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Marder Infantry Fighting Vehicle Turns 50 – Tried-and-Tested Warhorse of Germany’s Mechanized Infantry

Sunday, May 9th, 2021

The Marder infantry fighting vehicle celebrates its 50th anniversary today: it was a half a century ago, on 7 May 1971, that the German Army took formal deliver of the first serially produced vehicles. This took place at simultaneous ceremonies in Kassel and Kiel – the corporate seats of the legendary IFV’s original manufacturers, Thyssen-Henschel and Krupp MaK. Both companies have belonged to Rheinmetall since 1999 and 2001, respectively.

At the time of its inception, the prime mission of the new IFV was to defend the national territory in Central Europe: teamed with the Leopard 1 main battle tank, the Marder was supposed to play a pivotal role in the mobile operations of the Bundeswehr. But fate had different plans in store for the vehicle. During the Cold War, the Marder infantry fighting vehicle’s role was confined to the major exercises held by West Germany and its NATO partners to demonstrate in no uncertain terms their readiness to defend themselves. In the meantime, the Leopard 1 has long since vanished from the Bundeswehr inventory. The same is true of other systems of that bygone era, among them the Luchs armoured reconnaissance vehicle, the Starfighter F-104 fighter-bomber, and the BO 105 and Bell UH-1D helicopters. The Marder, on the other hand, went on to prove its mettle in foreign deployments, including in Kosovo and Afghanistan. As part of the Quick Reaction Force, it has engaged in firefights in around Kunduz and Mazar-e Sharif. The vehicle continues to serve the German military to this day. Nor is Germany the only Marder user nation: the vehicle also features in the armies of Chile, Indonesia and Jordan.

Rheinmetall has accumulated vast experience and expertise in the Marder domain. On behalf of the Bundeswehr, in recent years the company has carried out various measures aimed at boosting the combat performance and extending the service life of part of Germany’s Marder fleet.

This includes the installation of air conditioning in the fighting compartment; new vision equipment for the driver, gunner and commander; integration of the MELLS multirole lightweight guided missile system; and a new drivetrain. Thanks to measures currently underway to extend its service life, the Marder is likely to remain operational until the end of the decade.

Battle-tested and extremely reliable, the Marder is destined to remain an important asset of Germany’s mechanized infantry forces for some time to come, even now that the branch is on the verge of epochal change: on 18 March 2021, the Chief of Staff of the German Army confirmed the battle-worthiness of “System Panzergrenadier”.

In essence, System Panzergrenadier consists of an upgraded version of the Puma infantry fighting vehicle, supplied by PSM GmbH, a joint venture of Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, and the VJTF2023 version of the Future Soldier – Expanded System (IdZ-ES), a state-of-the-art soldier system developed by Rheinmetall. Its mission is to increase the firepower and combat effectiveness of the VJTF 2023, which will be led by Germany. By fielding System Panzergrenadier, the formation will be equipped for the first time with a digitized vehicle platform – the Puma IFV upgraded to VJTF status – plus a soldier system featuring digital radio technology. Close-meshed networking of the soldiers’ sensors and effectors with those of the infantry fighting vehicle minimizes the time between target detection and target engagement. This melding of capabilities into one total system enables effective tactical interaction between the troops and their infantry fighting vehicle, in turn enhancing the combat effectiveness of mechanized infantry formations.

SCUBAPRO Sunday – The Battle of the Coral Sea, May 4-8, 1942  

Sunday, May 2nd, 2021

The Battle of the Coral Sea is known for being the first Naval battle where the two opposing forces never met. It was the birth of the aircraft carrier. No surface ships sank another ship in this battle. It was also one of the Allies’ first victories in the war in the Pacific. It did come at a hefty price for the Allies, at a loss of 1 aircraft carrier, the USS Lexington CV-2, 1 Destroyer USS Sims DD-409, 1 oiler USS Neosho AO-23, 69 aircraft and 656 people killed; the USS Yorktown was also significantly damaged. The Lexington was so severely damaged that the U.S. sank it with torpedoes the day after the battle. The Japanese lost 1 Light strike carrier (Jeep Carrier), 1 destroyer, 3 small warships, 97 aircraft, and 966 people killed.

The Allies learned of the intended plan of the Japanese to seize Port Moresby in New Guinea. The Japanese wanted to take control of the Coral Sea and use it as a staging base to invade Australia. When the Japanese landed at Tulagi on May 3, carrier-based U.S. planes from a Task Force 17 struck the landing group, sinking one destroyer and some minesweepers and landing barges. Most of the naval units covering the main Japanese invasion force that left Rabaul, New Britain, for Port Moresby on May 4 took a route to the east, where they clashed with TF17.

On May 5 and 6, 1942, opposing carrier groups sought each other and, on the morning of May 7, Japanese carrier-based planes sank a U.S. destroyer and an oiler. Allied planes sank the light carrier Shoho and a cruiser. The next day Japanese aircraft crippled the U.S. carrier Lexington and damaged the carrier Yorktown. U.S. planes crippled the sizeable Japanese carrier Shokaku so bad that it had to retreat away from the battle. So many Japanese planes were lost that the Port Moresby invasion force, without adequate air cover and harassed by Allied land-based bombers, turned back to Rabaul.

The four-day engagement was a strategic victory for the Allies. The battle, which U.S. Adm. Ernest J. King described as “the first major engagement in naval history in which surface ships did not exchange a single shot,” foreshadowed the kind of carrier warfare that marked later fighting in the Pacific War.

My Stepfather was on the Lexington during this battle. He was a Water Tender (today’s Machinist’s Mates) in a boiler room when a Japanese torpedo slammed into it. After they abandoned the Lady Lex, he spent the next month and a half making his way back to San Diego before he could get any new clothes and a new sea bag. Like every good sailor, he went out and got drunk, lost his seabag and was arrested by shore patrol. He ended up in the brig and had to rent a seabag so he could get out because without a full seabag he would have had to stay in jail. He was one of the most significant people in my life and one of the biggest reasons I joined the Navy. He joined in 1939 and had great pride in being in the Navy. He had left Pearl Harbor on December 6, 1941, so they could bring planes to Midway. He was supposed to get out in early 1942, but stayed in for the duration of the war.

A little over two years ago, the USS Lexington was found at the bottom of the Coral Sea, and she was seen for the first time since she was lost so long ago. God bless all the sailors and airmen who are still interned in her and never had a chance to be someone’s Stepfather or live their lives.

news.usni.org/2018/03/05/video-billionaire-paul-allen-finds-lost-world-war-ii-carrier-uss-lexington

Silent Warrior Foundation Announces the 6th Annual Whiskey & War Stories Honoring Operation Eagle Claw

Sunday, April 25th, 2021

The Silent Warrior Foundation is proud to host the 6th Annual Whiskey & War Stories™, which will be held on August 21, 2021, at the Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch, Arizona.

This annual fundraiser will honor the men of Operation Eagle Claw. An in-depth discussion of the mission moderated by board member David Hall, SOCS (SEAL), USN, Ret. will be the highlight of the event. This night will bring together members of the rescue team and former hostages.

There will also be an online auction of tactical unicorns and military memorabilia to help raise funds for the charity.

Last year’s 5th Whiskey & War Stories™ brought together the men of Operation Ivory Coast otherwise known as the “Son Tay Raid” and raised over $200,000 to benefit veterans in need. This event also kickstarted the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Son Tay Raid.

Individual tickets for the event are $150 per person. A limited number of Patriot Sponsor Packages are also available for $3,500. This special package includes a table for 8 and a VIP meet and greet with the men of Operation Eagle Claw on Friday, August 20, 2021.

Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased from the Silent Warrior Foundation’s website.

Special room rates available. Click here to book your room at the resort.

The Silent Warrior Foundation is a 501 (c) 3 charity serving active and former U.S. military veterans and their families since 2010.

SCUBAPRO Sunday – Charles Upham

Sunday, April 25th, 2021

In honor of ANZAC day on the 25th of April, I wanted to share a story about an amazing ANZAC soldier. For those unfamiliar, ANZAC is the acronym formed from the initial of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. It started when the Australian and New Zealand soldiers in Egypt were grouped before the landing on Gallipoli in April 1915. The acronym was first written as “A & NZ Army Corps”; however, clerks in the corps headquarters soon shortened it to ANZAC as a convenient telegraphic code name for addressing telegram messages. Australia and New Zealand both observe ANZAC Day, which is their Memorial Day to remember their fallen.  It starts with a sunrise service, followed by ANZAC biscuits and beer with brothers and family.  ANZAC Day started as a remembrance of the invasion of Gallipoli (a plan hatched by Winston Churchill, the First Lord of the Admiralty in WWI), but now it is used as a Remembrance Day for all who have been lost to war.  

I had the privilege of spending an ANZAC day in Perth a few years back and it was amazing to see how similar we are to our brothers in the Pacific. So, on the 25th of April, raise a glass to all of our brothers that have helped support us in everything we have done and helped promote freedom in the world. The ANZACs are the only countries that have been with the U.S. in every war we have fought since WWI, including Vietnam and the Global War on Terror.

Now….to the amazing soldier I mentioned.

Charles Upham is a true warrior in every sense of the word. He was a Captain in the 20th BN, 2nd New Zealand Expedition Force who served in Europe and North Africa during WWII. He is considered the highest decorated Commonwealth soldier of the war. Captain Upham is one of only three people to receive the Victoria Cross (VC) twice (the UK’s version of the Medal of Honor). He is the only person to receive the award twice in World War II.

Only three men in history have earned a second VC. The other two who managed this feat were medical officers: Col A. Martin-Leake, who received it in the Boer War and the First World War; and Capt N. G. Chavasse, killed in France in 1917, who was the only soldier to be awarded the VC twice during World War I. Interestingly, Chavasse’s family was related to Upham’s.

Captain Upham was awarded his first VC in May 1941 during the Battle of Crete on the Greek island. Upham led his platoon over 3,000 yards without heavy weapons during the initial phases of the fighting and took a heavily defended German position head-on. He single handly destroyed 3 German machine gun positions with grenades and a pistol coming within a dozen yards of the last.  Afterward, he helped evacuate the wounded under heavy fire, and when it appeared an entire company was about to be cut off in the fighting, he was sent to retrieve them. He covered over 600 yards through enemy territory to recover the platoon and led them to safety. He would later organize a counterattack on the advancing German forces that killed over 50 of the enemy before falling back. As he pressed forward, 2 Germans popped out and fired upon him, where Upham played dead. He crawled to a tree with only one functioning arm to prop up the rifle and took out the two Germans as they advanced upon him.  Later, still heavily wounded, he led his platoon and, through clever tactics, duped a section of German troops into exposing themselves, at which point he quickly cut down 22 with a Bren light machine gun.

The Battle of Crete lasted 11 days, and when it was over, Upham had put together an excellent resume for gallantry that could only be rewarded with the United Kingdom’s highest military honor.

He was awarded his second VC while in Egypt during the Battle of El Alamein. During the attack, he was wounded once again. Despite his injuries, he managed to destroy an entire truckload of Germans with hand grenades. He then moved on and destroyed a tank, several gun emplacements, and vehicles, even though he was shot through the elbow and his arm was broken. The enemy launched a massive counterattack. His company held its position till it was reduced to only six survivors.  Upham was eventually taken prisoner.

As a POW, Capt. Upham attempted several escapes to include jumping off a moving truck, jumping off a moving train, and, on one occasion, he tried to escape in broad daylight by climbing the fence. When a prison guard threatened to shoot him, Upham calmly ignored him and lit a cigarette. (that’s some James Bond stuff right there). He was later transferred to Colditz Castle and remained there until the end of the war.

It was reported that when King George was told about the recommendation being made for Upham’s second VC, the King remarked to Major-General Howard Kippenberger that a “bar to the cross” would be “very unusual indeed” and enquired firmly and asked, “Does he deserve it?” Kippenberger replied, “In my respectful opinion, sir, Upham has won it several times over.”

After the war, Capt. Upham moved back to New Zealand and became a farmer.  It is said that for the remainder of his life, Upham would allow no German manufactured machinery or cars onto his property.

ANZAC Day – 2021

Sunday, April 25th, 2021

Once again, ANZAC Day will be a solemn one. Normally there are parades and ceremonies, but this year is one for introspection.

I’ll tip back a pint this evening in memory of all the ANZAC troops, from World War One’s Battle of Gallipoli to the battle fought today. I’ll think of friends in both the Australian and New Zealand militaries and good times deployed to bad places.

Operation Eagle Claw

Sunday, April 25th, 2021

In the early morning hours of 25 April, 1980 President Carter announced to a stunned world that the United States had undertaken an ambitious raid into Iran to liberate 52 American hostages held illegally at our Embassy compound in Tehran. The assault force of what was known as “Operation Eagle Claw” can be seen here, loading C141s.

Unfortunately, the task force was unsuccessful and we lost eight American servicemen in a horrible aircraft ground collision.

However, their deaths were not in vain. The hostages were eventually repatriated and the accident was the watershed event that created, over the next several decades, the world’s preeminent Special Operations capability; USSOCOM and its components. Forty years later, we wouldn’t be where are without the determination of that fledgling task force. Join me in remembering those that had the guts to try.

From Wagon Peddler to International First Responder Distributor

Saturday, April 24th, 2021

The history of today’s largest First Responder Distributor, GALLS®, started as one immigrant’s dream of America.

The Peddler was for many rural Americans, the only way to shop.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lexington, Ken. (April 2021) – GALLS® is today the largest leading distributor of law enforcement and 1st responder apparel, gear, and equipment with over 100 locations, 300,000 sq. ft. of distribution, and 1,500 employees. Although its origins were modest compared to the size and breadth of the organization today, the founding principle is as relevant now as it was when Phillip Gall took a wagon laden with household ware into the hills and hollers of Kentucky at the turn of the 19th century.

“Phillip Gall was the epitome of the American dream come true,” Mike Fadden, CEO of GALLS Inc. said. “As an immigrant in a new country, he found a unique niche to call his own, and through his steadfast pursuit of building long-lasting customer relationship, was able to turn a ware-laden wagon into a very successful Lexington, Kentucky-based family business.”

As an immigrant from Lithuania, Phillip Gall came to America with a dream of finding freedom and opportunity for his family. Settling in Lexington, Kentucky with his wife and son, Isaac, Phillip traveled the backroads of Lexington’s surrounding hills peddling household items such as cookware, sewing supplies, and tools. Phillip Gall visited his customers’ homes, tucked away in the woods, or standing alone surrounded by farmland, that every visit was special. He developed close relationships with his customers, seeming to know what they wanted and how to turn every exchange of their hard-earned money for goods into a special occasion. Phillip Gall brought his own customer service expertise to the Kentucky hills.

At the turn of the 19th century, Isaac, now a grown man, with his father, opened a second-hand store on Water Street in Lexington. Eventually, the second-hand store transitioned into a pawn shop, which eventually transitioned into a retail store including outdoor camping equipment, firearms, and police gear.

Phillip Galls’ store continued to meet the needs of their customers, whether it was moving the store to better locations or including products that their customers were seeking.

Sidney, Isaac’s son, grew up spending available time at Phillip Gall’s storefront helping out with everything and anything that was needed to service their growing customer base. It was a natural move for Sidney after he came home from serving in the war, to come into a partnership with his father, Isaac. During his tenure at Phillip Gall, the storefront moved from Water Street to West Main Street in 1972.

“During the third generation’s tenure of the Phillip Gall store, Sidney had developed both sides of the business, the outdoor and the law enforcement, as far as it could go within the confines of its location and their business model,” Fadden continued. “Times were changing and Sidney found within Alan Bloomfield, the potential to concentrate on one part of the business and relinquish the other part.”

In 1983, the Phillip Gall store sold off the police equipment and firearms part of the business to a young man who had also grown up in the storefront retail business in downtown Lexington. Alan Bloomfield’s parents owned a women’s department store and the retail business was in his blood. After the purchase, Phillip Gall was called Phillip Gall Outdoor & Ski and continued to serve outdoor enthusiasts. The police part of the business, now operated by Alan Bloomfield, was renamed Galls Inc. Alan Bloomfield hit the ground running, sending flyers to police departments offering specials on everything from guns to uniforms. During Bloomfield’s ownership, Galls Inc. became a national and international supply house for police, EMS, fire, and first responder equipment and the largest mail order and catalog house within that community. Within five years, the Galls Inc. Catalog won the National Catalog Association’s “Catalog of the Year.”

“Bloomfield was a legend in the catalog business. He took a relatively small mom-and-pop cop shop and turned it into one of the largest and most dynamic police and emergency equipment suppliers in the world. He was very much a visionary and saw outside the borders of Lexington and by building the Galls Catalog and mail-order business extended his product line offerings to law enforcement across the country,” Fadden remarked. “By 1995, Bloomfield had taken Galls Inc. from a 4-person, family-based company to a 250 employee-based distributor powerhouse. And he felt it was time for him to step aside.”

Aramark, a company founded in Philadelphia in 1936, provided uniform services, as well as food and facility service to clients in the healthcare, education, business, prisons, and leisure industries, purchased Galls Inc. in 1995 and quickly brought the catalog giant into the digital age. Within two years, Galls Inc. had inside and outside sales force to facilitate serving their growing law enforcement customer base. The new sales force was able to adapt to the current conditions and needs of the community. By 1999, Galls added a new sales partner with the launch of Galls.com allowing existing customers to interface with Galls and attracting new customers with their state-of-the-art website.

“Galls is changing rapidly during these years. The rapid growth included more service centers, more employees, and new technologies. At the same time Aramark purchased Galls, I came aboard Aramark,” Fadden said. “Little did I know at the time that my future at Aramark would put me in a leadership position at Galls. Meanwhile, my focus is primarily on the direct sale and rental uniform side of operations at Aramark. Those twenty-five years, in a variety of leadership positions, became critical stepping stones for my future position at Galls.”

CI Capital, a private North American investment group, purchased Galls Inc. in 2011 and began an accelerated program of growth and acquisitions including some of the top equipment and uniform vendors such as Quartermaster, Blumenthal Uniforms, Muscatello’s, Patriot Outfitters, and Red the Uniform Tailor, to name a few. As part of their aggressive growth platform, Galls continued to streamline processes within their company, and in 2011, eQuip, an online uniform and equipment procurement and management software platform, was launched.

“When a company is in serious acquisition mode and undergoing explosive growth, it is primarily focusing on building its infrastructure and streamlining processes such as accounting, distribution, sales, and marketing. It’s an inward-focused style of management, and although necessary for the company to grow, customers can start to feel as if they are no longer priority number one,” Fadden continued.”

In 2018 Galls, again changed hands when CI Capital Partners sold the company to Charlesbank Capital Partners based in Boston and New York. Within the next several years, Galls accumulated six more uniform and police equipment companies and a change of leadership when Mike Fadden became the new CEO of GALLS in June of 2020.

“Up until the past couple of years, Galls was still a traditional catalog-style company with a smaller B2B mindset in which either agencies came to us or our sales team drove sales to agencies,” Mike Fadden explained further. “Galls was this large company, now comprised of many smaller companies, across the country doing business their way. Unfortunately, in all of this massive growth, something very special was lost, something I think Phillip Gall would instantly recognize; the personal relationship with the customer was beginning to suffer.

As we enter this new decade, businesses are facing increased competition from outside and it is my imperative that we at Galls will always lead when it comes to outstanding customer service. That doesn’t just mean a pleasant voice on the other end of the telephone, but finding ways to provide efficient, cost-effective, and personalized service to our customer base. When I came aboard, Galls already had some of these service drivers in place such as eQuip, which allows our customers to manage their uniform and equipment purchases and uniform allotments. It gives them power and confidence over their budgets they never had when dealing with outside sales reps. What I found in my first 90-days were often small errors, whether a misshipment of product or delays and backorders due to the complicated order processing we had. It was literally dying from a thousand small cuts.

First things, first. We needed a central location to receive customer complaints, suggestions, or compliments and that box literally became my email address. We have been including a small card, a gesture, to our customers in every shipment, to let them know Galls IS listening and we want to know the good, the bad, and the ugly about our company. Since this out-reach program began, we have accumulated enough data to understand where our strengths and weaknesses lay and to act on them.”

Fadden and his executive team drove significant changes to the company’s IT structure to allow greater transparency between departments, increase efficiency, and speed up the process from initial ordering to delivery, thus shortening the duration while eliminating waste and cost overruns. In February of 2021, “Chief to Chief,” an email newsletter for agencies’ executive management was created. The monthly newsletter features a video of Mike Fadden, CEO of Galls, talking directly to the email recipient and encouraging an open dialog between one Chief to another. Again, Mike’s email box has been inundated with praise, suggestions, and some complaints, but Mike and his team compile all results and present changes to the company that has, in a few short months, already benefited customers and Galls’ employees.

“I think Phillip Gall could walk into our headquarters and not only be amazed at what he started but be proud of what Galls’ is doing today, in respect to building the trust and loyalty between our company and our customers,” Mike Fadden concluded. “He never lost sight of the importance of excellent customer service and it helped him build his dream, the American dream. It is our responsibility to continue to build on that tradition because superior customer service is one thing that never goes out of style.”

Patriot’s Day Means More Now Than Ever

Monday, April 19th, 2021

Each year, we remind our readers of the events of April 19th, 1775. Fabled as the “Shot Heard Round The World,” this was the true beginning of the American Revolution, a worldwide conflict which would engulf the super powers of the day in battles as far away as India, and last for another eight years.

Rebellion had already been brewing on the North American continent for a decade. Finally, in the early hours of the day, North American Militiamen fired on British troops, starting a war that would result in the ascendency of the American Eagle over this land we now call the United States.

This battle is also where we draw our concept of the iconic Minute Man from.

Each Patriot’s Day, we honor those men at Concord and consider what it must have been for them to stand there together, in the face of the world’s greatest army and take up arms in the defense of their colony from oppression.

This militia came together on that morning to protect their arms from seizure by an oppressive government. That is a fact.

“Stand your ground. Don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.”
-John Parker
Captain of Militia

As the initial volleys of fire were exchanged near daybreak on Lexington Green, colonial volunteers fell back in the face of over 500 occupying British troops. But as the battle moved on to Concord, the tide turned, and the redcoats were routed as more and more colonists joined the fray.

The British troops retreated through Concord where they were reinforced. Despite boasting a strength of 1700 men, they remained no match for the determined colonists who forced them to retreat to the safety of Charlestown in Boston. The militiamen continued their pursuit which transformed into the Siege of Boston.

Today, join me in remembering those American warriors who pledged their lives to give us our hard fought freedoms and this great land.