Machor

The Russian army is a mix of conscripts and professional/contracted soldiers. You may want to check out the posts by @ikalugin following the one below. The short answer is: They are moving back to divisions because those are cheaper to upkeep. It's a mix of budgetary constraints and "grow the army."

According to Camopedia, "duck hunter" came to be used after the war for the general pattern of the USMC camo, which was called "frog skin:" http://camopedia.org/index.php?title=Duck_hunter http://camopedia.org/index.php?title=USA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frog_Skin Anyone reading this who hasn't checked out Camopedia, well, should.

I did a quick search for the US and Canada, and it appears that they leave it to soldiers' own judgement: "Facebook posting guidance for Soldiers" "Military warns soldiers not to post info on Facebook" http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/military-warns-soldiers-not-to-post-info-on-facebook-1.765328 "The Defence Department is advising Canadian soldiers not to post personal photos and information on social networking websites like Facebook, citing security concerns. The advisory was circulated in a memo obtained by CBC News. It warns soldiers not to appear in uniform in online photos and not to disclose their military connections. "Al Qaeda operatives are monitoring Facebook and other social networking sites," the memo says. "This may seem overdramatic … [but] the information can be used to target members for further exploitation. It also opens the door for your families and friends to become potential targets as well." The Defence Department says it is also concerned with postings of photos and information from the battlefront in Afghanistan. On Feb. 14, military official Brig.-Gen. Peter Atkinson warned against such battle scene postings. "The insurgents could use this information to determine their success or their lack of it … and determine better ways to attack us," he told reporters in Ottawa."

"Quantity has a quality of its own." [NOT a quote from Stalin]: "Butterfly swarm shows up on Denver radar system" http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41528521 "A colourful, shimmering spectacle detected by satellites over the US state of Colorado has been identified as swarms of migrating butterflies. Scientists at the National Weather Service (NWS) first mistook the orange radar blob for birds and had asked the public to help identifying the species. They later established that the 70-mile wide (110km) mass was a kaleidoscope of Painted Lady butterflies. Forecasters say it is uncommon for flying insects to be detected by radar."

More news from everyone's favourite country: "Saudi king's gold escalator gets stuck" http://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-middle-east-41520562/saudi-king-s-gold-escalator-gets-stuck "When King Salman landed in Russia, it marked the first official visit to the country by a Saudi monarch. However, the trip didn't get off to the smoothest start, when the escalator set up to help him disembark the plane got stuck."

@IMHO [No flaming intended.] I'm not out to defend Kuzio, have not read anything by him other than the interview that Kino linked to, and am not knowledgeable enough to fact-check that interview. But the evidence you've presented does not refute his claims: "This is why Russia consistently attempts to portray all opposition in Ukraine as coming exclusively [my italics] from the more predominantly Ukrainian-speaking west of the country." According to your figures, 62% of voters in Lvov province did NOT vote for Svoboda in 2012, and 35% of voters in Donetsk, 48% of voters in Crimea, and 53% of voters in Sevastopol did NOT vote for Yanukovich. "even now, they still cannot understand the concept of a Russian-speaking Ukrainian patriot" The native language divide obviously doesn't refute this. And frankly, as someone whose knowledge of Ukraine was mainly from Russian sources, I too was surprised to see all those Russian-speaking Ukrainian volunteers in front of cameras at the beginning of the conflict. I think your previous posts on the competing economic interests of the east and the west of Ukraine provided a more solid counter-argument.

Looks like the internets are getting shut down: "Russian soldiers face ban on selfies and blog posts" http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41510592 "The Russian defence ministry has drafted a law to ban social media posts by professional soldiers and other military personnel on security grounds. The bill says photos, videos and other material uploaded to the internet can reveal military details useful to an enemy. Automatic geolocation can show where a military unit is deployed. The bill affects "contract" soldiers, who can be sent abroad, not conscripts. Russian soldiers' posts have revealed forces deployed to Ukraine and Syria. For example, in July 2014 the BBC's Myroslava Petsa tweeted an image of a post by a Russian soldier who proudly reported delivering Grad rockets to the pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine. ... Ukraine's military is also concerned about its soldiers revealing too much on social media. The Kyiv Post reported those concerns in 2015, when the fighting with pro-Russian rebels was more intense. "There have been cases where positions were revealed, which led to active shelling," said Dmytro Podvorchansky of Ukraine's Dnipro-1 Regiment."

"Giant python: Indonesians eat huge snake after man defeats reptile" http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41507967 "A giant python in Indonesia met an unfortunate end when it was eaten after it lost a battle with a local man. Security guard Robert Nababan encountered the snake on a palm oil plantation road in Sumatra's Batang Gansal district on Saturday. Mr Nababan tried to catch the python, reports say, which was nearly 8m (26ft) long. It attacked him, and man and reptile fought until Mr Nababan killed it with the help of some villagers. The guard survived with serious injuries. It is unclear why he tried to catch the python. Varying reports say he was either trying to keep scared villagers safe or that he was trying to clear the road. Local police told AFP news agency that the python had sunk its fangs into the guard's left arm and nearly severed it. He was rushed to a hospital where he is still recovering. The python was not so lucky - its body was strung up for display at a village, before it was chopped up, fried and eaten. In March another encounter with a giant snake turned out differently, when an Indonesian villager was found dead in the belly of a python."

"The True North strong and free!"

"AVDENTIS•FORTVNA•IVVAT"

In my case - I'm on Windows 8.1 - going to "This PC > Name of drive where I have CM installed > Program Files (x86) > Battlefront > Name of the particular CM title > Data" and deleting or removing the "intro" file does it. BTW, as testimony to my loyalty to BFC, the file disappeared by itself after applying a patch to my CMBS, and I copy&pasted it into the data folder from another CM title.

Thank goodness sculpture is open to public scrutiny - unlike academic writing: "Kalashnikov statue changed because of German weapon" http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41367394 "Workers in Moscow have cut out part of a new monument to a Russian creator of the world famous AK-47 assault rifle because a weapon depicted on the statue was actually a German-designed firearm. Mikhail Kalashnikov's monument was opened this week to great fanfare by government officials and members of the Russian Orthodox Church. But arms experts said a drawing on the base of the statue showed the StG 44 rifle used by the Nazis during WWII. It was removed by an angle grinder. "A mistake has been made by the sculptor," executive director of the Russian Military Historical Society Vladislav Kononov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies. The society commissioned the 7.5m (25ft) monument, which shows Kalashnikov holding an AK-47 in his arms. A series of modified AK rifles were etched on a metallic plate on the base of the statue, including the wrong drawing. Russian arms historian Yuri Pasholok was the first to point out the error, and several experts later confirmed this was the case."

"Saudi textbook features image of Yoda with King Faisal" http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-41363156 "Saudi Arabia's education minister has apologised for the production of a school textbook in which the Star Wars character Yoda is seen superimposed on a photograph of the late King Faisal."

A great tip I learned from playing Sengoku Jidai at its hardest setting against the AI is to give the AI a 150% point advantage. Thus, when I'm defending in a QB, I increase the AI's points by 70%, and when I'm attacking, I reduce my own points by 40% - which result in 170% and 167% point advantages for the AI. You won't believe the satisfaction I get when I score a total victory. [I have experimented with even greater advantages for the AI, with mixed results. At the highest point advantages possible, I have been able to attain a few total victories only when playing as US against RUS in CMBS.]

You gentlemen may find the following threads - among others - of interest: I remember Sublime sharing the tip that the 'cheapest' arrangement in QB is to have MANPADS teams 'man' the BMPs. Steve was of the opinion that breaking up the section to man the commander's station is gamey, as it goes against doctrine. On the other hand, Vladimir Tarasov stated that as a VDV section leader, he would have asked a member of his section to man the commander's station of his BMD when he dismounted, if necessary.

If Stugna spots even better than the Bulat, I wonder if this is simply because it isn't buttoned up, or if the launcher does have a fancy sight. @Haiduk is the man to ask. The T-64 can, of course, take out BTRs with HE, though one can ask if it's earning its keep if all it does is eat BTR. The question I asked about 'bot spotting' has to do with the fact that it's considered 'gamey.' [CM veterans may want to chime in here.] If you want the T-64 to engage contacts spotted by the Stugna, you're supposed to wait for the Stugna to share that info with the T-64; otherwise, you're giving the T-64 gunner telepathic powers. You can improve contact sharing by attaching a team to a tank or vice versa. Keep safe and sound!

Are you using the Stugna? If so, does it have thermals in game? Wouldn't this be 'bot spotting?' Also, wouldn't the tank simply shoot HE if you gave it an area target?

We do have this:

Jon, I fear you may have thought I was taking a jab at you; the jab was at the authors of the articles you cited in your footnote. The factual mistake may not affect your argument, but is that true for their arguments as well? Moreover, anyone who hasn't watched the film closely may well come to believe their false version, given the authority of academic publication. Actually, it formed the very basis of the prof's new reading of a certain literary text. Her unfounded assumption that one character was serving in the Guards allowed her to claim that another character related to him represented the Russian Crown. Without the hussar=Guards equation, her reading simply falls apart. And yes, I have checked her publications and she has since published the paper in a book by a most prestigious academic publisher. Which means that not only did she, a world-class academic, knowingly publish false information, but also that the peer-review process and her editor in the very least never questioned her hussar=Guards equation. It also means that there is now this authoritative false knowledge out there which will be cited by others and grow into more false knowledge. Sorry to take your thread OT - I feel strongly about this since I believe contemporary fake news/alternate facts/relative truths have their origin in Deconstruction, and how many humanities scholars took advantage of it to slither into positions with $$$$$$ salaries.

Just wanted to point out that Willie isn't the one who kills Mellish. See here: http://www.sproe.com/s/steamboat-comparison.html As a former PhD candidate in the Humanities, I'm not surprised by scholars not only misreading the text, but consciously ignoring it to push their arguments. I once told a prof after a presentation her premise that a fictional 19th century Russian character being a hussar meant he was serving in the Guards was factually incorrect. She thanked me, and went on to present the exact same paper at an international conference. I bet she's already published a whole book out of it.

Thank you for this; as someone who loved the original Patton's Best, I had to check it out. Having gone over the website and the manual, I can mention two significant improvements over the original game: - In Patton's Best, which was designed as a purely solitaire game, any spotted German tank was treated like a Tiger I and ATG as an 88 for all combat resolutions until they were identified, at which point they were most likely to turn into the far more docile Pz IV and Pak 40. I felt this placed undue emphasis on identification, since real tank crews must have known the rarity of enemy equipment. It is my understanding from Armoured Commander's manual that this problem is solved by the computer 'knowing' the true type of equipment you're facing, even if you don't. - Armoured Commander includes two campaigns: Patton's Best with the 4th Armored Division and Canada's Best (hence the 'armoured' ) with the 4th Armoured Division. Other than serving as Canuck-bait, the inclusion of a Canadian campaign finally provides context for commanding the Firefly, which was included in the original boardgame as a hypothetical curiosity item. In the original game, Fireflies were priority targets for German gunners.

Other than recycled footage that has already been posted in this thread, all identifiable ISIS targets in the video are FSA. I could not positively ID the target of the BMP attack, but the vehicles were not dispersed as normally practised by Turkish forces operating in Syria. Turkey has leased the FSA a number of APCs and trucks, which are still painted in the original Turkish camo of Dark Yellow / Olive Drab. This is the infamous 'Turkish soldier burning' video, which ISIS released on December 23 following the heavy Turkish artillery and aerial bombardment of Al Bab on December 22, which was in response to the losses ISIS inflicted on the Turkish forces on Aqil Hill on December 21. Even though ISIS presented it as an act of revenge, the video was certainly filmed earlier as there is no snow on the ground. The ISIS fighter speaking Turkish in the video is a known Turkish national who has joined the organization. The Turkish military has rejected the claim that the two individuals who were burned alive were its members; one of them has subsequently been identified by Turkish intelligence as a missing Turkish national who was suspected of having joined ISIS. The two are wearing Turkish army battledress, which is freely sold commercially, but otherwise lack all unit and rank insignia; notably, the 'NCO' claims to belong to the gendarme, not the army as his 'uniform' suggests. The two men's self-introductions as supposed Turkish soldiers lack the usual jargon, and they do not identify their units. As indicated by BBC's piece on ISIS's grooming and brainwashing of children that I had posted in the general discussion forum [reposting here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/an_education_in_terror ], nothing is too low for this organization, and there is a hierarchy between their members in terms of the real bosses versus those who are meant to be wasted. Therefore, I wouldn't be surprised if those two men joined ISIS and were tricked to take part in the video thinking it would only be roleplay.

Excellent new BBC piece on ISIS's grooming and brainwashing of children: "An education in terror" http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/an_education_in_terror "His days with the caliphate were coming to an end. The final straw was when an IS fighter from Algeria picked him up, accusing him of smoking. It was late at night, and the fighter forced Omar into the back of a car to rape him. ... But perhaps, the most Machiavellian of the Islamic State’s subversions can be seen in its teaching of the Koran. IS instructs its teachers to link verses to the non-mainstream jihadi concepts being taught in its classes, in many cases even providing them with page numbers and exact references. “Prepare for teaching this verse by teaching your students that a believer’s aim of jihad for the sake of Allah is either victory over the Kuffar (infidels) or death for the sake of Allah,” one instruction says. By the time their primary studies are over, it is possible that this systematic practice made children correlate, maybe even confuse, between the doctrine and the Koran, the universal Holy Book of all Muslims. As a result, children would have seen any other Muslim not following the same doctrine as an apostate. ... Hard numbers are difficult to come by, but at least 2,000 children became Lion Cubs of the Caliphate - child soldiers for the IS war machine, and many thousands more were manipulated and turned towards jihad in IS classrooms. They are victims, and some are a threat. Almost all are left at the very edges of whatever society they now inhabit. And there is a danger of them re-offending, says Dr Mia Bloom. “It’s not the recidivism one would expect. These kids can be funnelled into criminality, they have all the skills for it. They end up in criminal gangs, not terrorist groups.""

I should have used qualifiers: While decisive action between capital ships was relatively rare in WW2 in comparison to air and submarine attacks. I'm not sold on the BC concept, though. They required funds that were just short of a battleship and considerably more than a cruiser, so CM QB junkies like myself can feel the dilemma. No wonder the BC concept eventually merged with the 'fast-battleship,' which is how I would classify the Iowas - and the Hood, which is why I didn't mention her demise as an example. Indeed, Panzer's input on SBCTs increasingly getting cross-attached with armour in training goes to show that 'filling in all the gradations' in the force structure isn't the best approach. Now I have an itch to play HPS Sims' Future Force.

While ship-on-ship action was rare in WW2, the last battles of the Scharnhorst and Kirishima serve to illustrate Panzer's point about existing "on a razor's edge" - one unfortunate brush with a battleship and down to the bottom of the sea. That being said, one game on my hard drive that I hope to play some day is War Plan Orange - precisely to ponder questions like this. But the naval discussion is also relevant to the topic if we think about the 'guerre de course.' For more than two centuries, first frigates, then cruisers were built for a role that was the naval equivalent of motorized light infantry, and yet there are no surface vessels fulfilling that role today. The explanation seems to be simply that any surface vessel attempting to do so would be promptly detected and annihilated. Thus, in line with Apocal's historical approach to the topic, once technology prevents you from sailing/steaming/riding/driving off and disappearing after the 'hit-and-run' attack, the role ceases to exist. Now, 'hybrid' light infantry, on the other hand...