The Unbearable Lightness of Locklear

Sometimes a post writes itself; a thoroughly politicized or wrongheaded person outs themselves without any encouragement.

Think of the Pacific. Think of what the senior USA military leader needs to expend his time and effort on - things that he actually can impact, effect, and otherwise involve the levers he uses to carry out his mission.

Think of the Top-3. China vs. Japan; China vs. Vietnam; China vs. Philippines; China vs. Taiwan; Islamists in SE Asia; North Korea; etc .. etc ..Ponder ... then bask.

America’s top military officer in charge of monitoring hostile actions by North Korea, escalating tensions between China and Japan, and a spike in computer attacks traced to China provides an unexpected answer when asked what is the biggest long-term security threat in the Pacific region: climate change.

Navy Admiral Samuel J. Locklear III, in an interview at a Cambridge hotel Friday after he met with scholars at Harvard and Tufts universities, said significant upheaval related to the warming planet “is probably the most likely thing that is going to happen . . . that will cripple the security environment, probably more likely than the other scenarios we all often talk about.’’
...
But when it comes to pragmatic military planning, Locklear said he is increasingly focused on another highly destabilizing force.

“The ice is melting and sea is getting higher,” Locklear said, noting that 80 percent of the world’s population lives within 200 miles of the coast. “I’m into the consequence management side of it. I’m not a scientist, but the island of Tarawa in Kiribati, they’re contemplating moving their entire population to another country because [it] is not going to exist anymore.”

The US military, he said, is beginning to reach out to other armed forces in the region about the issue.

“We have interjected into our multilateral dialogue – even with China and India – the imperative to kind of get military capabilities aligned [for] when the effects of climate change start to impact these massive populations,” he said. “If it goes bad, you could have hundreds of thousands or millions of people displaced and then security will start to crumble pretty quickly.’’

Even in the non-warfighting challenges; migration, pandemics, earthquakes, tsunami, etc. Al Gore's business model doesn't even get close to the Top-3. Amazing priority matrix for someone like Locklear.

Behold and cry the beloved Navy.

As a side-note, Bryan wasn't very impressed the other day either.