Singapore Armed Forces Donates Motorised Boats to Royal Thai Army

MINDEF - News

Nice gesture by SAF, to donate boats to help in flood relief efforts in Thailand. I know I often criticise the SAF, but this is one time where it needs to be complimented.

Marine surveillance target acquisition team takes down Taliban in Sangin

Am trying hard to justify how this video showed the "proper" way to conduct sniper operations. Some concerns below.

1. was there positive identification of the target?
2. how was a camera crew allowed to follow a sniper team, especially on an actual operation
3. there did not seem to be proper employment of cover and concealment

I suppose most parts of this video was a re-enactment

Combat Tactical Challenge - Presence patrol in an urban area

The Centre for Army Lessons in the Australian Army publishes a series of Combat Tactical Challenges.

More details in the link below.

http://opsw.blogspot.com/2011/08/combat-tactical-challenge.html

opswarfare hopes to keep an archive of the scenarios presented.

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Problem

You are the patrol commander of a presence patrol in an urban area of Timor Leste. You have conducted similar patrols in your tactical area of operations. Your role on the patrol is to interact with the local community, gauge the mood of the community and to hear of any problems or issues which may be occurring in the community.

Combat Tactical Challenge - Snap Vehicle Checkpoint

The Centre for Army Lessons in the Australian Army publishes a series of Combat Tactical Challenges.

More details in the link below.

http://opsw.blogspot.com/2011/08/combat-tactical-challenge.html

opswarfare hopes to keep an archive of the scenarios presented.

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Situation

Topography

You are in an overseas country, assisting the local police with peace keeping operations. A snap VCP has been established on one of the sealed single lane roads leading into the adjacent town, approx 3 km from the south eastern edge of the town. This is a rural area with no nearby houses. The town's hospital is approx 4 km away, on the western side of the town.

Threat

Local clans are smuggling illegal wpns from the rural areas into the towns. These wpns are used by the different clans to attack opposition clans. The local clans have avoided initiating contact with ADF units. Reports from the Int Section has been that a dark gray or blue twin cab utility has been used to smuggled wpns into the town.

Canadian troops test new helmets

Interesting experimental helmet on trial; One would have thought that the chin guard would interfere with firing a rifle, but the video shows that it is possible to fire with it mounted.

Surviving the Cut

Surviving the Cut : Discovery Channel

This series, already onto its 2nd season, provides an intimate look at the training of various specialised units. opswarfare has just started reviewing Season 1. The first episode features Ranger training.



The list of episodes for Season 1 can be found here.

MINDEF's Addendum to the President's Address

Been trying to find the actual text of MINDEF's Addendum to the President's Address. Thanks to a fellow forumer from militarynuts.com, below is the text. [Source] 

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MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

ADDENDUM TO THE PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS

1. A secure environment lays the foundation for peace and progress in Singapore. A strong defence safeguards our sovereignty and vital interests and enlarges our political space in the pursuit of a better future for Singaporeans.

2. This need for stability is especially pertinent given the uncertainties in the regional environment driven by global strategic shifts. The aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis is still unfolding as the US and Europe face considerable economic difficulties. There have been dramatic changes in the Middle East but the ramifications of this “Arab Spring” remain uncertain. The fight against terrorism has not ended even though Osama bin Laden is dead. In our region, we continue to see flashes of tension in the Korean Peninsula and over the South China Sea. The interplay of relations between US and China will continue to have an impact on ASEAN and our region.

Karen National Union (KNU)

As mentioned in my previous post (long, long ago), on to the first case.

Myanmar vs Karen National Union (KNU)

Quick summary & history from a New York Times article

The Karen union is one of more than a dozen ethnic groups that for decades have sought greater autonomy from Myanmar's central government. Many other groups have signed formal cease-fires with the military leaders of the country since 1988, but the Karen never reached a formal agreement to lay down their arms. 

The group once had a powerful guerrilla army in Myanmar's eastern border region, but Myanmar Army offensives, coupled with divisions within the organization, reduced the guerrilla group's military presence considerably over the past decade. Most of the group's senior leadership resides in Thailand, while its military bases are mostly located just across the border in Myanmar.

Military tactics

This article from Mizzima details some of the tactics employed by KNU troops. A bit difficult to check the authenticity of this article, but still interesting reading nonetheless.

Hit-and-run tactics are not new for low-intensity conflicts, but some of the points highlighted are worth discussing.

UAV video feeds are unencrypted?

Computer virus infects drone plane command centre in US

Wired magazine reports that a keylogger malware has infected computers at Creech Air Force Base. However, the bigger issue is that video transmissions to ground troops are unencrypted. Hopefully, news of this latest breach will accelerate the introduction of encrypted video streams.

Postscript: Original source Wired article.