Guilty!

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"DeDolph allegedly surprised Melgar during his sleep and restrained him. Melgar unexpectedly died after DeDolph, a former professional mixed martial arts fighter, put him in a chokehold. According to testimony, Melgar stopped breathing within seconds."

Yet more American military man behaving badly. This story much more serious. Also courtesy the "Black Rifle Coffee" Internet web site the article by Nolan Peterson.

"SEAL SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS FOR GREEN BERET’S KILLING"

"A Navy SEAL convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the killing of an Army Special Forces soldier was sentenced to 10 years in prison over the weekend."

"Formerly a member of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, commonly known as SEAL Team 6, Chief Petty Officer Anthony DeDolph was formally charged in November 2018 for the death of Army Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar, a Green Beret assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group who was deployed to Mali in 2017 as part of a multinational counterterrorism operation. DeDolph, who was busted down in rank to seaman, will also be dishonorably discharged from the Navy, according to the terms of his sentencing."

This story as originally reported that the U.S. Navy SEAL contingent had been accused of financial impropriety. Embezzlement of funds as allocated for special operations missions Africa. Theft that the deceased had become aware of. Melgar strangled as a consequence of his knowing too much.

Honestly, I am no legal expert but hardly does ten years punishment seem appropriate given the nature of the crime. Sounds more like pre-meditated murder with malice. A death penalty offense. Again, I am no legal expert.

coolbert.

Anti-freeze.

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The American soldier behaving badly. The chickens coming home to roost. And in a bad way.

Thanks to the Coffee or Die Maggie BenZvi article from "Black Rifle Coffee" Internet web site.

"11 FORT BLISS SOLDIERS HOSPITALIZED FOR INGESTING ANTIFREEZE"

"Eleven soldiers from Fort Bliss were hospitalized Thursday after ingesting antifreeze at the conclusion of a 10-day field exercise at the McGregor Range Complex."

"One warrant officer, two noncommissioned officers, and eight enlisted members remained hospitalized"

CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE WHILE ON DUTY A SEVERE OFFENSE. AND REQUIRING HOSPITAL TREATMENT. DRINKING VEHICLE  ANTI-FREEZE CAN KILL YOU OR AT THE LEAST DAMAGE PERMANENTLY INTERNAL ORGANS. FOR SHAME!

Those hospitalized in addition MAY have to pay for the cost of the medical treatment! Drinking anti-freeze obviously not a routine injury as suffered while performing your duty.

coolbert.

Shaher.

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Anti-material sniper rifle! Firing the Soviet era 14.5 mm. anti-tank machine gun round.

"Iran’s Shaher 14.5mm Sniper Rifle: A Killer At 2 Miles [3.2 kilometers] Away?" 

"It was almost a decade ago that Iran first unveiled its domestically-produced 14.5mm Shaher anti-material sniper rifle, but since its introduction, a lingering question has been whether it is actually up to the task. The Islamic Republic has faced an arms embargo for years, and it attempted to create its own domestic arms industry."

"The Shaher is not a lightweight weapon in any sense, and weighs in at a reported 22 kg (49 pounds), while it is an ungainly 1.85 meters (6.1 feet) long. Its anti-armor rounds can reportedly penetrate 50mm (two inches) of armor, and Iran also boasted that the rifle could be used to engage helicopters and other low-flying aircraft."

Surprisingly [?] so there is a slew of such big-bore [14.5 mm] anti-material sniper rifles on the market. See the listing thanks to the wiki. Anyone consider this to be odd?

Additionally with a comment from an acknowledged weapons expert:

"When your target is 2 miles [3.2 kilometers] away and important enough to drag a 50 pound [22kg.] gun from some undisclosed location, then take the time to set up with a very well trained specialist who has to compute wind direction, earth's rotation (true!), temperature, humidity, and exact range before taking a shot, maybe it is just time to call in an air strike."

I CONCUR 100 %.

coolbert.

Bundle.

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The Germans had this figured out over one-hundred years ago! 

"Like Legos: Navy wants stackable grenades to create larger explosions"

"Several new types of grenades, including one that can be stacked to create a larger explosion, have garnered interest from the Department of the Navy."

Thanks to Stars and Stripes for the tip.

"The Crane, Ind.-based Naval Surface Warfare Center issued a request for information about the modular grenades last month, along with several other early-stage procurement notices about several flash-bang grenade variants. The Marine Corps also has expressed interest in the stacking grenades."

AS TO THE GERMAN USE OF "STACKED GRENADES" FROM THE WW1 ERA CONSIDER:

"Improvised 'bundle charge'". Stielhandgranate bundle."

"To counter the lack of effectiveness against hard targets such as tanks and buildings, a common solution was created in the form of an improvised 'bundle charge'. The charges of a number of M24 grenades – their handles and fuses removed – would be strapped around a complete grenade, usually with simple rope, cloth, or metal wire. These could be crafted with up to six additional charges, and in battle the most common styles to see were the addition of four or six. Unofficially, these improvised bundle grenades were known as Geballte Ladung " 

"As a result of this cost-effective and reliable solution, the standard infantryman of the Wehrmacht  [and the stormtrooper of the WW1 era before that] could quickly improvise a grenade with up to seven times the explosive power. However, the added weight made it more difficult to throw, and the increased size meant that it was not practical to carry with one hand and that far fewer could be carried. These factors meant that infantry squads, if faced with an armored enemy, would have to close to a reduced range if they wanted to use the bundle charges."

Just gotta be careful so some soldier does not create a bundled grenade of such size he blows himself up in the process upon detonation.

coolbert.

Apps.

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Yet more spyware for your smart phone. You might be watched and not even know it.

A topic of which has been a popular topic for many blog entries. Malware surreptitiously installed on your smart phone allowing enemy intelligence agencies to spy on opponents.

1. "How the U.S. Military Buys Location Data from Ordinary Apps"

"A Muslim prayer app with over 98 million downloads is one of the apps connected to a wide-ranging supply chain that sends ordinary people's personal data to brokers, contractors, and the military."

"The U.S. military is buying the granular movement data of people around the world, harvested from innocuous-seeming apps . . . The most popular app . . . is a Muslim prayer and Quran app that has more than 98 million downloads worldwide."

2. "Military And Intelligence Personnel Can Be Tracked With The Untappd Beer App"

"Surprise! The beer-rating app Untappd can be used to track the location history of military personnel. The social network has over eight million mostly European and North American users, and its features allow researchers to uncover sensitive information about said users at military and intelligence locations around the world."

Intelligence agencies their target enemy military personnel prefer the app offering images of scantily clad young women. See a number of previous blog entries within context:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2020/12/whatsapp.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2020/05/barbie.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2020/02/rebound.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/06/honey.html

Beware boys! And don't be surprised if one day you find out you have been compromised.

coolbert.

Sentient.

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Please believe me this is not Skynet. The military drone did not become sentient. Merely communications was lost between the drone and the operator station on the ground. 

"Latvian drone wrests control from human overlords and shuts down entire nation's skies"

"Please phone us if you see our missing 26kg [about fifty pounds] aircraft, say authorities"

Article by Gareth Corfield Mon 4 May 2020.

"Latvia’s skies have been closed to long distance flights because a military-grade drone is 'uncontrolled and lost' somewhere above the eastern European nation – and nobody knows where it has gone."

"Local news website Apollo reported over the weekend that a test flight went disastrously wrong when a Latvian drone firm lost control of one of their remote-controlled aircraft."

That concept of sentience complex [?] but generally defined as self-awareness with an ability to think for itself. A sentient drone [as controlled by onboard computer with AI programming] controlled by a ground station human operator perhaps according to science-fiction authors no longer obeying commands, operating in an uncontrolled manner. See here a discussion of how to determine if a computer [as might be found on a military drone] becomes sentient.

This particular UAV able to fly for ninety hours until power source is exhausted and the machine crashes to earth. Presumably this is what occurred. 

Skynet a way off but maybe not so long off!

coolbert.

Lawless.

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Before there was Fort Sumter there was Pensacola. And before there was Pensacola there was the Dry Tortugas and Key West?

Combat actions of the American Civil War even beginning BEFORE secession of South Carolina in December of 1860?

"From 15 November [1860] . . . Lieutenant Craven in Mohawk, with the steamer Wyandotte, defended Forts Jefferson and Taylor at Key West, from actions of  'bands of lawless men', a farsighted action that enabled the Union to retain that vital Florida base, so valuable during the forthcoming naval operations in the American Civil War. Mohawk remained on guard at Key West until the end of January 1861 and then sailed for New York."

"BANDS OF LAWLESS MEN" THE IDENTITY NOT ELABORATED UPON. PIRATES? SLAVERS? CONFEDERATES?

See also this archived item from the New York Times as of March 15, 1863.

"Secretary Toucey's Treansonable [sic] Conduct at the Opening of the War."

ACTIONS OF THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY TOUCEY IN THOSE MONTHS PRIOR TO FORT SUMTER [APRIL 1861] SUSPECT AND OPEN TO QUESTION. READ THE ARCHIVE MATERIAL FOR YOURSELF.

From the New-Haven Journal:

"MESSRS. EDITORS: Having been charged with the construction and custody of Fort Taylor at Key West, during the period of danger when secession councils ruled our Government, I wish to say that your denunciation of the course of Ex-Secretary TOUCEY in regard to the Mohawk and Wyandotte, is every whit deserved. I so well remember the bitter, burning indignation with which that dastardly order was received by those who were straining every nerve to maintain the supremacy of the Government, as to loathe the attempted emergence of its author into a position of a public counselor."

"The Ex-Secretary has this alternative: either be understood the bearings of his own order, or he did not; if he did, he was a traitor; if he did not, he was a fool."

Toucey a traitor or a fool? Again take your pick?

coolbert.