US Military News, Reports, Data, etc.
- Thread starter tphuang
- Start date
Camp Pendleton based US Marines assigned aboard the USS Dubuque stormed aboard a German flagged vessel to rescue the ship from Somali Pirates.
Camp Pendleton Marines seize ship from Somalian pirates
By Gary Robbins, UNION-TRIBUNE
Thursday, September 9, 2010 at 6:44 a.m.
Camp Pendleton Marines seize ship from Somalian pirates
By Gary Robbins, UNION-TRIBUNE
Thursday, September 9, 2010 at 6:44 a.m.
airsuperiority
Captain
5 U.S. troops accused of targeting, killing Afghan civilians
I've just read this lately, and when combined with the rising heated anger over Koran burning, I think the coalition and the US are in for some very serious dangerous anti-american sentiments
5 U.S. troops accused of targeting, killing Afghan civilians
Soldiers from Stryker Brigade who are not alleged murders
1 of 1
By Hal Burnton / Seattle Times
SEATTLE – Last December, Army Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs began joking with other soldiers about how easy it would be to "toss a grenade" at Afghan civilians and kill them, according to statements made by fellow platoon members to military investigators.
One soldier said it was a stupid idea. Another said he believed that Gibbs was "feeling out the platoon."
Others told investigators Gibbs eventually turned the talk into action, forming what one called a "kill team" to carry out random executions of Afghans.
In one of the most serious war-crimes cases to emerge from the Afghanistan war, five soldiers from a Stryker infantry brigade based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord are charged with murder in the killings of three Afghan civilians this year.
In two of the incidents, grenades were thrown at the victims and they were shot, according to charging documents. The third victim was shot.
The soldiers are accused of killing the three Afghans while on patrol and threatening violence against anyone who dared to report the events, according to statements made to investigators.
All five soldiers are awaiting court-martial proceedings. If convicted, they face the possibility of life imprisonment or death. Hearings are expected to start later this year.
The original murder charges were filed in June. At the request of The Seattle Times, Joint Base Lewis-McChord released additional charges late Tuesday afternoon that have been filed against the five soldiers. Those include conspiracy to commit murder and, for three of the soldiers, use of a controlled substance.
The joint base on Tuesday also disclosed that charges have been filed against seven other soldiers that include impeding an investigation, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, unlawfully striking another soldier and conspiracy to commit assault and battery.
All of the charges made public Tuesday stem from the initial investigation as well as a related assault on a U.S. soldier, according to an Army official.
The alleged murder plot came to the attention of the Army in May, according to court documents. Army officials were initially investigating a brutal assault on an enlisted man who had informed on soldiers smoking hashish. The informant told investigators he had heard other soldiers talk about civilian killings.
Gibbs and Spc. Jeremy Morlock are the central figures in the case. They are charged in all three killings. The other suspects are Pfc. Andrew Holmes of Boise, Idaho ; Spc. Michael Wagnon of Las Vegas; and Spc. Adam Winfield of Cape Coral, Fla.
Gibbs, 25, has denied any involvement. Morlock, a 22-year-old from Wasilla, Alaska, has played a major role in helping the Army develop the case. He has given numerous details about his involvement in the killings and also implicated others. His attorney, Michael Waddington, said he will try to have those statements withdrawn because his client spoke while under the influence of prescription drugs taken for battlefield injuries.
Gibbs, of Billings, Mont., is a veteran of two previous war-zone tours, in Afghanistan and in Iraq. In the fall, he joined the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, replacing a squad leader who had been injured by an explosion.
He boasted about "stuff" he had gotten away with in Iraq and discussed plans for killing Afghans with a small circle of soldiers, according to statements by other soldiers.
--------------------------------------
While US and war crimes aren't something new, especially in these two conflicts they're in, however I think this is one of the most serious case ever came to light before the public so far. These war crimes are no different from the ones conducted by Imperial Japan in WWII, for they are of the very same sentiments and intentions - 0 disregard for human lives. However the good news is that the US Army will be dealing with the issue in a very grave matter. The bad news is, as we all know, this is merely the tip of the iceberg. There are much more killings of similar class unreported.
I think that perhaps Wikileaks have done its job - the leak of confidential documents earlier struck the US Army to perhaps face the issue positively before Wikileak picks up the story and publish them on tabloids. However despite that, I think Wikileak is still very wrong for releasing names of individuals for their irresponsible journalism are putting those people at risk. It really seems to me that journalism these days are one of the least ethical professions in the world.
I've just read this lately, and when combined with the rising heated anger over Koran burning, I think the coalition and the US are in for some very serious dangerous anti-american sentiments
5 U.S. troops accused of targeting, killing Afghan civilians
Soldiers from Stryker Brigade who are not alleged murders
1 of 1
By Hal Burnton / Seattle Times
SEATTLE – Last December, Army Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs began joking with other soldiers about how easy it would be to "toss a grenade" at Afghan civilians and kill them, according to statements made by fellow platoon members to military investigators.
One soldier said it was a stupid idea. Another said he believed that Gibbs was "feeling out the platoon."
Others told investigators Gibbs eventually turned the talk into action, forming what one called a "kill team" to carry out random executions of Afghans.
In one of the most serious war-crimes cases to emerge from the Afghanistan war, five soldiers from a Stryker infantry brigade based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord are charged with murder in the killings of three Afghan civilians this year.
In two of the incidents, grenades were thrown at the victims and they were shot, according to charging documents. The third victim was shot.
The soldiers are accused of killing the three Afghans while on patrol and threatening violence against anyone who dared to report the events, according to statements made to investigators.
All five soldiers are awaiting court-martial proceedings. If convicted, they face the possibility of life imprisonment or death. Hearings are expected to start later this year.
The original murder charges were filed in June. At the request of The Seattle Times, Joint Base Lewis-McChord released additional charges late Tuesday afternoon that have been filed against the five soldiers. Those include conspiracy to commit murder and, for three of the soldiers, use of a controlled substance.
The joint base on Tuesday also disclosed that charges have been filed against seven other soldiers that include impeding an investigation, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, unlawfully striking another soldier and conspiracy to commit assault and battery.
All of the charges made public Tuesday stem from the initial investigation as well as a related assault on a U.S. soldier, according to an Army official.
The alleged murder plot came to the attention of the Army in May, according to court documents. Army officials were initially investigating a brutal assault on an enlisted man who had informed on soldiers smoking hashish. The informant told investigators he had heard other soldiers talk about civilian killings.
Gibbs and Spc. Jeremy Morlock are the central figures in the case. They are charged in all three killings. The other suspects are Pfc. Andrew Holmes of Boise, Idaho ; Spc. Michael Wagnon of Las Vegas; and Spc. Adam Winfield of Cape Coral, Fla.
Gibbs, 25, has denied any involvement. Morlock, a 22-year-old from Wasilla, Alaska, has played a major role in helping the Army develop the case. He has given numerous details about his involvement in the killings and also implicated others. His attorney, Michael Waddington, said he will try to have those statements withdrawn because his client spoke while under the influence of prescription drugs taken for battlefield injuries.
Gibbs, of Billings, Mont., is a veteran of two previous war-zone tours, in Afghanistan and in Iraq. In the fall, he joined the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, replacing a squad leader who had been injured by an explosion.
He boasted about "stuff" he had gotten away with in Iraq and discussed plans for killing Afghans with a small circle of soldiers, according to statements by other soldiers.
--------------------------------------
While US and war crimes aren't something new, especially in these two conflicts they're in, however I think this is one of the most serious case ever came to light before the public so far. These war crimes are no different from the ones conducted by Imperial Japan in WWII, for they are of the very same sentiments and intentions - 0 disregard for human lives. However the good news is that the US Army will be dealing with the issue in a very grave matter. The bad news is, as we all know, this is merely the tip of the iceberg. There are much more killings of similar class unreported.
I think that perhaps Wikileaks have done its job - the leak of confidential documents earlier struck the US Army to perhaps face the issue positively before Wikileak picks up the story and publish them on tabloids. However despite that, I think Wikileak is still very wrong for releasing names of individuals for their irresponsible journalism are putting those people at risk. It really seems to me that journalism these days are one of the least ethical professions in the world.
Martian
Senior Member
After $19 Billion and Six Years, Pentagon Realizes the Best Bomb Detector Is a Dog
"After $19 Billion Spent Over Six Years, Pentagon Realizes the Best Bomb Detector Is a Dog
By Dan Nosowitz Posted 10.22.2010 at 1:58 pm
Popular Science
The Pentagon's best (and best-funded) engineers have toiled for years, only to realize the supremacy of the canine schnoz.
Who's The Best Bomb Detector? Who's The Best Bomb Detector? Jackson, a U.S. Air Force Belgian shepherd, hangs out on a giant scary tank before a mission in Iraq. Staff Sgt. Stacy L. Pearsall
After six years and nearly $19 billion in spending, the Pentagon task force assigned to create better ways to detect bombs has revealed their findings: The best bomb detector is...a dog.
The Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, or JIEDDO (the Pentagon should really take a page from DARPA and make catchier acronyms) has been working on this problem for years, but it's only getting more serious. There have been more roadside bombs in Afghanistan in the first eight months of this year than in the same period in 2009, so the work JIEDDO is doing is under extra scrutiny.
That made it even more embarrassing when the director of the organization told a conference yesterday that "Dogs are the best detectors." As it turns out, the most sophisticated detectors JIEDDO could come up with tend to locate only 50% of IEDs in Afghanistan and Iraq. When soldiers are accompanied by bomb-sniffing dogs, that number goes up to 80%. That director, Lieutenant General Michael Oates, told the conference that his organization now focuses on disrupting the use of IEDs, rather than flat-out detecting them...because they haven't make all that much progress on the detection front.
Instead of detection, JIEDDO now spends money on drones to find those planting IEDs, radio jammers to screw with the frequencies used to detonate the bombs, and lots of aerial sensors to scan bomb-heavy areas. That's all useful, but Congress has recently shown a lack of confidence in the group's accomplishments, its focus, and in the way its funds are being spent. In response, the House Armed Services Committee cut the group's budget by nearly half a billion dollars--which, as it turns out, can train a whole lot of bomb-sniffing dogs, or at least buy some sweet dog armor."
"After $19 Billion Spent Over Six Years, Pentagon Realizes the Best Bomb Detector Is a Dog
By Dan Nosowitz Posted 10.22.2010 at 1:58 pm
Popular Science
The Pentagon's best (and best-funded) engineers have toiled for years, only to realize the supremacy of the canine schnoz.
Who's The Best Bomb Detector? Who's The Best Bomb Detector? Jackson, a U.S. Air Force Belgian shepherd, hangs out on a giant scary tank before a mission in Iraq. Staff Sgt. Stacy L. Pearsall
After six years and nearly $19 billion in spending, the Pentagon task force assigned to create better ways to detect bombs has revealed their findings: The best bomb detector is...a dog.
The Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, or JIEDDO (the Pentagon should really take a page from DARPA and make catchier acronyms) has been working on this problem for years, but it's only getting more serious. There have been more roadside bombs in Afghanistan in the first eight months of this year than in the same period in 2009, so the work JIEDDO is doing is under extra scrutiny.
That made it even more embarrassing when the director of the organization told a conference yesterday that "Dogs are the best detectors." As it turns out, the most sophisticated detectors JIEDDO could come up with tend to locate only 50% of IEDs in Afghanistan and Iraq. When soldiers are accompanied by bomb-sniffing dogs, that number goes up to 80%. That director, Lieutenant General Michael Oates, told the conference that his organization now focuses on disrupting the use of IEDs, rather than flat-out detecting them...because they haven't make all that much progress on the detection front.
Instead of detection, JIEDDO now spends money on drones to find those planting IEDs, radio jammers to screw with the frequencies used to detonate the bombs, and lots of aerial sensors to scan bomb-heavy areas. That's all useful, but Congress has recently shown a lack of confidence in the group's accomplishments, its focus, and in the way its funds are being spent. In response, the House Armed Services Committee cut the group's budget by nearly half a billion dollars--which, as it turns out, can train a whole lot of bomb-sniffing dogs, or at least buy some sweet dog armor."
Give as many wavers to Sikhs as you can, they're legendary fighters.
this looks pretty awesome, too bad canadians wont be getting it soon.
training and logistics will be the two hurdles to beat at the moment.
Another big step towards a battle capable railgun. The US Navy today set another record for energy delivered via such a weapon. At 33megajoule that system has reached weapons grade status, I guess.
The projectile will use GPS guidance to accurately hit targest up to 100nm away. But it will rely on kinetic energy only to destroy it's target. At these high energies achieved at launch no problem at all. I just wonder how much of the 7 Mach achieved initially the projectile will retain after a 100nm flight. It seems having an explosive warhead would be of some help. But then again, eliminating the charges and the warheads of the ammunition is of course a nice saftey feature.
The projectile will use GPS guidance to accurately hit targest up to 100nm away. But it will rely on kinetic energy only to destroy it's target. At these high energies achieved at launch no problem at all. I just wonder how much of the 7 Mach achieved initially the projectile will retain after a 100nm flight. It seems having an explosive warhead would be of some help. But then again, eliminating the charges and the warheads of the ammunition is of course a nice saftey feature.