P. J. O'Rourke Puts His Generation on Report

P.J. was one of my favorite writers when I was in college. I tried to read everything of his, and still do.

Nice of him to give a Gen-X fan some top cover - because he is exactly right about his generation.

Never before has a generation been given so much cultural capital, only to throw it away and let younger generations behind them to clean up their mess.

... I suspect there’s a sadder reason for America’s post-eminence in things tremendous, overwhelming, and awesome.

My sad generation of baby boomers can be blamed. We were born into an America where material needs were fulfilled to a degree unprecedented in history. We were a demographic benison, cherished and taught to be self-cherishing. We were cosseted by a lush economy and spoiled by a society grown permissive in its fatigue with the strictures of depression and war. The child being father to the man, and necessity being the mother of invention, we wound up as the orphans of effort and ingenuity. And pleased to be so. Sixty-six years of us would be enough to take the starch out of any nation.

Retro Wednesday

There was a lot of variety in Navy uniforms in WWII. Some I like (such as the covers worn by the crew of The Truculent Turtle right after the war) - but to be honest ... I don't care if you are Admiral John S. McCain, Sr - sir, that infernal mutt of a cover you wore towards the end of the war needed to go!

Another view of that horrible cover can be found on page 12 of Life.

On the other end - I kind of liked the Confederate States Navy in WWII - you know - the guys wearing Service Dress Grey?

Sino-Japanese Wargame Thoughtpiece

Friend of the blog and regular guest on Midrats, Jim Holmes, has an interesting little wargame outline over at Foreign Policy that is an interesting read;

... how would Japan's navy match up against China's?
...
In raw numerical terms, there is no contest. Japan's navy boasts 48 "major surface combatants," ships designed to attack enemy main fleets while taking a pounding themselves. For the JMSDF these include "helicopter destroyers," or light aircraft carriers; guided-missile destroyers equipped with the state-of-the-art Aegis combat system, a combination radar, computer, and fire-control system found in frontline U.S. Navy warships; and an assortment of lesser destroyers, frigates, and corvettes. A squadron of 16 diesel-electric submarines augments the surface fleet. Juxtapose this against the PLA Navy's 73 major surface combatants, 84 missile-firing patrol craft, and 63 submarines, and the bidding appears grim for Japan. China's navy is far superior in sheer weight of steel.

But raw numbers can be misleading, for three main reasons. First, ... Battle, not technical specifications, is the true arbiter of military technology's value. Accurately forecasting how ships, planes, and missiles will perform amid the stresses and chaos of combat thus verges on impossible. ... Open societies have a habit of debating their military failings in public, whereas closed societies tend to keep their deficiencies out of view. ... The PLA Navy could be hiding something as well. The quality of the JMSDF's platforms, and its human capabilities, could partially or wholly offset the PLA's advantage of numbers.

Second, there's the human variable in warfare. ... JMSDF flotillas ply Asian waters continually, operating solo or with other navies. The PLA Navy is inert by comparison.
...
And three, ... we need to factor in both countries' land-based firepower.

I like towards the end where he outlines a truth for any two nations contesting land near water;

... Japan doesn't need to defeat China's military in order to win a showdown at sea, because it already holds the contested real estate; all it needs to do is deny China access. If Northeast Asian seas became a no-man's land but Japanese forces hung on, the political victory would be Tokyo's.

Just Invite Them for Broward Navy Days Already ....

Oh great. The whole "Russians in our lake; mess'n wit our bid'ness" tempest in a teapot has now fully intertwined itself with the silly season.

After receiving no satisfaction to earlier comments to the media, Cornyn wrote a letter today to Admiral Jonathan Greenert, the Pentagon’s Chief of Naval Operations, demanding answers.

“The submarine patrol, taken together with the air incursions, seems to represent a more aggressive and destabilizing Russian military stance that could pose risks to our national security,” Cornyn wrote. “This is especially troubling given the drastic defense cuts sought by President Obama, which include reductions in funding for antisubmarine defense systems.”

Give me a break. The Russians no longer have the demographic, economic, or philosophical foundation to be threat to our nation by traditional means. Their conventional forces are not an issue. Their support of iffy nations around the world, an irritant - sure - but that has nothing to do with their Navy.

We should want them to deploy more, not less. The more they deploy, the more we get to "play" with them. You can finish the rest of the equation.

We should take it another step - invite them to visit us on patrol. Your standard issue Russian Navy guy is just like you and me, except he can handle his booze better.

Norfolk, Mayport .... and every Fleet Week port should invite them. Why not? Those poor Sailors don't have decent ports at home to visit.

Note to politicians of all stripes; Russians are only a problem if they feel you are a threat to their territory or near abroad, or you act like you think they are an enemy. This is 2012 ... keep your Russians closer.

At Least Someone is Getting a New Frigate

We tainted them a bit with the marketing gimmick for the name ... but otherwise, it's a frigate.

The design of the Royal Navy's latest warship has been revealed by the Ministry of Defence.

The announcement on the Type 26 Global Combat Ship has been described by officials as a "significant milestone" in a programme which will support "thousands of UK shipbuilding jobs".
...
The ship will be 148 metres long with a displacement of 5,400 tonnes.
Continue reading the main story
...
Vertical missile silos for a range of weapons, such as cruise missiles, will be housed on board along with a medium calibre gun.

The hangar on board will house a Merlin or Wildcat helicopter and there will be extra space for unmanned drones, underwater vehicles or other specialist equipment.
...
"It is designed to be adaptable and easily upgraded, reacting to threats as they change."The Type 26 will replace the 13 Type 23 frigates but the MoD is not giving a precise commitment on numbers until they know the unit cost .

The First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, says the ship will be used "across the full spectrum of warfare".

He added: "The T26 GCS will be a multi-mission warship designed for joint and multinational operations... including complex combat operations, maritime security operations such as counter piracy, as well as humanitarian and disaster relief work around the world."

Hopefully the RN will do this right ... but looks like a good bit of kit.

Displacement: 5,400 tonnes, standard
Length: 148 m (489 ft 6 in)
Beam: 19 m (62 ft 1 in)
Speed: 28+ knots
Range: 11,265 km (7,000 miles) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Endurance: 60 days
Troops: 36 embarked troops
Complement: 130
Sensors and processing systems:
- Artisan 3D search radar
- Sonar 2087 (towed array sonar)

Armament:

Anti-air missiles;
- Sea Ceptor air-defence missile system. A 16 cell VLS with provision for up to 64 Sea Ceptor missiles (range 1-25 km)[3]

Anti-ship & land-attack missiles;
- A 24 cell "Main Strike" VLS is positioned behind the Sea Captor air-defence VLS with provision for anti-ship & land-attack missiles. (possibly CVS401 Perseus missiles)

Anti-submarine torpedoes;
- A torpedo launching system. (armed with Stingray torpedoes)

Guns;
1× 127mm Medium calibre gun, or, 1× BAE 4.5 inch Mk8 gun
2× Phalanx CIWS
2× 30mm DS30M automated guns
2× Miniguns
4× General-purpose machine guns

Aircraft carried: 1×Lynx Wildcat, armed with;

- anti ship missiles (possibly Sea Skua), or
- anti submarine torpedoes

or 1×Westland Merlin, armed with;

- 4× anti submarine torpedoes

After our LCS fail the test of war, maybe for old times sake we can get a few of these on a new lend-lease program ....

Strategy & Diplomacy, on Midrats

Ships, aircraft, personnel numbers, and programs are interesting - but without context they are just expenditures.

The foundation question should always be; what are our national security requirements, and what is our strategy to meet them?

From Political to Strategic to Operational to Tactical - today's Midrats will focus on the top two.

The Pacific Pivot, Air-Sea Battle, AFPAK, the "Arab Spring" and in an election year, various squabbles on the Potomac - the large pixels are moving.

Our guest for the full hour from 5-6pm EST will be Dr. Robert Farley, assistant professor at the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky. He blogs about security and maritime issues at Information Dissemination and Lawyers, Guns and Money.

Join us live if you can, but if you miss the show you can always listen to the archive at blogtalkradio - the best way to get the show and download the archive to your audio player is to get a free account and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.

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Sunday Funnies

We've played it a few years ago ... time again.