This Week in the Blackwater Tactical Weekly…

Weekly Security Developments

• Navy SEAL Trials to be Moved to Iraq
• Taliban Militants Launch Major Attack Against Government Ministries in Kabul
• Inside the Drone War: On the Ground and in the Virtual Cockpit With America's New Lethal Spy
• Al Qaeda Operatives Trained in Yemen Are at Large
• US Kills FBI-Wanted Terrorist in Pakistan Strike
• 2009 a Year of Terror Plots, Through a Second Prism

U.S. Defense News

• Magpul’s New Massoud 7.62mm
• Bolt Action vs. Autoloader: What’s Best for the American Sniper
• CH-53K: The U.S. Marines’ HLR Helicopter Program
• Farther, Faster, Stronger; Osprey Enhances Battlefield Capabilities
• Unmanned Aircraft Changing Soldiers’ Battlefield Perspective
• Flying IEDs’ Reappear Against US Troops in Iraq
• Plate Inserts for US Body Armor

International Military News

• ROKN Special Warfare Unit
• Chinese Missile Defense Test
• China Closes Gap With U.S. in Latest Missile Defense Test
• Iraqi Security Forces Order of Battle: 2010-01
• India Successfully Tests Astra Missile

Afghanistan–Pakistan Developments

• Frontline Troops in Afghanistan to Receive New ‘Sharpshooter’ Rifles
• Afghan Drone War Spikes Under General McChrystal
• Terrorist attacks in Pakistan claimed over 3,000 lives in 2009
• Attack on CIA Base Shows that Militant Groups are Collaborating
• In Afghanistan, A Governor Who Answers to No One

Homeland Security–First Responder

• SWAT Options for Multiple Shooter Terrorist Attacks
• Urban Combat: The Petraeus Way
• Predicting the Next Bomb Plot
• Have You Seen this Man? An 'Aged' Osama Bin Laden With Gray Hair, No Beard

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Navy SEAL Trials to be Moved to Iraq

Navy Times

A military judge has decided to move the trials for two of three Navy SEALs accused in connection with the alleged assault of a suspected terrorist to Iraq.  Cmdr. Tierney Carlos, the trial judge for the courts-martial of Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class (SEAL) Jonathan Elliot Keefe and SO1 (SEAL) Julio Antonio Huertas Jr., agreed Monday with defense motions to move the trials to Camp Victory in Iraq so the sailors can face the alleged victim, Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the government sought to depose in lieu of a trial appearance. Keefe’s court-martial had been scheduled to begin April 6, while Huertas’ was supposed to begin Monday.

Full Story

Magpul’s New Massoud 7.62mm

Tactical Life

Imagine a young former US Marine, an end user, who designed a rubber-like gadget to help get a magazine out of its pouch and into his rifle faster, named his fledgling company after it and a few years later introduced a new rifle that shocked the industry. Hard to believe? Maybe, but that man was Richard Fitzpatrick and the name of the gadget and his company is Magpul.

Bolt Action vs. Autoloader: What’s Best for the American Sniper

Wired Defense Blog – Danger Room

For probably as long as both designs have existed, the argument has raged as to which rifle is better for tactical precision use: bolt-action or autoloader? Indeed, the question is raised nearly every time precision shooting aficionados gather, sometimes reaching a point of controversy so intense that one expects fisticuffs to ensue any moment. Yet, regardless of the personal preferences or even bias of those participating in the debate, the question is a legitimate one…if we understand the definitions and mission criteria.

CH-53K: The U.S. Marines’ HLR Helicopter Program

Defense Industry Daily

The U.S. Marines have a problem. The CH-53E Super Stallion medium-heavy lift helicopters they rely upon to move troops, vehicles, and supplies off of their ships are wearing out. Fast. Yet the pace demanded by the Global War on Terror is relentless, and usage rates are 3 times normal. Attrition is taking its toll, and CH-53s are being recalled from “boneyard” storage at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, AZ, in order to maintain fleet numbers in the face of recent losses and forced retirements. No flyable spare airframes are left, and by 2012-2015, replacements will be urgently needed.

Farther, Faster, Stronger; Osprey Enhances Battlefield Capabilities

Defense Talk

The 40-year legacy of the CH-46 Sea Knight is built on stories of valor and heroism from Marines in combat missions around the world, but that era is coming to a close as the Marine Corps replaces the Sea Knight with it’s newest bird of prey, the MV-22 “Osprey.”  In 2006, the Marine Corps became the first service to host an operational MV-22 Osprey squadron. Now almost four years later, the Marine Corps has six operating or currently transitioning squadrons on the East Coast, and is in the process of transitioning six on the West Coast.

Unmanned Aircraft Changing Soldiers’ Battlefield Perspective

Defense Talk

Soldiers need the tactical advantages their unmanned aircraft systems provide to be integrated into their units, so they aren't forced to endure lengthy approval chains that can cost lives, according to UAS experts.  "Most of the living and dying is going on in squad, platoon and company level in this fight. So you have to give those Soldiers what they need, when they need it. And they need it all the time," said Glenn A. Rizzi, deputy director and senior technical advisor of the United States Army Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker, Ala.

‘Flying IEDs’ Reappear Against US Troops in Iraq

Associated Press

U.S. troops stationed at an outpost in southern Iraq heard a chilling whistle, and then a 60-pound airborne bomb punched through a concrete blast wall and sent shrapnel flying, wounding three Americans.  Explosions are commonplace in Iraq, but this was no ordinary attack. The U.S. military said Friday that militants who launched the Jan. 12 attack on a joint U.S.-Iraqi compound used an unusual weapon called an IRAM, for improvised rocket-assisted munition. Sometimes called "flying IEDs," IRAMs are a potentially deadlier incarnation of the garden-variety improvised explosive devices in Iraq and Afghanistan - they're short-range projectiles that catapult toward unsuspecting targets.

Plate Inserts for US Body Armor

Defense Industry Daily

When reading about modern body armor one often hears about small arms protective inserts (SAPI) or Enhanced SAPI (ESAPI) ceramic plate inserts. While these inserts are more fragile than past generations of inserts, they offer a significant improvement over their 1990s predecessors in terms of both weight and protection..

ROKN Special Warfare Unit

Tactical Life

The Republic of Korea Navy’s SEAL unit is the top tier in East Asia. There is certain irony in the fact that May 4, 2009 saw helicopter-borne South Korean SEAL snipers help drive away Somali pirates stalking a North Korean ship. Yet as tensions on their home peninsula mounted, a month later ROKN (Republic of Korea Navy) SEALs were deployed to carry out possible missions into North Korea and counter-missions by North Korean Special Forces along the South’s coast.

Chinese Missile Defense Test

Arms Control Wonk

On January 11, 2010, China conducted a test on ground-based midcourse missile interception technology within its territory. The test has achieved the expected objective. The Chinese government insisted the test was defensive in nature and not targeted at any country.

China Closes Gap With U.S. in Latest Missile Defense Test

Global Security Newswire

China's missile defense test on Monday made it the second country to destroy an incoming missile target beyond the Earth's atmosphere, the South China Morning Post reported (see GSN, Jan. 12).  The United States was the first state to demonstrate such a capability, according to the report.  Beijing's accomplishment is proof of its advanced missile defense capabilities and also shows that it now has sophisticated radar technology, the newspaper stated.

Iraqi Security Forces Order of Battle: 2010-01

Defense Industry Daily

DJ Elliott is a retired USN Intelligence Specialist (22 years active duty) who has been analyzing and writing on Iraqi Security Forces developments since 2006. His Iraqi Security Forces Order of Battle is an open-source compilation that attempts to map and detail Iraqi units and equipment, as their military branches and internal security forces grow and mature. While “good enough for government use” is not usually uttered as a compliment, US Army TRADOC has maintained permission to use the ISF OOB for their unclassified handouts since 2008.

India Successfully Tests Astra Missile

The Hindu

Two ballistic flight tests of Astra, Beyond-Visual-Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM), were successfully carried out from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Balasore, Orissa.  Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) officials said the first missile was fired around 9.15 a.m. and the second one at noon. Both were successful and the performance of the motor, propulsion system and the configurations of the vehicle and aero-dynamics evaluated.

Frontline Troops in Afghanistan to Receive New ‘Sharpshooter’ Rifles

Times Online

Soldiers in Afghanistan will be issued with a new rifle this year. More than 400 Sharpshooter rifles, which fire a 7.62mm round, are being bought as part of a £1.5 million “urgent operational requirement”, the Ministry of Defence said. Quentin Davies, the Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, said: “Troops in Afghanistan are already bristling with a variety of weapons. The Sharpshooter adds to this arsenal, and provides an additional, highly precise, long-range capability.

Afghan Drone War Spikes Under General McChrystal

Wired Defense Blog – Danger Room

Since taking over as top commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal has dramatically scaled back the traditional air war, cutting in half the number of munitions dropped from the sky. The unmanned air war, however, has escalated under McChrystal’s watch, reports Spencer Ackerman. Since July 2009, there have been 89 drone strikes in Afghanistan, compared to 61 during the same period last year.

Terrorist attacks in Pakistan claimed over 3,000 lives in 2009

Defense Talk

A total of 3,021 people were killed and 7,334 injured in terrorists attacks in Pakistan last year, national media reported citing a new report by the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS).  According to the report from the Islamabad-based defense think-tank, the death toll was 48% higher than in 2008.  Researchers counted a total of 12,600 violent deaths across the country in 2009, 14 times more than in 2006. At least half of those killed were militants, the report said.

Attack on CIA Base Shows that Militant Groups are Collaborating

McClatchy

The suicide attack on a CIA base in Afghanistan has exposed the collaboration among militant Islamic groups on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and aggravated tensions between the U.S. and Pakistan, Washington’s most important ally in its war against al Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban.  Officials of both countries, as well as independent analysts, said the Dec. 30 attack in Khost, 10 miles from the Pakistani border, increases the likelihood that the Pakistani military will bow to pressure from Washington and expand its anti-Taliban offensive along the border.

In Afghanistan, A Governor Who Answers to No One

Los Angeles Times

The U.S. plan to invest more power in local and regional officials would favor warlords such as Gov. Atta Mohammad Noor. In his northern province, he commands great respect -- and fear.  Noor, the bushy beard of his days as a rough-hewn mujahedin commander long since replaced by fashionable stubble, had the satisfied look of a man receiving his due.  Atta, whom some critics call the personification of Afghanistan's deeply entrenched warlord culture, represents a quandary for the nations that supply the country with tens of thousands of troops and billions of dollars in aid.

SWAT Options for Multiple Shooter Terrorist Attacks

Police One - The New York Tactical Officers Association

The threat of an international terrorist attack against our country is not to be taken lightly by law enforcement professionals. In fact, I see it being taken very seriously in the New York Metropolitan area; agencies are meeting, communicating and taking proactive steps to counter potential terrorist efforts.  As professional police officers we are all aware of the threat.  The training is out there to provide information and resources on how to deal with terrorism, whether it is domestic or foreign.

Urban Combat: The Petraeus Way

Tactical Life

General’s eight-point strategy for crime counterinsurgency applied to US streets: With violent crime increasing in many American cities, it is easy to think of criminals as an “insurgency.” According to the freedictionary.com an “insurgency” is defined as, “An organized movement aimed at the overthrow of a constituted government through use of subversion and armed conflict.”  The recent shootings of uniformed police officers in Philadelphia and Oakland highlight these attacks on governmental authority. This growing insurgent behavior includes shootings of civilians, a growing trend of gang violence and an increase in narcotics related kidnapping. The trends point to the need for a renewed strategy to fight violent crime.

Full Story

Predicting the Next Bomb Plot

San Francisco Examiner

Muhammad bin Nayef is Saudi Arabia’s chief counterterrorism official. A member of the royal family, he’s in charge of fighting terrorists. That is why they tried to kill him.

Last August, a known terrorist — Abdullah Hassan Taleh al-Asiri — declared he wanted to surrender personally to the prince. Saudi officials regarded the announcement as a small victory in the war on terror.  Their policy is to actively encourage extremists to return home, turn themselves in and enter a rehabilitation program. Abdullah, they thought, was coming back to the fold. He waltzed through security and presented himself to the prince.

Full Story

Predicting the Next Bomb Plot

San Francisco Examiner

Muhammad bin Nayef is Saudi Arabia’s chief counterterrorism official. A member of the royal family, he’s in charge of fighting terrorists. That is why they tried to kill him.

Last August, a known terrorist — Abdullah Hassan Taleh al-Asiri — declared he wanted to surrender personally to the prince. Saudi officials regarded the announcement as a small victory in the war on terror.  Their policy is to actively encourage extremists to return home, turn themselves in and enter a rehabilitation program. Abdullah, they thought, was coming back to the fold. He waltzed through security and presented himself to the prince.

Full Story

Have You Seen this Man? An 'Aged' Osama Bin Laden With Gray Hair, No Beard

ABC News

Using sophisticated digital enhancement techniques, the FBI today published "aged progressed" mug shots of Osama bin Laden and 17 other top terrorists wanted by the U.S.  One version of bin Laden shows him with a full head of wavy gray and black hair, and a trim beard. No previous photo had shown him without a headdress covering his hair.

Full Story

United States: Airport Security Faces New Threat

Highlights

1. Islamic forum publishes how-to guide for homemade bomb
2. TSA ramps up body scanners program
3. Security shortcomings constitute continued threat to airline safety

On January 11, 2010 the prominent Islamic Falluja forum, TIS-598529, posted a homemade video depicting six simple steps for making the explosive chemical compound acetone peroxide. The compound is akin to the petcerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) bomb Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to detonate on Northwest Flight 253 on December 25, 2009. The video clearly enumerates the readily available materials needed, as well as the mixing percentages and procedures to make acetone peroxide. The video concludes with a trace amount of white powder being ignited by a cigarette.
 
We note that while Abdulmutallab’s attempted bombing was initiated by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, this video, which we believe has been widely disseminated via downloads and postings elsewhere, gives bomb making capabilities to extremist individuals who would seek to use such a device on their own accord.
 
The United States (US) government and Transport Security Administration (TSA) are scrambling to respond to Abdulmutallab’s attempted attack with innovative security measures, meant to stay ‘one step ahead of the terrorists’. However, we anticipate that with future technological advancements, terrorists threatening the US will seek and continue to find security gaps.

.Full Report

The preceding article is part of subscription service created byTotal Intelligence Solutions (TIS). For additional information, please contact Brad Slade at bslade@totalintel.com.

Tactical Equipment Evaluation

Rock River Arms Rifles

It is abundantly clear to anyone who looks around in the military or law enforcement industries that the “black rifle” (AR style weapons) dominates the field. As I sat discussing such rifles with a fellow firearms instructor the other day I was asked what my preference was in manufacturer. I wasn’t sure I could voice a preference for a specific manufacturer but I did realize, as I sat contemplating the AR style weapons I’d owned or tested, that the Rock River Arms rifles I’ve had always performed without a glitch. So this week I thought I’d take a look back on a couple of them. .

The rest of the review http://www.newamericantruth.com/reviews/guns/rrr.htm

Recreational Equipment Review

Field Holsters

My son and I recently began planning a few spring camping trips and one of the things he asked me (as only a 12 yr old can) was how I was planning to carry a pistol and, of course, which pistol was I going to take with me? That question, and my follow on attempts to answer it, led me into considering the “best” carry method for a pistol or revolver that you carry into the field during recreational forays. Access is a concern. Security is a concern. Protecting it from the elements is a concern. Comfort is a concern. Working efficiently with other carry systems is a concern. So, here are the options I looked at and, ultimately, which I would choose.

THE COURSE OF THINGS

Full article can be seen at: http://www.ustraining.com/new/btw/chaplain/011810chaplain.htm

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