dont just look at % of gdp... look at % of total budget also

ragtag army... how la

pak arab?

dont have to be direct hit, janji mati

ragtag fella...

US deploys more advanced aircraft carrier to boost ties with Japan



One of the U.S. Navy's most advanced aircraft carriers docked in Japan on Thursday at the start of a deployment that will strengthen the capability of the Seventh Fleet in Asia and boost ties between the United States and its closest regional ally.

YOKOSUKA, Japan: One of the U.S. Navy's most advanced aircraft carriers docked in Japan on Thursday at the start of a deployment that will strengthen the capability of the Seventh Fleet in Asia and boost ties between the United States and its closest regional ally.

With a crew of 5,000 sailors and a compliment of around 80 aircraft, USS Ronald Reagan is equipped with the latest targeting and defence radars, integrated weapons systems and command and communications technology.

The USS Ronald Reagan's deployment marks an upgrade, as the USS George Washington, the carrier it has replaced in Japan, had less advanced systems and technology.

"Just like a new car we have the latest and greatest, we have GPS, we have the back up mirror so we can see what is behind us," Captain Chris Bolt, the carrier's commander, told a separate press briefing on the dock at Yokosuka naval base.

"We have some tremendous command and control capabilities."

In a tilt towards Asia, the United States is rebalancing its forces, deploying 60 percent of its navy to the region, including its most advanced vessels.

Last month, in a retreat from 70 years of state pacifism, Japanese lawmakers approved legislation that would enable Japan's military to fight overseas for the first time since World War Two.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is pursuing a doctrine of collective self defence with allies meant to give his nation a bigger role in regional security in order to counterbalance the military power of an increasingly assertive China.

The changes enacted last month are expected to lead to enhanced cooperation between the Japanese and U.S navies.

"We have many, many exercises that we do, we are very inter-operable because of our equipment and our training. So, we think that these new measures will deepen that, will strengthen that, and will make us better together," Ray Mabus, the U.S. Secretary of the Navy, told a press briefing in Yokohama.

(Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

- Reuters

US military 'golden hour' rule saved lives



A mandate to get wounded U.S. soldiers to appropriate medical care within one hour of injury improved survival on the battlefield, according to a new study.

(Reuters Health) - A mandate to get wounded U.S. soldiers to appropriate medical care within one hour of injury improved survival on the battlefield, according to a new study.

The 2009 rule, implemented by then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, potentially saved 359 lives, according to the report in JAMA Surgery.

"I think the Secretary of Defense's mandate made a difference," said Dr. Russ Kotwal, the study's lead author from the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research at Joint Base San Antonio-Ft. Sam Houston.

He and his colleagues write that the 60-minute mandate, which is widely known as the "golden hour," cut in half the previous goal of two hours between a call for prehospital helicopter transport and arrival at a treatment facility.

For the study, the researchers used data on 21,089 soldiers wounded in Afghanistan from September 2001 through March 2014.

After the mandate, the average transport time decreased from 90 minutes to 43 minutes - based on patients with the most complete data. Also, the percentage of missions achieving transport within the "golden hour" increased from about 25 percent to 75 percent.

Overall, 16 percent of those wounded before the mandate were killed in action, compared to about 10 percent after the mandate.

When the researchers included wounded soldiers who survived past the battlefield, the fatality rate was about 14 percent before the mandate and about 8 percent after.

The percentage of soldiers who died after reaching a treatment facility remained consistent, at about 4 percent before and after the mandate.

In an editorial accompanying the new study, Dr. Todd Rasmussen cautioned that it's important to remember that these results were in an "optimal theater of war" with air access and surgical facilities.

"Future casualty care scenarios may be frighteningly more complex and involve delayed resuscitation, prolonged field care, and longer-distance critical care transport," wrote Rasmussen, of the U.S. Combat Casualty Care Research Program at Fort Detrick in Maryland.

The new study also has practical implications for the general U.S. population, Kotwal said.

For example, in remote areas of the U.S. the new study shows it's important to improve evacuation times for trauma patients or to push out enhanced medical capabilities to first responders.

"The 'golden hour' is not about getting people to a hospital," Kotwal said. "It’s about getting them the care that’s required."

Rasmussen added in his editorial that military and civilian planners should learn from the "golden hour" effort - including its limitations, such as the difficulty of acquiring the data to do these types of analyses.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1OHhtIk and http://bit.ly/1OHhuMA JAMA Surgery, online September 30, 2015.

- Reuters

Russia enters Syria war with air strikes



Russia launched air strikes in war-torn Syria on Wednesday, its first military engagement outside the former Soviet Union since the occupation of Afghanistan in 1979.

MOSCOW: Russia launched air strikes in war-torn Syria on Wednesday (Sep 30), its first military engagement outside the former Soviet Union since the occupation of Afghanistan in 1979.

Russian warplanes carried out strikes in several provinces along with Syrian government aircraft as President Vladimir Putin seeks to steal US President Barack Obama's thunder by pushing a rival plan to defeat the Islamic State group in Syria.

Both Moscow and Damascus presented the operation as targeting IS militants, with a Syrian security source saying "terrorist positions" were hit in Hama and Homs provinces, and that Russia aided government air strikes in Latakia province, the regime's stronghold.

But the United States said it believed Russia had targeted the opposition rebels threatening Syria's embattled leader Bashar al-Assad - not IS as claimed.

A US defence official in Washington briefed journalists that: "We have not seen any strikes against ISIL, what we have seen is strikes against (the) Syrian opposition."

Defence Secretary Ash Carter was more cautious, saying: "It does appear they were in areas where there were probably not ISIL forces." But he blasted Russia's arrival in the bloody civil war, saying it only served to prolong the conflict and would "backfire."

France - which on Sunday launched its first air strike against IS in Syria - also raised doubts over Russia's objectives, echoing concerns that Moscow's military build-up in the country aims simply to keep Assad in power.

Thirty-six civilians

The Russian defence ministry said it carried out 20 flights, and hit eight IS targets.

One bombing run killed 36 civilians - including five children - in central Homs province, the head of Syria's main opposition group told AFP. "The Russians struck northern Homs today and killed 36 innocent people ... who fought against extremism," said Khaled Khoja, head of the National Coalition.

Western powers consider Assad's military responsible for the vast majority of the 240,000 deaths in the four-year war, and say his presence makes a political settlement impossible. France this week launched a probe into Assad's regime for crimes against humanity.

Russia meanwhile is pushing for foreign countries to join an intelligence task force Moscow is setting up with Iran, Iraq and Syria, arguing that supporting the Syrian government is the only way to defeat IS.

Putin, who obtained parliamentary permission to use force abroad just hours before the strikes, warned that Moscow would hunt down IS militants before they target Russia.

The Russian leader pledged his country would not get sucked into a protracted military campaign. His chief of staff Sergei Ivanov said the operation would be limited in duration and ruled out ground operations by Russian troops.

He also said that Assad should be ready for compromise with the opposition, "for the sake of his country and his people."

Russia's next move, later Wednesday, will be to present a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council on countering terrorism and fighting IS.

'Russian strikes not helpful'

Washington was given advance warning of the Russian strikes - in line with an agreement to "deconflict" the situation in Syria, which means working to ensure coalition and Russian planes do not inadvertently cross paths.

However Russia only gave an hour's warning and did not specify where the strikes would occur, riling many in the Pentagon who had been hoping for clearer lines of communication.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressed consternation. "I'm especially concerned because there has been no real effort by the Russian side to deconflict the Russian air strikes in Syria," he said.

Putin wants to muscle his way back onto the world stage after months of Western isolation following Russia's seizure of Crimea from Ukraine and support for a separatist insurgency in the east of the ex-Soviet country.

But Washington is worried Moscow's support for its Soviet-era ally may complicate the US-led coalition's fight against IS extremists. Secretary of State John Kerry told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that Moscow's move "is not helpful to that effort", a senior US official said.

Differences with the West

Russia's powerful Orthodox Church voiced support for Moscow's air strikes, calling it a "holy battle".

But many in Russia accused the Kremlin of short-sightedness. Alexander Konovalov, head of the Strategic Analysis Institute, said Russia was guided by a desire to end its diplomatic isolation and may not fully realise the long-term consequences of a military involvement in the Middle East.

"We were going to Afghanistan for six months and stayed there for 10 years," he told AFP, referring to a conflict that killed over 14,000 Soviet troops between 1979 and 1989.

Sixty-nine per cent of Russians are against Moscow's deployment of troops in Syria, with just 14 per cent in favour, according to a recent poll by the Levada Centre.

Wednesday's news set social networks alight, with many commentators predicting dire consequences for Russians. "Hide your sons," one Russian, Zaira Abdullaeva, wrote on Facebook.

- AFP/de

This post has been edited by alaskanbunny: Oct 1 2015, 09:20 PM

gemuk2 semua

are these the guys that crash earlier?

lelz, india buy buy buy

the first one is safe for flying already?

prc... lelz, hard to satisfy them

i see...

org muslim chechnya lawan untuk russia? betol ke nih... ingat semua pemberontak

proxy war for world powers

fuuuu

heh... send reservist aka conscripts? no the regulars? hmm...

The Republic of Singapore Air Force

A commemoration ceremony was held at Changi Air Base (West) last week to celebrate 121 SQN's 150,000 Accident-Free Flying Hours.

150,000 accident-free flying hours might look like a mere number, but did you know this translates to a non-stop flight of more than 17 years without an accident? This is certainly one mean feat that our 121 SQN just celebrated!

"One of the key success factors has been our strong safety culture. Today, safety has been woven into our fabric, and has become our way of life. We constantly help check each other's 'six' and execute our every task with due consideration for safety. Even in our day-to-day operations, we constantly remind ourselves not to be complacent and not to be lulled into routines." - LTC Clement Wee, CO 121 SQN, highlighting how they execute safe and effective operations over the past 42 years.





who say no malay in singkie airforce... see d guy on the left



http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/tran...h-flier-colonel



This post has been edited by alaskanbunny: Oct 5 2015, 11:58 PM

doubt so

3 mill... that's like a 30 ppl dept... i think its 3 bill

max col. if non-scholar, memang ada gen. melayu yg bkn scholar tapi bkn saja melayu... bukan scholar memang susah dpt 1 bintang... unless you're in charge of special operations once

melayu pandai takan masok military punya... lagipon krn melayu ada risiko terrorism byk masok ke polis atau civil defense masa kecik, jd tak ramai masa ns di tentera... yg sign on regular, byk kurang pandai.. jd tak dapat naik tinggi2

yg tinggi2 tu byk airforce, infantry atau logistik/supply..

i know la... u read my post properly

this guy is not a scholar but he has good academic degrees, his physical fitness and individual soldiering skills are not exceptional.. a few of the course he attend in his late 30 and early 40s he drop out.. cant blame him as most people undertake these courses at a younger age and because he's tied with infantry chances to attend these course is low... but what made this guy so exception is something that cant be graded on paper, his leadership skills.. he's not only a leader in the military but also in the malay muslim community.. last time not many malay regular nco made it beyond warrant officer rank mostly drop out demotivated and demoralized, this guy pushed them to further studies (many join last time for job security due to poor grads in school) even when they couldnt believe in themselves and many promoted after that... among his men he drink n makan together, what he command he would be there too... that's why he's among the colonels that is not a scholar to be made a general... also he wasnt even in charge of any special operations before which is exceptional cause most non-scholar generals are in charge of an special operation before..

after leaving the military this guy is damn flexible.. he was posted to GLC but he ventured out and ran his own venture...

hope to see more malays like him... in sg a bit problem

yg gemuk jadi clerk di saf, yg besar sikit masok civil defense, yg fit dan pandai sikit tapi tak aggressive masok polis, yg fit dan aggressive masok commando, yg lain lain either mp, infantry..

antara sign on byk masok immigration n custom, civil defense... yg pandai punya takan masok uniform punya

so how to find high ranking malay military officer.. yg ishak tu tengok badan dia masa general.. dia tu combat officer bukan service, still can be general walaupon ippt not silver or gold.. hardly you can find any badan besar combat general anymore in the saf but he has something others dont have

a lot of ppl think saf general nerd la, paper general la... but once u know them well, you know they are not just book smart... they follow the israeli model

he's doing a few things...

that's the problem... sg's main objective is to deter aggressors and if challenge they will have to be swift and decisive

as long as there's peace and no conflict, they have done their job.. when people attack without even knowing, it is too late... macam kiram

although no war/direct combat experience their peace time experience can say a lot about them... aceh tsunami it was sg to arrive first what happened to konstrad? christchurch earthquake still saf guards to arrive first, east cost flood who to arrive first?

there're classified info that ppl dont know so dont just write them off saying they are without combat experience... as a unit probably now, as individuals you and i wont know

macam la others a lot of experience... and are those experience still relevant today?

it depends on the size... kalau hantar satu team 7 org... tu bantu sampai mana... nih satu kabupaten hilang...

mkn tu hantar brp org? ambik helicopter terbang tgk tgk je?

anyway... not to compare.. just to show readiness