Category: U.S. Navy

This is a good idea, but I do not see this getting through Congress for approval when they will be looking to protect jobs in their district related to ship building:

But experts who spoke to CNN before the summit say a potential solution to one of them – the Chinese fleet’s numerical advantage – is within reach, if the US is prepared to think outside the box.

Washington, they say, has something Beijing doesn’t: Allies in South Korea and Japan who are building some of the highest spec – and affordable – naval hardware on the oceans. 

Buying ships from these countries, or even building US-designed vessels in their shipyards, could be a cost-effective way of closing the gap with China, they say. 

Their warships are “certainly a match for their (Chinese) counterparts,” says Blake Herzinger, a research fellow at the United States Studies Center in Australia, while Japan’s warship designers “are among the world’s best,” says Carl Schuster, a former director of operations at the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center in Hawaii.

Both countries have mutual defense treaties with the US, so why doesn’t the US team up with them to outbuild China?

The problem is, US law currently prevents its Navy from buying foreign-built ships – even from allies – or from building its own ships in foreign countries due to both security concerns and a desire to protect America’s shipbuilding industry.

CNN

You can read more at the link.

Here is the latest deterrence effort from the U.S. military that the Kim regime could probably care little about:

South Korea and the United States have stepped up deterrence efforts against North Korea’s mounting threats, recently stoked by its launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), with their latest warning coming over the weekend ― the arrival of a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine in Busan.

In addition, the allies conducted a tabletop exercise last week to respond to possible North Korean nuclear attacks. A U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is also expected to participate in the allies’ springtime combined exercise, scheduled to begin in the middle of next month. 

According to the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Saturday, the Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Springfield arrived in Busan for a scheduled port visit earlier that day.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It is widely expected that the North Korea is going to do a provocation of some kind on April 15th the birthday of the country’s founder, Kim Il-sung. It appears the U.S. military is sending a message beforehand in regards to any provocation:

The U.S. military on Wednesday revealed this week’s exercise with Japan in the East Sea involving a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, F-35C stealth jets and other key assets in a show of force amid concerns about possible North Korean provocations. 

In a Facebook post, the U.S. 7th Fleet showed photos depicting the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier, F-35Cs, an F/A-18E Super Hornet and E-2D Hawk Eye early warning aircraft engaging in the drills with Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force on Tuesday.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is something that the Stars & Stripes in my opinion should not be publishing considering it involves the readiness of a U.S. aircraft carrier. Additionally people should not be leaking these emails to the Stars & Stripes to begin with:

Hundreds of sailors from the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan are quarantined after having close contact with others who tested positive for the coronavirus, according to emails between the ship’s leaders.

About 350 Reagan sailors “are in some form of” quarantine at Yokosuka, the carrier’s homeport, according to executive officer Capt. Matthew Ventimiglia, who started an email chain Sunday between the ship’s senior leaders. Some are in isolation because they recently arrived in Japan, according to Ventimiglia’s email.

Stars and Stripes on Tuesday obtained the email chain, which includes messages from Reagan commander Capt. Fred Goldhammer and senior medical officer Capt. George Rice to department heads and leading chief petty officers.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

This is a sign of the changing technology:

An assessment prepared by the Office of the Secretary of Defense proposes cutting two aircraft carriers from the U.S. Navy’s roster to boost the number of smaller warships. Under the proposal, the Navy would retire two aircraft carriers and plow the savings into buying several dozen frigate-sized ships, as well as large unmanned ships. The proposal is likely to run into stiff opposition from proponents of carriers as well as the carrier lobby both inside and outside government.

The study, according to Defense News, would trim the number of nuclear-powered “supercarriers” from 11 to just nine. The number of large surface combatants, both guided missile cruisers and guided missile destroyers, would remain constant at between 80 and 90, compared to the approximately 83 ships in service right now. The number of frigate-sized small surface combatants, on the other hand, would swell from 15 to 20 to between 55 and 70.

Popular Mechanics

You can read more at the link, but smaller ships including unmanned ships make more sense if the Navy is preparing for a conflict to keep sea lanes open in the South China Sea. Bulky carriers that are big targets for China’s increasing ballistic missile capabilities are more challenging to deploy in response to such a crisis.

This news is not surprising to me after I read the transcript of what Modly told the crew of the Theodore Roosevelt about their commanding officer who was relieved earlier this week:

Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly resigned Tuesday amid mounting criticism for his disparaging comments about the commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt who he fired over a leaked letter requesting aid for the coronavirus outbreak aboard the ship.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in a statement Tuesday that he had accepted Modly’s resignation.

“He resigned on his own accord, putting the Navy and the sailors above self so that the USS Theodore Roosevelt, and the Navy as an institution, can move forward,” Esper said.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but I understand why Captain Crozier was relieved, but it probably would have been better to let an investigation happen first.

However, Secretary Modly just through gasoline on the fire with his remarks about Captain Crozier that was addressed to the crew of the Theodore Roosevelt. Most of his remarks were actually spot on and very good points, but attacking Crozier as being “too naïve or too stupid to be the commanding officer of a ship like this” was uncalled for in my opinion.

He should have been smart enough to know he should have just thanked Crozier for his service and that this was an unfortunate one-time incident that shouldn’t take away from the brilliant career he had, or words to that effect.

Ultimately here is yet another mess for the U.S. Navy. They are on their third Secretary of the Navy since November. I feel bad for all the great sailors that have to deal with this circus.

Does anyone think that a bio-attack will be used in a future conflict when an aircraft carrier can be taken out like this:

The Navy, the military service hit hardest by the coronavirus, scrambled Friday to contain its first at-sea outbreak, with at least two dozen infected aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, one of 11 active aircraft carriers whose mission is central to the Pentagon’s strategy for deterring war with China and Iran.

The Roosevelt and its contingent of warplanes may be sidelined for days, sitting pier side in Guam as the entire crew — more than 5,000 — is tested. Navy leaders say the carrier could return to duty at any time if required, but the sudden setback is seen as a harbinger of more trouble to come.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It makes me wonder how long this guy has been doing this considering he was so open and flamboyant about it before being caught:

The commander of a fast-attack submarine was relieved of his duties last summer after admitting he paid for “female accompaniment” during a stop in the Philippines, a Washington state newspaper reported Friday.
Capt. Travis Zettel, who lost his job aboard the USS Bremerton in late August because of “a loss in confidence in his ability to command,” was reassigned to the Submarine Squadron 19 staff at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, Navy officials said at the time. (……)

During the submarine’s March visit to Subic Bay, Philippines, Zettel was seen with 10 “provocatively dressed females outside the front door of [his] hotel,” a sailor told the Naval Criminal Investigative Service after calling an Inspector General hotline, according to the newspaper.
The tipster said Zettel told him and another sailor that he’d “ordered ten girls,” the report said. Another sailor told investigators he saw Zettel walking around and talking to other sailors in his command with “three local females holding onto his arm.”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Here is an unusual, but pretty cool story:

When most people enter their 60s, they start thinking about retirement.

But Dr. Tyrone Krause decided it was the perfect time to start a new career.

At 63, the heart surgeon from Skillman, N.J., joined the Navy after receiving a waiver that permitted him to enter the Reserves a year past the typical age limit because people with his skills are in demand.

“Sometimes I say to myself, ‘How did I get into this? Why don’t I just relax and sit in my backyard and drink some beer?’ But that’s not my style. I’ve always been on the move. And hopefully I’ll always be on the move,” Krause said.

“I feel, surgically, I’m in my prime. I could still operate very well, and if I can give back and help some of our young men and women in the military, that’s what I want to do.”

Krause was commissioned as a commander Friday aboard the destroyer USS Ramage, where his 27-year-old daughter, Laura, is an ensign and performed the ceremony.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link, but I once rode on a plane into Afghanistan with a psychiatrist who was commissioned directly as a Colonel. He was much like this heart surgeon, just a guy that had a private practice and was looking to make a difference by joining the military for a short stint.