This is something that would greatly tip the balance of power back towards the United States if China had to account for hundreds of tactical ballistic missiles pointed at them from surrounding countries just like the U.S. military has to do for Chinese missiles:
On Aug. 18, 2019, the Defense Department conducted a flight test of a conventionally configured ground-launched cruise missile at San Nicolas Island, Calif.
The first of the new weapons could be in operation within two years, though no decision has been announced about where they will be based. Similar missiles are now carried on U.S. warships and planes based in Asia, but there are no land-based systems.
U.S. officials say that many allies are privately supportive of the missile plan and may come around to permitting them on their territory but don’t want to provoke opposition from Beijing and their own public before decisions are on the table.
The U.S. has a defense treaty with Japan, as it does with South Korea, the Philippines and Australia. Taiwan is not a formal ally but has close, unofficial defense ties with Washington.
“We are very attentive to our allies’ concerns, and we recognized their political challenges,” said a senior defense official, who agreed to discuss Pentagon planning if he was not identified. “Everything that’s said in the media is not necessarily what’s said behind closed doors.”
There is now way these missiles will be allowed in South Korea, but the Philippines would be the ideal location for them in response to a South China Sea scenario. The Philippines of course would demand huge concessions in return which I would not be surprised if this is something being negotiated now.
It never made much sense to me to have U.S. military bases named after Confederates other than an olive branch towards southerners that live in those states:
There are 10 U.S. Army posts named after men who were Confederate generals during the Civil War. Top row, from left: Braxton Bragg, George Edward Pickett, Henry Benning, A.P. Hill and Leonidas Polk. Bottom row, from left: John Brown Gordon, John Bell Hood, Robert E. Lee, Edmund Rucker and Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard.
Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy is open to starting a conversation about changing the names of 10 of the service’s posts named for prominent Confederates, an Army officials said Monday.
McCarthy wants to have a “bipartisan discussion” about the controversial issue, the official said. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not provide further details, including what sparked McCarthy’s willingness to discuss the topic.
It marks a substantial change in the Army’s position on the naming of the 10 Army posts: Camp Beauregard and Fort Polk in Louisiana; Fort Benning and Fort Gordon in Georgia; Fort Bragg in North Carolina; Fort A.P. Hill, Fort Lee and Fort Pickett in Virginia; Fort Rucker in Alabama, and Fort Hood in Texas.
You can read more at the link, but renaming these bases can become a slippery slope. What happens when Navajos, Apaches, and Blackfeet demand that Ft. Carson be renamed because Kit Carson brutally defeated and subjugated them? Or the Nez Perce demanding that Ft. Lewis be renamed since Meriwether Lewis was an explorer that opened the door to their later subjugation by the U.S. government?
I could probably find more examples of bases named after people who did not have perfect backgrounds. The Army just needs to be careful on this issue or next thing you know every base will need to be renamed because of demands from various activist groups.
This is pretty sad when active duty military units are now on alert to respond to violence because local and state authorities are unwilling to stop it:
A member of the Minnesota National Guard stands guard by the State Capitol in St. Paul, Minn. Friday, May 29, 2020. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced that he asked the Minnesota National Guard to be responsible for the safety of the State Capitol.
As unrest spread across dozens of American cities on Friday, the Pentagon took the rare step of ordering the Army to put several active-duty U.S. military police units on the ready to deploy to Minneapolis, where the police killing of George Floyd sparked the widespread protests.
Soldiers from Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Fort Drum in New York have been ordered to be ready to deploy within four hours if called, according to three people with direct knowledge of the orders. Soldiers in Fort Carson, in Colorado, and Fort Riley in Kansas have been told to be ready within 24 hours. The people did not want their names used because they were not authorized to discuss the preparations.
You can read more at the link, but active duty servicemembers do not have policing powers due to the Posse Comitatus Act, the National Guard does though. This is why the Guard is called in to deal with situations like this.
If active duty units are sent, according to the article they will be deployed using the Insurrection Act of 1807. If you click the link you can read more about the act which essentially allows the government to deploy active duty troops if the Posse Comitatus Act fails to stop lawlessness, insurrections, or rebellions. I would be very surprised if these escalated to the point of needing active duty troops.
The former Captain in charge of the Theodore Roosevelt who was relieved has become something of a folk hero on social media:
Capt. Brett Crozier, then-commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt addresses the crew during an all-hands call in the ship’s hangar bay March 3, 2020. Crozier was relieved of command after his letter that warned sailors could die from the coronavirus outbreak aboard the carrier was leaked to the media.
A cheering and applauding crowd of sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt wished farewell to their captain, whom the Navy relieved of command after he raised concerns about the spreading coronavirus on his ship in a letter that was leaked to the media.
Hundreds were pictured in the gathering in the ship’s hangar deck and many chanted Capt. Brett Crozier’s name in multiple videos posted to social media.
A video posted Friday to the Facebook page of Michael Washington included the hashtags #MYCO and #WEARETRSTRONG.
“That’s how you send out one of the greatest captains you ever had,” someone says in the video, then using an acronym for greatest of all time, adds: “The GOAT, the man for the people.”
Crozier was dismissed Thursday due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command and for not using his chain of command to make service leaders aware of his concerns about the virus outbreak that had infected more than 100 sailors on the ship, acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said at the Pentagon.
When I first heard about this story I thought initially he got screwed, but unlike social media I actually will go and read more source documents about what happened.
The memo that was leaked is posted on the San Francisco Chronicle website and the first thing I thought while reading the letter is why wasn’t this sent over a SIPR computer which classified information should be sent? The letter was filled with information about the operational readiness of the ship. Sending the message over a classified network would have avoided this whole mess.
Secondly, here is the part of the San Francisco Chronicle article that was buried that no one is talking about; why was the crew allowed to go on shore leave in Vietnam?:
Gilday told reporters last week it was unclear if sailors became infected following the ship’s previous port of call in early March to Da Nang, Vietnam. Gilday said they debated whether to go on with the Vietnam visit, but at the time there were only 16 coronavirus cases in northern Vietnam and the port was in the central part of the country.
Sailors were screened prior to returning on board. The first three sailors tested positive 15 days after leaving Vietnam, officials said.
I read that 16 infected number and instantly did not believe it because it is coming from a regime, just like the Chinese, that can easily suppress information. Vietnam likely has a far larger coronavirus problem that they don’t want the outside world to know about. It seems to me this was a very bad decision to have a port call in a country right next door to the coronavirus epicenter.
Lastly for people that have been to Naval Base Guam, this is not a huge base with a lot of open accommodations for 5,000 people on an aircraft carrier that just showed up. The only place to house that many people in rooms that can be quarantined would be in resort hotels in Tumon. Think of Tumon as the mini-Waikiki of Guam, outside of the military Tumon is the economic engine of Guam with its tourist industry.
How many resort hotels you think were eager to fill their business with sailors possibly infected with coronavirus? Plus how many residents of Guam wanted these sailors in the community when they see photos like this of sailors congregating on the beach in defiance of orders put out by the local government to practice social distancing:
Photos of people on the beach on Guam have shared on social media with accompanying messages claiming these are USS Theodore Roosevelt sailors who are supposed to be quarantined. Joint Region Marianas said none of the people pictured are USS Roosevelt sailors. Joint Reion Marianas said this photo was taken on March 21, before the USS Roosevelt was in Guam.
Getting this many sailors into resort hotels was going to take Navy leaders time to make happen with the local government and hotel owners:
Moving sailors out of Naval Base Guam into hotels was criticized by Sen. Sabina Perez and community groups.
Eight community groups said in a statement: “The decision to house them in the middle of our community is playing a game of chance with the health of our people.”
This was not going to be something easily done especially when you take in consideration the sensitivities the people of Guam have of past colonization. The Navy was going to have to work carefully with Guam’s political leadership to make this happen and all indications are they did:
When the vessel docked, there were no beds and now, a week later, there are almost 3,000 beds for the crew, Modly told reporters at a press briefing. Creating available space for the sailors happened in a week, he said.
“That’s not because of this letter,” Modly said, referring to Crozier’s letter. “That’s because of stuff going on well before the letter was sent.”
Modly added the letter was sent via email and copied to 20 or 30 other people. The letter created the perception the Navy wasn’t on the job and created a degree of panic, he said.
It seems like people on social media are looking for a COVID-19 hero of some kind, but Captain Crozier in my opinion is not it. If people want some COVID-19 heroes here are the people that get my vote.
It will be interesting to see how much of a grip the coronavirus gets in a tropical location like Okinawa:
An airman from the 18th Medical Group at Kadena Air Base on Okinawa screens a driver for coronavirus in this undated photo posted to the base’s official Facebook page Thursday, March 26, 2020.
The 18th Wing has confirmed its first case of coronavirus, according to a message posted Saturday on Kadena Air Base’s official Facebook page.
“The member is active duty Air Force and has been in restriction of movement status for 15 days since returning from overseas travel,” the message said.
“18th Wing leadership and medical teams are tracking this situation very closely and have determined the only close contacts to be immediate family members who are also in restriction of movement status.“
If you are PCSing anytime soon you may want to get an amendment to your orders:
The Department of Defense will place restrictions on all domestic travel, including permanent change of station moves and temporary duty assignments, amid concerns over the coronavirus outbreak, according to a memo released Friday.
The order, which goes into effect Monday, applies to all military and civilian personnel and dependents assigned to DOD installations, facilities and surrounding areas within the United States, the memo stated.
The guidance is expected to be in effect through May 11, according to the DOD.
USINDOPACIFIC Command has announced that all non-essential U.S. military and civilian personnel are restricted from traveling to South Korea:
Travel to South Korea is being restricted immediately for all service members and civilians who are nonessential due to the growing cases of coronavirus in the country, the regional military combatant command announced Wednesday.
There are now 1,261 confirmed cases of coronavirus in South Korea, the largest outbreak of the virus outside of China, with 284 new cases reported as of Wednesday, according to the World Health Organization. So far, 12 people have died in the country.
Here is the latest on what North Korea’s now very delayed Christmas gift could be:
In this file photo, taken Dec. 19, 2014, then U.S. 7th Air Force commander Terrence O’Shaughnessy speaks during his inauguration at the Osan Air base in Osan, Gyeonggi Province. He is currently the commander of the U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command. (Yonhap)
North Korea may be prepared to test-fire an advanced intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to threaten the U.S. mainland, the U.S. northern commander has said, citing rocket engine tests Pyongyang conducted in December.
Gen. Terrence J. O’Shaughnessy, commander of the U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, made the remark in a statement submitted for a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s earlier warning of a “new strategic weapon” and a “shocking actual action.”
“While Kim did not specify what this new weapon would be, recent engine testing suggests North Korea may be prepared to flight-test an even more capable ICBM design that could enhance Kim’s ability to threaten our homeland during a crisis or conflict,” O’Shaughnessy said.
According to analysts this move may be to send a message to North Korea:
The Pentagon confirmed Tuesday it has deployed a new low-yield nuclear warhead on at least one strategic submarine, citing the need to deter potential adversaries, which could include North Korea.
John Rood, U.S. under secretary of defense for policy, said in a statement that the W76-2 low-yield warhead had been fielded on the U.S. Navy’s submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM).
The move appeared to be reciprocal, according to Rood, who said it was “to address the conclusion that potential adversaries, like Russia, believe that employment of low-yield nuclear weapons will give them an advantage over the United States and its allies and partners.” (……)
But Kristensen assessed that despite the focus on deploying the weapon to deter Russia, “it is much more likely that the new low-yield weapon is intended to facilitate first-use of nuclear weapons against North Korea or Iran.”
You can read more at the link, but the low yield nukes are supposed to have about a third of the power of the nuclear bombs dropped on Japan during World War II.
This is nothing new, the U-2 has been monitoring North Korea for decades:
This image, captured from Aircraft Spots, an aviation tracker, shows the movement of a U.S. reconnaissance plane over the Korean Peninsula.
A U.S. reconnaissance plane flew above the Korean Peninsula over the weekend, an aviation tracker said Sunday, in an apparent sign of beefed-up surveillance of North Korea following its recent test-firing of a multiple rocket launcher.
The U.S. Air Force’s U-2S plane was spotted flying at an altitude of around 15,240 meters over the Seoul metropolitan area, northern Gangwon Province and central Chungcheong Province on Saturday, according to Aircraft Spots.
The plane, nicknamed the Dragon Lady, is known to have carried out a surveillance mission over areas surrounding the heavily fortified inter-Korean border with an aim to monitor North Korea’s front-line military activities.
Before the North’s test-firing of what it calls a super-large multiple rocket launcher Thursday, the U.S. military operated several surveillance planes over the peninsula.
