Leaks A bunch of idiots want to interview the SEALs who got Bin Laden. Sure, make them targets for fanatics. And their families. So what, it is good for a story. Human interest. Right know. VP Biden in a photo op released that they were SEALs ; that narrowed down the possibilities for the assassins. But he wanted to be seen in the press by praising them. Now all SEALs are targets.
Anyone for an awards ceremony the White House? It comes with a medal on the chest and a bull's eye on the back.
An idiot Congressman in WW2 self-servingly praised our submariners and told the press that they could dive deeper than the Japs could. The enemy reset their depth charges to explode at a greater depth and Congressman Andrew May is credited by the Chief of the Submarine Service with sinking ten submarines and 800 men.
Civilian Crews Submarine tender Frank Cable (AS 40), homeported in Guam, serves as a floating maintenance and logistics facility for Navy submarines. Cable will now operate with a hybrid crew, consisting of 157 civil service mariners and 206 uniformed Navy personnel. Prior to the change Cable was crewed by approximately 599 Navy personnel. The command ship Mount Whitney (LCC 20) and submarine tender Emory S. Land (AS 39) are other ships that retain their commissioned status and operate with a similar leadership and crewing configuration.
This shows that the Navy has wasted manpower, a conditions that needs to be corrected and automation installed. However, does history have anything to contribute ? In WW2 union crews refused to unload at Midway (the turning point in the Pacific War) on Sunday; the battle started on Wednesday. Union workers loading the ships for Guadalcanal would only work a 5-day week, Wed thru Sunday, to get premium pay.
Military Sealift Command operates approximately 110 merchant mariner-crewed ships with arms removed so as to meet Navy manpower reduction targets. See note below where navy supply ship Lewis and Clark had to run away from Somali pirates.
Okinawa, again. A new left-leaning Japanese government that took office in September is reassessing the U.S.-Japan alliance. The case of Futenma air station and the entire US basing on the island of Okinawa has become particularly sensitive.
People don't seem to remember that Japan started a war of aggression and lost that war
and ALL of its foreign possession. The surrender established Japan as consisting of four main islands and such adjacent islands as granted by the Allied governments. Okinawa is
350 miles from the nearest of mainland Japan and this trading kingdom (US relations from 1853) was taken by Japanese conquest in 1879. The intent of the Allies had been to turn Japan (and Germany) into agricultural states -- yet each was supported into becoming industrial nations as examples of democracy during the cold war. In 1972 Okinawa was given to Japan in return for use of mainland Japanese bases in the Korean War and Chinese aggression -- bases which we already occupied. We retain stations in Germany 65 years after that war and stations in Okinawa. The Germans appreciate American benevolence.
Agitators in Japan are ungrateful and that element (and peaceniks in America) should not be allowed to remove our bases from this area of the world.
"Terrorist War" 2009
"USNS Lewis and Clark Prevents Suspected Piracy Attack". By running away. The designation USNS means ships built by and owned by the Navy, operated by its Military Sealift Command, are unarmed and use mostly civilian crews. This is a "cost cutting" move by the navy to meet quotas in manpower and warship reduction. In war time even civilian owned merchant ships are armed. Lewis and Clark was fired on while carrying supplies to the fleet. Are we at war or not?
Perhaps we need to apply for an international "gun carry permit" for our navy's ships.
"Terrorist War" 2007
Sea Duty Incentive Pay Sailor are being offered $9000 to return to sea.
What has happened to the world?
Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Contracts were given to nine manufacturers to each provide four prototypes
to be evaluated to replace armored HummVees for the Marines in Iraq. Thirty six MRAP, Mine resistant, Ambush Protected, vehicles are to be delivered by year-end. It seems Congress will be reluctant to fund this "support the troops" item.
Lets look at the Jeep.
The specification was issued 17July 1940 to 135 companies. Three companies responded and built seventy prototypes (not 4). The first company's prototypes arrived 22Sept (in 2 months !). That one failed ; the next two company's prototypes arrived in November (4 months, not 12 as for MRAP) and the first improved theirs and all three got orders for 1,500 with 8,600 delivered in 1941. {This was pre-War ; Americans were not being killed.) Names were Bantam, Quad (for 4-wheel drive), and Pygmy. The winner of the standardization order for WW2 was internally called the GP with G for Government and the P was a code for the wheelbase. GP immediately became "Jeep" and 350,000 they were used for everything all over the world in WW2.
Things can happen quickly when a need is obvious ; it is lawyers, accountants, and bureaucrats that slow things down. Then there will be Congressional demands based on jobs provided within their districts, followed by hearings called by the losers about cost overruns, if not preceded by.
"Terrorist War" 2006
Battleship Blockade An article in Naval Institute suggests reactivating
Iowa (BB-61) and Wisconsin (BB-64) for long term quarantine duty off Korea with a reduced manning of 800 sailors to free carriers while providing flagship and missile capabilities for the next decade, which might be necessary.
Sounds good to us.
G'bye Tom. Thanks. The F-14 Tomcat has officially retired after 36 years of service.
RFF Surge to Lebanon Wasp (LHD-1) departs Norfolk for Lebanon Aug 24
to support a Request for Forces (RFF) from European Command.. The Israeli invasion of
Lebanon started July 13. Marine Sea Stallions started evacuating people from the Embassy July 17. Nashville (LPD-13) expanded evacuation on Sept 19. Iwo Jima (LHD-7) accelerated things on July 20. If we assume that
mobilization for removal of citizens to Cyprus started a few days before all this, then almost six weeks were required for Wasp to sail. This brings back memories of
Wake Island where relief for 1,145 civilians sailed 9 days after Pearl Harbor. What has changed in 65 years?
Wounded/Killed Ratio. Media talk about the excessive number of wounded in Iraq by overlooking that
men are surviving wounds that would have killed in earlier wars. How to lie
with statistics? Just forget body armor and emergency evacuation to excellent
medical facilities. The point they are trying to make is that low deaths (for a war) do not show the total casualty rates. My prediction, death ratio will go back up when robots enter the picture. The repetitiously dangerous work will be done by remote control
Predators (drone aircraft) during the attack phase on Iraq were controlled from Virginia.
Unmanned convoys will deliver supplies with few human casualties from improvised munitions. This leaves the deadly one-on-one work that must be done by men. Total casualties and the wounded portion will go down. Great !. However, the killed ratio will go up -- to be reported by "concerned" media.
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