This Week in the Blackwater Tactical Weekly…

Weekly Security Developments

• US Troops in Iraq Adopt New Role
• Mexico Killings of 3 Connected to U.S. Consulate Bring Warning
• US Customs: Mexican Cartels Corrupt Border Agents
• Mexico Drug Gang Hushes Killings with News Blackout
• HUMAN EVENTS Petition To Free the Navy SEALs
• Stop the Prosecution of Three Navy SEALs
• Pakistan: Suicide Bomb Attacks in Lahore Cap Particularly Grim Week

U.S. Defense News

• Army Debuts New Tool to Defeat IEDs
• U.S. Army Requests Permission To Modify Strykers
• New Army Black Hawk Succeeds In Combat
• U.S. Department of Defense Announces Latest Contract Awards
• Remote Warriors: How Drone Pilots Wage War

International Military News

• Russia to Sign Multi-Billion Dollar Arms Deals in India
• India, Russia Agree Details of Joint 5G-Fighter Project
• Pakistan Navy Test Fires New Missiles and Torpedoes
• Israeli Plans to Buy F-35s Hitting Obstacles, Moving Forward
• Why Is China Slowing its Military Spending?

Afghanistan–Pakistan Developments

• Soldier Tells Personal How He Threw Back Taliban Grenade
• Taliban Claim Kandahar Bombings a Warning to NATO
• Marjah Push: Ups and Downs Are Lessons for Future
• Afghanistan War: Fight for Kandahar Will Not be Like Fight for Marjah
• Army Fast-Tracking Precision Mortar to Afghanistan
• House Rejects Plan to Pull-Out US Troops From Afghanistan

Homeland Security–First Responder

• Al-Qaeda Seen Eyeing Less Complex Attacks On United States
• FBI Probes N.J. Man Linked to Al Qaeda, Hospital Attack in Yemen
  
• Suspected US Al-Qaeda Member Grew Radical
• Guns of the United States Border Patrol
• Ford Debuts New Police Interceptor

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“Progress always involves risks. You can't steal second base and keep your foot on first.”

US Troops in Iraq Adopt New Role

Defense Talk

Some of the 98,000 U.S. military forces in Iraq already have made the transition from security to stability operations ahead of the September deadline, American military commanders said.

In accordance with an agreement brokered between Baghdad and Washington, the drawdown to 50,000 U.S. troops before September will happen as the American mission shifts from its current role as a partner of Iraqi security forces to primarily one of training and advising.

Full Story

Army Debuts New Tool to Defeat IEDs

Defense Talk

Soldiers spoke and the Army listened. Officials will debut a new device designed to combat the deadly threat of improvised explosive devices during a Florida conference later this month.  The U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command's tank and automotive center will publicly display its newest technology for the first time at the National Defense Industry Association's Ground Robotic Capabilities Conference and Exhibition March 16-18 in Miami, Fla.

U.S. Army Requests Permission To Modify Strykers

US Defense News

The U.S. Army has asked the Pentagon to approve a plan to increase Stryker vehicles' survivability by adding a double V-shaped hull, Lt. Gen. Robert Lennox, deputy chief of staff for Army programs, told members of the House Armed Services air and land forces subcommittee March 10.  "Our goal is to produce the test vehicles. If they work, we'll have one brigade's set of vehicles that we'll send to Afghanistan and put in the hands of our soldiers," said Lennox.

New Army Black Hawk Succeeds In Combat

Defense Talk

The Army's new high-tech UH-60 Black Hawk M-model helicopter - equipped with a stronger engine, a digital cockpit and composite rotor blades - performed exceptionally well in Afghanistan during its first major combat deployment, according to a recently completed After Action Review at Fort Campbell, Ky., service officials said.  "The M-model Black Hawks were in Afghanistan for 12 months. The aircraft performed exceptionally well," said Lt. Col. Jerry Davis, product manager for UH-60 Modernization. "We got great reaction from pilots. They experienced a higher than average operational readiness rate with those aircraft in theater and they loved the technologies on-board."

U.S. Department of Defense Announces Latest Contract Awards

Veterans Today

Presidential Airways, Inc., an Aviation Worldwide Services Co., Camden, N.C., is being awarded a $39,084,532 task order for rotary wing aircraft, personnel, equipment, tools, material, maintenance, and supervision necessary to perform passenger and cargo air transportation services. Work will be performed in Afghanistan and the task order will start March 5, 2010, to be completed by Nov. 30, 2010. This contract was a competitive acquisition. U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., is the contracting activity (HTC711-09-D-0021).

Remote Warriors: How Drone Pilots Wage War

Spiegel Online

Drone pilots sit in air-conditioned rooms far away from the anti-terror wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. They guide their weapons systems with joysticks and monitors. The remote warriors work with a high degree of precision -- and at a fraction of the cost of a fighter jet.

Russia to Sign Multi-Billion Dollar Arms Deals in India

Defense Talk

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was to seal a series of multi-billion dollar arms deals Friday during a visit to India aimed at boosting ties with Moscow's old Cold War ally.  According to Russian officials, Putin will sign more than a dozen pacts amounting to 10 billion dollars, including an accord to resolve the troubled sale of a refitted Soviet-era aircraft carrier, the Admiral Gorshkov.  Other deals include a contract to sell India 29 MiG fighter jets and an agreement to install additional nuclear power units in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where it is already building two reactors.

India, Russia Agree Details of Joint 5G-Fighter Project

Defense Talk

India and Russia have agreed in general on shared responsibility for the joint development of the fifth-generation fighter, the chairman of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) said.  Moscow and New Delhi are expected to sign a contract on the joint development of the new fighter in the near future, focusing on the design concept and technical requirements put forward by India.

Full Story

Pakistan Navy Test Fires New Missiles and Torpedoes

Agence-France Presse

Pakistan successfully test fired new missiles and torpedoes from ships, submarines and aircraft in the Arabian Sea, the navy announced.  "Pakistan navy fleet today tested its fire power in the north Arabian Sea to assess lethality, precision and efficacy of its weapon system," it said.  The navy did not disclose range or technical details but said "this included successful firing of a variety of missiles and torpedoes from the ships.".

Israeli Plans to Buy F-35s Hitting Obstacles, Moving Forward

Defense Industry Daily

In an exclusive June 2006 interview, Israeli Air Force (IAF) chief procurement officer Brigadier-General Ze’ev Snir told Israel’s Globes publication that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter was a key part of their IAF recapitalization plans, and that Israel intends to buy over 100 of the fighters to replace their F-16s over time. Since then, however, the expected cost of that purchase has more than doubled.  The necessary contract must deal with that sticker shock, with issues like the incorporation of Israeli technologies, and with slips in the internal F-35 program before it can be signed. Israel is even contemplating delaying its purchase, removing an important early adopter for the multi-national program.

Full Story

Why Is China Slowing its Military Spending?

TIME

For the past two decades, China's rapid economic growth has been twinned with an even more rapid increase in military spending. While GDP has expanded by an annual average of 9.6% over the past 10 years, the reported budget for the People's Liberation Army has grown by an average of 16%. So it was an unexpected surprise when Li Zhaoxing, a former foreign minister who is now spokesman for the National People's Congress, announced on March 4 that China's defense budget would increase by 7.5% for 2010, just over half of last year's 14.9% rise.

Full Story

Soldier Tells Personal How He Threw Back Taliban Grenade

Reuters

A soldier serving with the British Army in Afghanistan has told of the moment he threw back a Taliban hand grenade, telling himself: "I've really only got one chance to do this."  Rifleman James McKie from Recce Platoon, 3rd Battalion The Rifles was under fire from three directions on a roof when the grenade hit his platoon commander and landed at his feet.  "My first thought was I hope this doesn't hurt too much," the New Zealander said. "That, and I've really only got one chance to do this.  "If it fails, either way, doing nothing, I'm going to get the same amount of hurt. So I picked it up and threw it off the roof."

Full Story

Taliban Claim Kandahar Bombings a Warning to NATO

The Guardian

A series of fatal bomb attacks in Kandahar was a warning to Nato forces that the Taliban is ready to challenge a coming offensive to take control of the area, a spokesman for the militants said today.  Insurgents let off a series of bombs yesterday evening in an apparent attempt to repeat their coup of June 2008 when bombers destroyed part of the city's prison, releasing hundreds of Taliban prisoners. The ministry of interior said at least 35 people were killed and 57 wounded in the latest attacks. The dead included 13 police officers and 22 civilians.

Marjah Push: Ups and Downs Are Lessons for Future

Stars & Stripes

After a day spent pinned down in gun battles or caught in a maze of roadside bombs, with little hope of air support and an erratic Afghan army to coax along, Lance Cpl. Travis Anderson reflected on the frustrations of the campaign U.S. forces were fighting.  "I understand the reason behind it, but it's so hard to fight a war like this," the 20-year-old from Altoona, Iowa, said as his company of Marines spearheaded the ground assault to reclaim Marjah from the Taliban.

Afghanistan War: Fight for Kandahar Will Not be Like Fight for Marjah

Christian Science Monitor

The operation that American and coalition forces are planning for Kandahar in southern Afghanistan won’t look like D-Day, the top commander there said Tuesday.  Fresh off a recent success, so far, in Helmand Province, American military planners are thinking ahead to the next phase of challenging the Taliban in southern Afghanistan: Kandahar. But the fight for Kandahar – described as the New York City of Afghanistan for its cultural, political, and economic significance – is expected to be more measured than the operation in Marjah in Helmand, which was a precision strike that began with the insertion of hundreds of US marines by helicopter.

Army Fast-Tracking Precision Mortar to Afghanistan

Defense Talk

The U.S. Army is poised to deliver precision mortar rounds to soldiers in Afghanistan by the end of this year as part of an accelerated effort to give commanders there an improved ability to destroy targets in the mountainous terrain, service officials said.  "You can drop one on a target to execute the mission and stay on target," said Brig. Gen. John Maddux, Program Executive Officer, Ammunition. "Also, this will decrease the footprint of conventional ammo in theater because you only need one to make first kill."

House Rejects Plan to Pull-Out US Troops From Afghanistan

Agence-France Presse

The House of Representatives on Wednesday roundly defeated a resolution demanding President Barack Obama withdraw all US forces from Afghanistan, in a key election-year test for his war strategy.  Lawmakers routed the resolution in a 356-65 vote that saw 60 of Obama's Democratic allies and five of his Republican critics cast ballots to call home all US forces from what he has called the central front against extremism.

Al-Qaeda Seen Eyeing Less Complex Attacks On United States

News Max

Ever since al-Qaeda attacked the United States in 2001, U.S. authorities have worked to detect and prevent the next big terrorist strike.  But officials and counterterrorism experts say the Christmas airline plot and last November's shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, may have shown al-Qaeda that smaller-scale attacks also can prove unsettling, without the complexity and risk of bigger attempts.

FBI Probes N.J. Man Linked to Al Qaeda, Hospital Attack in Yemen

Fox News

A suspected Al Qaeda militant who was known as a "sweetheart" by classmates at his New Jersey high school is being investigated by the FBI after his arrest in the Middle East for allegedly trying to shoot his way out of a hospital in Yemen. Federal sources confirmed that 26-year-old Sharif Mobley, of Buena, N.J., is in custody after a shooting rampage in a Yemeni hospital that killed one guard and injured another

Full Story

Suspected US Al-Qaeda Member Grew Radical

New York Times

Sharif Mobley had strong Muslim views as early as high school. But his old friend Roman Castro knew he had radicalized when he saw him about four years ago.  Castro, an Army veteran who did a tour in Iraq, said Mobley had only these words for him in a chance meeting: ''Get the hell away from me, you Muslim killer!''  Now, Mobley is in custody in Yemen as a suspected member of the same branch of al-Qaida that's linked to the failed Christmas Day bombing attempt of a Detroit-bound jet, and stands accused of killing a guard in an attempt to break out of a hospital, officials said Thursday.

Full Story

Guns of the United States Border Patrol

Human Events

The United States has roughly 7,000 miles of land border, and since 1924 the men and women of the Border Patrol have had the difficult, often lonely, and sometimes deadly duty of monitoring and patrolling those long and mostly sparsely-settled stretches. Officially, the United States Border Patrol is the mobile, uniformed law enforcement arm of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Full Story

Ford Debuts New Police Interceptor

Detroit News

Ford Motor Co. will unveil the new Ford Police Interceptor today -- the replacement for the venerable Crown Victoria that has been the backbone of the nation's law enforcement fleets since the early 1990s.  As The Detroit News first reported last year, the new model will be based on the same platform as the new Ford Taurus. However, it will be built for law enforcement work and incorporate several modifications to meet the needs of police officers.

Full Story

Afghanistan: As Fighting Ceases, Real Test in Marjah Begins

Highlights

1. Military phase of Marjah conflict over
2. Focus placed on providing security and beginning development projects
3. Fears prevalent of an early Coalition withdraw and Afghan Taliban return

As the combat stage of the Marjah offensive is largely over, the next challenge will be to maintain the newfound security in the area and to begin to reintegrate former Afghan Taliban fighters into society.

It has been more than two weeks since United States (US) Marines, along with Afghan security forces and Britishmilitary personnel, began what was labeled the largest and most difficult military offensive against the Afghan Talibansince the invasion of the country in October 2001. With the hardest fighting over, the battle for Marjah is just beginning and entering its most critical period. The Afghan government, with the help of the US military and development officials, must quickly demonstrate what they can do for the population, including providing security, good governance, and restoring basic services. We believe if the Afghan government cannot make at least some progress in the coming weeks and months, the success achieved in the military phase of the offensive will have largely been for nothing.
 
We believe the residents of Marjah are in the “wait-and-see mode,” determining whether the Afghan government and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces are serious about fulfilling their promises. Given widespread distrust of the central government and coalition forces, it will take time to rebuild credibility and gain the trust of Marjah’s residents. As noted by General Stanley McChrystal, the overall commander of coalition forces, the war in Afghanistan is not just about seizing territory, and the fight for Marjah focuses on keeping the population safe and - perhaps harder - setting up the first clean and effective civilian administration there in decades.

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

The Rudy Project

The first time I saw a booth at a show for the Rudy Project I had no clue what it was. I thought it was a special event / fundraiser to benefit some kid named Rudy or to provide funding for research into whatever he suffered from. After a little paying attention I realized that the Rudy Project makes eyewear. More recently (a few months back) I had the chance to talk to the president of the company and learned that the company has been manufacturing eyewear for sportsman for some time, but now they’re pushing into the law enforcement market. Of course, I requested and received a few pair to test. Let me share what I learned.

Recreational Equipment Review

MTM Hawk Watch

There was a point in my life where I didn’t care much what time it was and being on time for an appointment or late by a few minutes didn’t matter much. Then came the Army and a couple decades of police work and fatherhood, etc. Time matters. Being on time matters. Having a device on your wrist that keeps accurate time and will take all the abuse you throw at it matters. At several trade shows I’d seen the MTM (Multi-Time-Machine) watch booth and the watches looked cool but I’d never had the opportunity to test one out. I’ve had that opportunity now and am suitably impressed. Here’s why.

CHALLENGE

When people are faced with any kind of challenge, they have choices… Run… Faint… Make excuses… Expect that someone will come rescue us… Some even think we can give up… But give up to what?… or… We, any person, can face the challenge head on and do the best we can with what we have where we are and leave the rest to God or whom ever else is responsible.

Whether I need something… Want something… I calculate it's cost…  Not it's selling price but what it will cost me to get it and keep it. Sometimes it is not the cost of attaining something… The controlling factor is what does it cost to own it, keep it… Live with it… Or the cost to have it control me.

Full article can be seen at: http://www.ustraining.com/new/btw/chaplain/031510chaplain.htm

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