Odunayaw:
What do you think Jake?

$500 million for an airbase is a huge investment, if it can handle anything close to the capacity of the current base in Djibouti then security in the region might improve, I still have to read up on it though because I’m not sure if it specifically a drone base or it can be used for joint ops, and all that CIA and JSOC sh*t we see in the movies (that’ll be the real game changer)

jakeporeshenko:

$500 million for an airbase is a huge investment, if it can handle anything close to the capacity of the current base in Djibouti then security in the region might improve, I still have to read up on it though because I’m not sure if it specifically a drone base or it can be used for joint ops, and all that CIA and JSOC sh*t we see in the movies (that’ll be the real game changer)

I welcome it because we don't have bigger diapers to handle the excrement the neighborhood is turning into.

With that huge bill I do not believe its only going to be a drone base. I expect CIA and JSOC musicians to move in and start having concerts everywhere up to the North of Africa.

And thus continues further Nigerian loss of influence

#Random

bidexiii:
#Random

these seems like temporary bases with all those palm leaves like huts.

Odunayaw:
I welcome it because we don't have bigger diapers to handle the excrement the neighborhood is turning into.

With that huge bill I do not believe its only going to be a drone base. I expect CIA and JSOC musicians to move in and start having concerts everywhere up to the North of Africa.

And thus continues further Nigerian loss of influence

The US is literally handing Afghanistan to Taliban in a hurry to exit Afghanistan , back stabbing the Kurds on their plan to exit Syria but r now investing millions in a base in Niger for what ? BH ? AQ ? Lolzzzz

There is a saying back home

Loosely translated

When death approaches the jackal he runs towards the lion

Interesting games ahead

The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant- General Tukur Buratai has said that the Nigerian Army suffered some limited setbacks in the ongoing counterinsurgency operations in the North East, partly due to the ineffectiveness of some armoured fighting vehicles and other light skin vehicles imported from overseas.

Speaking at the commissioning ceremony of the Nigerian Army Vehicle Manufacturing Company (NAVMC) in Kaduna over the weekend, the army chief said the desire to develop both light and heavy combat vehicles to meet current operational and tactical demands in counter-terrorism and counter insurgency operations, as well as future needs, informed the establishment of the coy.

He said the Service will begin to export combat vehicles to other African countries in the year 2030.

He maintained that the Nigerian Armed Forces ability to tackle internal and external challenges shows that much needs to be done to reposition the Nigerian Army and the Armed Forces of Nigeria as a whole towards self-sufficiency in production of indigenous military equipment and other arsenals of war.

He noted that NAVMC is poised to meet the Army’s requirement in production of AFVs and also project their business capacity to other African countries in the near future.

The COAS added that in order to promote indigenous contractors and local content policy of the Federal Government, the military vehicle manufacturing company will partner with some companies like ASD Motors Nig Ltd, Venture Force Limited, Innoson Motors, Machine Tool Company Osogbo and Peugeot Automobile Kaduna amongst others.

According to Buratai, “The overall objectives are to ensure that NAVMC meet the NA vehicle requirement by 2025 and begin export of its products to other African Countries by 2030.

“I am exceedingly pleased to acknowledge that within 6 weeks of its existence, the Company has met my mandate by refurbishing a total of 35 Toyota Buffalo Vehicles, 8 AFVs of various variants, 10 assorted heavy duty generators and over 10 different TCVs, water tankers and mobile workshops.

“The foregoing perspectives clearly indicate that for Nigerian Armed Forces to overcome our internal and external asymmetric security challenges, there is the dire need to begin a 360 degrees’ deviation from over reliance on importation of all classes of tactical and heavy operational vehicles to indigenous production of mobility war machinery.”

Meanwhile, the Managing Director of NAVMC, Major General Victor Ezeugwu said the immediate plan of the manufacturing company is to refurbish a total of 100 different categories of AFVs and soft skin vehicles repatriated from UNAMID to support the ongoing counter insurgency operations in North East.

“Within a period of 2 months, we have achieved over 65 per cent of this mandate. The COAS has made concerted efforts to lay a solid foundation for NAVMC,” Ezeugwu.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/n-east-ineffective-armoured-fighting-vehicles-caused-setbacks-in-counter-insurgency-operations-buratai.html

Odunayaw:
I welcome it because we don't have bigger diapers to handle the excrement the neighborhood is turning into.

With that huge bill I do not believe its only going to be a drone base. I expect CIA and JSOC musicians to move in and start having concerts everywhere up to the North of Africa.

And thus continues further Nigerian loss of influence

who influence epp really? all through the 80's and 90' and even OBJ day we had troops in 3-4 countries in our neighborhood what did we gain from all those interventions in the long run ?
i know when your neighbor's house is on fire you don't sit and watch it burn, we didn't play the game till the end so therefore didn't reap the reward.

honest truth is that NIger, chad and cameroon can even offer 99% of their land mass to US and France to be used as bases and there's nothing we can do about it, we are out our depth, regional influence requires military and financial might, right now we have neither of the 2.

nemesis8u:


The US is literally handing Afghanistan to Taliban in a hurry to exit Afghanistan , back stabbing the Kurds on their plan to exit Syria but r now investing millions in a base in Niger for what ? BH ? AQ ? Lolzzzz

There is a saying back home

Loosely translated

When death approaches the jackal he runs towards the lion

Interesting games ahead

I first thought I was seeing lies when I saw CNN headlines "America in crucial talks with Taliban"

West Africa could easily be selling its virginity to these serial con artists.

It's not going to be interesting times on some tables in the nearest future

BabaOwen:
The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant- General Tukur Buratai has said that the Nigerian Army suffered some limited setbacks in the ongoing counterinsurgency operations in the North East, partly due to the ineffectiveness of some armoured fighting vehicles and other light skin vehicles imported from overseas.



He said the Service will begin to export combat vehicles to other African countries in the year 2030.


He noted that NAVMC is poised to meet the Army’s requirement in production of AFVs and also project their business capacity to other African countries in the near future.

The COAS added that in order to promote indigenous contractors and local content policy of the Federal Government, the military vehicle manufacturing company will partner with some companies like ASD Motors Nig Ltd, Venture Force Limited, Innoson Motors, Machine Tool Company Osogbo and Peugeot Automobile Kaduna amongst others.

According to Buratai, “The overall objectives are to ensure that NAVMC meet the NA vehicle requirement by 2025 and begin export of its products to other African Countries by 2030.

“I am exceedingly pleased to acknowledge that within 6 weeks of its existence, the Company has met my mandate by refurbishing a total of 35 Toyota Buffalo Vehicles, 8 AFVs of various variants, 10 assorted heavy duty generators and over 10 different TCVs, water tankers and mobile workshops.


Meanwhile, the Managing Director of NAVMC, Major General Victor Ezeugwu said the immediate plan of the manufacturing company is to refurbish a total of 100 different categories of AFVs and soft skin vehicles repatriated from UNAMID to support the ongoing counter insurgency operations in North East.

“Within a period of 2 months, we have achieved over 65 per cent of this mandate. The COAS has made concerted efforts to lay a solid foundation for NAVMC,” Ezeugwu.

This is probably the most worthless project I have seen the Army embark on in recent years.
What Army manufactures "vehicles" and dreams of export?

The companies listed have the financial muscle and the expertise to do all these things. Who are going to be the workers in this basket factory? Soldiers? Where was money gotten to fund this shyte? Army Budget?
Isn't this smelling like another avenue to rob?

I see a competent hand, Victor Ezugwu has now been moved to chairing companies! An old hand with experience in Op Lafiya Dole is Director of a car company! Compensation for a favor done in times past?

E be like say I go give up on this army

jakeporeshenko:

who influence epp really? all through the 80's and 90' and even OBJ day we had troops in 3-4 countries in our neighborhood what did we gain from all those interventions in the long run ?
i know when your neighbor's house is on fire you don't sit and watch it burn, we didn't play the game till the end so therefore didn't reap the reward.

honest truth is that NIger, chad and cameroon can even offer 99% of their land mass to US and France to be used as bases and there's nothing we can do about it, we are out our depth, regional influence requires military and financial might, right now we have neither of the 2.

Truth of the matter laslas

Right now our houses are on fire together, eyes no de ground

Odunayaw:
This is probably the most worthless project I have seen the Army embark on in recent years.
What Army manufactures "vehicles" and dreams of export?

The companies listed have the financial muscle and the expertise to do all these things. Who are going to be the workers in this basket factory? Soldiers? Where was money gotten to fund this shyte? Army Budget?
Isn't this smelling like another avenue to rob?

I see a competent hand, Victor Ezugwu has now been moved to chairing companies! An old hand with experience in Op Lafiya Dole is Director of a car company! Compensation for a favor done in times past?

E be like say I go give up on this army

Hehehe you’ve not seen anything, have small hope

I think pic 1 and 2 is some kind of full scale mock-up of a future LAV under development

jakeporeshenko:

Hehehe you’ve not seen anything, have small hope

I think pic 1 and 2 is some kind of full scale mock-up of a future LAV under development

When we have a LAV from Proforce
Do these ones even have Proforce in mind anymore?

Seeing the video they posted, I don't understand why we still have MT-LB in front line service anymore

Deleted comment on second thought because sometimes one man's poison is another man's food

Just hope for the best

Odunayaw:
I first thought I was seeing lies when I saw CNN headlines "America in crucial talks with Taliban"

West Africa could easily be selling its virginity to these serial con artists.

It's not going to be interesting times on some tables in the nearest future

Lol It will be very interesting when u will see PMC running into each other's tables.

Guys in the know telling me that the US is simply replacing the overt force with covert force to cut down costs and allow better flexibility. gives breathing space to out maneuver.

And u can't keep the Americans out of war , they will create one maybe two just for fun

They will step up intel based ops exponentially and that base in Niger seems to be a very small indication towards that.

If 500 million dollars cost is correct then likely it's a extensive support and staging base for Africa and either side of Africa.

Odunayaw:
He's not always spot on as he's human and has been corrected about some claims/Intel a good number of times.

Asides that, never let critical reasoning become a casualty. Rolands are not staged anywhere in Biu, Borno nor is there any equipment like "MRAD with a range of 30km" like he claimed in any WA Army

looking at my post, i gave the both sides of the narratives benefit of doubt, there is no smoke without fire that is one concept this COIN has taught me.

Thank you for your clarifications

bidexiii:
#NAF QRF

Is it my eyes... The guy with the p cap looks like the guy in Ur third pic...

nemesis8u:


Lol It will be very interesting when u will see PMC running into each other's tables.

Guys in the know telling me that the US is simply replacing the overt force with covert force to cut down costs and allow better flexibility. gives breathing space to out maneuver.

And u can't keep the Americans out of war , they will create one maybe two just for fun

They will step up intel based ops exponentially and that base in Niger seems to be a very small indication towards that.

If 500 million dollars cost is correct then likely it's a extensive support and staging base for Africa and either side of Africa.

Suddenly we see Russian guys dancing atilogwu right in West Africa trying to "protect interest in Uraniums" at Niger from "falling into" wrong hands

These guys are like Whitlow. Sadly this country would smell whatever broth they are brewing in the middle term

Odunayaw:
Suddenly we see Russian guys dancing atilogwu right in West Africa trying to "protect interest in Uraniums" at Niger from "falling into" wrong hands

These guys are like Whitlow. Sadly this country would smell whatever broth they are brewing in the middle term

No worries
Karma is a bitch ,

if made out relatively intact ur country can have its last laugh after 20/30 years from a position of strength easily.

Back home situation is even more gloomy , if Taliban comes to power what happened in Syria will look like picnic compared to what will happen in South Asia .

Only one way remains to preempt that possibility, this and coming year might see the inevitable . For me all indications seem to point towards that.

nemesis8u:


No worries
Karma is a bitch ,

if made out relatively intact ur country can have its last laugh after 20/30 years from a position of strength easily.

Back home situation is even more gloomy , if Taliban comes to power what happened in Syria will look like picnic compared to what will happen in South Asia .

Only one way remains to preempt that possibility, this and coming year might see the inevitable . For me all indications seem to point towards that.

I can't even imagine how embolden these organizations will become in the coming months

GeneralFarouq:

Is it my eyes... The guy with the p cap looks like the guy in Ur third pic...

Yeah..

AFV'S




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czjh0Isfo3U

bidex111:
AFV'S




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czjh0Isfo3U

Is this bauchi?

Perfectdanny:


Is this bauchi?

Newly commissioned NA vehicle manufacturing plant in kaduna.

bidex111:


Newly commissioned NA vehicle manufacturing plant in kaduna.

. Whats the diff btw apc, ifv?

Perfectdanny:


. Whats the diff btw apc, ifv?

APC: Armoured personnel carrier

IFV; Infantry fighting vehicle.

The defference is the role they are designed to serve. APCs
APCs are light armoured taxis, with pintel or remote machine guns for self-defence. After it has dropped off its infantry it will retreat because they offer thin Armoured protection.

An IFV carries decent arrays of weaponry - a turreted automatic cannon of 20mm/towed missile/ATGM and it will stick around once it has dropped off its dismounts to support them, it is also used to support MBT during combat because it offers some degree of protection because of its thick armour unlike APCs.

You people are talking about influence when our sovereignty is at risk. That base is all that US needs to control our government and resources at will. We should be negotiating with Russia to get reasonable air defense systems right now but those in charge of the government only care about their own pockets. Regime change will become very easy in Africa with that base. We all know how US likes taking 'democracy' to oil rich nations. I wonder why Africans don't learn.

bidex111:


APC: Armoured personnel carrier

IFV; Infantry fighting vehicle.

The defference is the role they are designed to serve. APCs
APCs are light armoured taxis, with pintel or remote machine guns for self-defence. After it has dropped off its infantry it will retreat because they offer thin Armoured protection.

An IFV carries decent arrays of weaponry - a turreted automatic cannon of 20mm/towed missile/ATGM and it will stick around once it has dropped off its dismounts to support them, it is also used to support MBT during combat because it offers some degree of protection because of its thick armour unlike APCs.

Thanks

Nigerian Air Force cadets

Flashback: It’s 17 years since Ikeja Cantonment Bomb blasts killed 1,000 in Lagos

Sunday, January 27, 2019 4:46 pm


Ikeja bomb blasts

Many people have forgotten, but parents, relatives of victims of the Ikeja Cantonment Bomb blasts can never forget the trauma, pains and anguish that greeted them when they lost loved ones. It was January 27, 2002 when the quiet and serene ambience was rudely shattered, with heavy detonations from the military armoury in Ikeja. Bombs were flying everywhere, there was pandemonium, residents of Ikeja, Oshodi, Isolo and Ejigbo ran helter and skelter to flee the unknown, but over 1,000 met their waterloo.

The tragedy was likened to the popular Biblical passage in Jeremiah 31:15 which said “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.”

The Lagos State Government which used to mark January 27 of every year in remembrance of the victims has been silenced ever since. The day has long been forgotten but today, Sunday, January 27, 2019 makes it 17 years since the tragedy occurred.

Flashback: Lagos armoury explosion was the accidental detonation of a large stock of military high explosives at a storage facility in the city of Lagos, Nigeria, on 27 January 2002. The fires created by the debris from this explosion burnt down a large section of Northern Lagos, and created a panic that spread to other areas. As people fled the flames, many stumbled into a concealed Ejigbo canal and drowned.

The explosion and its aftermath were believed to have killed at least 1,100 people and displaced over 20,000, with many thousands injured or homeless. The government of Nigeria launched an inquiry, which blamed the Nigerian Army for failing to properly maintain the base, or to decommission it when instructed to do so in 2001.

The Ikeja military cantonment was a large military cantonment and storage area in the city of Lagos, situated north of the city centre near the districts of Isolo and Onigbongo. In January 2002, the base was being used to store a large quantity of “high calibre bombs”, as well as other sundry explosives. On the afternoon of 27 January, a fire broke out in a street market being held next to the base, which was also home to the families of soldiers. At around 6:00pm, the fire apparently spread to the base’s main munitions store, causing an enormous explosion. This blast killed many of the base staff and their families and immediately destroyed several nearby streets, flying debris starting numerous fires further afield. Tremors from the explosion also collapsed many buildings in the area, trapping people in the ruins and starting new fires from damaged cooking appliances. These tremors were so powerful that windows shattered 15km away and the blast could be felt more than 50km inland.


Bombs from the cantonment on streets

Also thrown up by the blast were thousands of as yet unexploded military munitions, which fell in a rain of exploding shells, grenades and bullets casting further destruction across most of the northern section of the city. Thousands of people from Ikeja and neighbouring districts, seeing explosions and fires breaking out, fled their houses in an attempt to leave the affected areas. As the streets became more and more crowded, explosions amid the fleeing crowds from shells falling from the initial explosion created panic. A stampede developed as panicking people fled in all directions, trampling those who fell underfoot. Reports also described people jumping from burning high-rise buildings and being killed in desperate attempts to cross the busy Ikeja dual carriageway.

In Central Lagos there is a large canal, which runs from north to south parallel to the Isolo-Oshodi expressway through the centre of the city. It bordered a banana plantation, which many refugees thought might be safe from the falling shells and spreading fires. However, the canal separated the plantation from the city and was covered by water hyacinth and thus invisible in the darkness. As the crowd surged towards the plantation, hundreds of panicking people fell into the water. Those on the bottom were crushed by yet more people falling into the waterway, and in the struggling confusion, at least 600 people were killed, many of them children. Many of these bodies drifted down the canal, some being found as far as ten kilometers from the explosion.

The affected areas of the city burned through most of the night, with explosions continuing to boil out of the wrecked armoury until the afternoon of 28 January. The emergency services were woefully inadequate to deal with the devastation, as there were not enough fire crews or water points available to cope with the fire, which consequently consumed large parts of the city’s northern suburbs. City hospitals were also utterly overwhelmed, many injured going for hours without any medical attention even if they did manage to reach an undamaged medical facility. The military, too, having suffered the loss of many of its Lagos-based personnel in the initial explosion, was not in a position to assume control of the city and did not appear in large numbers until late on 28 January.


The Ejigbo canal, where many perished

By the evening of 28 January, most of the fires were under control and people began returning to the city and attempting to find loved ones lost in the stampede. Many of the dead were children, separated from their families in the confusion and subsequently crushed in the crowds that filled the streets and canal. On top of the dead from the canal, several hundred of people had died in the city itself: killed by falling munitions, trampled by the crowds, or trapped in the fires.

Aftermath
The final death toll is hard to compute, although the Red Cross claims that at least 1,000 bodies were recovered and a number of people were reported missing and never found. In addition to the dead, at least 5,000 people were injured in the disaster and over 12,000 left homeless, with entire districts of the city gutted. About 20,000 people had fled the city on the night of the explosion, and the survivors gradually returned over the course of the next week.

The then Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo arrived in Ikeja on 28 January along with most senior city and national politicians, and he publicly demanded answers from the military as to why such a huge ammunition dump was kept in such a poorly maintained and public location. It later emerged that a small explosion had occurred at the base the previous year, following which the army was advised by city officials to remove or modernise the armoury, but took no action.

-Kazeem Ugbodga/Wikipedia.org

BabaOwen:
Flashback: It’s 17 years since Ikeja Cantonment Bomb blasts killed 1,000 in Lagos

Sunday, January 27, 2019 4:46 pm


Ikeja bomb blasts

Many people have forgotten, but parents, relatives of victims of the Ikeja Cantonment Bomb blasts can never forget the trauma, pains and anguish that greeted them when they lost loved ones. It was January 27, 2002 when the quiet and serene ambience was rudely shattered, with heavy detonations from the military armoury in Ikeja. Bombs were flying everywhere, there was pandemonium, residents of Ikeja, Oshodi, Isolo and Ejigbo ran helter and skelter to flee the unknown, but over 1,000 met their waterloo.

The tragedy was likened to the popular Biblical passage in Jeremiah 31:15 which said “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.”

The Lagos State Government which used to mark January 27 of every year in remembrance of the victims has been silenced ever since. The day has long been forgotten but today, Sunday, January 27, 2019 makes it 17 years since the tragedy occurred.

Flashback: Lagos armoury explosion was the accidental detonation of a large stock of military high explosives at a storage facility in the city of Lagos, Nigeria, on 27 January 2002. The fires created by the debris from this explosion burnt down a large section of Northern Lagos, and created a panic that spread to other areas. As people fled the flames, many stumbled into a concealed Ejigbo canal and drowned.

The explosion and its aftermath were believed to have killed at least 1,100 people and displaced over 20,000, with many thousands injured or homeless. The government of Nigeria launched an inquiry, which blamed the Nigerian Army for failing to properly maintain the base, or to decommission it when instructed to do so in 2001.

The Ikeja military cantonment was a large military cantonment and storage area in the city of Lagos, situated north of the city centre near the districts of Isolo and Onigbongo. In January 2002, the base was being used to store a large quantity of “high calibre bombs”, as well as other sundry explosives. On the afternoon of 27 January, a fire broke out in a street market being held next to the base, which was also home to the families of soldiers. At around 6:00pm, the fire apparently spread to the base’s main munitions store, causing an enormous explosion. This blast killed many of the base staff and their families and immediately destroyed several nearby streets, flying debris starting numerous fires further afield. Tremors from the explosion also collapsed many buildings in the area, trapping people in the ruins and starting new fires from damaged cooking appliances. These tremors were so powerful that windows shattered 15km away and the blast could be felt more than 50km inland.


Bombs from the cantonment on streets

Also thrown up by the blast were thousands of as yet unexploded military munitions, which fell in a rain of exploding shells, grenades and bullets casting further destruction across most of the northern section of the city. Thousands of people from Ikeja and neighbouring districts, seeing explosions and fires breaking out, fled their houses in an attempt to leave the affected areas. As the streets became more and more crowded, explosions amid the fleeing crowds from shells falling from the initial explosion created panic. A stampede developed as panicking people fled in all directions, trampling those who fell underfoot. Reports also described people jumping from burning high-rise buildings and being killed in desperate attempts to cross the busy Ikeja dual carriageway.

In Central Lagos there is a large canal, which runs from north to south parallel to the Isolo-Oshodi expressway through the centre of the city. It bordered a banana plantation, which many refugees thought might be safe from the falling shells and spreading fires. However, the canal separated the plantation from the city and was covered by water hyacinth and thus invisible in the darkness. As the crowd surged towards the plantation, hundreds of panicking people fell into the water. Those on the bottom were crushed by yet more people falling into the waterway, and in the struggling confusion, at least 600 people were killed, many of them children. Many of these bodies drifted down the canal, some being found as far as ten kilometers from the explosion.

The affected areas of the city burned through most of the night, with explosions continuing to boil out of the wrecked armoury until the afternoon of 28 January. The emergency services were woefully inadequate to deal with the devastation, as there were not enough fire crews or water points available to cope with the fire, which consequently consumed large parts of the city’s northern suburbs. City hospitals were also utterly overwhelmed, many injured going for hours without any medical attention even if they did manage to reach an undamaged medical facility. The military, too, having suffered the loss of many of its Lagos-based personnel in the initial explosion, was not in a position to assume control of the city and did not appear in large numbers until late on 28 January.


The Ejigbo canal, where many perished

By the evening of 28 January, most of the fires were under control and people began returning to the city and attempting to find loved ones lost in the stampede. Many of the dead were children, separated from their families in the confusion and subsequently crushed in the crowds that filled the streets and canal. On top of the dead from the canal, several hundred of people had died in the city itself: killed by falling munitions, trampled by the crowds, or trapped in the fires.

Aftermath
The final death toll is hard to compute, although the Red Cross claims that at least 1,000 bodies were recovered and a number of people were reported missing and never found. In addition to the dead, at least 5,000 people were injured in the disaster and over 12,000 left homeless, with entire districts of the city gutted. About 20,000 people had fled the city on the night of the explosion, and the survivors gradually returned over the course of the next week.

The then Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo arrived in Ikeja on 28 January along with most senior city and national politicians, and he publicly demanded answers from the military as to why such a huge ammunition dump was kept in such a poorly maintained and public location. It later emerged that a small explosion had occurred at the base the previous year, following which the army was advised by city officials to remove or modernise the armoury, but took no action.

-Kazeem Ugbodga/Wikipedia.org

this is nothing compared to the Hiroshima bombing,but they remember their dead ones till today.

bidex111:
AFV'S




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czjh0Isfo3U

BHTs probably licking their lips instead of trembling. A blitzkrieg attack on a few bases can capture these beauties. The army better start massive aggressive patrols to counter these base attacks.