Blogs
OUTLAW PLATOON by Sean Parnell
- Details
- Category: Blogs
- Published on Monday, 23 April 2012 16:45
- Written by Shawn Carpenter
Sean Parnell was the Platoon Leader of Third Platoon, Bravo Co., 2nd Bn., 87th Infantr Regiment while it was deployed in Afghanistan near the Pakistani border in (YEAR(S). Parnell retired from active duty as a captain, bringing a military career that included Ranger qualification, six years with the 10th Mountain Division, two Bronze Stars (one for Valor) and a Purple Heart. With the assistance of John R. Bruning (author of HOUSE TO HOUSE with David Bellavia and SHADOW OF THE SWORD with Jeremiah Workman), Parnell brings the reader into his platoon, Outlaw Platoon, platoon level glimpse into US operations in an Afghanistan that would be far more familiar to Rudyard Kipling than the more hopeful version described in Doug Stanton's HORSE SOLDIERS or Eric Blehm's THE ONLY THING WORTH DYING FOR.
MJ Figures 20mm Falklands range
- Details
- Category: Blogs
- Published on Monday, 23 April 2012 11:44
- Written by Douglas Robinson
MJ Figures are a UK company that have been around a while mainly doing 15mm figures, they have recently launched a 20mm Falklands range covering the 1982 conflict.
At the moment only 2 packs of figures are available, BF01 and BF02, both British Infantry.
Conflict in Africa
- Details
- Category: Blogs
- Published on Saturday, 21 April 2012 14:55
- Written by Joseph Trevithick
As Ambush Alley fans might be aware, the Africa focused supplement to Force on Force, Bush Wars, Africa 1960–2010, is coming next month. As it turns out, the continent has been very much in the news lately due to a number of crises. The new supplement will help provide wargamers a good overview of common sources of conflict and scenarios and force structures from a wide time frame. The recently released Day of the Rangers also looks at conflict on the continent, though specifically in Somalia. No doubt that those who purchase these supplements will also look to take the information in the supplement and expand to scenarios based on recent events. Here's a quick look at some of the areas that might be of interest to gamers looking to explore conflict in Africa.
Sudan (and Now South Sudan)
Like most countries in Africa, Sudan has a long and complicated history of conflict rooted in things like weak institutions, competing territorial claims, and natural resources. Sudan occupies a significant portion of the "Sahel" or "Trans Sahara" region of Africa, which serves as a dividing line between Semitic and non-Semitic Africans among other things. Conflict in regions of Sudan like Darfur, Kordofan, and Blue Nile, as well as what is now the independent country of South Sudan have much to do with this ethnic divide. An associated religious difference between the two groups further fuels conflict.
As it stands now, the Sudanese government continues to find itself tangling with insurgent movements internally. Though the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was supposed to establish a stable status quo between Sudan and insurgents in the South, and did ultimately lead to the creation of South Sudan, border disputes linked to natural resources have recently inflamed tensions again, with the potential to lead to a major interstate conflict.
US Army Adds UAS to Aviation Units
- Details
- Category: Blogs
- Published on Monday, 16 April 2012 20:51
- Written by Joseph Trevithick
On April 12th, Company F, 1st Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment was activated at Fort Riley, Kansas as part of the Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division. Company F is markedly different from the rest of the Battalion in that it is equipped with the MQ-1C Grey Eagle unmanned aerial system (UAS).
This activation is part of the decision by the US Army to integrate UAS vehicles into regular Army Aviation units to supplement existing platforms and provide a range of capabilities from reconnaissance to attack. Everything about the activation plays to this. Company F is part of an attack reconnaissance aviation battalion primarily equipped with the AH-64D Apache attack helicopter. The MQ-1Cs, which has been developed specifically to allow for partnership with manned aircraft (including the AH-64D and OH-58D), will be able to function on their own or support other elements of the Battalion.
Though just coming into service now, the US Army has been developing the MQ-1C since awarding a contract to General Atomics in 2005 for what was initially intended to be a follow-on to the RQ-5B Hunter UAS. As the Army expanded its plan for UAS platforms, it added additional missions to the profile of the vehicle, initially known by Warrior and other names.
More Articles...
