Any good book about basic military tactics for me to read? I am currently reading sun tsu art of war.

Aiya ini buku-buku cerita philosophy of warfare. You won't learn about small unit tactics by reading Sun Tzu.

Books like this one is much better:

To be fair, military tactics everywhere are, on paper, very generic but as far as I can tell, the best tactics are the simple ones which soldiers on the ground can follow without much confusion.

Indeed, much more important than than pure theoretical tactics are the discipline & bravery of soldiers to carry out their orders and the creativity & quick thinking needed by junior officers to come up with an alternative plan when the tactic devised earlier isn't working out in battle. Strict battle orders & timetables are usually inevitably hampered by military realities and by giving junior officers on the ground some flexibility in their orders as regarding to the objective is much better doctrine.

As von Moltke said: "No battle plan survives its first contact with the enemy".

Trump stuns NATO with demand to double defence spending



BRUSSELS: US President Donald Trump shocked allies at a fraught NATO summit on Wednesday (Jul 11) by suddenly demanding that members double their defence spending commitments.

Trump's surprise demand came after he clashed with Chancellor Angela Merkel, calling Germany a "captive" of Russia because of its gas links and singling out Berlin for failing to pay its way.

The summit in Brussels is shaping up as the alliance's most difficult in years, against a backdrop of deepening transatlantic tensions in fields ranging from trade to energy and defence.

NATO allies agreed at their Wales summit in 2014 to try to spend two per cent of GDP on defence within 10 years, but the White House said Trump suggested that was not enough.



"During the president's remarks today at the NATO summit he suggested that countries not only meet their commitment of two per cent of their GDP on defence spending, but that they increase it to four percent," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

"The president raised this same issue when he was at NATO last year. President Trump wants to see our allies share more of the burden and at a very minimum meet their already stated obligations."

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev confirmed that Trump had made the demand and asked what it meant for the future of the alliance that has been the bedrock of European security for 70 years.

"NATO is not a stock exchange where you can buy security. NATO is an alliance of sovereign countries united by strategic targets and common values," he told reporters.

'CAPTIVE OF RUSSIA'

All 29 NATO leaders including Trump backed a joint statement committing themselves to greater "burden sharing" and to the alliance's founding commitment that an attack on one member is an attack on them all - with no mention of the four percent.

Trump arrived on the back of a barrage of criticism of Europe on issues ranging from trade to energy and above all his claims that the continent freeloads on the back of America for its defence.

He then set the tone for the day with a blistering attack on key ally Germany at a breakfast meeting with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.

"Germany is a captive of Russia because it is getting so much of its energy from Russia," Trump said, taking particular aim at the proposed Nord Stream II gas pipeline, which he has previously criticised.



"Everybody's talking about it all over the world, they're saying we're paying you billions of dollars to protect you but you're paying billions of dollars to Russia."

Merkel, who grew up in communist East Germany, shot back that she knew what it meant to be under Kremlin domination and Germany had the right to make its own policy choices.

"I myself have also experienced a part of Germany being controlled by the Soviet Union," she said.

"I am very glad that we are united today in freedom as the Federal Republic of Germany and that we can therefore also make our own independent policies and make our own independent decisions."

The pair later met for a one-on-one meeting and while Trump insisted they had a "very very good relationship", their frosty body language suggested otherwise.

Merkel said she welcomed the chance to have an "exchange of views" with Trump.

'VERY DIRECT LANGUAGE'



Trump has long complained that European NATO members do not pay enough for their own defence, singling out Germany for particular criticism.

Germany, Europe's biggest economy, spends just 1.24 per cent, compared with 3.5 per cent for the US.

Stoltenberg acknowledged that Trump had expressed himself in "very direct language" but insisted that away from the fiery rhetoric the allies all agree on fundamental issues: the need to boost NATO's resilience, fight terror and share the cost of defence more equally.

NATO officials and diplomats will try to promote an image of unity at the summit in the face of growing unease about the threat from Russia, but with the row between Merkel and Trump and the new spending demand mean it may prove difficult to paper over the cracks.

The mercurial tycoon said before leaving Washington that his meeting in Helsinki with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday "may be the easiest" part of his European tour, which also includes a trip to Britain, where the government is in crisis over Brexit.

Trump ramped up his rhetoric ahead of the talks, explicitly linking NATO with the transatlantic trade row by saying the EU shut out US business while expecting America to defend it.

EU President Donald Tusk stepped up to the fight with his own salvo against Trump on Tuesday, telling him to "appreciate your allies" and reminding him Washington that Europe had come to its aid following the 9/11 attacks.

European diplomats fear a repeat of last month's divisive G7 in Canada, when Trump clashed with his Western allies before meeting North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un at a summit and praising him as "very talented".

Source: AFP/de
Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/...ending-10521430

Committed to at least 24 UK F35s fully operational by 2023, plus some USMC F35s, and surge capacity for even more if need be. That's more than zero at least. QE2 will be filling in the EU carrier gap while the US gets the delayed Ford-class fully operational. Thats part of why the US and UK are working so closely together on carrier ops.

Ships spend as much time in port as they do at sea. Having 2 carriers doesn't mean both will be used at the same time, though it can and will be done during wartime. E.g. the US has a requirement for 11 to 12 carriers on the basis that it wants to have 4 active carriers at any time.

So when QE is deployed POW will be doing maintenance, training, refit etc and vice versa.*

Complement is expected to be either 24 F35s, or 12 F35s and 9+ helicopters, but the ships are large enough that complement will be very flexible - the QEs can carry 36 F35s and 4+ helis in full strike mode and even more, up to 60+ aircraft in overload conditions - but having more aircraft can actually reduce combat effectiveness.

The QEs are unlikely to ever come to the Far East except perhaps much later in their lives. We will probably see some visiting Type 26s or more likely Type 31es thoug, travelling through to connect with the Aussies.

*Similarly the UK is expected by 2023 to have 24 operational F35s, 18+ in training or maintenance, and 3 test aircraft for a total of 45+.

Meh. Unlikely. IINM as I said earlier, QE once operational is expected to take up carrier duties in the EU so the US can task a carrier to the Persian Gulf again.

At the moment the Gulf is "gapped" while two active carriers are in the Pacific and one is in the EU area. Rest are in port.

uk newest fighter jet project
the tempest

dun really think so 

Here is the 2016 revised salary scheme for the ATM. Don't forget this is basic pay and allowances are not included, plus higher ranks will also have extra allowances on top of basic ones.

Nowadays I can say ATM basic pay is pretty good. Even joining as private with SPM only can get starting basic pay of around RM 1500, not including allowances (which can get to around RM 800 alone, thats nearly RM 2300 right there).

Join with degree and skim kadet graduan, you can get starting pay of around RM 2500 depending on what degree, (engineering pays best at nearly RM 3000 not including allowances) and not to forget, the additional perk of getting hardened soldiers calling your sorry ass 'tuan!' all day long.

Granted, it's not that high considering, but its very different from the pay situation 10-15 years ago.

dunno bout atm but others if you undergo lasik there's a lot of restrictions later on

well, you can still be an MP, armour, POG or arty

hmm, i think that's tough even as a cook... oh well, take care... there're others ways to support national security... rela? lol

Indonesian Navy 3rd DSME Type 209 Submarine construction progress as of early 2018 at PT PAL Submarine Facility. President Jokowi is scheduled to launch the submarine with pennant number 405. Credit to original photographer.



http://defense-studies.blogspot.com/2018/0...-kapal.html?m=1

Even with LKY mad obsession with military arms war with MAS, i think SIN spend too much on its insurance policy. we got 2 subs, they oso wanna buy subs...

later on their archer hv got aip, now their 218 is coming too

its the opposite actually... many if not majority of males loath NS... in fact not many have the knowledge to appreciate their hardware... 2 years is very limited.. of course there're the hardcore ones...

hmm....what is the next evolution of modern rifle design?.....it seem the gun manufacturer still use 20 years old technology on current modern rifle, just small modification over past years....