A bold Iraqi leader makes the customary introductions of his mates to a War Pig aka LAV-25 from 1st platoon, Alpha Company, 2nd Light Armor Reconnaissance, Tasks Force Mech., May 18, 2008, Salah Ad Din province Iraq, Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Alpha Company, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion,
4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, convoy mission Sept. 13, 2009, Twentynine Stumps, Calif.
Sgt. Matthew Kramer, a tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided missile gunner with 1st Platoon, Alpha Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Sept. 8, 2009, Twentynine Stumps.
Sgt. Tony Alonzo, vehicle commander, 1st Platoon, Alpha Company,
Cpl. Christopher Earle, fire team leader, 1st Platoon, Alpha Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Sept. 8, 2009, at Twentynine Stumps. 
Cpl. Jonathan Lehman, of India Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, on patrol in Golestan, Afghanistan, Jan. 26, 2010. Lehman is patrolling the Buji Bast pass-Operation Swift-Change and ready rain poison arrows from the sky to clear out the Taliban.Speaking at a Hudson Institute New York forum panel (Wednesday January 13, 2010) on national security, Lt. Colonel Allen West answered a Marine’s query about the jihad against Western civilization with singular clarity and consistency, elucidating the enemy’s motivating ideology.
Col. West explained that we are,
“…fighting a theo-political belief system that has been doing this since 622 A.D.—1388 years.
Furthermore, to understand this uniquely Islamic ideology and its historical consequences, past and present, he states plainly:
“You want to dig up Charles Martel and ask him why him why he was fighting the Muslim army at the Battle of Tours in 732? You want to ask the Venetian fleet at Lepanto why they were fighting a Muslim fleet in 1571? You want to ask…the Germanic and Austrian knights why they were fighting at the gates of Vienna in 1683? You want to ask people what happened at Constantinople and why today it is called Istanbul because they lost that fight in 1453?
You need to get into the Koran…and understand their precepts. This is not a perversion. They are doing exactly what this book says.”
And Col. West reminds us of what should be self-evident, contra the willfully blind, delusional apologetics embraced by our current political and military leadership:
“Until you get principled leadership in the United States of America that is willing to say that, we will continue to chase our tail, because we will never clearly define who this enemy is, and then understand their goals and objectives—which (are) on any jihadist website—and then come up with the right (and) proper objectives to not only secure our Republic but secure Western civilization.”
Corporal (CPL) Joe Rowe (L) and CPL Mark Contreras (R) Marines from 2nd Light Armored Reconnaisance (LAR) Battalion, 06/18/1999, with local children in the village of Koretin, Kosovo
1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, War Pig aka Light Armored Vehicles (LAV-25)on a sunset patrol of the Tactical Assembly Area in Kuwait. 
3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance War Pig aka Light Armored Vehicle (LAV-25) waits for inspection after a through cleaning at a wash down station in preparation for transit to Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan 03/21/2004 at the end of Amphibious Ready Group Exercises 2004 (ARGEX 04), a joint USMC and US Navy (USN) training exercise held in the Republic of Korea 
The Yankee Government wants my opinion on their plans for stealing my IRA/401K in exchange for a Yankee Government "promise" for a monthly stipend from an annuity.(AKA Democracy In Action)We "are soliciting public comments [to determine] what steps to take to enhance retirement security for workers in employer-sponsored retirement plans through lifetime annuities or other arrangements that provide a stream of income after retiring,": Labor and Treasury Departments.
Written comments responding to the lifetime income RFI may be addressed to the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Regulations and Interpretations, Employee Benefits Security Administration, N-5655, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20210, Attn: Lifetime Income RFI.
You also may submit comments electronically by email to E-ORI@dol.gov or through the federal e-rulemaking portal. Visit Regulations.gov.
Capt. Brent Molaski, an information operations officer, on a security patrol near Kaneshin, Afghanistan, Dec. 4, 2009. Marines with 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion conduct patrols to show presence and sweep for enemy activity in the area. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Evan Barragan
Sgt. Maj. Michael A. Parks received a Bronze Star Medal Feb. 11, at the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion's light armored vehicle ramp, prior to relinquishing his post as battalion sergeant major to Sgt. Maj. John J. Elliot during a post and relief ceremony, Feb. 12, at Lance Cpl. Torrey L. Gray Field.
Defense Imagery is hanging up tonight...while we wait here is a pix that all photogs are suckers for AKA as three war pigs in the sunset photo
Delta Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division fire a shoulder-launched multipurpose assault weapon during weapons training on light armored vehicle and rockets live fire range 407A at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Aug. 18, 2009. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Pfc. James M. Bala/Released)
1st Platoon, Alpha Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, move out to conduct immediate action drills Sept. 8, 2009, at Twentynine Palms, Calif.
Richard S. Lowry's new book, New Dawn, will be coming out in May. "It tells the story of Tack Force Wolfpack's participation in Operation Phantom Fury, as well as Gil Juarez' LAVs inside the city." In bookstores May 14, 2010.
U.S. Marine Corps light armored vehicle personnel of 1st Platoon, Alpha Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division maneuver to rehearse immediate action drills Sept. 8, 2009, in Twenty-nine Palms, Calif. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Chief Warrant Officer 2 Keith A. Stevenson
Nicked from here LAV's
"During the late 1970s the United States decided to create a rapid deployment force to contend with the escalating tensions in the Middle East. The United States Army considered several different types of forces to include those using light armored vehicles, but in its final analysis opted against them. The Marine Corps, under the leadership of then Commandant General Al Gray, saw an opportunity and used a special allocation from Congress to purchase and field the Light Armored Vehicle (LAV), built by GM Defense Systems in Canada. In 1980, at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, 29 Palms, California a test project began with several Light Armored Vehicles (Grizzlies) on loan from the Canadian Forces. Impressed by what they saw, the Marine Corps identified a requirement for enhancing the mobility and firepower of units tasked with rapid deployment responsibilities. The Light Armored Vehicles was determined to be the means to meet this requirement. On 27 September 1982, a production contract for six LAV configurations (25mm, Maintenance/Recovery, Logistics, Mortar, Anti-Tank, and Command & Control) was awarded.
The first Light Armored Vehicle unit to be activated was Second LAV Battalion at Camp Lejuene, NC, during May of 1985 and it began receiving its first LAVs in July 1985. Shortly thereafter First LAV Battalion was created at Camp Pendleton, CA and Third LAV Battalion at Twenty-Nine Palms, CA. To better reflect the mission of the LAV units, their names were changed in 1988 to Light Armored Infantry Battalions.
During 1982 Infantry Training School (ITS), Camp Pendleton was tasked to develop entry-level skill training for the new Military Occupational Specialty 0313 (LAV Crewman). The original concept called for the establishment of a LAV School within ITS to eventually train all levels of Marines on the LAV variants, similar to the Assault Amphibian School. Due to issues of training time, fiscal constraints, and manpower limitations, the school started off as a single entry level course for 0313s. The lack of formal school training for Officers, Staff Non-commissioned Officers, and Non-commissioned Officers was a noted deficiency and finally during 1994 the first LAV SNCO & Officers course was added to the curriculum and LAVs became a training company organized under Infantry Training Battalion, School of Infantry (SOI), at Camp Pendleton. During 2003, LAV Company became a separate formal school training company under the cognizance of SOI and currently offers three courses: LAV Crewman Course, LAR Leaders Course, and the LAV Crew Evaluator Course.
LAVs were first involved in combat operations during Operation Just Cause in Panama during 1989 as US troops invaded the country to arrest the dictator President Manuel Noriega to justice for drug trafficking. LAV Companys from 2d LAV Bn started deploying to Panama in 1988 and conducted freedom of movement exercises throughout the country and demonstrated their amphibious capability by swimming the Panama Canal. During Operation Just Cause LAVs demonstrated their versatility to supporting Special Operations Forces, blocking major highways, and securing important objectives.
Following the invasion of Kuwait by Iraqi forces in August 1990, the First and Third Light Armored Infantry Battalions were deployed to Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Shield. There they were combined into Task Force Shepherd and operated forward of the First Marine Division main battle area providing security and early warning of possible attack. During this stage of the campaign LAVs were involved in the successful defense of Khafji against a numerically superior Iraqi armored force, however, two LAVs were lost during the battle- the first combat loss of a LAV.
During Operation Desert Storm, Task Force Shepherd again found itself the forward unit of the First Marine Division, conducting screening and deception operations along the Kuwait border. After the breaching of the Iraqi defensive positions, Task Force Shepherd operated well forward the attacking Task Forces. On the third day of the ground offensive, Task Force Shepherd was the first of the allied forces to enter Kuwait City, capturing Kuwait International Airport on 28 February 1991.
On 1 May 1992, again demonstrating rapid deployment capabilities, First Light Armored Infantry Battalion deployed to Los Angeles on a four hour notice and assisted the Long Beach Police Department in quelling civil disturbances and looting following the Rodney King Trial.
During the next several years the battalions underwent several name changes to include Reconnaissance Battalion (Light Armored), before settling in 1994 on Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) Battalion. This was done to better reflect the capabilities, mission, and purpose of the LAV equipped battalions.
In December 1992 LAVs were part of the Marine Forces sent ashore for Operation Restore Hope in Somalia. LAVs continued to demonstrate their incredible versatility, conducting missions across the spectrum from humanitarian food deliveries to offensive operations and played a prominent part in the success of the Operation.
LAV's
During June 1999 elements of 2d LAR Battalion attached to the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit-Special Operations Capable (MEUSOC) spearheaded the introduction of US Peacekeepers to Kosovo as part of Operation Joint Guardian.
After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, LAVs from the 15th And 26th MEUSOC went ashore in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom to destroy the Al-Qaeda terrorist refuge areas and defeat the Taliban regime. LAVs demonstrated their deep strike capability as they seized the Kandahar Airport from Forward Operating Base Rhino.
During early 2002 all three active duty LAR Battalions and the one Reserve Battalion were mobilized and deployed to Kuwait for Operation Iraqi Freedom. LAR Battalions accompanied all the Regimental Combat Teams into action and elements of 1st LAR attached to RCT-5 were among the very first ground combat units into Iraq. Lieutenant General Conway, the MEF Commander, opted to orchestrate the war forward using a pair of LAV-C2s for command and control. LAVs from 2d LAR, attached to Task Force Tarawa, broke through the city of Al Nasiriyah after stiff Fedayeen resistance was encountered. Once in Baghdad, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd LAR Battalions were reorganized into Task Force Tripoli to continue the attack north and capture Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. Along the way elements of 3d LAR Battalion rescued the American Prisoners of War from the Iraqis. Operation Iraqi Freedom marked the longest inland penetration by US Marine Forces ever, and no units went further and faster than the LAR Battalions, again proving their incredible versatility and capability.
Having observed the success of the LAV in the Marine Corps and in an effort to create lighter, more deployable units for operations across the spectrum of conflict, the US Army is now starting to field their own light armored vehicle units, known as Stryker Brigade Combat Teams (SBCT).
The LAV in the Marine Corps is rapidly approaching 20 years of active service with an impeccable service record and distinguished combat achievements. It is the Marine Corps' intention to continue to operate this vehicle well into the future until the Marine Expeditionary Family of Fighting Vehicles (MEFFV) is introduced sometime beyond 2015. In an effort to keep the LAV reliable, capable, and lethal until that time, the LAV is currently undergoing a Service Life Extension Program (SLEP).
US Marine Corps (USMC) Marines aboard a Light Armored Vehicles (LAV-25) assigned to Delta/Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (LARB), 1st Marine Division, on patrol near the Kuwait-Iraqi border, during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. A USMC UH-1N Huey helicopter flies overhead.
War Pigs aka LAV-25 light armored vehicles pass between two columns of Marines from Co. K, 3rd Bn., 7th Marines, during the combined Thai/U.S. Exercise Thalay Thai '89.
An early 1985 War Pig, aka LAV-25 light armored vehicle, with an experimental turret installed during testing. The turret is equipped with a GAU-13/A 30mm lightweight gun and an FIM-92A Stinger portable anti-aircraft missile.
Light Armored Vehicle Service Life Extension Program
Ripped from the "the Professor"ICELAND AIMS TO BECOME an offshore haven for journalists and leakers. “On Tuesday, the Icelandic parliament is expected to introduce a measure aimed at making the country an international center for investigative journalism publishing, by passing the strongest combination of source protection, freedom of speech, and libel-tourism prevention laws in the world. Supporters of the proposal say the move would make Iceland an ‘offshore publishing center’ for free speech, analogous to the offshore financial havens that allow corporations to hide capital from authorities. Could global news organizations with a home office in ReykjavÃk soon be as common as Delaware corporations or Cayman Islands assets?”
Michael Scudder took this pix of his pig, THE ONTOS, AKA THE THING, somewhere in VN. I nicked the picture as it is similar to the pig at Que-son. I talked to the crew. They had no love for their pig. They jus t plain hated the bitch. Didn't blame them. I got nervous, myself, when I found out the pig would would blow shells to hell on it's own dime. Sweet Judy! What the hell?? AKA (would fire the cannons when ever it felt like it. ) Now that was something to be nervous about. I always wanted to see the THE THING fire the one oh fives off but the gooks-ahem-excuse moi-- the NVA never obliged. By the time I was at Que-Son, 1967, the Ontos was a fixture on the perimeter, locked, behind the defensive perimeter barbed wire and never went out with us to play in search of ----ahem...NVA.
A War Pig AKA LAV-25 light armored vehicle from Company A, 3rd Light Armored Vehicle Battalion, (Vehicle Battalion?) is picked up at Expeditionary Air Field, Twenty Nine Stumps, 12/17/ 1985, by a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter for transport to the Lavic Lake training area.
PL Charles Henry, right, of Co. A, 1st Light Armored Vehicle Battalion, explains the features of the LAV-25 light armored vehicle to VADM Prasert Noikamsiri, commandant of the Royal Thai Marine Corps, during the commandant's 05/22/1985 visit to 29 Stumps
A Marine aboard an LAV-25 light armored vehicle holds onto the L7A2 machine gun mounted on the vehicle's turret while on patrol in the city. Marines are in Zakhu, Iraq as part of Operation Provide Comfort, multinational effort to aid Kurdish refugees in southern Turkey and northern Iraq.
Following DesertStorm , the entire Kurdish population of Iraq attempted to flee the country to the north out of fear that Saddam Hussein would attempt to exterminate their entire population. Because of political concerns, Turkish officials refused to allow these desperate people permission to cross the border into Turkey. The result was that hundreds of thousands of Kurds were essentially trapped on barren and rocky hillsides, vulnerable to not only Hussein’s forces, but to the harsh elements as well. Without basic necessities, to include access to water, food and medical supplies, hundreds of Kurds were dying each week. In April of 1991, President George Bush made the decision to provide relief and protection for these beleaguered people. Smith was given the task of rapidly establishing and deploying a Joint Force whose mission was to “stop the dying.” Literally overnight, Operation “Provide Comfort” was born. In less than 48 hours from receiving the order to “do something”, cargo and fighter aircraft were re-deployed to bases in southern Turkey where they began delivering humanitarian supplies. Over a period of a few weeks a US led coalition force was deployed into northern Iraq, resettlement areas constructed and a de-militarized zone established for the protection of the Kurds.
Up to the axles in African mud, on 0 a Light Armored Vehicle-25 (LAV-25) gets hooked up to a wench by Staff Sergeant Charles R. Dozer, Maintenance Chief, Charlie Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) "War Pigs" from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) (MEU (SOC)). The vehicle got stuck during EDGED MALLET '02, a training ops in Kenya, Africa. USMC photo 
A Command and Control Light Armored Vehicle (LAV-25) and a M1097A2 High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) equipped with a Common Ground Station (CGS) shelter set up the Combat Operations Center, 0, in Kuwait, during Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. USMC photo
On the firing range for the War Pigs's FNMI 7.62mm M240 Machine guns 03/19/2003
June 17, 1932 – February 8, 2010. USMC. Colonel. Vietnam War. Bronze Star. Two Purple Hearts.
"Libel suits are not normally associated with national security, but a case the Texas Supreme Court ruled on January 15 carries just such implications. The suit against internet journalist Joe Kaufman is a prime example of how libel law can be manipulated to stifle dissemination of information about terrorism and radical Islam.
It arises out of Kaufman's September 28, 2007 FrontPage Magazine article on the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), which sponsored a "Muslim Family Day" at Six Flags Over Texas. Kaufman vowed to protest the event citing, among other things, ICNA's alleged "physical ties with the Muslim Brotherhood and financial ties to Hamas."
Within days, Kaufman was sued, but not by ICNA. Rather, seven Dallas area Islamist organizations, none of them named in the article, sued Kaufman for defamation arguing they were implicated by inference since they too sponsored the event. In June 2009, a Texas appellate court dismissed the case before it could go to trial because "a reasonable reader who was acquainted with [plaintiffs] would not view Kaufman's statements as 'concerning' them."” Undeterred, the seven Islamist groups asked the Texas Supreme Court for review.
In what Kaufman termed a "victory for freedom", the Court rejected their petition and let the appeals court decision stand.
This result is important for two reasons. First, plaintiffs had argued that Kaufman, as an internet journalist, was not entitled to certain procedural protections afforded traditional media defendants that make it easier for them to get libel cases dismissed before they reach the costly trial phase. In a precedential ruling, the appellate court rejected this contention finding generally that "an internet communicator may qualify as a member of the media”."
Second, the lawsuit fits a growing pattern of Islamists exploiting libel law to silence critics. They file questionable suits knowing they need not win to intimidate, demoralize, and bankrupt opponents. For example, in 2006, a Saudi banker's mere threat to sue prompted Cambridge University Press to pulp unsold copies of a book on terror financing titled Alms for Jihad, and to request American libraries to remove their copies from circulation.
That this tactic of "lawfare" may have had a role in the Kaufman case, was suggested in a May 17, 2009 broadcast of Crescent Report hosted by Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Legal Society Freedom Foundation. After personally castigating Kaufman, Bray explained, "we've got to be willing to spend our money in a court of law … and not necessarily because we're going to look for money, but … to spend our money and make you spend your money."
The appellate court found the plaintiffs could not even meet the basic requirements for proceeding. However, as a bid to use legal fees to bleed Kaufman into submission the suit was much more promising. In fact, Kaufman would almost certainly have been bankrupt well before the case was dismissed were it not for the legal and financial aid of those dedicated to defending journalists from the threat of lawfare, including the Legal Project of the Middle East Forum and the Horowitz Freedom Center.
Kaufman explained that the plaintiffs' goal was to stop him from criticizing "those who wish to do harm to the United States, specifically those tied to the extremist Muslim Brotherhood."” Last Friday's decision has frustrated these Islamists designs.
A Texas tradition of vigorous commitment to free speech is evident in its founding documents. The 1836 Texas Independence Constitution went even further than the First Amendment by guaranteeing an affirmative "liberty to speak" rather than simply restricting governmental interference with debate. The Texas Supreme Court's decision preserves this legacy and we should applaud it."
Alpha Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (LAR) Marines, hold the upper & lower receiver of a 25mm M242 Chain Gun, from their Light Armored Vehicles (LAV-25), at Camp Pendleton, California (CA), 02/10/2003, in preparation for Operation ENDURING FREEDOM.
Third Platoon, Charlie-ThreeLAR aka War Pigs in their element aka digging out a War Pig from the Mud in Al Anbar Province. Just warms me heart to see these Marines in the mud! Once upon a time, before we moved to Lake Barracho, the miss's and" me " ran a well drilling outfit and each MUDDY site was a race to see if the Towing company would eat our profit or we would...I can tell you the misses and I got very good at pulling out cantankerous drilling rigs from the mud. HEH
Unfriendly Kangaroo wants no part of the War Pig passing by even if the bugger is attached to Echo Company 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment (2/3) during training Exercise CROCODILE 2003 at Shoalwater Bay Training Area, Australia. 
Thanks very much, Delta Company, First LAR crosses the Ribbon Bridge courtesy the 459th Engineering Company in Northern Iraq, Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.
Cpl. Tyler Ledbetter, Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, draws a deadly bead on a rapidly approaching car as his commanding officer, Lt. Col. James C. Lewis, observes from behind-- some where near Fire Base Fiddler's Green in the Helmand province of Afghanistan, July 18, 2009. Pay attention to Ledbetter's rifle sling. Tight. See. Around the back and front. No slack. Steady the Aim. After that--it's windage and elevation, America. Thomas Joscelyn of The Weekly Standard has unearthed a little-publicized report from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (released last month) that raises concerns about the former convicts and a second group of Americans, who moved to Yemen several years ago and converted to a form of radical Islam.
Lance Cpl. Andrew Olson, a War Pig aka LAV-25 crewman Headquarters Platoon, Alpha Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion 0
TOW platoon, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) Battalion evening patrol Camp Montieth 06/22/1999 Operation JOINT GUARDIAN Kosovo. "Camp Monteith- military base near Gnjilane, Kosovo[a] located 20 miles (32 km) east of Camp Bondsteel. A former Serb artillery outpost and 79 parcels of private land, the area was taken over by U.S. Marines and used as a base of operation during the Kosovo War of 1999. The camp was named after Jimmie W. Monteith, MOH"/Wikipedia USMC Photo 
Alpha Company, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion,
Marines from 2nd Squad, 2nd Platoon, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment conduct a patrol from a forward operating base to Golestan, a town in Farah, Afghanistan, March 9, 2009. 
Marines of India Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment rest after a patrol through Buji Bast Pass in Golestan, Afghanistan, Jan. 27, 2010.
