The consequences of Putin's Bombing Campaign in Syria...

Here are the consequences (both intended and unintended) of Putin's Syrian bombing campaign (so far):

1. Delay the fall of the Assad Regime;

2. Prolong the Syrian Civil War;

3. Force more Syrians to flee and 

become refugees in the EU (and the US);

4. Provoke more Sunni Muslims to commit acts of Terror (this time, against Russians too);

5. Decrease the Supply of oil;

6. Increase the Price of oil;

7. Increase Russia's oil revenues;

8. Increase Russia's kitty for buying more bombs; 

9. Make the World forget Russia's annexation of Crimea and Eastern Ukraine;

10. Force Western special operations missions to coordinate with Russia (or run the risk of being accidentally hit by Russian ordnance);

11. Increase the casualty count of Syrian Turkmen;

12. Force Turkey to retaliate against Russia to avenge Syrian Turkmen casualties;

13. Divide NATO into Pro-Turkey and Anti-Turkey factions; and

14. Kill some IS Militants, once in a while.

Please feel free to add your own...

Can Putin help solve the Syrian Crisis?

The key Syrian-related events in the last 60 days:

September 30, 2015 - Russian planes start bombing targets in Syria

October 31, 2015 - Terrorist Bomb downs Russian flight to St. Petersburg

November 13, 2015 - Terrorist Wolf Packs attack Paris

November 22, 2015 - Turkish F-16 downs Russian SU-24 which strayed into Turkish airspace

Before Putin directly involved himself in the Syrian Conflict last September, talk was circulating that the fall of the Assad Regime is imminent.

That would have slowed the flow of Syrian refugees into Europe... and enabled the West to redirect the Free Syrian Forces to fight ISIS.

Now, there appears to be no end in sight for Syria... the Refugees... and the ISIS Terrorists...

Can Putin help in cleaning-up this mess?

Of course, all he has to do is go back home to Russia...

Russia and Turkey are evenly matched (conventionally)...

Most of the world must be scratching their heads in disbelief when Turkey shot down that SU-24 a few days ago.

Ankara is challenging Moscow militarily? Has Erdogan lost his Mind?

I myself had my doubts. So I quickly checked what each side has, in case of an All-Out Conventional War.

And surprisingly, they appear to be evenly matched.

But do not take my word for it, judge for yourself. Here are the stats:

1. Fighter Aircraft

    Turkey - 230

    Russia - 880

2. Main Battle Tanks

    Turkey - 1,680

    Russia - 2,270

3. Ground Troops

    Turkey - 395,000

    Russia - 314,000

Now, the above figures are on a total basis. While Erdogan has the luxury of deploying everything he has in a conventional war in his own backyard, Putin has to allocate some of his forces to protect Russia against potential threats coming from Western Europe (i.e. other NATO members) and the Far East (i.e. China).

So if you want to make a realistic comparison, every Russian figure above should first be divided by three (3). This would significantly tilt the odds in Erdogan's favor, in terms of both Main Battle Tanks and Ground Troops.

This is a worrying thought for two (2) reasons:

1. It might tempt Erdogan to send Tanks and Troops into Syria to protect Syrian Turkmen, and;

2. It might tempt Putin to reach for the Nuclear Button once he gets badlly mauled conventionally by Erdogan in Syria.

The US and NATO must quickly find a Win-Win Solution before Czar Putin and Sultan Erdogan can come to blows...

#Turkey

#Russia

#Syria

#SU24Downing

#WorldWar3

#Doomsday

#NuclearArmaggedon

The exploits of the USS Swordfish (SS-193)...

Most Filipinos have probably heard of the USS Swordfish (SS-193).  She is the Sargo-class submarine who evacuated Philippine Commonwealth Pres. Manuel L. Quezon and his family from Corregidor on February 20, 1942... and saved them from the humiliation of Japanese capture.

In view of the anticipated establishment of the Philippine Navy's own diesel-electric attack submarine force, I am presenting the exploits of the USS Swordfish in WWII to give the excited fans of this much-welcomed upgrade in Our Country's naval capabilities, a taste of what wartime attack submarine operations look like:

October 27, 1937 - keel laid down at Vallejo, California

April 3, 1939 - launched 

Early 1941 - sailed for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

November 3, 1941 - sailed for Manila

November 22, 1941 - arrived in Manila

December 8, 1941 - sailed for combat patrols off the coast of Hainan

December 9, 1941 - damaged a Japanese ship

December 11, 1941 - damaged another Japanese ship

December 14, 1941 - damaged another Japanese ship

December 16, 1941 - became the first US submarine to sink a Japanese ship in WWII

December 27, 1941 - evacuated the Submarine Asiatic Command Staff from Manila to Surabaya, Indonesia

January 7, 1942 - arrived at Surabaya

January 16, 1942 - departed for combat patrols at the Celebes Sea

January 24, 1942 - sank a Japanese ship  

February 20, 1942 - evacuated Pres. Quezon and his family to San Jose, Antique (from there, they were subsequently flown to Australia)

March 9, 1942 - arrived at Freemantle, Western Australia after picking up from Manila the High Commisioner of the Philippines 

May 15, 1942 - sank a Japanese ship in the South China Sea

June 12, 1942 - sank a Japanese ship in the Gulf of Siam

February 23, 1943 - returned to Pearl Harbor for overhaul

July 29, 1943 - sailed on combat patrol, to Brisbane, Australia

September 5, 1943 - sank a Japanese ship

December 26, 1943 - sailed for combat patrols at Tokyo Bay

January 13, 1944 - sank a Japanese ship but suffered heavy depth charge damage

January 14, 1944 - sank another Japanese ship

January 17, 1944 - fired 4 torpedoes at the carrier Shokaku, all missed

March 13, 1944 - sailed for combat patrols at the Mariana Islands

June 9, 1944 - sank the Japanese destroyer Matsukaze near the Bonin Islands

June 15, 1944 - sank another Japanese ship

June 30, 1944 - returned to Pearl Harbor

December 22, 1944 - sailed for combat patrols at Nansei Shoto

January 2, 1945 - ordered to patrol at coordinates 30N, 132E

January 3, 1945 - sent her last communication acknowledging receipt of the order

Thereafter, the USS Swordfish and her entire crew were never heard or seen again...

She was presumed sunk by Japanese action (either depth charges or sea mines).  But Japanese war records never confirmed this...

One of the unsolved mysteries of WWII...

To her crew...

Thank you for your ultimate sacrifice boys...

#SubmarineWarfare

#AFPmodernization

#USNavy

#WestPhilippineSea

#ChinaGoHome