Proactively “From the Sea”; an agent of change leveraging the littoral best practices for a paradigm breaking six-sigma best business case to synergize a consistent design in the global commons, rightsizing the core values supporting our mission statement via the 5-vector model through cultural diversity.
For the regular readers of DivThu, over the years you have heard me use the term, "Cultural Marxism." Though I've provided countless examples and linked to multiple articles explaining it, in comments we see those suffering from severe cases of cognitive dissonance refusing to acknowledge not just the Marxist roots to today's Diversity Industry and its rent-seeking cadres, but that is even exists at all. Well, perhaps a quote direct from the horses ... mouth might be of help. Check out the below quote from the disgusting apologia for Karl Marx in - of course - the NYT by the associate philosophy professor at Kyung Hee University in South Korea, Jason Barker.
The key factor in Marx’s intellectual legacy in our present-day society is not “philosophy” but “critique,” or what he described in 1843 as “the ruthless criticism of all that exists: ruthless both in the sense of not being afraid of the results it arrives at and in the sense of being just as little afraid of conflict with the powers that be.” “The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it,” he wrote in 1845.
Racial and sexual oppression have been added to the dynamic of class exploitation. Social justice movements like Black Lives Matter and #MeToo, owe something of an unspoken debt to Marx through their unapologetic targeting of the “eternal truths” of our age. Such movements recognize, as did Marx, that the ideas that rule every society are those of its ruling class and that overturning those ideas is fundamental to true revolutionary progress.
We have become used to the go-getting mantra that to effect social change we first have to change ourselves. But enlightened or rational thinking is not enough, since the norms of thinking are already skewed by the structures of male privilege and social hierarchy, even down to the language we use. Changing those norms entails changing the very foundations of society.
To cite Marx, “No social order is ever destroyed before all the productive forces for which it is sufficient have been developed, and new superior relations of production never replace older ones before the material conditions for their existence have matured within the framework of the old society.”
The transition to a new society where relations among people, rather than capital relations, finally determine an individual’s worth is arguably proving to be quite a task. Marx, as I have said, does not offer a one-size-fits-all formula for enacting social change. But he does offer a powerful intellectual acid test for that change. On that basis, we are destined to keep citing him and testing his ideas until the kind of society that he struggled to bring about, and that increasing numbers of us now desire, is finally realized.
Again, those who relish the fruits of Marx - that begat the deaths of over 100 million people in the last century - are no better than those who apologize for Nazis.
They really didn't think an 'ole F-14 RIO was just going to stew silently, did they? I have a few thoughts on VADM Aucoin's post-retirement shot over at USNIBlog. Come on by and give it a read.
Directing the Navy to provide a clear chain of command for operations, for building readiness, and for shipyard maintenance;
Requiring the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) Inspections be conducted on a no-notice basis make details of those inspections unclassified and available to the public;
Requiring the Secretary of the Navy to provide a report on ways to optimize surface Navy vessel inspection and crew certifications to reduce redundancies and the burden on inspection visits that ships undergo;
Limiting the amount of time a Navy vessel is forward deployed overseas to no more than 10 years;
Ensuring the Navy retains sufficient ship repair capability and capacity in the Western Pacific by prohibiting the redevelopment of the Former Ship Repair Facility on Guam.
Ensure infrastructure supports military readiness by:
Recommending the Full Committee increase funds for facility sustainment above the fiscal year 2019 request;
This is, by and large, a Salamander endorsed list. Two items: 1. The return to unclassifed INSURV. It was a huge strategic error to classify INSURV last decade. From day-1, I have been adamant that it had nothing to do with keeping classified information from anyone - it had everything to do with providing cover as we starved our fleet of the readiness support it required. You can, and I will, draw a direct line from that decision and the attitude it encouraged to what happened in WESTPAC in 2017. Keeping INSURV out of the taxpayer's eyes only prevents accountability. It shields the Flag Officers from the results of their inability to make the case to our civilian leaders to give our Navy what it needs to sustain readiness. It is way too easy to just fire CDR/CAPT without having to answer questions why they were never properly resourced to begin with. BZ for this proposal. 2. No more lost bases. This acknowledges that once we lose a facility, we aren't getting it back. It isn't just Guam. Load a logistics professional up with a few beers and then ask them what BRAC threw away on the West Coast that we will never get back. Stand the line in Guam. Stand the line in CONUS. Especially on our coasts, we are no longer a thinly populated nation with plenty of room to grow if needed. If you cave to developers and the myopic, you will have huge problems when the next global war comes. Yes, its coming; we just don't know when.
Admiral Davidson has a view on the Long Game, and it should sober you up this Monday. Via our friend Andrew Erickson, we have a nice summary of China-related comments from incoming PACOM Commander, Admiral Philip Davidson, USN. This is ... aggressive;
The strategic and operational environment outlined in the NDS clearly identifies the importance of developing and fielding a force posture that is capable of countering Chinese malign influence in the region.With respect to their actions in the South China Sea and more broadly through the Belt and Road Initiative, the Chinese are clearly executing deliberate and thoughtful force posture initiatives. China claims that these reclaimed features and the Belt and Road Initiative will not be used for military means, but their words do not match their actions.Our defense strategy provides the necessary guidance that will drive our actions.
The Dynamic Force Employment and Global Operating Model concepts inform how the Joint Force is employed across the spectrum of military operations from deterrence operations to crisis response. Due to the distances involved in the Indo-Pacific, we cannot rely solely on surge forces from the Continental United States to deter Chinese aggression or prevent a fait accompli. PACOM must maintain a robust blunt layer that effectively deters Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific.
What exactly does that require and how does that mesh with the CINC's desire to have fewer American forces doing overseas what local forces should? ...and are we about to dust off the 'ole Pershing (III?) and GLCM, but this time with a conventional warhead ... maybe?
The Conventional Prompt Strike system will help meet military requirements in PACOM, but I think we need to also look at additional systems in order to balance against the large numbers of conventional missiles that China has already fielded. In the Indo-Pacific, the absence of the INF Treaty would provide additional options to counter China’s existing missile capabilities, complicate adversary decision making, and impose costsby forcing adversaries to spend money on expensive missile defense systems.
...
I believe the INF treaty today unfairly puts the United States at a disadvantage and places our forces at risk because China is not a signatory.
Going back to the first issue - if you get the CINC to OK more US forces in WESTPAC, where are you going to put them?
Current force structure and presence do not sufficiently counter the threats in the Indo-Pacific, particularly a resurgent China that leverages military modernization, influence operations, and predatory economics in pursuit of regional hegemony and displacement of the United States over the long term. Aligned with the concept of blunt forces in the NDS, the size of the Indo-Pacific region and the diversity of threats warrant a stable and sizable forward presence. Additional rotational forces allow for more engagements and help increase the readiness of the forward stationed forces.
Lots of good stuff there, read it all. It ain't 2010 anymore, that's for sure.
What would Jesus do? Sadly, this phrase is overused to the point that I don’t think people really ponder this in their own life. What. Would. Jesus. Do? It is something that requires action. What action? In the carnage of war, what would Jesus do? This is a woman who knew. No one had to ask her that question. If only a small percentage of us had the bravery and conviction of Sister Agnès-Marie Valois, the world would be a much better place. Remember, she was 28 at abattoir of Dieppe.
Sister Agnès-Marie Valois, who earned the nickname “Angel of Dieppe” for her defiance in treating Canadian soldiers on the beach of Dieppe during the disastrous Second World War raid, has died, aged 103.
Valois became an iconic hero to Canada’s veterans for defying Nazi authorities on the bloodstained beach who ordered her to treat wounded German soldiers before aiding the Canadians.
“She is known for standing up to the German soldiers; they held a gun up to her to treat the German injured first, but she just looked at everyone as equal — regardless of rank, regardless of nation, regardless of who or what you are she treats those who needed help the most,” said Hardy Wheeler, a retired lieutenant colonel with the Essex and Kent Scottish regiment, one of the first units to hit the beach of Dieppe.
What more can you say? Read it all. A woman who led a life of purpose. Fullbore.
There's LCS announcing her arrival and/or departure from NS Mayport as seen from a condo balcony in Jacksonville Beach and reported by the Salamander Underground. We've seen this in San Diego before ... and the folks in Crackerstan will just have to get used to LCS's calling card as the LCS-ODD will be calling Mayport home. Click the pic and enlarge yourself ... just behold the glory!
Not all that comfortable with the respect we give to the fragility of our access to the electronic spectrum? Neither am I. I'm pondering over at USNIBlog. Come on by and give it a read.
