No more LCS-4

Told you so. Money talks.

Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead announced today that the Department of the Navy is terminating construction of the fourth littoral combat ship (LCS 4) for convenience under the termination clause of the contract because the Navy and General Dynamics could not reach agreement on the terms of a modified contract.

The Navy had not yet authorized construction on LCS 4, following a series of cost overruns on LCS 2. The Navy intended to begin construction of LCS 4 if the Navy and General Dynamics could agree on the terms for a fixed-price incentive agreement. The Navy worked closely with General Dynamics to try to restructure the agreement for LCS 4 to more equitably balance cost and risk, but could not come to terms and conditions that were acceptable to both parties.

The Navy remains committed to the LCS program. “LCS continues to be a critical warfighting requirement for our Navy to maintain dominance in the littorals and strategic choke points around the world,” said Winter. “While this is a difficult decision, we recognize that active oversight and strict cost controls in the early years are necessary to ensuring we can deliver these ships to the fleet over the long term.”

“I am absolutely committed to the Littoral Combat Ship,” said Roughead. “We need this ship. It is very important that our acquisition efforts produce the right littoral combat ship capability to the fleet at the right cost.”

I won't argue with the CNO, but, um , ... heh.

Speaking of a Fleet we cannot afford,

House and Senate negotiators on the fiscal 2008 defense authorization bill are at odds over a provision in the House-passed measure that would require the Navy to make its future fleet of surface combatants nuclear powered.

The Navy is building nuclear aircraft carriers and submarines, but the House language would establish that it is the "policy of the United States" to use nuclear power for all major vessels, including destroyers and cruisers.

For a rare moment, I find myself in agreement with Sen. Webb (D-VA).

Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., another Armed Services Committee member and a former Navy secretary, said he generally supported using nuclear energy on large vessels, but was opposed to issuing a mandate to the Navy that the service may not be able to carry out.

"In theory I support it," Webb said. "The question is the practicality."

Sen. Collins (R-ME) is right on target as well.

The up-front costs of nuclear-powered vessels are estimated at $600 million to $800 million more per ship than conventionally powered vessels.

"It is considerably more expensive to build a nuclear-powered ship in the first place," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a senior member of the Armed Services Committee. "Given that we are already underfunding shipbuilding, I'm concerned that that means we'll be further away from reaching the [Navy's] goal of a 313-ship fleet."

Yep. 200 and change is looking more and more like it. Contract building VISBY or NANSEN not that far out of the box now, is it?

Sestak's sword and shield

A little girl. This is about a ghoulish as I can get for today.

This is Pathetic. PA-7, you voted for him, you can have him.

Pressed repeatedly for when and what kind of consequences he would impose on organizations with documented ties to terrorists, Mr. Sestak finally exploded:

"Go ahead and vote me out of office; you'd be doing me a favor. My sick daughter is my priority, so go ahead and vote me out of office."

He acts like he is the only person on the Earth that has a sick child. From day one he uses her at every chance he can get to deflect hard questions. The time has come for people to get over his little High School debate team rhetorical trick. Pathetic.

Hat tip CF.

A zombie classic

Happy belated Halloween!

The Clintonian 2-minutes

Zen.

How can it get shorter

When I read this,

Shortly after winning a majority last year, Democrats triumphantly declared that they would put Congress back to work, promising an “end to the two-day workweek.” And indeed, the House has clocked more time in Washington this year than in any other session since 1995, when Republicans, newly in control, sought to make a similar point.

But 10 months into the session, with their legislative agenda often in gridlock with the Bush administration and a big election year looming, the Democrats are now planning a lighter schedule when the 110th Congress begins its second year in mid-January.

I thought of the video Marine6 mentioned.

A Sestak sandwitch!

Stuck right between Stan Greenberg and Barbabra Streisand - Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA), RADM USN, Retired. PA-7 must be busing with pride with the 76th most influential US liberal.

75. STAN GREENBERG
Pollster

As political strategist and pollster for Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign, he played a key role in the election of the last Democratic president. Has also advised Tony Blair, Nelson Mandela, Gerhard Schroeder and Ehud Barack. Holds a PhD from Harvard and spent a decade teaching at Yale.

Currently advising Senator Chris Dodd, a rank outsider. Once Dodd drops out, expect Greenberg to return to the Clinton fold. Biggest compliment came from Republican rival Frank Luntz: “Stan Greenberg scares the hell out of me. He doesn't just have a finger on the people's pulse; he's got an IV injected into it. He's the best."

76. JOE SESTAK
Congressman

Retired naval vice-admiral who last year became the most senior former military officer to be elected to Congress. Defeated veteran Republican Curt Weldon in a Pennsylvania seat few believed a novice Democrat could win. Strong anti-war stance and naval background make him a potential Pentagon chief or deputy chief in a Democratic administration.

A hard task master, he does not suffer fools readily – traits that won him promotion through the ranks in the US Navy but might make life difficult for him and others on Capitol Hill.

77. BARBRA STREISAND
Actress and singer

A veteran Hollywood advocate for liberal causes, expect her to be a frequent guest in a Democratic White House. A major Democratic contributor and fundraiser, she has railed against gun rights, global warming and the Iraq war. Performed at Lyndon Johnson’s inauguration is 1965 as well as Bill Clinton’s 28 years later.

Is so dedicated to seeing a Democratic president elected in 2008 she has contributed cash to Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards.

Actually, he rose up the ranks and then retired down one due to his "traits." Just to be accurate.

Hat tip MTH.

Combined action against pirates

Victory! At sea, you take the allies you can find. Take this. North Koreans and the US Navy fighting pirates together. Yea, give the entire ship JPME1 credit. From CUSNC's crackerjack PIO shop - in whole.

The crew of a North Korean cargo vessel, Dai Hong Dan, regained control of their vessel Tuesday, after fighting with the pirates who had taken over their ship sometime Monday. The crew was able to control the steering and engineering spaces of the ship, while the pirates had seized the bridge. The ship is approximately 60 nm northeast of Mogadishu.

Three corpsmen from USS James E. Williams (DDG 95), an Arleigh-Burke-class destroyer operating as part of the maritime coalition, along with a boarding team, provided medical assistance and other support as needed to the crew of the Korean vessel. Three seriously injured crew members have been transferred to Williams for treatment. Initial reports from the crew are that five pirates were captured and two are dead. The pirates remain aboard the Dai Hong Dan.

The Combined Maritime Forces Headquarters, based in Bahrain, received a call from the International Maritime Bureau, located in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, Tuesday morning, providing the current status of the Dai Hong Dan. At that time, Williams was about 50 nm from the vessel and sent a helicopter to investigate the situation. Williams arrived in the vicinity of the Korean ship midday local time and contacted the pirates via bridge-to-bridge radio, ordering them to give up their weapons.

At that point, the Korean crew confronted the pirates and regained control of the ship, and then began communicating with Williams, requesting medical assistance. The crew said the pirates had been in control of the bridge, but the crew had retained control of the steering and engineering spaces.

BZ. NORKs. Go figure.