of this was Nazi Germany’s mode of tank warfare. In particular, one can look to their encouragement and promotion of the ‘tank ace’, (no less important were Luftwaffe and U-boat aces), as a prime example of German skill, technical proficiency, mastery of the machine, and, indeed, the merging of the human/machine into a new and unbeatable elite fighting combatant."

Example of the "The Ace" to include but not limited to:


Hans Ulrich Rudel. Perhaps the greatest combat aviator of all time and always will be! Put the big time hurt to the Soviet during WW2. Not a fighter pilot but rather a tactical aviation practitioner, a Stuka pilot of the highest order without peer. The German had to even create a special medal to honor this man for his actions. A man haughty in bearing, immaculately attired and turned out, comportment not lacking for a second.


Lothar von Arnaud de la Periere. German naval officer of the WW1 era. The greatest submarine ace of all time and probably always will be. A man of noble [?] rank with also that haughty appearance but without question merited and earned, not given . As with Rudel, immaculately attired and turned out, bearing and demeanor as fitting for a man having been awarded the highest decorations for combat action.


And now we have Kurt Knispel. The greatest tank ace of all time and probably always will be. A non-commissioned officer of unconventional ability and also demeanor. Note the long hair, the goatee, the somewhat slovenly kept uniform. Even with that most outstanding of combat achievements his very appearance and attitude precluding further decorations and awards. Recognize this man at all time however as an enlisted combat soldier of the greatest accomplishment. Sadly the man did not survive the war.

Even for the ace the combined military might of the British Empire, the Soviet Union and the United States proved to be too much!! Overwhelming force of the anti-fascist coalition beyond redemption, the obstacles and odds as confronting the German military man too great.

coolbert.

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

EMALS.

This is coolbert:

Also from MARCO POLO through Harry at Sharkhunters, bad news for the U.S. Navy.

That electro-magnetic launch system to be found on the aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford too good!

"The new-class American aircraft carrier -- USS Gerald R. Ford -- which cost American taxpayers $13 billion, will most likely be useless. The F/A-18 Super Hornets and EA-18G Growler -- mainstay of the carrier-borne aircraft -- which carry 480-gallon external fuel tanks, cannot withstand the launching by the new electro-magnetic catapult (EMALS). The new catapult puts too much stress to those tanks, causing premature damages to the structure of the aircraft."

"Although the Pentagon had been aware of the deficiencies in the launch system for at least six months, this is just now being made public. New launch system software is being designed in a hurry, to reduce wear on the aircraft by adjusting power exerted during the launch, it is not likely to be installed and tested on board the Ford until after the ship is delivered in March of next year. Then, the success of the improved system is far from being guaranteed."

EMALS HAD BEEN TOUTED AS A SIGNIFICANT A MAJOR TECHNOLOGICAL BREAKTHROUGH WHEN FIRST ANNOUNCED.

This "wear and tear" is confined exclusively to the aircraft when equipped with EXTERNAL FUEL TANKS? This is not clear.

coolbert.





Border.

This sis coolbert:

From MARCO POLO through Harry at Sharkhunters we have another instance of a possible Russian violation of the INF Treaty.

"On March 18, the Russians succeeded in the test launch of their new light-weight ICBM -- RS-26 'Rubezh [Border] -- at the Kapustin Yar rocket launch site in Astrakhan(southern Russia). Several minutes after the launch, the missile's warhead dropped right on its target at the Sary Shagan range in Kazakhstan."

"The 'Rubezh' is said to be smaller and lighter than Russia's regular ICBMs, such as 'Topol-M' and 'Yars'. It is about 80 meters long, and its launch weight is about 80 tons. The missile is highly mobile. It is loaded on a 12-wheeled, diesel-powered TEL, which boasts cross-country mobility."
 
"With its announced range of 5,800 kilometers, without a doubt, it is targeted against western Europe."
 
"the INF treaty, concluded between the U.S. and the Soviet Union in 1988, the ballistic and cruise missiles with the range of 500 -- 5,500 kilometers are banned. Although the RS-26 is officially an ICBM with its announced range of 5,800 kilometers, it is likely that this range is that of the single-warhead version of the missile. The multiple-warhead version of the missile is likely to have a somewhat shorter range, infringing upon the provisions of the INF treaty . . .  there is no NATO name yet for this missile."

That INF treaty outlawing the possession and even TESTING of intermediate-range ballistic missiles.

"Rubezh" barely having a range to qualify it as an inter-continental range missile WITH A SINGLE WARHEAD.

WITH MULTIPLE ATOMIC WARHEADS "RUBEZH" HAVING A REDUCED RANGE AND OUTLAWED BY THE INF TREATY?

In large measure the INF treaty as response to the Soviet era SS-20 intermediate-range missile WHICH CARRIED THREE 500 KILOTON WARHEADS. That American counter-part to the SS-20 the Pershing-2 able to deliver on target a SINGLE 25 kiloton atomic warhead!

coolbert.







 

Monday, April 6, 2015

April 1865 II.

This is coolbert:

As seen the Chicago Tribune from this last Sunday, the banner headlines as were the case one-hundred-fifty years ago.

That conflict known variously as the American Civil War, the War between the States, the War of Northern Aggression, the Rebellion of the Slaveholder finally after almost four years of continuous warfare coming to a climatic end.

"CHICAGO FLASHBACK"

"THE CIVIL WAR ENDS"

Thanks in all cases to Stephan Benzkofer.

"By spring 1865, the outcome of the bloody Civil War was no longer in doubt, and the Tribune claimed the end of the rebellion was nigh. But exactly when that would come seemed frustratingly distant."

At least until April of 1865!!

April 5, 1865.

"NEWS BY TELEGRAPH."

"FROM RICHMOND."

"Large Capture of Railroad Stock."

"LEE'S LINE OF RETREAT STREWED WITH CANNON AND ARMS."

"25,000 Prisoners Captured."

"THE REBEL RAMS AND FORTS ON THE JAMES BLOWN UP."

"LEE RETREATING IN TWO SMALL COLUMNS TOWARDS LYNCHBURG."

"Phil. Sheridan is on His Flanks."

"THE REBEL GEN., RANSOM CAPTURED - - A. P. HILL REPORTED KILLED."

"Major General Russell of the 25th Corps Killed."

"The President at Home in Jeff. Davis' Late Mansion."

"IMPORTANT CAVALRY EXPEDITION IN FLORIDA - - GREAT DESTRUCTION OF REBEL PROPERTY."

Again, almost but not quite. More to follow.

coolbert.

April 1865 I..

This is coolbert:

As seen the Chicago Tribune from this last Sunday, the banner headlines as were the case one-hundred-fifty years ago.

That conflict known variously as the American Civil War, the War between the States, the War of Northern Aggression, the Rebellion of the Slaveholder finally after almost four years of continuous warfare coming to a climatic end.

"CHICAGO FLASHBACK"

"THE CIVIL WAR ENDS"

Thanks in all cases to Stephan Benzkofer.

"By spring 1865, the outcome of the bloody Civil War was no longer in doubt, and the Tribune claimed the end of the rebellion was nigh. But exactly when that would come seemed frustratingly distant."

At least until April of 1865!!

April 4, 1865.

"NEWS BY TELEGRAPH."

"RICHMOND IS OURS."

"The Old Flag Floats Over the Rebel Capital."

"RICHMOND AND PETERSBURG EVACUATED."

"General Weitzel's Negro Troops Occupy the City."

"THE CITY ON FIRE - - LARGE NUMBERS OF GUNS CAPTURED."

"Lee Retreating Towards Danville - - Grant in Close Pursuit."

"GREAT REJOICING ALL OVER THE NORTH."

"The President About to Issue Another Amnesty Proclamation."

"GRANT'S PLANS COMPLETE FOR ALL CONTINGENCIES."

"Mobile Reported to be in Our Possession."

"RUMORED CAPTURE OF FORT SMITH, ARK. BY THE REBELS."

The war nearly over. Almost but not quite yet!

coolbert.



Sunday, April 5, 2015

Tanin.

This is coolbert:

Israel wants the whole world to know about this.

"Take a Sneak Peak at Israel's Secret Submarine Fleet"

"Israel's nuclear-capable INS Tanin able to operate deep within enemy territory - to lethal effect."

See that seven minute video for an inside look at the Dolphin class German manufactured submarine.

Those Israeli submarines reputed to be nuclear capable. Armed with atomic munitions of some sort. Cruise missiles probably.

"New footage from the Israeli Navy showcases the most advanced submarine in the IDF's arsenal: the Dolphin-class INS Tanin (Crocodile)."

. . . .

"as a result of the sensitive nature of the missions it will be undertaking only the most elite navy personnel will be operating it."

That most elite navy personnel the security conscious Israeli deliberately obscuring the faces of the crew in the seven minute video. NO IDENTITIES REVEALED!

ALSO TOO THAT ISRAELI CREW MEMBER NOT ALLOWED TO POSSESS DUAL CITIZENSHIP! ISRAELI AND ISRAELI ONLY! ESTIMATED ABOUT ONE-THIRD OF THE ISRAELI POPULACE HAVING DUAL CITIZENSHIP OF SOME SORT.

coolbert.


Lee vs. Meade.

This is coolbert:

Here quoting from the Dupuy book "The Battle of Gettysburg, 1863, Lee versus Meade". The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia versus the Union Army of the Potomac. One of the most significant combat actions in history? A "near-thing" for the Union side, Gettysburg also generally considered to be the "high-water" mark of the Confederacy. Thus and no further!

According to Dupuy, and contrary to generally agreed upon history, Lee DID NOT even stand close to having a chance of victory. THE ODDS WERE JUST TOO LONG!!

"So long as Meade did not make a serious blunder in fighting his purely
defensive battle, Lee did not have a chance of success at Gettysburg.
In order to overwhelm the 93,000 men of the Army of the Potomac
deployed defensively on the heights south of Gettysburg . . .
the Confederate general would have needed at least 150,000 men.
He had only 79,000. That is the essential reason for his defeat."


Dupuy basing his assertion on the quick and dirty QJM calculations as outline in chapter nine of his book "Understanding War".

 * "a force in a hasty defensive situation has its force strength multiplied by a factor of 1.3."

* "The multiplying factor in favor of the defender of the flat terrain of the Low Countries [Gettysburg] area is about 1.1."

Fighting strictly defensively, it was as if Meade possessed on the battlefield 93,000 X 1.3 X 1.1 = 133,000 troops.

Assumptions made here are:

* Meade fights strictly defensively - - and makes no serious mistakes [he did not]!

* One Confederate soldier has roughly the same value on the battlefield as one Yankee soldier!

* The combat value of the Confederate artillery and cavalry is roughly the same as the Yankee artillery and cavalry.

Meade is NOT generally thought to be an outstanding combat commander. An "average" general officer and had only been in command of the Army of the Potomac for a mere three days [?] prior to Gettysburg. And his assumption of command only as a result that no other senior officer was willing to take command.

That command performance of Meade was adequate but that is all it needed to be.

Credit also Johnny Buford for his correct observation that the Union forces on the first day at Gettysburg needed to assume the defensive and occupy that terrain most suitable for same. Which is what it did.

coolbert.