CDR Salamander

The most recent data released by the TSP show that 36.1 percent of active-duty military personnel are saving for their retirement through the 401(k)-type program. An additional 12.2 percent of the military reserves have joined the TSP.

Labels: Economics

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 11:15

Labels: Humor

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:34

Bob Dole yesterday sent a scalding email to Scott McClellan, excoriating the former White House spokesman as a "miserable creature" who greedily betrayed his former patron for a fast buck.

In an extraordinary message obtained and authenticated by Politico, Dole uses his trademark biting wit to portray McClellan as a classic Washington opportunist.

"There are miserable creatures like you in every administration who don’t have the guts to speak up or quit if there are disagreements with the boss or colleagues," Dole wrote in a message sent yesterday morning. "No, your type soaks up the benefits of power, revels in the limelight for years, then quits, and spurred on by greed, cashes in with a scathing critique."

Michael Marshall, Dole's spokesman and colleague at the Alston Bird law firm, confirms the message came from the former senator and presidential candidate. "Yes, it is authentic," Marshall wrote in an email.

"In my nearly 36 years of public service I've known of a few like you," Dole writes, recounting his years representing Kansas in the House and Senate. "No doubt you will 'clean up' as the liberal anti-Bush press will promote your belated concerns with wild enthusiasm. When the money starts rolling in you should donate it to a worthy cause, something like, 'Biting The Hand That Fed Me.' Another thought is to weasel your way back into the White House if a Democrat is elected. That would provide a good set up for a second book deal in a few years"

Dole assures McClellan that he won't read the book -- "because if all these awful things were happening, and perhaps some may have been, you should have spoken up publicly like a man, or quit your cushy, high profile job"

"That would have taken integrity and courage but then you would have had credibility and your complaints could have been aired objectively," Dole concludes. "You’re a hot ticket now but don’t you, deep down, feel like a total ingrate?"

He signs the email simply: "BOB DOLE"

Not since America’s most revered feckless crapweasel, former Vermont Sen. James Jeffords, switched parties have Beltway Republicans been more eager to sew a half-starved ferret into someone’s body cavity. In this case, the desired victim is former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, who has coughed up a time-honored hairball of capital culture: the “tell-all” memoir.

Labels: Politics

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 14:43

FOREWORD

During the stay of the United States Strategic Bombing Survey in Japan, shortly after the conclusion of the war, a sizable number of official Japanese naval papers were recovered and returned to the Washington Document Center. The Naval Analysis Division of the Survey, in connection with its studies, arranged for the scanning of most of these documents and the fuller translation of some, but lack of qualified personnel has not yet permitted the complete coverage which a critical historical examination must later demand.

The document here presented in full is the action report by the C-in-C of the First Air Fleet, Admiral Nagumo, who was the commander of the Striking Force at Midway. As its title implies, this force contained the major offensive strength of the Combined Fleet, in its four aircraft carriers, and in fact conducted all the attack effort in this engagement. It was likewise the primary target of the United States forces involved. In the main, therefore, the action report of the Striking Force covers most of the detail of the historic Battle of Midway as seen from the Japanese side.

The Striking Force (variously titled Mobile Force, First Attack Force, and First Air Fleet) approached Midway from the northwest. The Occupation Force with landing troops embarked approached from the southwest. The Main Body, with Admiral Yamamoto, C-in-C Combined Fleet, took no part in the action, remaining to the westward prepared to meet such American threat to the concurrent operations in the Aleutians and at Midway as might develop.

There have been noted a number of obvious typographical errors in the original text, and several minor errors in fact particularly with respect to recognition of American aircraft types. In addition, there is sometimes difficulty in presenting an exact meaning in interpretation due to inherent peculiarities in Japanese naval phraseology.

It is suggested that the reader will benefit by reference to appropriate sections of "Interrogations of Japanese Officials" and "The Campaigns of the Pacific War" which have been published by the Naval Analysis Division of the Survey.

The arduous task of translating this document was accomplished by Mr. Fred Woodrough, Jr., of the Office of Naval Communications. Mr. Woodrough accompanied the Naval Analysis Division to Japan where he served as the Senior interpreter and translator of that group.

R. A. OFSTIE,
Rear Admiral, USN,
Senior Naval Member,
U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey

3. Actual Condition of the Enemy

(a) Actual conditions in the Midway area: The enemy apparently anticipated our attack and had their attack planes and flying boats take off. They also concentrated about 50 fighters (all Grummans), and intercepted our first attack wave at a point approximately 30 miles short of our target. When we subjected these to fierce counterattacks, however, they were put on the defensive and engaged, for the most part, in evasive maneuvers. Our ship-based attack planes and bombers suffered no casualties from enemy interceptors while the greater part of their fighters were brought down by us. Results we obtained were 41 enemy ship-based fighters, 1 ship-based bomber and 1 float recco shot down. We lost 4 planes from the exceedingly hot enemy AA fire, so our total losses including 2 which were scuttled during air engagements, were 6 planes.


6. General Situation at Conclusion of Operations and the Commander's Estimate Concerning It

Exceptional fighting was shown by all forces and all ships participating in this operation, and because of it, severe damages were inflicted on the enemy. At the same time, our losses numbered four carriers and the occupation of Midway was not carried out.

The enemy, however, having lost two of their powerful carriers and many of his air personnel, would undoubtedly be unable to effect any large-scale operation in the near future. It is believed that the enemy will surely strike back at some time, and every precaution should be taken against this.

Through this operation, there are some vital lessons learned in aircraft carrier warfare, which should be kept alive. These include such items as the reinforcements of searches for the enemy, flexibility of assembling and dispersing, and the speedy take-offs of friendly aircraft when the enemy is sighted.

(b) Communication:

Tone's #4 plane's message, reporting the sighting of the enemy, was filed at 0428 but was not delivered until about 0500. Hiryu's Air Officer's message stating that there was a need for a second attack wave was filed at 0400 and delivered 4 or 5 minutes later. The messages ordering the carrying out of the second attack wave today, and to have the stand-by planes change from torpedoes to bombs, were all delivered by 0415. The delay in the delivery of message from Tone's #4 plane greatly affected our subsequent attack preparations.

Pertinent facts concerning the POW picked up by the Arashi, and his testimony were as follows:

His plane which was from the U.S. carrier Yorktown, was shot down in position 30-30N, 178-40W on 5 June. He died on 6 June and was buried at sea. The following information was obtained from him:

(1) POW's name and rank:9

(2) Place of birth: Chicago.

(3) Age: 23.

(4) Point of debarkation: Pearl Harbor.

(5) Destination: Vicinity of Midway.

(6) Other items:

(i) Enemy task force strength:

3 carriers (Yorktown, Enterprise, Hornet).

6 cruisers; about 10 destroyers.

(ii) The Yorktown, 2 cruisers, and 3 destroyers formed one group, and was separated from the other forces.

(iii) Sortied from Pearl Harbor during the morning of 31 May, arriving in the vicinity of Midway on 2 June. Since then, this group had been carrying out a mobile patrol along a north-south line.

(iv) There were no battleships in Pearl Harbor on 31 May. (The POW engaged in base training until 31 May, and therefore had no detailed knowledge of battleship movements in the Hawaii area.)

(v) Air strength on the island of Oahu:

Navy had about 200 to 300 planes (including 20 flying boats); the principal base was on Ford Island; POW had no detailed knowledge of the Army, but believed that it had several hundred planes there.

(vi) Base for carrier plane drills: Kaneohe, on Oahu.

(vii) Types (numbers) of aircraft on the Yorktown

Labels: WWII

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:01

Air Force Col. Morris Davis said he was denied a medal for his two years of work building military commissions cases against terrorism suspects because he resigned and later spoke out about problems in the Pentagon's Office of Military Commissions.

Labels: Uniforms, USAF

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 14:13

If recent reports of trends in religious observance prove to be correct, then in some 30 years the mosque will be able to claim that, religiously speaking, the UK is an Islamic nation, and therefore needs a share in any religious establishment to reflect this. The progress of conservative Islam in the UK has been amazing, and it has come at a time of prolonged decline in church attendance that seems likely to continue.

This progress has been enthusiastically assisted by this government in particular with its hard-line multi-cultural dogma and willingness to concede to virtually every demand made by Muslims. Perhaps most importantly the government has chosen to allow hard-liners to act as representing all Muslims, and more liberal Muslims have almost completely failed to produce any leadership voices to compete, leading many Britons to wonder if there are indeed many liberal Muslims at all, surely a mistake.

At all levels of national life Islam has gained state funding, protection from any criticism, and the insertion of advisors and experts in government departs national and local. A Muslim Home Office adviser, for example, was responsible for Baroness Scotland’s aborting of the legislation against honour killings, arguing that informal methods would be better. In the police we hear of girls under police protection having the addresses of their safe houses disclosed to their parents by Muslim officers who think they are doing their religious duty.

Pakistan-born Dr Nazir-Ali told the Mail on Sunday that, while Church leaders had rightly shown sensitivity to British Muslims, “I think it may have gone too far.”

He added: “Our nation is rooted in the Christian faith and that is the basis of welcoming people of other faiths. You cannot have an honest conversation on the basis of fudge.”

Labels: Britain, Islam, Religion

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:45

OBAMA: We're going to have hundreds of thousands of new veterans coming in, many of them who suffer post-traumatic stress disorder. They are not being diagnosed quickly enough, they're not getting the services that they need quickly enough.

And, sadly, the group of veterans that are probably being most neglected in this area are women veterans. We've got to do a better job of creating facilities...

(APPLAUSE)

... specifically for women veterans.

And part of what we need is to recognize that oftentimes our women servicemembers are more prone to post-traumatic stress disorder partly because they -- there's a sad, but real, problem of sexual harassment and sexual abuse for women veterans, and that makes them much more prone, then, to have post-traumatic stress disorder.

The drive to eliminate gender distinctions in the military appears to be entering a new phase, with debate likely to come to a head within a few years. The next president, whether presumptive GOP nominee McCain or a Democrat, almost certainly will face the question of women in combat.
...
Soon after the Gulf War in 1991, a group of military women pressed Congress to allow female pilots to fly combat missions. But a Vietnam War hero in the Senate, John McCain, pushed back hard.

"The purpose of the military is first to defend this nation's vital security interests throughout the globe and only second to ensure equality," the Arizona Republican argued on the Senate floor, framing the issue in a way that infuriated feminists.

McCain lost that legislative battle, and women pilots started moving into combat roles in the mid-1990s. In the last five years in Iraq, women have flown hundreds of combat missions. And though they remain barred from ground combat units, women -- who make up about 15% of the military -- are playing a bigger fighting role than ever. About 100 have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.
...
Democratic presidential contenders Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York -- neither of whom has a track record on the issue -- declined to comment on their positions.

McCain's aides said only that he stood by his past positions, suggesting that he would resist pressures for change.

McCain's views may have been influenced, too, by an acute sense of what a prisoner, man or woman, would face. He spent 5 1/2 years in captivity in a Hanoi prison camp, where he was tortured. He returned home in 1973 having missed the U.S. cultural upheaval of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

In an interview with Navy public relations officials after his release, McCain said women should never be allowed to enter combat. "Some of the people that might capture them can be pretty mean," he said.

The experience of Jessica Lynch, the celebrated Army private who was taken prisoner early in the Iraq war, illustrates the risks. She eventually revealed in her book that she was brutally beaten and raped.

The Air Force's most senior female fighter pilot, Col. Martha McSally, has even called for eliminating dress code and grooming distinctions.

"Women's hair should be at least cut extremely short upon entering basic training in all services," she wrote in a Duke University law journal last year. "Uniforms should be standardized, and skirts, high heels and pantyhose should be removed from the military uniform."

Women everywhere? No. Women where it makes sense in a sane view of how the world is? Yes.

Labels: Obama

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 07:00

On the street, Malika El Aroud is anonymous in an Islamic black veil covering all but her eyes.

In her living room, Ms. El Aroud, a 48-year-old Belgian, wears the ordinary look of middle age: a plain black T-shirt and pants and curly brown hair. The only adornment is a pair of powder-blue slippers monogrammed in gold with the letters SEXY.

But it is on the Internet where Ms. El Aroud has distinguished herself. Writing in French under the name “Oum Obeyda,” she has transformed herself into one of the most prominent Internet jihadists in Europe.

She calls herself a female holy warrior for Al Qaeda. She insists that she does not disseminate instructions on bomb-making and has no intention of taking up arms herself. Rather, she bullies Muslim men to go and fight and rallies women to join the cause.

“It’s not my role to set off bombs — that’s ridiculous,” she said in a rare interview. “I have a weapon. It’s to write. It’s to speak out. That’s my jihad. You can do many things with words. Writing is also a bomb.”

Ms. El Aroud has not only made a name for herself among devotees of radical forums where she broadcasts her message of hatred toward the West. She also is well known to intelligence officials throughout Europe as simply “Malika” — an Islamist who is at the forefront of the movement by women to take a larger role in the male-dominated global jihad.

Ms. El Aroud began her rise to prominence because of a man in her life. Two days before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, her husband carried out a bombing in Afghanistan that killed the anti-Taliban resistance leader Ahmed Shah Massoud at the behest of Osama bin Laden. Her husband was killed, and she took to the Internet as the widow of a martyr.

She remarried, and in 2007 she and her new husband were convicted in Switzerland for operating pro-Qaeda Web sites. Now, according to the Belgium authorities, she is a suspect in what the authorities say they believe is a plot to carry out attacks in Belgium.
... she knows the rules. “I write in a legal way,” she said. “I know what I’m doing. I’m Belgian. I know the system.”
...
Ms. El Aroud was tried with 22 others in Belgium for complicity in the Massoud killing. As a grieving widow in a black veil, she persuaded the court that she had been doing humanitarian work and knew nothing of her husband’s plans. She was acquitted for lack of evidence.

Her husband’s death, though, propelled her into a new life. “The widow of a martyr is very important for Muslims,” she said.

She used her enhanced status to meet her new “brothers and sisters” on the Web. One of them was Moez Garsalloui, a Tunisian several years her junior who had political refugee status in Switzerland. They married and moved to a small Swiss village. There, they ran several pro-Qaeda Web sites and Internet forums that were monitored by Swiss authorities as part of the country’ first Internet-related criminal case.

After the police raided their home and arrested them at dawn in April 2005, Ms. El Aroud extensively described what she called their abuse.

“See what this country that calls us neutral made us suffer,” she wrote, claiming that the Swiss police beat and blindfolded her husband and manhandled her while she was sleeping unveiled.

Convicted last June of promoting violence and supporting a criminal organization, she received a six-month suspended sentence; Mr. Garsalloui, who was convicted of more serious charges, was released after 23 days. Despite Ms. El Aroud’s prominence, it is once again her husband whom the authorities view as a bigger threat. They suspect he was recruiting to carry out attacks last December and that he has connections to terrorist groups operating in the tribal areas of Pakistan.

The authorities say that they lost track of him after he was released from jail last year in Switzerland. “He is on a trip,” Ms. El Aroud said cryptically when asked about her husband’s whereabouts. “On a trip.”
...
Although the identities of those detained were not released, the Belgian authorities and others familiar with the case said that among those detained were Mr. Trabelsi’s wife and Fatima Aberkan, 47, a friend of Ms. El Aroud and a mother of seven.

“Malika is a source of inspiration for women because she is telling women to stop sleeping and open their eyes,” Ms. Aberkan said.

Ms. El Aroud operates from her three-room apartment that sits above a clothing shop in a working-class Brussels neighborhood where she spends her time communicating with supporters, mainly on her own forum, Minbar-SOS.

Although Ms. El Aroud insists that she is not breaking the law, she knows that the police are watching. And if the authorities find way to put her in prison, she said: “That would be great. They would make me a living martyr.”

Labels: Belgium, Islam, Long War

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:44

The Mexican Navy searched for sharks in the ocean near Pacific surfing beaches on Monday, after two bathers were killed and another maimed in a rare spate of shark attacks.

Three boats and a helicopter patrolled the sea while Navy and rescue officials scanned the horizon with binoculars from popular beaches around the southwestern Mexican resort of Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo. They warned surfers not to go far out.

"We've been monitoring the beaches; we've done reconnaissance flights," Rear Adm. Arturo Bernal said, adding that no big shark had been detected yet in the area.

Labels: Latin America

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:03

Labels: Politics

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 18:01

A hearing last week before the House Homeland Security Committee would have been hilarious if it hadn’t been so appalling, or maybe it’s the other way around. Anyhow, according to a May 21 article in Congressional Quarterly (subscription required), the focus was on the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to achieve greater racial and ethnic diversity in its personnel, and of course the committee’s Democrats thought that DHS needed to do more to get its numbers right.

The appalling/hilarious part is how openly contemptuous the committee was of rules, regulations, and procedures to ensure that the federal government not give preference based on race and ethnicity. "You can’t hire anybody unless they go through this [race-blind] Web site, so how can you have any kind of affirmative action program?" asked the incredulous Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.).

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Tex.) impatiently noted that such regulations could be gotten around. "If you really want to diversify, you can diversify." Notwithstanding the "legal barriers," he said, "it can be done." He cited his own successes in avoiding a pesky federal court order when he was the state chairman of higher education in Texas: "I did what I needed to do and diversified."... While the DHS witness did express reluctance to violate the laws, she cheerfully pointed out a way to better achieve a politically correct racial and ethnic balance nonetheless: "I think we have to change the regulations," she said.

Labels: Diversity

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 15:08

"The new US Embassy in Berlin fits together with trends towards nostalgia in architecture -- it is the knights' castle that you can knock together with items from the home-improvement store," continues the FAZ's critic. "On the other hand, there is hardly a modern building -- with the exception of bunkers and pesticide testing centers -- which is so hysterically closed off from public space as this embassy. There is not a single window on the upper part of the building's south side. Here America shows itself as living a completely impenetrable, erratic bunker existence. One doesn't need to be as bitchy as certain angry passers-by, who postulated that the top part of the building must be home to the 'wellness and waterboarding' area, to be disturbed by such a lack of windows."

"If a building could stand with its arms crossed, it would look like this one," the paper writes. "Perhaps it is also typical of the first decade of the 21st century that public space, which once looked like a promise, is now perceived as a threat. The stranger, who was once the projection surface for the most beautiful collective and private fantasies, could be a terrorist, have AIDS or be transporting the plagues of globalization like factory closures, migration flows or bird flu."

"The American Embassy does not reflect the image of a country that was once a melting pot for immigrants from around the world, a place for new beginnings and reinventing oneself. The embassy represents a country which has been traumatized by 9/11 and the consequences of globalization -- a nation which is now so protected by armor that it can no longer see the world."

Labels: Architecture, Germany

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:32

Who becomes a general - and why - tells us a lot about whether our military is on the right or wrong track. The annual spring list of Army colonels promoted to brigadier general will be released soon. Rumors suggest that this year, unlike in the recent past, a number of maverick officers who have distinguished themselves fighting - and usually defeating - insurgents in Afghanistan and Iraq will be chosen.

For example, scholar-soldier Col. H.R. McMaster, Special Forces Col. Ken Tovo and Col. Sean MacFarland - all of whom helped turn Sunni insurgents into allies - could, and should, make the cut.

Now we will see whether the former mavericks can become incorporated into the military establishment. Will this wartime change in Pentagon thinking be enough - and in time? It depends on how many of the forward-thinking colonels get promoted and how much influence they wield.

The successful invasion of Normandy and subsequent race to the Rhine would have been unimaginable without Gens. Bradley, Eisenhower and Patton - all unknown colonels as late as 1940. So far, a few largely unheralded colonels in Iraq have salvaged the American cause.

The significance in the promotions of an H.R. McMaster or a Sean McFarland to general is not that they represent the nature of all future American wars. In fact, it is easy to conceive how a blow-up in North Korea or Iran would require a return to conventional military assets of heavy armor, firepower and high-tech close air-ground support.

Instead, the issue is whether the military still remains flexible enough to find the right commanders for the right type of fighting at the right time - and is preparing for all sorts of diverse scenarios in an increasingly competitive and unpredictable world.

Labels: Navy

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:30

May 26th this year is when Americans will gather in many places to honor the service men and women who have fallen in battle.

Memorial Day got it’s start after the Civil War; a war that saw brother against brother with staggering losses on both sides. America has memorial battlefields, cemeteries, and monuments recounting those who paid the ultimate price and their deeds literally all across the country.

Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson one day in May, 1966. Being from Southern Illinois, I take exception to that call. Memorial Day was officially proclaimed 5 May 1868 by General John A. Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order Number Eleven and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. Similar ceremonies were said to have occurred throughout Southern Illinois as well.

It is not important who was the very first or what town did it in a particular manner, what is important is that Memorial Day was established as a coming together to honor the fallen who gave their all.

One Hundred Forty years later I find myself in a unique position. I am stationed in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada as a US Navy exchange officer. I’m a third generation Sailor whose ancestry may have ties to not only to the birth of Memorial Day but to Deadman’s Island too. By happenstance I will be assisting the senior US Navy officer here in the Maritimes in arranging a tribute to what until very recently had been America’s forgotten fallen. 195 Soldiers, Sailors and Marines served, fought, and died almost 200 years ago in yet another war that has faded in memory; the War of 1812. But they lie here in an unmarked burial site.

The War of 1812 has many facets depending upon your point of view. America was a very young country and viewed this war as a second war of independence. Canada was a British colony and viewed the entire war as an act of aggression and invasion by their upstart neighbor to the south. While American history will tell the tales of fierce fighting in New Orleans, sea battles raging upon the Atlantic and Caribbean, most of Canadian history focuses upon the St. Lawrence seaway, the Great Lakes battles and the Upper and Lower Canadian land battles.

It truly is a matter of perspective. I have often heard that “history is written by the victor”, so what happens when it’s a draw?

One of the most famous Canadian battles occurred at a place called “Lundy’s Lane” up near Niagra Falls. American history does not gloss it over but does not regale one with the entire story either. It involves allied Indians fighting alongside British forces and in fact a certain amount of deceit enabling a conniving British officer to accept the surrender of several hundred American soldiers. Among those units were the soldiers of the 16th Infantry from Ohio. Some were taken as prisoners of war (POWs). Most POWs were transported to Halifax to remain in the prison on Melville Island until the war’s end. Some died there. Remember the 16th Inf, this will figure in later.

Fast forward to the turn of the Twenty First century. Waterfront property is always at a premium. Halifax is a growing metropolitan area and Deadman’s Island appears attractive for development. The locals who grew up in the Armdale region have heard the stories surrounding this island but few knew the details. Local legends and scary kid’s tales, no one thought anything of it. But CDR Brad Renner on exchange to the Canadian Navy and a powerboat sport hobbyist used to anchor within a hundred yards of Deadman’s Island, he had heard the tales and began to ask questions as did other concerned citizens.

In his words:

“In 2005 the City of Halifax dedicated this Island as a park, in large part because there are nearly 200 US Navy, Army and Marine Service Members buried on the Island in unmarked graves. They were prisoners of war from the War of 1812 and died while in captivity. In addition to these men there are approximately 100 Chesapeake Blacks - men, women and children - who were brought here after the British raided Washington D.C. in 1814. Promised their freedom by the British if they left their homes in the Chesapeake Bay area these people, many entire families, boarded the British ships and returned to Halifax only to be quarantined at Melville prison and die in captivity as did our POWS - an ironic twist of fate for what was supposed to be their trip to freedom.

In any event, since the city officially dedicated this site in a 2005 ceremony and a plaque with all the names of the POWs who died while imprisoned here was placed on the Island, those of us stationed here in Nova Scotia have invited the residents of the city of Halifax, Canadian and American, as well as all visitors to join us on Deadman's Island on Memorial Day to remember those who have gone before us and sacrificed, with their lives, so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have today.

The men buried on this Island represent what I call a sad blot on our great military history - they fought, were captured, died and were buried in unmarked graves on an Island on a foreign shore...and for nearly 190 years they were forgotten...until the good people of Halifax reminded us they were here. So now, each year, those of us stationed here prepare the Island for Memorial Day and celebrate and honor our fallen comrades, from the most recent to those who fell decades ago.

For the past 2 years we have had the privilege of having US Navy Ships visiting in-port Halifax just prior to Memorial Day. Last year we asked for support from USS WASP and with their help for about 4-5 hours we were able to repair much of the damage caused to the Island by the harsh winter storms here in Halifax. This year we will have USS BARRY, USS DONALD COOK (both Destroyers) plus 1 other visiting ship and we are hoping that we can muster a good turnout to help preserve this serene, quiet, beautiful Island for the men buried there and for future generations of people who will visit the Island to honor and remember them.

On 14 May 08 I met with city officials to survey the Island and set a work agenda for the things we would like to accomplish this year. The below list is what we have put together as our wish list. We invite any and all who would like to join us on the morning of Wednesday, 21 May 2008, from 0800 until 1200 to form a working party to assist the city of Halifax in cleaning up and preserving Deadman's Island. The city will provide transportation to/from the pier/Island and provide lunch (on the Island if Weather permits) for all those who join us for this event.

Scope of Work as discussed at site meeting:
- revitalization of the entrance way plant material
- removal of weed material throughout walkway
- repair to minor washouts in walkway and revitalization of lower walkway with installation of proper w/w materials
- some minor fence repair
- general park and beach area clean-up
- graffiti removal
- cleaning of memorial stone and interpretive plaques
- addition of soil and seed to eroded areas on Island site
- some ground level arboricultural maintenance as directed by Brian Phelan
- other minor maintenance as required

You can anticipate media interest. The Island is a site of great interest and each year our Memorial Day ceremony grows a little larger. The Canadian Base in Halifax is aware of this event and supports our Service with a Bagpiper, Bugler and material support. Their PAO advertises this event as does the PAO at the US Consulate. The city advertises it as one of their "Community in Bloom" projects which is part of a larger national program and one for which last years efforts were noted during an awards ceremony held to recognize the Halifax parks. For last years clean up event several local papers were on the Island and took pictures and interviewed crew. All in all it has been a very positive COMREL event for the USN - we look forward to working with you and helping to make your visit to Halifax a most enjoyable one.”

I’ve become “the old stuff” repository for much of my family history. I’ve tried to search out some of the genealogy using fresh data combined with what my Mom had collected as well as notes from my Grandmother McGuire and tales from my Grandfather McGuire (he had plenty). The collective memory of six generations ran something like this:

We came from County Fermanaugh, Ireland in the early 1800’s.

The first to come over was Patrick McGuire who landed in North Carolina then moved to Ohio and finally settled in Southern Illinois.

He had some kids, they had kids, those kids….you get the idea.

My research led me along those lines as well, in fact I found a Warrant issued in 1818 to a Patrick McGuire, Sgt, 16th Infantry of Ohio for 160 acres of land in Peoria County, Illinois. Does this match up with our progenitor? I have no way of proving that and it really doesn’t matter, it will be on my mind in the coming days to be sure. 196 years after the battles of my long, long past Grandfather’s unit and friends, they will rest in my mind most assuredly.

What matters most is honoring those Forgotten Few on Deadman’s Island on this Memorial Day.

The clean up will happen rain or shine as will the ceremony on the following Monday.

Ranks will again be drawn. Lines tightened as the colors are raised on foreign soil alongside a POW/MIA flag. Both shall fly to the peak and then be reverently lowered to half mast.

The pipes will wail their mournful tune and bugle shall play Taps as salutes are rendered for the fallen.

Those that die in service to the United States should not be forgotten.

And like the families of these Fighting Americans now resting in honor in Canada, maybe one day I’ll find the rest of Patrick’s story.

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 19:31

The highest-ranking U.S. military officer has written an unusual open letter to all those in uniform, warning them to stay out of politics as the United States approaches a presidential election....

"I am not suggesting that military professionals abandon all personal opinions about modern social or political issues," Mullen wrote. "What I am suggesting - indeed, what the nation expects - is that military personnel will, in the execution of the mission assigned to them, put aside their partisan leanings. Political opinions have no place in cockpit or camp or conference room."

Military personnel are obligated to give their unvarnished, even critical, advice to their civilian leaders, he told the class.

"If it's followed, great," Mullen said. "If it's not, we only have two choices: obey the orders we have been given, carrying them out with the professionalism and loyalty they deserve, or vote with our feet."

"That's it," he added. "We don't get to debate those orders after the fact. We don't get to say, 'Well, it's not how I would have done it,' or, 'If they had only listened to me.' Too late at that point - and too cowardly."

Labels: Blogg'n, Politics

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 09:32

Labels: Cold War, Navy

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 05:49

A mission to discover the wreck of the Titanic was actually a cover a story for examining the remains of two Cold War nuclear submarines, the man who located the liner has revealed.

Dr Bob Ballard, an oceanographer, has admitted that he had to locate and inspect the remains of the vessels, which sank during the 1960s, in a top secret mission for the US navy before he was allowed to look for the Titanic.

He said: "I couldn't tell anybody. There was a lot of pressure on me. It was a secret mission. I felt it was a fair exchange for getting a chance to look for the Titanic."

He added: "We handed the data to the experts. They never told us what they concluded – our job was to collect the data. I can only talk about it now because it has been declassified."

When USS Thresher and USS Scorpion sank, more than 200 men lost their lives and suspicions were raised that at least one of them, Scorpion, had been sunk by the USSR.

In 1982, Dr Ballard approached the US Navy for funding to search for the Titanic with a robotic submarine craft he had developed.

He was told that the military were not prepared to spend large sums of money on locating the liner, but they did want to know what had happened to the submarines. Officials were anxious to find out how the nuclear reactors had fared after being under water for so long.

The oceanographer was given funding to embark on two expeditions, one to find the wreck of Thresher in 1984 off the eastern coast of the US, and another to find Scorpion in the eastern Atlantic.

It was only once these missions were complete that Dr Ballard located the wreck of the Titanic in 1985, which sank in 1912 after it hit an iceberg with the loss of 1,500 lives.

Labels: Cold War, Submarine

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 10:00

Command and General Staff College faculty and students will begin blogging as part of their curriculum and writing requirements both within the .mil and public environments. In addition CAC subordinate organizations will begin to engage in the blogosphere in an effort to communicate the myriad of activities that CAC is accomplishing and help assist telling the Army’s story to a wide and diverse audience.

Labels: Blogg'n

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 09:29

Labels: Broadside

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:39

Labels: Navy

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 16:20

Labels: Humor, NATO

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 07:53

Labels: Democrats

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 00:15

Labels: Britain, Fullbore, Submarine

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:45

The government report also reveals the high number of youth of color among enlistees. In fiscal year 2007, 43 percent of all new under-18 enlistees in the Navy were black or Latino, along with 32 percent in the Air Force, 30 percent in the Marine Corps, and 22 percent in the Army. In its submission to the UN yesterday the ACLU charged that the military targets youth of color for military recruitment.

Labels: Diversity

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 12:32

Qatar's first Christian church has no cross, no bell and no steeple.

And when 5,000 faithful flock to Our Lady of the Rosary to celebrate its historic consecration this weekend, they pray no one will notice.

Father Tom Veneracion, the parish priest, is worried about a backlash.

"The idea is to be discreet because we don't want to inflame any sensitivities," he says. "There isn't even a signboard outside the church. No signs at all."

Qatar's fledgling Catholic community considers its sprawling $15 million saucer-shaped facility a victory. A 15-minute drive into barren desert, it has been built with the blessing of the nation's emir.

But some people in this Muslim country have branded it an offense; one prominent politician has called for a national referendum to determine its fate.

"It is confusing to us," said the priest, a soft-spoken man from the Philippines who seemed genuinely caught off guard by the controversy.

"We tried to be discreet, and I think there's an atmosphere generally in the Gulf that's fairly anti-Christian, but that's mainly to do with what's happening in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"It has nothing to do with us at all."

In Doha, the call to build a Catholic church has grown as waves of migrant workers from South Asia and the Philippines arrived in the Gulf, answering the call for cheap labor to fuel the region's runaway economy.

But the Christian immigrants have sometimes collided with the native Qatari population, which practices Wahhabism, a strict interpretation of Islam.

Native Qataris account for only 200,000 of the country's population of 900,000.

The Vatican estimates there are 100,000 practicing Catholics in Qatar. They attended underground services until seven years ago, when Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the country's current ruler, granted permission to five denominations to open churches.

The Sheikh, who seized control from his father in a 1995 palace coup, is a staunch U.S. ally, and the move is part of a broader push to promote Qatar as an open and tolerant society, in order to attract tourism and business.

Veneracion says that the church, when it's completed, will serve as a place for "prayer and inter-faith dialogue." The grounds boast a catechism building and conference center. A wedding party has already booked a ceremony and reception in May.

When Our Lady of the Rosary opens its doors, it will make Saudi Arabia the only Gulf state that still bans churches.

But it remains unclear if Qataris will accept the church, or whether a backlash will force it to close its doors.

Rashed al-Subaie, a Qatari engineer, wrote in a letter to the Al-Watan newspaper that Christians should practice their faith only "in line with public morals without being given licenses to set up places of worship."

Christians should "worship their God in their homes," he wrote.

Labels: Islam, Religion

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:22

From CNN to the New York Times, the media hyped Barack Obama's Portland, Oregon rally on Sunday, some comparing him to a rock star.

Unmentioned in national reporting was the fact that Obama was preceded by a rare, 45-minute free concert by actual rock stars The Decemberists. The Portland-based band has drawn rave reviews from Rolling Stone magazine, which gave their 2005 album Picaresque four and a half stars (out of five), and another four and a half stars for 2007's The Crane Wife.

How many of the people showed up to hear Obama, and how many to hear the band?

Here's how the local paper The Oregonian, which estimated the crowd at 72,000, reported the rally:

"Obama was the biggest star at Sunday's gathering -- though a popular Portland band, The Decemberists, provided the warmup act. With blue skies and temperatures in the 80s, many in the crowd said Waterfront Park was simply the place to be."

CNN headlined its 10 p.m. segment on May 18 with "Barack Obama: Achieving Rock Star Status in Oregon."

The New York Times, which ran a color photo of the crowd, estimated the throng at 75,000, noting that it was "the largest crowd of his campaign so far." There was no mention of The Decemberists, and the Times described the weather as "an unseasonably hot day."

There's nothing wrong with a candidate using celebrity power to draw a crowd, but the media have a responsibility to report their presence. By ignoring the free concert, the Times and other outlets made it appear that 75,000 people were drawn only by Sen. Obama's considerable charisma.

Labels: Media, Music, Obama, Soviet Union

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 18:40

A Taliban commander with links to the killers of several British soldiers has escaped from German special forces because they were not allowed to shoot.

Elite soldiers from the German KSK had been charged with capturing the terrorist. After spending weeks searching for him, in cooperation with the Afghan army and secret service, they discovered that he was located near the town of Pol-e-Khomri in the north of Afghanistan.

Wearing night-vision goggles, the German team came within a few hundred metres of his hideout before they were discovered by Taliban forces.
...
The Taliban commander was known as the Bagh - lan Bomber after masterminding an attack last year in Baghlan province in which 79 people died.

It quoted an "incredulous" British officer in Kabul as saying: "The Germans are allowing the most dangerous people to get away and increasing the danger for the Afghans and all foreign forces here."

Labels: Afghanistan, Germany

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:08

Labels: Humor

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 05:52

Labels: Moonbats

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 21:47

Labels: Media

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:16

Labels: USNA

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:05

Key differences between the contenders included 64 VLS missile cells for the Evolved Design vs. 48 for the F100 frigates, 2 Phalanx-type close-in defense weapons instead of 1, and a hangar for 2 naval helicopters instead of 1. In exchange for these advantages, detailed analysis by the AWD Alliance showed that the Evolved Design would cost A$ 1 billion more over 3 ships, offer less certainty regarding schedule and cost, and deliver the first ship at least 4 years later.

The financial benefits resulting from the selection of the F100 are so great that they will go a long way towards funding (some estimates are that they will almost completely accommodate) a fourth Air Warfare Destroyer. The Australian Cabinet’s National Security Committee will consider an option to buy a fourth F100 destroyer when it makes a final decision on a go-ahead for the project in June.”

---

SEA 4000: The Design Competition

Sachsen Class

The difficult Collins Class submarine project delivered some of the world’s most advanced conventional submarines – and something extra, besides. The submarines were late, significantly over budget, and are still receiving electronic refits to replace the original combat systems. In response, the Australian Government’s Defence Procurement (Kinnaird) Review strongly recommended spending more money and time on up front design activities, in order to reduce overall project risk. This would be more expensive in the short term, with the hope of making large overruns or schedule issues less likely later on.

That philosophy was implemented in the SEA 4000 program, which moved from a 3-platform shortlist, to detailed design of 2 different options, to the final selection of Navantia’s AEGIS frigates.

ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems’ F124 Sachsen Class air defense frigate, currently one of the world’s few operational ship classes with an X-band Active Phased Array naval radar. Its thousands of electronically-focused emitters offer improved performance and phenomenal multitasking ability, giving it exceptional capabilities against a sudden saturation missile attack with supersonic cruise missiles. This design was eliminated from the shortlist, however, by Australia’s stated requirement for the AEGIS naval air defense system. While its AN/SPY-1D is a previous generation passive phased array radar, the AEGIS combat system software and the potential for cooperative engagement capability proved decisive.

That left an “Existing Design” based on Spain’s in-service F100 Alvaro de Bazan Class AEGIS frigates, which would compete against a larger “Evolved Design” option from naval architects Gibbs & Cox. The latter would be a new ship design, albeit based on the DDG-51 Arleigh Burke Class AEGIS destroyers they had designed for the US Navy.

AWD Evolved Design

The first images of the Evolved Design for Australia’s Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) project were unveiled on August 3/06 by Minister of Defence Brendan Nelson at the opening of the new AWD Systems Centre in Adelaide. At 7,370t/8,100t full load, they would have been much closer in size to the 8,300t full load DDG-51 Flight I ships than the 9,200t tons full load Flight IIA ships, with 64 vertical launch missile cells (vs. 90-96 cells for DDG-51 variants), 2 PhalanxType 45 Daring Class anti-air warfare destroyers reportedly weigh in at 8,000t full load. close-in defense weapons, 2 helicopter hangars, extended range, and good future growth capabilities. As an additional basis for comparison, Britain’s forthcoming

The F100 frigates, in contrast, are smaller ships, weighing in at only 5,800t. This inevitably means sacrifices in armament and growth capability. Australian government Q&A sessions immediately after the selection, however, said that in their opinion, the overall operational capability, maximum speed, range and endurance were all “very similar.” Their evaluation was that the 2 designs had “basically the same” surface warfare, undersea warfare, communications, and electronic warfare capabilities, and both also shared a growth path to ballistic missile defense (via the AEGIS BMD system), and strategic land strike capability (via Mk 41 vertical launchers that can accommodate BGM-109 Tomahawk Cruise missiles).

Key differences between the contenders included 64 VLS missile cells for the Evolved Design vs. 48 for the F100 frigates, 2 Phalanx-type close-in defense weapons instead of 1, and a hangar for 2 naval helicopters instead of 1. In exchange for these advantages, detailed analysis by the AWD Alliance showed that the Evolved Design would cost A$ 1 billion more over 3 ships, offer less certainty regarding schedule and cost, and deliver the first ship at least 4 years later.

Spain’s F100 Frigate

Others had seen this coming earlier. Back in April 2007, Forecast International cited internal sources to say that Navantia had won, and said:

“Common wisdom has often suggested that the Navantia bid was simply a stalking horse for Gibbs and Cox…. the information we were receiving from Australia from the start of the project was consistently that the F100 was the preferred candidate and that the Gibbs and Cox design was a back-up in case the F100 class hit serious problems on its trials. This did not happen, the Alvaro de Bazan proved to be a great success and this eliminated the DDG-51 derivatives last hope of winning this contract.

It may well be that the appointment of Gibbs and Cox as preferred designer in 2005 was not a sign of preference for their design but the group’s last chance to make its case.

A key handicap for Gibbs and Cox was that its proposed warship existed only in its preliminary design phase, increasing the technical risk for a local builder. Australia’s experiences with new and untried designs has been disappointing…”

They also said:

“Although supporters of the Gibbs and Cox-designed DDG-51 derivative promoted the greater weapons carrying capacity of their design, including 64 rather than 48 vertical launch tubes and two rather than one helicopters, the advantages of the F100 were so strong that a debate between supporters of the two designs was a complete wipeout according to one senior Australian defense source.

The financial benefits resulting from the selection of the F100 are so great that they will go a long way towards funding (some estimates are that they will almost completely accommodate) a fourth Air Warfare Destroyer. The Australian Cabinet’s National Security Committee will consider an option to buy a fourth F100 destroyer when it makes a final decision on a go-ahead for the project in June.”

Australia appears to have decided on buying just 3 ships, and even under that regimen the estimated total program cost had grown from A$ 6 billion to A$ 8 billion from the time project funding began to the announcement of the winning design and contract.

Labels: Australia, Shipbuilding

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:04

Silvio Berlusconi spent his first day as Italy's new Prime Minister on Tuesday promising to deal swiftly with the country's many pressing problems, from the sale of its troubled national airline Alitalia to the masses of uncollected rubbish swamping Naples. And how does he plan to deal with it all? By appointing a cabinet that will include - if Silvio sticks to his election campaign pledge - a record number of women.

Berlusconi promised to give at least four of his 12 cabinet posts to women. One is expected to be Mara Carfagna (above right), a former Miss Italy contestant, who is in the running for Minister for the Family, while Stefania Prestigiacomo (above left), a member of his Forza Italia party, looks likely to be given the European Affairs portfolio.

Labels: Italy

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:03

China is building a major underground nuclear submarine base on the southern tip of Hainan Island, defence group Jane's said Friday.

Jane's Intelligence Review, a respected defence periodical, said satellite images of the base from imagery provider DigitalGlobe were the first confirmation of its existence.

Although Beijing is displaying no overt aggression, the base could mean an increase in its strategic capability in the South China Sea and considerably further afield, Jane's analysis said.

"Jane's can confirm that the satellite pictures show that China is constructing a major underground nuclear submarine base near Sanya, on Hainan Island off its southern coast," the group said.

', which reported the satellite images, called the base a "vast, James Bond-style edifice capable of concealing up to 20 nuclear-powered submarines, which will enable China to project its power across the region."

Labels: China, Long Game

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 05:26

Labels: McCain

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 15:52

My first glimpse of Las Vegas airport was in the early 1960s, when I’d gone to see Sammy Davis at the Sands hotel. The airport was so tiny and primitive that the Las Vegas sign was made with twigs, and there were only two runways and one terminal. The ’strip’ was just a two-lane highway, which had a few two or three-storey hotels - El Rancho, the Sands, the Flamingo and a few others. But the star contingent of performers was fantastically represented, and every name in showbiz competed for their neon place in the sun. No woman would be caught dead after 6pm unless they wore a silk, satin or chiffon cocktail dress over which was slung a mink stole. The men were equally groomed, all tanned, brilliantined and snappily dressed. James Bond was right at home in this environment.

I could hardly believe the transformation recently when I went to visit my friend Judy Bryer. The glamour of Ian Fleming’s Vegas is far, far away from the reality of today, and I can’t picture James Bond trying to pursue the nefarious Blofeld while stuck in a traffic jam on the strip or trying to chase him on foot among the morbidly obese tourists jostling for space on the sidewalk, battling massive swathes of fat wrapped in Lycra.

Labels: Hollywierd

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 15:22

House officials want to explore the possibility of bringing the USS John F. Kennedy or USS Kitty Hawk back into service in five years to keep the Navy’s carrier fleet at full force.

During debate on their draft of next year’s defense budget authorization, the House Armed Services Committee approved an amendment to study the cost and logistics of reactivating the carriers after their decommissioning over the next few years.

At issue is the Navy’s request to drop below the congressionally mandated 11-carrier fleet in 2012, when the USS Enterprise is taken out of service.

Labels: Carrier

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 14:01

Not many men in the military are eager to join a brand-new unit, where they don't know people, don't know what they'll be doing and don't have a proud unit lineage.

But the Navy assured the men it would be good for their careers.

So some men volunteered and a lot more were drafted to join Observation Squadron 67, so named because that was the year it was born.

After a while the men took to calling themselves "the Ghost Squadron" because they felt forgotten, participants in a secret war that neither the U.S. nor the North Vietnamese wanted to acknowledge was being waged next door to Vietnam.

Silenced for decades by their classified missions over Laos, the men finally in recent years began to speak publicly of their war, a decision that would ultimately lead to a rare historic correction by the Navy.

Forty years after the squadron's actions, VO-67 has been awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, the highest decoration for combat valor a unit can receive. Some of the surviving 300 members of that squadron will be on hand Wednesday in Washington, D.C., for the ceremony in front of the U.S. Navy Memorial.

"It's special after all these years," said John Forsgren, a young sailor who served in the squadron and lives in Arlington. "But it's also bittersweet. How do you get proud of something that you did 40 years ago? There's a bit of a feeling of 'Why didn't they recognize the unit 30 years ago?'"

The Presidential Unit Citation is reserved only for the most valorous combat units, and it's worth noting that far fewer of them were awarded for the Vietnam War than Medals of Honor. A unit receiving the citation is the equivalent of every man receiving a Navy Cross.

Ensign Laura Stegherr said Navy Secretary Donald Winter received "relevant, new and verified" information about the squadron's actions in Laos that warranted the decoration.

Secret mission

VO-67 wasn't really an observation squadron, though they pretended they were. Their unit patch reflected the ruse, showing an airplane sending signals to the ground. In reality, it was the opposite -- the squadron was listening to what was happening on the ground, not interfering.

"It was so secret that not many top people in the Navy knew the squadron existed or what we did," said Ed Landwehr of Fort Worth, a navigator and bombadier on Crew 4.

The idea came from Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, who was unhappy with the results of the bombing campaign in North Vietnam and wanted some other way to interdict supplies into South Vietnam. His answer was "Igloo White," the code name for his plan to create an "electronic barrier" at the Demilitarized Zone.

The Ho Chi Minh Trail was largely under triple canopy jungle, hard to detect and busiest at night. Using dropped microphones and seismographic sensors would be a way for the military to gain intelligence on what was moving down the trail, when and how much. Then they could call in airstrikes.

"We didn't find out what we would be doing until right before we deployed," said Herb Ganner of Hurst, a navigator and bombadier on Crew 1.

What the pilots and crews had to do sounds simple enough -- take off from an airfield in Thailand, fly a short distance into Laos and drop the camouflaged sensors along the trail.

The men flew only in the day, usually every other day, and could expect to be airborne no longer than a couple of hours.

But the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the lifeblood of the war for the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong, was a very hostile place for air crews, particularly slow-moving, virtually defenseless ones flying at only 500 to 1,000 feet.

"The missions were short-lived, but they were adrenaline-pumped," Ganner said.

The Navy prepared for a loss rate of upward of 60 percent to 70 percent, which the men found out about while they were in Thailand.

"They tried to reassure us that the loss rate was not necessarily those killed," Ganner said, "but that it meant the airplanes would be so damaged that they would be out of commission."

It never got that bad. But within a span of six weeks in 1968, it felt like it was. Twenty men from three crews died in January and February 1968, the time of the huge Tet Offensive.

Painful memories

After all these years, the survivors of VO-67 still wince at the memories of Jan. 11, when the first crew did not come home.

Tony Bissell of Bedford was a petty officer on another plane that day, and he can still remember the awful silence on the radio as Crew 2 did not answer any communication. Later that night, the officers' club was packed wall to wall with men getting stupid drunk. Nine men dead in a second.

"We didn't have to buy a single drink that night," Bissell said. "The Air Force guys were very sympathetic."

Interservice rivalry seemed to take a back seat to the men's shared missions and misery. To this day, the men of VO-67 credit the Air Force forward air controllers in Thailand for saving their hides many times because of their knowledge of the trail.

Each crew had its own identity, and rarely did they ever share with each other their specific missions. The less the men knew, the better.

"We knew how susceptible we were to getting shot down," Ganner said. "I used to carry a Geneva Convention card and my ID tags. I never took my wedding ring, my wallet, anything personal."

At least once the "Ghost Squadron" came out of hiding to participate in the acknowledged war.

In January 1968, the Marines at Khe Sanh were under siege by thousands of North Vietnamese. VO-67 was ordered on low-flying missions to drop sensors around the Marine base, so more accurate fire could be leveled.

Their citation says they "contributed to saving countless lives."

As for their careers in the Navy, the men said VO-67 failed to help them at all. In fact, most of them believed it hurt their promotion chances because no one in the Navy had heard of it.

Still, the belated recognition matters to many of them, for both reasons large and small.

"I've talked about it recently with my wife of 19 years, and she will say, 'I don't believe you,'" Forsgren said, laughing. "This is vindication."

ABOUT THE GHOST SQUADRON

The men flew the Lockheed P-2 Neptune, a 1950s-era anti-submarine patrol airplane. The squadron's planes were heavily modified for the mission, including the addition of M-60 machine guns, an armored belly and a jungle-green paint scheme.

The squadron was based at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base, just across the Mekong River from Laos. Their primary mission was over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos, but they also performed missions in South Vietnam.

Twenty men of VO-67 died in Southeast Asia in three incidents. One is still missing in action, Cmdr. Paul Milius, who earned a Navy Cross for allowing seven crewmen to bail out of their badly damaged aircraft before going down. The Navy named a destroyer for him in the 1990s.

The squadron flew combat missions for nine months and sustained a 25 percent loss rate. It was disestablished in July 1968, and the Air Force took over the mission until 1972.

Among the North Texas men who served in the unit: Tony Bissell of Bedford, John Forsgren of Arlington, Herb Ganner of Hurst, Ed Landwehr of Fort Worth, Fredrick Rerko of Dallas and Lowell Shaw of Plano.

Labels: Aircraft, Vietnam War

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:15

“I have noticed too much of a tendency towards what might be called next-war-itis — the propensity of much of the defense establishment to be in favor of what might be needed in a future conflict,” Mr. Gates told a conference here sponsored by the Heritage Foundation.

“Over all,” he added, “the kinds of capabilities we will most likely need in the years ahead will often resemble the kinds of capabilities we need today.”

But he warned any adversary against thinking that the United States had dropped its guard, saying that while the Army and the Marines carried the brunt of the nation’s current combat effort, the Air Force and the Navy would be “America’s main strategic deterrent” against potential adversaries like Iran, North Korea and China. He called for careful spending to modernize and expand both of these services.

Labels: Shipbuilding

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 11:53

1. He is being asked to speak.
2. He accepted.
   

Iran has been directing assassination operations in Iraq using trained snipers, in some cases killing Iraqi officials opposed to Iran, according to an officer who has recently served as a senior adviser to Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq.

Army Col. H.R. McMaster, who has served multiple tours in Iraq, yesterday described Iran's activities as part of an unofficial talk on the evolution of the Iraq war he delivered at the American Enterprise Institute here. Although he emphasized that "Iraq's communities have largely stopped shooting at each other" and that the Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq "is on its way to defeat," he said Iraq remains a "weak state," and that Iranian involvement was intended to keep it so.

Iran's activities are "obvious to anyone who bothers to look into it," and should no longer be "alleged," he said in response to a question.

Labels: Army, Iran

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 11:49

In particular, he sees a world in which:

_ "The Iraq war has been won. Iraq is a functioning democracy, although still suffering from the lingering effects of decades of tyranny and centuries of sectarian tension. Violence still occurs, but it is spasmodic and much reduced."

_ The Taliban threat in Afghanistan has been greatly reduced.

_ "The increase in actionable intelligence that the counterinsurgency produced led to the capture or death of Osama bin Laden, and his chief lieutenants," McCain said. "There still has not been a major terrorist attack in the United States since Sept. 11, 2001."

_ A "League of Democracies" has supplanted a failed United Nations to apply sanctions to the Sudanese government and halt genocide in Darfur.

_ The United States has had "several years of robust growth," appropriations bills free of lawmakers' pet projects known as "earmarks," public education improved by charter schools, health care improved by expansion of the private market and an energy crisis stemmed through the start of construction on 20 new nuclear reactors.

_ Democrats are asked to serve in his administration, he holds weekly news conferences and, like the British prime minister, answers questions publicly from lawmakers.

Labels: McCain

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:31

I’m happy to take a few questions. Go ahead.

Q: Sir, Cadet Brendan from AA3. There has been a lot of talk recently in the media concerning the presidential election that the don’t ask, don’t tell policy will be lifted if the Democratic nominee is elected. And my question to you is, sir, whether you think in your experiences and your interaction with the other service chiefs, if that policy will be difficult to implement or if it will ultimately end up sort of on the line with the Brits and the Australians in that – where it has been ultimately a non-issue?

ADM. MULLEN: What was the last part of the question?

Q: Sir, that the British and the Australians have also lifted their bans and it has ultimately been a non-issue for them.

ADM. MULLEN: Okay. And the question is on – if I understood it right – don’t ask, don’t tell. We have a policy right now that has been in effect since 1992, 93. And that was decided, obviously put in – it is not just a policy; it is the law. And one of the things we do in the military is we follow the law. So we follow that policy diligently since it was put in place. I actually get asked questions fairly frequently about what if our next president does A, B, or C, and this is also one that certainly gets surfaced in terms of questions.

I am the principal military advisor to the president of the United States. I have an opportunity to do that fairly frequently with the current president. And my expectations are – and he is the one, the president is the individual that makes the decisions about what we are going to do. And I, as a member of the military, and you, as well, implement those policies. So since 1992 or 3 when it was passed, that is what we do. So should that policy change and the next president certainly endorse that and it is not unlike the policy that exists right now, we will carry that policy out. And I would say that about this, but I would say that about a broad range of issues.

And what is so important about that – not this particular subject, per se, although it is representative – is we are a military that – I talk about being foundational, but it is also a military that is under the control of our civilian elected leaders. That is our country, and it has served us exceptionally well since we have been founded. And I am very focused on that. That is a very special characteristic of our country. And I would never do anything to jeopardize that.

There is a lot of time between now and next January. And as important as anything we do as a military, is to hold that very strong apolitical position that is what the American people expect, and it is back to the trust and confidence issue and that we carry out the policies of the elected leaders of our country. And so should that come up, and I have been asked this by Congress. And I think that if the American people want to arrange that, and Congress changes the law, and it becomes law, we carry it out. And that my personal opinion on this, whatever it is, quite frankly is irrelevant.

Just as a reminder, I just don't care. It just doesn't matter. That is just my opinion. Get comfortable with it - you only have about 12 months left of DADT anyway.

If you don't like it, I would say, "Embrace the suck" - but that won't work. I could say, "Take it like a man" - but that doesn't seem right either. I could say, "There is nothing you can do about it, worry about the next INSURV instead."; that seems better.

Hat tip Mike.

Labels: DADT

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:16

Labels: Islam

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:03

They just had a NEX uniform roadshow here ... and it was pretty much a disaster. They wouldn't pass around the SDK because "it's really hard to take care of and we don't want to ruin this one".

Audience reaction was quite hostile after that. Everyone seemed to hate the new digi camies (too dark except for the bright USN "shoot me here" badge on the pocket) and was appalled that the PT windsuit (required) will cost $180.

On the E side people are furious that the PT ensemble will be required for wear by the end of the summer, but the uniform allowance is being spread over 2 years. And it (the wind suit) won't be available for the fall PRT here. (We had to cancel one of the PRT days last fall because it snowed and made the track unsafe.)

Look for lots of future hate and discontent on this one. Are they the LCS of uniforms? They all seem to have the designed by committee stench about them.

Labels: Uniforms

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 14:55

Labels: Politics

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 07:19

Labels: Aircraft, Humor

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:49

Young men like Nader and Enad are taught that they are the guardians of the family’s reputation, expected to shield their female relatives from shame and avoid dishonoring their families by their own behavior. It is a classic example of how the Saudis have melded their faith with their desert tribal traditions.

“One of the most important Arab traditions is honor,” Enad said. “If my sister goes in the street and someone assaults her, she won’t be able to protect herself. The nature of men is that men are more rational. Women are not rational. With one or two or three words, a man can get what he wants from a woman. If I call someone and a girl answers, I have to apologize. It’s a huge deal. It is a violation of the house.”

Enad is the alpha male, a 20-year-old police officer with an explosive temper and a fondness for teasing. Nader, 22, is soft-spoken, with a gentle smile and an inclination to follow rather than lead.

“I’m very romantic,” Nader said. “I don’t like action movies. I like romance. ‘Titanic’ is No. 1. I like ‘Head Over Heels.’ Romance is love.”

Three days later, in a nearby restaurant, Nader and Enad were concentrating on eating with utensils, feeling a bit awkward since they normally eat with their right hands.

Suddenly, the young men stopped focusing on their food. A woman had entered the restaurant, alone. She was completely draped in a black abaya, her face covered by a black veil, her hair and ears covered by a black cloth pulled tight.

“Look at the batman,” Nader said derisively, snickering.

Enad pretended to toss his burning cigarette at the woman, who by now had been seated at a table. The glaring young men unnerved her, as though her parents had caught her doing something wrong.

“She is alone, without a man,” Enad said, explaining why they were disgusted, not just with her, but with her male relatives, too, wherever they were.

When a man joined her at the table — someone they assumed was her husband — she removed her face veil, which fueled Enad and Nader’s hostility. They continued to make mocking hand gestures and comments until the couple changed tables. Even then, the woman was so flustered she held the cloth self-consciously over her face throughout her meal.

“Thank God our women are at home,” Enad said.

To Nader and Enad, prayer is essential. In Enad’s view, jihad is, too, not the more moderate approach that emphasizes doing good deeds, but the idea of picking up a weapon and fighting in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Jihad is not a crime; it is a duty,” Enad said in casual conversation.

“If someone comes into your house, will you stand there or will you fight them?” Enad said, leaning forward, his short, thick hands resting on his knees. “Arab or Muslim lands are like one house.”

Would he go fight?

“I would need permission from my parents,” he said.

Nader, though, said, “Don’t ask me. I am afraid of the government.”

The concept is such a fundamental principle, so embedded in their psyches, that they do not see any conflict between their belief in armed jihad and their work as security agents of the state. As a police officer, Enad helps conduct raids on suspected terrorist hideouts. Nader works in the military as a communications officer.

Each earns about 4,000 riyals a month, about $1,200, not nearly enough to become independent from their parents. But that is not a huge concern, because fathers are expected to provide for even their grown children, to ensure that they have a place to live and the means to get married.

To many parents, providing money is seen as more central to their duty — their honor — than ensuring that their children get an education.

Each young man has the requisite mustache and goatee, and most of the time dresses in a traditional robe. Nader prefers the white thobe, an ankle-length gown; Enad prefers beige.

But on weekends, they opt for the wild and crazy guy look, often wearing running pants, tight short-sleeved shirts, bright colors, stripes and plaids together, lots of Velcro and elastic on their shoes. In Western-style clothes, they both seem smaller, and a touch on the pudgy side. Nader says softly, “I don’t exercise.”

There are eight other children in the house where Enad lives with his father, his mother and his father’s second wife. The apartment has little furniture, with nothing on the walls. The men and boys gather in a living room off the main hall, sitting on soiled beige wall-to-wall carpeting, watching a television propped up on a crooked cabinet. The women have a similar living room, nearly identical, behind closed doors.

The house remains a haven for Enad and his cousins, who often spend their free time sleeping, watching Dr. Phil and Oprah with subtitles on television, drinking cardamom coffee and sweet tea — and smoking.

Enad and Nader were always close, but their relationship changed when Nader and Sarah became engaged. Enad’s father agreed to let Nader marry one of his four daughters. Nader picked Sarah, though she is not the oldest, in part, he said, because he actually saw her face when she was a child and recalled that she was pretty.

They quickly signed a wedding contract, making them legally married, but by tradition they do not consider themselves so until the wedding party, set for this spring. During the intervening months, they are not allowed to see each other or spend any time together.

Nader said he expected to see his new wife for the first time after their wedding ceremony — which would also be segregated by sex — when they are photographed as husband and wife.

“If you want to know what your wife looks like, look at her brother,” Nader said in defending the practice of marrying someone he had seen only once, briefly, as a child. That is the traditional Nader, who at times conflicts with the romantic Nader.

Nader grew up in Riyadh, and his parents, like Enad’s, are first cousins. Enad says his way of thinking was forged in the village of Najkh, 350 miles west of Riyadh, where he lived until he was 14 with his grandfather. It is where he still feels most comfortable.

Inside there is no furniture, just a few cushions on the floor and a prayer rug pointing in the direction of Mecca. Enad and his cousins absentmindedly toss trash out the kitchen window, and around the yard, expecting that the “houseboy,” a man named Nasreddin from India, will clean up after them — and he does.

Enad is quiet and hides his cigarettes when his grandfather comes through. He would never tell his father or grandfather that he smokes. Enad remains stone-faced when a cousin mentions that another of his cousins, a woman named Al Atti, 22, is interested in him. The topic came up because another cousin, Raed, had asked Al Atti to marry him, and she refused.

The conflict and flirtation touched on so many issues — manhood, love, family relations — that it sparked a flurry of whispering, and even Enad was drawn in.

Al Atti had let her sisters know that she liked Enad, but made it clear that she could never admit that publicly. So she asked a sister to spread the word from cousin to cousin, and ultimately to Enad. “It’s forbidden to announce your love. It is impossible,” she said.

Word finally reached Enad, who tried to stay cool but was clearly interested, and flattered. At that point Enad was himself whispering about Al Atti, trying to figure out a way to communicate with her without actually talking to her himself. He asked a female visitor to arrange a call, and then pass along a message of interest.

Enad said it was never his idea to pursue her, but that a man — a real man — could not reject a woman who wanted him. To get his cousin Raed out of the picture, he suggested that Al Atti’s brother take Raed to hear Al Atti’s refusal in person, at her house.

“From behind a wall,” Enad said.

“Love is dangerous,” Al Atti said as she sat with her sisters in the house. “It can ruin your reputation.”

Asking a woman for her number can cause a young man anxiety anywhere. But in Saudi Arabia, getting caught with an unrelated woman can mean arrest, a possible flogging and dishonor, the worst penalty of all in a society where preserving a family’s reputation depends on faithful adherence to a strict code of separation between the sexes.

Above all, Nader feared that his cousin Enad al-Mutairi would find out that he was breaking the rules. Nader is engaged to Enad’s 17-year-old sister, Sarah. “Please don’t talk to Enad about this,” he said. “He will kill me.”

Labels: Islam

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:41

The Coast Guard rescued 14 people, including some Naval Academy midshipmen and coaches from the academy, after their ship suffered a broken mast.

Coast Guard Petty Officer John Edwards says the mast of a 49-foot Mameluke broke overnight in the West River.

A 41-foot Coast Guard boat rescued everyone aboard the Mameluke. They were then taken to Annapolis.

Labels: Tall Ships, USNA

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 15:58

The U.S. Senate voted on Tuesday to suspend oil deliveries to the country's Strategic Petroleum Reserve until crude prices fall below $75 a barrel, repudiating the Bush administration's policy of boosting the stockpile at time of record oil and gasoline prices.

The proposal to halt shipments to the emergency oil reserve, which cleared the Senate in a 97 to 1 vote, was tacked on to a flood insurance reform bill that also passed.

The House of Representatives was expected later on Tuesday to vote on a similar measure that supporters believed would put more oil supplies in the market and help lower energy prices.

Separately, the Senate rejected a broader Republican energy measure which in addition to stopping oil deliveries to the reserve would have allowed oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and off coastal states where energy exploration is now banned.

The Energy Department, ... estimates the wildlife preserve could yield a million barrels of oil a day..

Senate Democratic leaders on Monday urged President George W. Bush to use his upcoming trip to the Middle East to convince Saudi Arabia to pump more oil and help lower record crude and gasoline prices.

"We urge you to use this opportunity to request that the Saudi government take steps to reduce the record high prices American drivers are paying for gasoline at the pump and urge them to take steps to bring those prices down as rapidly as possible," the lawmakers said in a letter to Bush.

Labels: Energy

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 13:12

As he moves closer to winning the Democratic presidential nomination, it is becoming increasingly apparent that Barack Obama has a huge problem winning the trust of Jewish voters, and presumptive Republican nominee John McCain knows it. On Friday, Mr. McCain criticized Mr. Obama for advocating unconditional talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who last week called Israel a "stinking corpse" which is doomed to disappear. In October, Mr. Obama attacked then-Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton for supporting a nonbinding Senate resolution declaring Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization — which it manifestly is. (The resolution passed the Senate 76-22 in September, winning the votes of almost half of Senate Democrats.)

On Friday, Robert Malley, an Obama advisor, resigned from the senator's campaign as reports surfaced that he had met with the terrorist group Hamas. Last month, Hamas political advisor Ahmad Yousef said on WABC Radio in New York that he hoped Mr. Obama would be elected president. Mr. McCain said Hamas would never want him to be president, "so if Mr. Obama is favored by Hamas, I think people can make judgments accordingly."

JG: Do you think that Israel is a drag on America’s reputation overseas?

BO: No, no, no. But what I think is that this constant wound, that this constant sore, does infect all of our foreign policy.

Mr. Obama sternly rejected the Hamas endorsement, but the latest Gallup polls suggest he has a significant and growing problem in keeping Jewish voters in the Democratic fold. The latest Gallup polls show that in a contest with Mr. McCain, Mr. Obama would secure 61 percent of the Jewish vote to the Republican's 32 percent. In 2004 and 2006 elections, by contrast, Jewish voters favored the Democratic Party by a 75 percent to 25 percent margin. This suggests that support for the Democratic Party standard-bearer among Jews could be approaching its lowest levels in decades. The Republicans' best showing was achieved by Ronald Reagan in 1980, when he won 40 percent of the Jewish vote.

Labels: Israel, Obama

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 07:26

This should be seen by all. One way or another, I see this next to Stalingrad and Das Boot in the Salamander collection. It looks that good - and tells a story that needs to be know by more.

Labels: Movies, Poland

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:53

Labels: Pirates

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 05:54

Call To Action (CTA) is a Catholic movement working for equality and justice in the Church and society. An independent national organization of over 25,000 people and 53 local chapters, CTA believes that the Spirit of God is at work in the whole church, not just in its appointed leaders. The entire Catholic Church has the obligation of responding to the needs of the world and taking initiative in programs of peace and justice. CTA acts as a nexus where the full panoply of Church renewal issues come into focus, intersecting and interacting to produce a vision of the Catholic Church as it can and should be. CTA promotes its vision of a progressive, engaged Catholicism through its acclaimed annual conferences, award-winning publications, extensive network of regional groups and joint programs with other Catholic renewal organizations.

Labels: Moonbats, Religion

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 15:06

According to the report, the investigation began when investigators received an anonymous letter containing "significant" details about the affair. Investigators had received another such letter in 1999, but it contained no detail and was not investigated.
...
At issue was Stufflebeem's removal from his post as a presidential aide in 1990. Stufflebeem testified that he initiated the request to leave his White House post because of "close family personal problems." But his superiors testified that he was removed from the post because of his relationship with the woman -- and that he admitted the affair.

Jane Doe's supervisor told investigators that when she learned of the affair from Doe, she confirmed Stufflebeem's marital status and told Doe what she'd learned.

"Ms. Doe's reaction, according to the supervisor, was one of complete surprise and shock," the report said.

The supervisor also said that she telephoned Stufflebeem's immediate supervisor to tell him of the affair and that when she called a few weeks later to follow up, the supervisor told her that "everybody in town knew Boomer was f'ing some bimbo at the [federal agency]."

"So I have had a great 18-year career since I left the White House," he said, according to the report. "If this is the end of it, then I still leave a rewarded individual, thankful for the blessings that I have had."

VADM Stufflebeem also testified that he remembered sitting in her car outside the White House grounds discussing the relationship and her expectations that he would leave his wife to engage in a long term relationship with her. VADM Stufflebeem noted that problems began when the woman started to call his wife, and told us that he had not intended for the relationship to go as far as it had.

VADM Stufflebeem reiterated that he initiated his request for reassignment and submitted a letter request to LTG Trefry. To support his understanding that he was not fired, VADM Stufflebeem noted that he was never told he was fired, and referred to the fitness report he received upon his departure. VADM Stufflebeem described the report as good, pointing out that it recommended him for flag officer. 6 VADM Stufflebeem also said the current administration asked him to serve as the Military Assistant to the President, the position formerly held by LTG Trefry.

Labels: Navy

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 13:53

Defense officials said China has deployed a new wide-area ocean surveillance system that includes an underwater sonar network of sensors, and ground- and sea-based long-range radar that will make it more difficult for U.S. submarines to protect the fleet and to track China's growing force of new attack and missile submarines.

A former U.S. government defense specialist on China said on the condition of anonymity that there are indications China is operating a rudimentary underwater Sound Surveillance System, or SOSUS. The sonar network includes fixed sensors that can pinpoint U.S. submarines operating in some areas of the western Pacific.

The U.S. Navy operates a similar system at strategic underwater choke points around the world.

The Chinese SOSUS has been detected underwater in the Bohai Sea, off the northern Chinese coast, north of the Yellow Sea, a major Chinese navy operating area. Additionally, China also has set up at least five long- and medium-range radar sites along its coast that have over-the-horizon capability, the former official said.

The sonar and radar are part of China's key strategic wartime goal of knocking out the five or more aircraft carrier strike groups that would be rushed to the region near Taiwan in any future conflict. Those carrier battle groups are defended by submarines.

"If they are after carriers, we protect carriers with subs and if they know where they are, they can find the carriers," said the former defense official, who confirmed that the Chinese are developing various ground, sea and space sensors designed to "target the American fleet."

Labels: ASW, China, Long Game

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 13:20

On April 28th Mr Alemanno, once a youth leader of the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement (MSI), was elected mayor of Rome, with 54% of the vote over Franco Rutelli, a deputy prime minister in the outgoing centre-left government. Silvio Berlusconi, the incoming prime minister, called it an “historic victory”. The centre-left had run Rome since 1993.

Labels: Italy

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 11:44

Labels: Broadside, Cartoon

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 03:50

Labels: Media, Obama

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 09:48

Labels: Africa

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:11

Labels: Obama

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:02

If [the GOP] won't clean their house up now, I'm prepared to sit back and let the voters do it for them in November. Remember: I'm all for being on the team, but not when the team is solely interested in me filling out the roster, but not letting me on the field.

So, pay attention House Republicans: if you are not willing to publicly turn your back on people like Don Young and Jerry Lewis, to hell with you all. I'll support individual candidates, but I will continue to withhold support from the NRCC.

Labels: Republicans

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 14:25

Labels: Fullbore, WWII

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:37

Labels: Jindal, McCain, Republicans

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 15:12

R 231700Z APR 94
FM CNO WASHINGTON DC//N00//

UNCLAS
NAVOP 008/94
MSGID/GENADMIN/N00//
SUBJ/MESSAGE TO THE MEN AND WOMEN OF OUR NAVY ON ASSUMPTION OF DUTIES AS CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS//

RMKS/1. THIS MSG IS FOR ALL HANDS. I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF EVERY COMMANDER, COMMANDING OFFICER AND OFFICER IN CHARGE WOULD ENSURE THAT EACH PERSON HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO RECEIVE IT.

2. TO THE MEN AND WOMEN OF OUR NAVY, THIS IS A DIFFICULT MESSAGE TO WRITE, IT IS MY THIRD TRY. IT IS DIFFICULT BECAUSE THERE IS SO MUCH TO SAY AND SO MUCH OF IT IS HARD TO PUT IN WRITING BUT IS, INSTEAD, BETTER SAID IN PERSON. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE YOU ALL IMMEDIATELY SO I'VE DECIDED TO WRITE WHAT AMOUNTS TO A LETTER IN MESSAGE FORM. I WOULD LIKE YOU TO READ THIS AS IF IT IS A PERSONAL LETTER BECAUSE THAT IS JUST WHAT IT IS MEANT TO BE. EACH OF YOU WILL READ IT DIFFERENTLY DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU ARE IN YOUR CAREER AND IN THE CHAIN OF COMMAND. FOR EXAMPLE, A VERY JUNIOR SAILOR IN HIS OR HER FIRST YEAR WILL PROBABLY READ THIS IN TERMS OF PERSONAL PERFORMANCE AND INDIVIDUAL CONCERNS. A MASTER CHIEF OR SENIOR OFFICER WILL PROBABLY READ IT WITH LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN MIND. THAT IS JUST WHAT I WANT, READ THIS AS IF IT IS AIMED DIRECTLY AT YOU.....IT IS.

THERE ARE SOME WHO WOULD EXPECT ME TO START OUT BY TALKING ABOUT WHAT IS WRONG BUT I'M NOT GOING TO DO THAT. WE HAVE A LOT THAT IS RIGHT WITH OUR NAVY. WE HAVE A LOT TO BE PROUD ABOUT. WE HAVE GREAT SHIPS, TOP QUALITY AIRCRAFT AND BETTER ONES ON THE WAY. WE HAVE PEOPLE DEPLOYED ALL OVER THE WORLD AND I CAN TELL YOU FROM MY LAST JOB THAT THEY ARE DOING A SUPER JOB. WE HAVE MEN AND WOMEN, AND FAMILIES TOO, WHO ARE SO DEDICATED THAT THEY ARE WILLING TO SACRIFICE FOR THEIR NAVY AND NATION AND ALL THE GOOD THINGS WE STAND FOR. WE HAVE GREAT LEADERS AT ALL LEVELS OF THE CHAIN OF COMMAND, OFFICERS AND ENLISTED LEADERS WHO REALLY DO CARE ABOUT THEIR PEOPLE AND PROVE IT EACH AND EVERY DAY. I COULD GO ON AND ON BUT I'LL CUT IT SHORT BY SAYING AGAIN....WE HAVE A GREAT NAVY, I AM PROUD TO BE A PART OF IT, YOU SHOULD BE PROUD TOO.

CAN OUR NAVY BE EVEN BETTER? YOU BET IT CAN. IT IS WITHIN OUR POWER, BY WORKING TOGETHER, TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS IN EVERY ASPECT OF WHAT WE DO. I AM CONVINCED THAT IF WE GET CONTENT WITH WHERE WE ARE WE DON'T STAY THERE, WE MOVE BACKWARDS. IN EVERYTHING WE DO, IN EVERY FACET OF NAVY LIFE, PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL, WE NEED TO STRIVE FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT. THAT IS WHAT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT NEXT.

THERE ARE SOME KEY THINGS WE CAN ALL DO TO CREATE THE CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT I'M TALKING ABOUT. THE FIRST ONE, PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL, IS TO REALLY TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER. NOW EVERYBODY ALWAYS SAYS THAT HE OR SHE CARES ABOUT OTHERS BUT I MEAN MUCH MORE THAN THAT. LET ME GIVE YOU SOME EXAMPLES.

I CAME IN THE NAVY AS AN E-1. I NEEDED A GREAT DEAL OF LEADERSHIP. I GOT IT. A SUPER RECRUIT COMPANY COMMANDER, A FIRST RATE LEADING PETTY OFFICER AT MY FIRST COMMAND, IT CONTINUED RIGHT UP THE LINE TO THIS DAY. I HAVE WORKED FOR GREAT PEOPLE WHO DID NOT WAIT FOR ME TO GET MOTIVATED, THEY CARED ABOUT ME AND SHOWED IT. I OWE WHAT SUCCESS I HAVE HAD TO THEM. IF WE TOOK THE SAME LEADERSHIP APPROACH WITH EVERYONE, REALLY TRIED TO HELP EACH AND EVERY PERSON TO BE ALL THAT THEY CAN BE, WE WOULD GET BETTER AND BETTER AS A NAVY BECAUSE OUR PEOPLE WOULD BE IMPROVING AND PEOPLE, AFTER ALL, ARE REALLY WHAT OUR NAVY IS ALL ABOUT.

WE DO A GREAT DEAL OF TALKING ABOUT, TEACHING ABOUT, WRITING ABOUT EQUAL OPPORTUNITY. THAT IS IMPORTANT AND WE ARE GOING TO GO RIGHT ON TALKING, TEACHING AND WRITING. BUT STOP AND THINK ABOUT IT FOR A MINUTE, IF YOU REALLY BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF OUR NAVY....AND I'LL BET MOST OF YOU AGREE WITH ME ON THAT POINT, AND YOU AGREE THAT OUR NAVY WILL BE BETTER IF EVERY PERSON PERFORMS TO THE BEST OF THEIR ABILITY....AND I'LL BET MOST OF YOU AGREE WITH ME ON THAT POINT TOO, THEN IT MAKES SENSE FOR ALL OF US, SENIORS AND JUNIORS ALIKE, TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO SEE THAT EVERYONE ELSE IS ABLE TO REACH THEIR PERSONAL BEST. IF YOU AGREE WITH ME SO FAR THEN I HOPE YOU'LL AGREE WITH THIS:

- EQUAL OPPORTUNITY IS MORE THAN NOT DISCRIMINATING AGAINST ANOTHER PERSON BECAUSE OF RACE, RELIGION OR GENDER. IT IS MORE THAN AVOIDING TREATING A PERSON DIFFERENTLY BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT EXACTLY LIKE YOU. IT IS MORE THAN SIMPLY NOT HARASSING SOMEONE OR NOT BREAKING RULES, REGULATIONS OR LAWS. LET'S BE CLEAR: ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE JUST THE MINIMUMS WE ALL ARE EXPECTED TO COMPLY WITH AND IF WE DON'T THE RESULT WILL BE A PREDICTABLE ONE.

- MY DEFINITION OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITY GOES FURTHER. BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT, AS A TEAM, WE ARE BETTER WHEN WE ALL PERFORM AT OUR BEST WE WANT TO HELP EVERYONE DO JUST THAT....BE AT THEIR BEST. THAT MEANS EQUAL ACCESS TO TRAINING, TO CHALLENGING WORK, TO ALL THE THINGS THAT LEAD TO SUCCESS. RACE, RELIGION AND GENDER SIMPLY DO NOT ENTER INTO THE DISCUSSION. THE KEY HERE IS THAT WE WANT EVERYONE, REPEAT, EVERYONE TO BE JUST AS GOOD AS THEY CAN BE AND WE WILL NOT LET ANYTHING GET IN THE WAY OF THAT GOAL. IF WE ALL SIGN UP TO THAT DEFINITION OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITY OUR NAVY WILL CONTINUE TO GET BETTER AND BETTER AS OUR PEOPLE GROW AND SUCCEED. THIS WILL BE THE STANDARD WHILE I AM CNO.

NOW, YOU AND I KNOW THAT IT ISN'T A PERFECT WORLD. PEOPLE ARE GOING TO MAKE MISTAKES. SOMETIMES THE MISTAKES WILL BE JUST THAT, SMALL ERRORS THAT THE PERSON DIDN'T REALLY MEAN. SOMETIMES THEY WILL BE REALLY BIG ONES REACHING UP TO THE LEVEL OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. WE WILL SEE THESE EXTREMES AND EVERYTHING IN THE MIDDLE. I WISH THAT WAS NOT TRUE BUT IT IS. WE HAVE A BIG NAVY AND THERE WILL BE SOME WHO DON'T GET THE WORD EVEN AS THE VAST MAJORITY OF US ARE JUST TRYING TO GET IT RIGHT. HOW WE DEAL WITH THESE ISSUES IS IMPORTANT. WE MUST BE FAIR, APPROPRIATELY FAST AND ALWAYS JUST IN OUR HANDLING OF THESE CASES. WE MUST ALSO BE SENSITIVE. CASES THAT INVOLVE PERSONAL MATTERS ARE OFTEN VERY DIFFICULT FOR BOTH ACCUSER AND ACCUSED. THOSE IN AUTHORITY MUST HAVE THE LEADERSHIP CAPABILITY TO STAND BACK A LITTLE AND SEE THE ISSUES CLEARLY SO THAT BOTH ACCUSER AND ACCUSED ARE PROTECTED DURING THE PROCESS. PROVIDED THE PROCESS OF DEALING WITH THE ISSUE IS CORRECT, PROVIDED THE PEOPLE INVOLVED ARE TREATED FAIRLY AND WITH SENSITIVITY, AND PROVIDED THE OUTCOME IS THE CORRECT ONE BASED ON THE FACTS, THEN WE HAVE DONE IT RIGHT. IF ALL THESE ELEMENTS ARE NOT THERE WHEN WE HAVE FINISHED THEN WE HAVE NOT DONE IT RIGHT AND WE HAVE NOT TRULY TAKEN CARE OF ALL OUR PEOPLE. I EXPECT US TO TAKE CARE OF ALL OUR PEOPLE, ALL THE TIME.

LET ME SHIFT SUBJECTS FOR A MOMENT. OUR NAVY IS GETTING SMALLER. IT IS ALSO GETTING BETTER. AS WE RETIRE OLDER SHIPS AND FOCUS ON NEWER ONES, NEWER AIRCRAFT, NEWER CAPABILITIES, WE ARE GOING TO SEE OUR MISSION EFFECTIVENESS GROW. I AM CONVINCED THAT WE ARE DOING THIS THE SMART WAY. I HAVE TALKED WITH SECNAV AND I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT, AS WE GET SMALLER, HE AND I ARE TOGETHER ON THE ISSUE OF DEPLOYMENT LENGTH AND FREQUENCY. WE HAVE A GREAT NAVY BUT, AS IT GETS SMALLER, IT SIMPLY CANNOT GET IN AN OPERATING MODE WHERE DEPLOYMENTS ARE TOO LONG. I AM COMMITTED TO OUR PRESENT OPTEMPO/PERSTEMPO GOALS AND WILL MAINTAIN THEM.

GOOD EQUIPMENT, PROPER TRAINING, ENOUGH PRACTICE, COUPLED WITH NEEDED MAINTENANCE AND SPARE PARTS ARE WHAT READINESS IS MADE OF. THIS, LIKE MOST EVERYTHING ELSE, IS A PEOPLE ISSUE TOO. IF YOU DON'T HAVE ALL OF THESE THINGS YOU RUN THE RISK OF TRYING TO DO TASKS AND MISSIONS YOU ARE NOT REALLY PREPARED TO DO. THAT IS WHEN ACCIDENTS HAPPEN AND PEOPLE GET HURT. THAT IS WHEN WE FAIL TO ACHIEVE OUR GOALS. I WILL WORK HARD ON MY END AND I EXPECT YOU TO WORK HARD ON YOUR LEVEL TO SEE THAT WE GET YOU WHAT YOU NEED AND THAT YOU MAKE THE MOST OF IT.

WE ARE GOING TO GET NEW SHIPS AND AIRCRAFT. WE HAVE TO IF OUR NAVY IS TO STAY READY IN THE FUTURE. I DON'T WANT THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE GOING TO BE AROUND LONG AFTER I HAVE RETIRED TO BE DRIVING SHIPS AND FLYING AIRPLANES THAT ARE LESS CAPABLE THAN THOSE YOU MIGHT HAVE TO GO AGAINST. I HAVE LOOKED AT OUR PROCUREMENT PROGRAMS DURING MY TURNOVER TIME WITH ADMIRAL KELSO AND THEY ARE ON TRACK. WE NEED THEM.

OUR FOCUS ON BEING PART OF A TEAM WITH THE MARINE CORPS AND ON JOINT WARFARE TRAINING AND OPERATIONS WILL CONTINUE AND WILL GROW DURING MY TIME AS CNO. IT IS THE WAY THINGS WILL BE DONE IN THE FUTURE, IN FACT IT IS THE WAY THINGS ARE DONE TODAY. THERE ARE VERY FEW OPERATIONS TODAY THAT ARE SINGLE SERVICE SO WE WILL CONTINUE PROGRESS WE HAVE MADE IN JOINT WARFIGHTING AND LOOK FOR WAYS TO MAKE EVEN MORE.

AS WE GET SMALLER THERE IS A REAL NEED FOR GOOD IDEAS. THE SMARTEST PEOPLE ABOUT ANY SUBJECT ARE USUALLY THE PEOPLE WHO ARE DOING THE WORK. THAT IS TRUE REGARDLESS OF WHETHER WE ARE TALKING ABOUT JOINT WARFIGHTING, DETERMINING HOW TO EMPLOY A WEAPON, RUNNING AN OFFICE OR CLEANING A SPACE. THE MORE INVOLVED EACH OF US IS IN WHAT WE DO, THE MORE EACH PERSON IS EMPOWERED TO MAKE REASONED INPUTS, THE MORE WE LISTEN, THE BETTER OUR NAVY WILL BE. I WILL SUPPORT TQL JUST AS I HAVE IN PREVIOUS ASSIGNMENTS. OUR USE OF TQL MUST IMPROVE SO THAT WE GET THE MOST FROM THIS BETTER WAY OF DOING THINGS.

THIS MESSAGE IS ALREADY TOO LONG IF I EXPECT YOU TO REALLY READ IT. IT WOULD NOT BE COMPLETE HOWEVER IF I DID NOT MENTION QUALITY OF LIFE. I EXPECT TO SPEND A GREAT DEAL OF TIME ON QOL ISSUES AND I EXPECT OTHER LEADERS TO CONTINUE TO DO THE SAME. QOL WILL BE THE SUBJECT OF MUCH DISCUSSION AND OTHER MESSAGES SO I WON'T GO INTO DETAIL HERE EXCEPT TO SAY THAT MY DEFINITION OF QOL MAY BE JUST A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN SOME OTHERS. QOL IS REALLY A MUCH LARGER ISSUE THAN JUST MWR, OR HOUSING, OR EXCHANGES, ETC. IT IS A TOTAL ENVIRONMENT IN THE WORKPLACE AND EVERYWHERE ELSE THAT WE, THE NAVY, IMPACT THAT MUST BE RIGHT IF QOL IS TO BE ADEQUATE.

FINALLY, I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT SOME WHO READ THIS WILL SAY, I AM A VERY GOOD LEADER...WHY IS HE TELLING ME ALL THIS STUFF I ALREADY KNOW ABOUT AND ALREADY DO? IN TRUTH, I HOPE EVERYONE WHO READS THIS FEELS THAT WAY. I ALSO HOPE IT IS TRUE BECAUSE IF IT IS WE ARE ALMOST PERFECT. IF IT ISN'T TRUE TODAY, I REALLY HOPE IT WILL BE TOMORROW. TAKE CARE. I AM PROUD TO BE YOUR CNO. ALL THE BEST, ADMIRAL MIKE BOORDA.

Labels: Navy

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:29

Labels: Africa

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:05

The U.S. Navy may find itself alone at the altar if the stringent contract conditions it's demanding for the next Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) put off the two competing shipbuilders.

Both Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics are working on responses to the RfP issued by the U.S. Navy to build the next Littoral Combat Ships (LCS), but it is possible that neither shipbuilder will bid. (U.S. Navy)

Sources at Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics confirm that officials are hard at work preparing responses to the Navy's March 31 Request for Proposal (RfP). But they say the Navy's desire to transfer risk to the contractors may abolish any incentive to respond.

A no-bid response from the shipbuilders might also be a way to wait out Winter's term and deal next year with a new administration and a new service secretary.

"Maybe the best strategy," the industry source said, "is to cool your heels, let the election clean these dudes out and deal with a new group."

Labels: LCS

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 16:07

The idea of giving the U.S. military more authority in areas of Afghanistan now under NATO command is "worth taking a look at," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday.
...
"I think that this is a matter that is going to get looked at over probably some period of time," he said. "It will require consultation with our allies, particularly our partners in regional command south," referring to an area of southern Afghanistan that is currently under the command of a Canadian general and is due to switch to a Dutch commander before the end of this year.

"We need to take a look also at some of our own command and control arrangements," he said. "For example, does it make sense to have two combatant commands involved in one country?" Gates was referring to the fact that Afghanistan itself is in the command area of U.S. Central Command, although the U.S. European Command is also involved because of the presence of NATO forces.

Changing the command structure to give a U.S. general more control in the south would, in effect, mark a partial "re-Americanization" of the combat mission. That could be politically controversial, given U.S. interests in maintaining close ties with NATO in fighting terrorism.

Labels: Afghanistan, NATO

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 07:28

The Office of Women's Policy, located in Washington, DC, is responsible to the Chief of Naval Personnel (N1) and the Director for Military Personnel Plans and Policy (N13) for all topics affecting female officer and enlisted personnel. Significant responsibilities and projects: - Interpret & influence the Navy's policies on the assignment of women (OPNAVINST 1300.17A) and pregnancy (OPNAVINST 6000.1B). - Monitor gender trends, including: Retention/Attrition Pregnancy & Parenthood Recruiting/Classification Promotions/Career Development - Coordinate the Women at Sea Program Habitability modification scheduling TYCOM/PERS-4 support Accession Goaling - Navy POC to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Service (DACOWITS) and the Women in NATO Forces Committee If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please feel free to e-mail the Office of Women's Policy, or call (703) 695-3373/1414, DSN 225. Please e-mail the BUPERS Webmaster with issues you may have with other pages on the NPC site.

Labels: Diversity

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:43

Labels: Navy

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:27

Labels: Environment, Media

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 13:51

Basically, the Navy brass are in a bind: The budget is tight, programs are behind schedule and they're trying to avoid sinking the fleet's total of battle-force ships below today's 279 hulls.

So the Navy asked Congress to waive current law, which requires 11 carriers to meet wartime needs. (And that minimum was 12 active carriers until last year. . . )

This dispensation would let the Navy retire CVN-65 Enterprise, which at age 50 is past its service life, three years before CVN-78 Gerald R. Ford joins the fleet.

The admirals want to prevent new shortfalls in their shipbuilding budget by avoiding a $2.2 billion price tag to keep Enterprise "operational" (on paper, anyway) to meet the letter of the law.
...
A failure to adequately maintain our carrier fleet will embolden potential adversaries. More than one historically great naval power became a shadow of its former self - much to its detriment.

Labels: Carrier, Shipbuilding

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:21

Labels: Blogg'n

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 06:11

The second LCS, the Independence, launched on April 28 into the Mobile River in Alabama. Since the General Dynamics’ team’s ship has been under construction inside the Austal production building, this was the first time the public was able to see the ship’s distinctive aluminum tri-maran hull.

The launch was a three-day process, during which the LCS 2 was rolled from the construction building on rails to the deck of a floating dry dock and then floated from there. Several small leaks in the ship, discovered while ballasting the dry dock, were sealed before the ship was moved downriver to Bender’s basin.

Labels: LCS

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 05:53

Democrats say drilling in ANWR wouldn’t produce any oil for 10 years — the same point they’ve been making for more than 10 years now. President Bill Clinton vetoed legislation in 1995 that would have opened ANWR to oil exploration.

Labels: Democrats, Energy

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 15:46

FM CNO WASHINGTON DC//DNS//
TO NAVADMIN
UNCLAS //
NAVADMIN 123/08
MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/DNS/MAY//
SUBJ/NAVY ETHOS SURVEY//
POC/TORRES, JOE/CDR/USFF/TEL: 757-836-----, EMAIL/JOSE.------ATNAVY.MIL//
RMKS/1. IN HIS GUIDANCE FOR 2007-2008, CNO DIRECTED THE DEVELOPMENT AND PROMULGATION OF A NAVY ETHOS STATEMENT AS AN UNDERPINNING TO MISSION SUCCESS NAVY-WIDE. FORMALLY DEFINED, ETHOS GENERALLY IDENTIFIES THE DISTINGUISHING CHARACTER, CULTURE, OR GUIDING BELIEFS OF A PERSON, GROUP, OR INSTITUTION. THE PURPOSE OF THE NAVY ETHOS STATEMENT IS TO COMMUNICATE AND EMPHASIZE THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES AND VALUES WE WOULD EXPECT TO BE SHARED BY ALL WHO SERVE WITHIN THE NAVY TEAM,MILITARY AND CIVILIAN ALIKE, NO MATTER WHAT COMMUNITY, COMMAND, SPECIALTY, OR POSITION EACH OF US ARE ASSOCIATED WITH.

2. TO ENABLE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ETHOS STATEMENT THAT REPRESENTS A SHARED VIEW OF OUR NAVY CULTURE, INPUT FROM NAVY ACTIVE, RESERVE AND CIVILIAN PERSONNEL IS DESIRED. A SMALL TEAM OF PERSONNEL, REPRESENTING A VARIETY OF WARFARE COMMUNITIES, RANKS AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE, HAS PREPARED A DRAFT NAVY ETHOS STATEMENT. THE STATEMENT IS AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW AT THE WEBSITE: WWW.ETHOS.NAVY.MIL, ALONG WITH A BRIEF ONLINE SURVEY TO CONTRIBUTE YOUR THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS.

3. ALL COMMANDS AND ORGANIZATIONS ARE ENCOURAGED TO PROMOTE MILITARY AND CIVILIAN PARTICIPATION IN THE ETHOS SURVEY, WHICH CAN BE COMPLETED IN 5-10 MINUTES. A NAVY ETHOS 'BLOG' IS ALSO AVAILABLE AT THE WEBSITE FOR PARTICIPANTS TO EXCHANGE IDEAS IN A NON-ATTRIBUTION ENVIRONMENT BEYOND WHAT IS COVERED IN THE SURVEY. THE GOAL IS TO COLLECT FEEDBACK FROM A DIVERSE POPULATION OF PERSONNEL TO HELP SHAPE THE FINAL PRODUCT THAT WILL BE PROPOSED TO NAVY LEADERSHIP FOR ADOPTION.
4. ALTHOUGH DOD PKI CERTIFICATE INFORMATION (E.G. COMMON ACCESS CARD) IS REQUIRED TO ACCESS THE SURVEY AND BLOG, NO PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION (PII) WILL BE COLLECTED AT ANY POINT WHILE USING THE ONLINE TOOLS. PLEASE REVIEW THE QUESTIONS CAREFULLY AND COMMENT WITHOUT RESERVE. FOR INDIVIDUALS UNABLE TO ACCESS THE WEBSITE DUE TO BANDWIDTH OR OTHER LIMITING FACTORS, THE SURVEY MAY ALSO BE OBTAINED BY SENDING AN E-MAIL TO THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS: ETHOS.FCT(AT)NAVY.MIL. AN E-MAIL CONTAINING SURVEY QUESTIONS WILL BE SENT IN REPLY.

5. IN THE COMING WEEKS, A SERIES OF VISITS AND "TOWN HALL" LIKE DISCUSSIONS ON ETHOS ARE PLANNNED AT VENUES THROUGHOUT NAVY, FACILITATED BY TEAMS OF MILITARY AND CIVILIAN PERSONNEL INVOLVED IN THE ETHOS PROJECT. THESE DISCUSSIONS WILL SERVE TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR COLLABORATION ON ETHOS DEVELOPMENT AND COMPLEMENT DATA COLLECTION EFFORTS AFFORDED BY THE ONLINE SURVEY AND BLOG. COMMANDS AND ORGANIZATIONS WILL BE NOTIFIED SEPARATELY OF TOWN HALL SESSIONS.

6. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR EFFORTS IN HELPING MOLD THIS IMPORTANT PART OF OUR NAVY CULTURE. YOUR OPINION MATTERS!

7. RELEASED BY VADM J. C. HARVEY, JR., DIRECTOR NAVY STAFF.//

Labels: Navy at War

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 13:00

Labels: Me

// posted by CDR Salamander @ 10:19