CHINFO NEWS CLIPS
Thursday, October 9, 2008
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TOP STORIES:
1. Chief Of Naval Operations Sends Birthday Message To Fleet
(NAVY.MIL 08 OCT 08) ... Admiral Gary Roughead
As we mark the 233rd birthday of our Navy, I thank all who serve today and have served before; Sailors, Navy civilians, and
families. Our distinguished past is prelude to our great future; a future that is shaped by the honor, courage, and sacrifice of those who
serve today. It is fitting that we take the time to reflect on our extraordinary heritage on the anniversary of our establishment.
2. Are Sonar Tests Harming Whales? The Supreme Court Weighs In
(CNN 08 OCT 08) ... Bill Mears; Broadcast Clip
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court appeared conflicted Wednesday as it juggled national security and environmental
concerns in a case over whether the U.S. Navy is doing enough to protect whales from underwater sonar tests it conducts.
3. CNN’S The Situation Room Coverage Of Navy Sonar Hearing
(CNN 08 OCT 08) ... Transcript
JOHN ROBERTS: The U.S. Navy is locked in a battle with environmentalists over its use of sonar during exercises off of the
Pacific Coast. At issue, whether the blasts of loud underwater noise are harming whales and other marine mammals.
4. The Sound And The Fury: Supreme Court Hears Sonar Case
(NBC NIGHTLY NEWS 08 OCT 08) ... Brian Williams; Transcript and Broadcast Clip Link
BRIAN WILLIAMS: Finally here tonight, the case that brought creatures of the deep before the highest court in the land. This
story involves whales and the U.S. Navy and the balance between protecting nature and protecting the nation.
5. CBS Evening News Coverage Of Navy Sonar Hearing
(CBS 08 OCT 08) ... Transcript
KATIE COURIC: The Supreme Court waded into choppy waters today.
6. Supreme Court Weighs Navy Sonar Case
(NEW YORK TIMES 08 OCT 08) ... Adam Liptak
WASHINGTON — On the one hand, there is "the potential for harm to marine mammals," Chief Justice John Roberts said
Wednesday at a Supreme Court hearing over the Navy's use of sonar in training exercises off the coast of Southern California.
7. NOAA, Court Focus On Marine Mammals
Ship Speed Limited; Sonar Use Debated
(WASHINGTON POST 09 OCT 08) ... Jerry Markon and Juliet Eilperin
The government yesterday issued a long-delayed regulation imposing speed limits on East Coast ship traffic that threatens the
critically endangered North Atlantic right whale, while barely a mile away the Supreme Court wrestled with a dispute between the
Navy and environmentalists over the impact of sonar exercises on whales and other marine mammals.
8. Supreme Court Hears Case On Navy Sonar, Whales
The Justices Appear Divided On Whether Environmental Laws Can Protect The Marine Mammals During
Military Exercises. A Ruling Is Not Expected For Several Months.
(LOS ANGELES TIMES 08 OCT 08) ... David G. Savage
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court justices sounded closely split today on whether environmental laws can be used to
protect whales and other marine mammals from the Navy's use of sonar off the coast of Southern California.
9. High Court Hears Navy Sonar Case
(NPR ALL THINGS CONSIDERED 08 OCT 08) ... Nina Totenberg; Transcript
The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard arguments in a case testing how far the president and his agencies can go in setting
aside environmental laws in the name of national security — and how far the courts can go in intervening in such a controversy.
CURRENT OPERATIONS:
10. After Historic African Visit, TR Sails On
(NAVY TIMES 08 OCT 08) ... Philip Ewing
The carrier Theodore Roosevelt and its strike group sailed from the South African city of Cape Town on Tuesday, having paused
there for three days on its way to the Persian Gulf. The ship’s visit was part of an unusual trip for a Norfolk, Va.-based carrier, most of
which usually steam across the Mediterranean and down through the Red Sea.
11. Abraham Lincoln Strike Group Arriving In Port
(SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE 08 OCT 08) ... Laura Embry
SAN DIEGO – The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and two locally based ships have arrived in San Diego
Wednesday following a seven-month deployment.
12. All 5 Of Yokosuka’s Tugboats Return To Operational Status
(STARS AND STRIPES 09 OCT 08)
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan - The hard work paid off last weekend when all five of Yokosuka’s tugboats took to the
water for the first "photo exercise" in 11 years.
13. Farragut Completes POA 08, Returns Home
(THE MIRROR (NAVAL STATION MAYPORT, FLA.) 09 OCT 08) ... Lt. Jacob Steele
USS Farragut (DDG-99) returned to its homeport at Naval Station Mayport Oct. 5 after a six-month deployment with Destroyer
Squadron (DESRON) 40 in support of Partnership of the Americas 2008 (POA 08).
GLOBAL MARITIME ENVIRONMENT:
14. Kenya's Navy To Help Free Ukrainian Arms Ship Seized By Pirates
(BLOOMBERG 08 OCT 08) ... Eric Ombok
Kenya's navy will help free a Ukrainian ship carrying a cargo of battle tanks that was hijacked by Somali pirates last month,
Kenya's Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula said.
15. UK: Civilian Ships Must Be Armed Against Pirates
Britain's Senior Royal Navy Commander In The Gulf Has Called For Merchant Shipping To Hire
Mercenaries To Fight Off The Increasing Danger Of Piracy.
(THE TELEGRAPH (UK) 08 OCT 08) ... Thomas Harding
At a time when there is a record number of ships being hijacked off the coast of Somalia, Commodore Keith Winstanley said he
believed that the situation has become so serious that civilian vessels should be armed.
16. Gates Says Ukraine Wants Warships, But Has To Wait
(STARS AND STRIPES 09 OCT 08) ... Jeff Schogol,
OHRID, Macedonia — Ukraine wants U.S. Navy warships, officials said Wednesday.
17. Russian Warships To Visit Libya: Navy
(AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE 08 OCT 08)
MOSCOW — A group of Russian warships will stop in Libya next week before moving on to joint exercises with Venezuela and
an anti-piracy mission off Somalia, a navy spokesman said Wednesday.
18. North Korea Ready To Fire More Missiles: Report
(REUTERS 09 OCT 08) ... Jack Kim and Isabel Reynolds
SEOUL - North Korea has deployed more than 10 missiles on its west coast for what appears to be an imminent launch, a South
Korean newspaper said on Thursday, two days after the North fired two short-range missiles into the Yellow Sea.
PERSONNEL:
19. Ike Sailor Was Struck By Super Hornet
(NAVY TIMES 08 OCT 08) ... Andrew Scutro
NORFOLK, Va. — The sailor killed Saturday night aboard the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower was struck by an F/A-18F
Super Hornet on the flight deck “during catapult launch,” according to the Naval Safety Center’s online mishap log.
20. Local Navy Submarine Officer Was A Warrior, Hero
(CASPER (WY.) JOURNAL 07 OCT 08) ... Wyoma Groeneberg
Master Chief Petty Officer Kevin Page never bragged, so his parents didn’t know all of his accomplishments and missions while
in the United States Navy.
FORCE STRUCTURE/PROGRAMS:
21. Navy Needs Ships It Can Evolve To Meet Growing Ballistic, Cruise Missile Threats, Official Says
(DEFENSE DAILY 09 OCT 08) ... Geoff Fein
The Navy has to move toward an open systems environment in its surface combatants if it wants to avoid retiring ships too early
and to keep pace with the burgeoning ballistic missile threat, a top Navy official said.
22. Destroyer Passes Navy Test
Truxtun Safely Fires Its Big Guns
(MISSISSIPPI PRESS 08 OCT 08) ... Harlan Kirgan
PASCAGOULA Northrop Grumman shipbuilders and Navy sailors put the Truxtun through its acceptance trial in the Gulf of
Mexico last week and reported that the destroyer passed all of its tests.
23. Navy Exploring How To Best Meet Growing Partnership Requirement
As Outlined In Maritime Strategy
(INSIDE THE NAVY 06 OCT 08) ... Zachary M. Peterson
The Navy continues to explore how to best meet its growing requirement to form and maintain maritime partnerships around the
globe, but buying smaller ships is likely not the answer to achieve this objective, the Navy’s top programmer told Inside the Navy in a
recent interview.
24. NAVAIR To Release RFP On Subsonic Missile Target Soon
(INSIDE THE NAVY 06 OCT 08) ... Dan Taylor
Naval Air Systems Command plans to release a request for proposals this quarter for the development of a subsonic missile target
to be used in testing naval combat systems in advanced fleet training, according to a notice posted last week on Federal Business
Opportunities.
BASES / COMMUNITY OUTREACH:
25. Sonar Range Proposal Draws Flak At Hearing
Whales Might Face Harm, Environmentalists Tell Navy
(FLORIDA TIMES-UNION 09 OCT 08) ... Steve Patterson
A Navy proposal to build a training range for underwater warfare off Jacksonville's coast has disturbed groups concerned about
environmental damage.
26. Navy Ships Open For First Time Since 9/11
(NAVY TIMES 08 OCT 08) ... Andrew Scutro
NORFOLK, Va. — For the first time since the security crackdown after the 2001 terrorist attacks, Navy ships in Hampton Roads
will be available for public viewing during Fleet Week.
27. Navy Is Ballast For Region's Economy
(NORFOLK VIRGINIA-PILOT 09 OCT 08)
Amid all the signs of a depressed national economy - stalled home sales, a depreciating dollar, fewer jobs, falling stocks Hampton Roads is still doing better than most regions across the nation.
28. Project To Save Navy $32 Million In Energy Costs
(WVEC.COM (ABC HAMPTON ROADS) 08 OCT 08)
VIRGINIA BEACH -- Navy's colors may be blue and gold, but on Thursday, Dam Neck will go green.
29. Unanimous Vote: City Donates $5K To Sub Event
(SEACOAST ONLINE.COM (PORTSMOUTH, N.H.) 08 OCT 08) ... Adam Leech and Deborah McDermott
PORTSMOUTH —- One week after stating the city’s contribution to the commissioning of the submarine New Hampshire would
be in-kind services only, Mayor Tom Ferrini and the City Council unanimously voted to donate an additional $5,000 to the events.
30. Aviation Business Eyeing BNAS
(TIMES RECORD (MAINE) 08 OCT 08) ... Seth Koenig
BRUNSWICK — A nationally recognized Maine firm that customizes private aircraft is gauging a move to Brunswick Naval Air
Station property, and could represent the first potential civilian tenant at an airfield the Navy is scheduled to vacate in 2011.
31. Hundreds Run For Breast Cancer Awareness In Portsmouth
(WVEC.COM (HAMPTON ROADS, VA) 08 OCT 08) ... Sandra Parker
PORTSMOUTH -- It was a beautiful day to take a run. At Naval Medical Center Portsmouth on Wednesday, about 600 people
ran with a purpose.
NEWS OF INTEREST:
32. Arctic Scramble
U.S. Icebreaker Maps Ocean Floor For Science And Country
(KODIAK MIRROR 08 OCT 08) ... Jan Huisman
When the legendary Revenue cutter Capt. Mike Healy patrolled the Bering Sea in the 19th century, it was a cruel, unforgiving and
little known place. Sailing for months at a time, Healy saved whalers trapped in sea ice, supplied remote villages with food and
medicine and chased illegal fur traders from his waters.
33. Painting Honors USS Oklahoma Sailors
(ASSOCIATED PRESS 08 OCT 08)
OKLAHOMA CITY - A painting depicting the USS Oklahoma Memorial at Pearl Harbor has been dedicated at the state Capitol.
34. Mullen: No JCS Enlisted Advisor
(NAVY TIMES 08 OCT 08) ... William H. McMichael
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has decided not to name a new senior enlisted advisor, saying he’d rather reach out on
his own for input and advice from the military’s enlisted community.
35. Bahrain Proposes Middle East Organization To Include Israel
(5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES (LAWRENCE, N.Y.) 08 OCT 08) ... Hana Levi Julian
The foreign minister of Bahrain has suggested forming a Middle Eastern regional organization that would include both Israel and
Iran in addition to all the Arab nations. Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa said in an interview in the
Arabic daily newspaper al-Hayat that such an organization would be a good way to resolve the dispute between them.
OPINION:
36. Attacking The Pirates May Be Too Costly
(DAILY NATION (KENYA) 09 OCT 08) ... Editorial
The decision by the United Nations Security Council to sanction international navy vessels and military aircraft to use ‘‘all
necessary means’’ to stamp out piracy off the coast of Somalia gives a seal of approval to those countries whose warships are
surrounding the hijacked Mv Faina and to attack it and free the hostages and military hardware cargo.
37. We Shouldn't Pay For Sub Celebration
(CONCORD (N.H.) MONITOR 08 OCT 08) ... John B. Andrews ; Letter to the Editor
The USS New Hampshire's Community Commissioning Committee is looking for the state and/or city of Portsmouth to pony up
"at least" $50,000 to pay for breakfast, 3,000 lunches and a "commander's reception" at the exclusive Wentworth-by-the-Sea to
celebrate our namesake sub's entry into service.
TOP STORIES:
1. Chief Of Naval Operations Sends Birthday Message To Fleet
(NAVY.MIL 08 OCT 08) ... Admiral Gary Roughead
As we mark the 233rd birthday of our Navy, I thank all
who serve today and have served before; Sailors, Navy
civilians, and families. Our distinguished past is prelude to
our great future; a future that is shaped by the honor, courage,
and sacrifice of those who serve today. It is fitting that we
take the time to reflect on our extraordinary heritage on the
anniversary of our establishment.
The men and women who have served since the days of
sail in 1775 have exemplified the core values that are at the
heart of our Navy, the most powerful and influential to ever
sail the oceans.
Whether it was the sailor on deck in the War Of 1812, or
Admiral Chester Nimitz leading in the Pacific, or Petty
Officer Michael Monsoor fighting in Iraq, we have a storied
past that makes it easy to understand why we have achieved
greatness. That greatness continues in the lives of our Sailors,
Navy civilians, and families
Today whose dedication and contributions to our current
fight are ensuring stability, security, and our way of life. We
operate across the full range of operations, in all corners of the
globe, to make the world a better, safer place - our legacy is
defined by our actions today.
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I have seen the work you do around the world and I could
not be more proud and inspired. Your service and sacrifice
exemplify the character of our Navy and the ideal of service to
our country.
Your dedication serves to inspire others and I encourage
you to actively participate in the ,many celebrations that will
commemorate this event. Whether you are attending a Navy
Ball, having a command function, speaking with a local
community group, or being interviewed by the media, a friend,
or a neighbor, remember our proud past and how we build on
it today.
Enjoy the day and the festivities, and take time to reflect
on the privilege we have to serve in the greatest navy that has
ever sailed. Happy Birthday, Shipmates.
-Admiral G. Roughead, Chief Of Naval Operations
To watch or download the CNO's birthday message, and
to get other products that may help Navy command's efforts to
recognize this year's birthday, go to www.navy.mil and click
on the 'Navy Birthday Celebration Resources' button.
For more news from the Chief of Naval Operations, visit
www.navy.mil/local/cno.
2. Are Sonar Tests Harming Whales? The Supreme Court Weighs In
(CNN 08 OCT 08) ... Bill Mears; Broadcast Clip
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court appeared
conflicted Wednesday as it juggled national security and
environmental concerns in a case over whether the U.S. Navy
is doing enough to protect whales from underwater sonar tests
it conducts.
The Supreme Court is weighing whether the Navy does
enough to protect whales from undersea sonar tests.
At issue is the power of the president to issue executive
waivers allowing such tests, and whether federal judges can
issue preliminary injunctions blocking them.
Environmentalists successfully sued the Pentagon over
the practice, forcing major changes the Navy's annual offshore
training exercises in March. President Bush had issued an
emergency waiver to allow the exercises to go on without the
filing of an environmental impact study (EIS), but the lower
court ruling blocked the use of sonar.
Military officials are asking the justices to intervene,
arguing the restriction could hamper military readiness in time
of war, since new sonar technology is needed to detect
increasingly sophisticated enemy submarines.
Justice David Souter expressed repeated skepticism that
an emergency existed allowing the president to try to bypass
normal environmental reviews. "There was no 'emergency'
here except one which was created by the Navy's apparently
deliberate inattention" to file an EIS in a timely fashion, trying
"in effect to sort of neutralize by keeping everybody in the
dark until the last moment," he said.
But Justice Samuel Alito worried the executive
constitutional authority is being eroded. "Isn't it incredibly odd
about a single [federal] district court judge making a
determination [limiting exercises] that is contrary to the
determination that the Navy has made?"
That federal judge, in ruling against the government last
March, said it was "constitutionally suspect" for Bush to issue
the national security exemption to allow skipping the EIS.
One of the environmental organizations that sued the
Defense Department told the justices that the exercises had
been planned in advance and that the Navy was required under
law to conduct more extensive environmental tests than it had.
Richard Kendall of the Natural Resources Defense Council
also said the military appears to be able to work under the
restrictions, since eight of 14 planned exercises have been
carried out since the restrictions went into effect.
The Navy says the courts are protecting sea creatures
rather than people.
"In ordering additional mitigation to reduce the risk to
marine mammals, the order shifts the risk to sailors and
Marines," Navy spokesman Capt. Scott Gureck told CNN in
March.
Representing the military and the White House, Solicitor
General Gregory Garre told the high court that the tests are
"vitally important to the survival of our naval strike groups
deployed around the world and therefore critical to the nation's
security."
The waters of Southern California are home to dozens of
species of whales, dolphins, seals, and sea lions, nine of them
federally listed as endangered or threatened. Federal courts
have cited scientific studies and the Navy's own conclusions
that high levels of sonar can cause hearing loss and
disorientation in the animals.
The U.S. Navy demonstrated for CNN in February its onboard procedures for turning down mid-frequency sonar when
whales come within 1,000 meters, and shutting it off
completely when they approach 200 meters.
The sonar sounds like a "ping, ping" noise, and it can be
reduced as necessary, officers said.
But environmentalists say the sonar can hurt whales much
further than 1,000 meters away. Kendall said the noise created
by the sonar "was like having a jet engine in the Supreme
Court multiplied 2,000 times, compensating for water."
In 2000, 16 whales beached themselves in the Bahamas,
and the Navy concluded too many sonar ships had been
operating in a narrow underwater channel.
The service says it is funding $16 million in independent
research to minimize sonar's effect on marine mammals.
Justice Stephen Breyer seemed divided between the two
sides, and his vote could prove crucial. He agreed with several
of his colleagues that the whole point of an environmental
impact study is to assess potential harm before exercises
begin. "You have an EIS for the reason that the agency itself,
once it reads it, might decide to do something else. That's the
whole point of an EIS."
But the 70-year-old justice also noted the sonar tests are
necessary to train crews to find enemy subs. "I see an admiral
come along with an affidavit that says you've got to train
people," he said "or there will be subs hiding there with all
kinds of terrible weapons."
He added, "I am nervous about it."
The case is Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council
(07-1239). A ruling is expected in a few months.
. RT 0:50View Clip
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3. CNN’S The Situation Room Coverage Of Navy Sonar Hearing
(CNN 08 OCT 08) ... Transcript
JOHN ROBERTS: The U.S. Navy is locked in a battle
with environmentalists over its use of sonar during exercises
off of the Pacific Coast. At issue, whether the blasts of loud
underwater noise are harming whales and other marine
mammals.
CNN’s Jamie McIntyre joins us now, not from the
Pentagon, but outside the U.S. Supreme Court. The court
hearing arguments in the case today, Jamie, any indication of
which way the justices may be leaning?
JAMIE MCINTYRE: Well, the justices seem to be
somewhat sympathetic to the Bush administration and, of
course, the issue here is when can the president waive
environmental laws in the name of national security.
U.S. NAVY CREWMAN: Two hundred meters out,
moving port to starboard.
MCINTYRE: So far, it’s been smooth sailing for the
environmentalists locked in litigation with the U.S. Navy over
whether powerful sonar signals are driving whales to beach
themselves. Up to now, lower courts have agreed with the
National Resources Defense Council that sonar is a clear
hazard to marine mammals.
JOEL REYNOLDS [National Resources Defense
Council]: There is a very long list of where these strandings
have occurred and yet the Navy for some reason that’s not
supported by any evidence has been arguing that Southern
California waters are somehow immune from that impact.
MCINTYRE: A federal judge ordered the Navy to curtail
sonar use during training exercises off the California coast in
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March. Now that the legal battle has reached the Supreme
Court, the NRDC finds itself on the defensive. Several of the
justices indicated the lower courts may not have given enough
weight to military commanders, who insist the restrictions
would make vital training impossible and jeopardize national
security.
As Chief Justice John Roberts observed, at no point did
the district judge undertake a balancing of the equities, putting
on one side a potential harm to marine mammals and on the
other side the potential a North Korean diesel electric
submarine will get within range of Pearl Harbor undetected.
The Navy has made many concessions, noted Justice
Breyer, who then asked the lawyer for the NRDC, Richard
Kendall, why couldn’t you work this thing out? When Kendall
replied, the Navy is focused on having it its way or no way,
Chief Justice Roberts cut him off, saying that’s very unfair.
There were six conditions imposed by the district court. The
Navy didn’t even appeal four of them. That’s not insisting on
having it their way.
Now, scientists are still debating how much of a hazard
sonar really poses to the whales. But the justices don’t have to
resolve that. They just have to decide to what extent the
president can put warfare ahead of the welfare of sea
mammals. John?
ROBERTS: All right. We’ll be looking forward to that
decision. Jamie McIntyre at the Supreme Court today. Jamie,
thanks.
4. The Sound And The Fury: Supreme Court Hears Sonar Case
(NBC NIGHTLY NEWS 08 OCT 08) ... Brian Williams; Transcript and Broadcast Clip Link
BRIAN WILLIAMS: Finally here tonight, the case that
can injure dolphins and even kill five types of endangered
brought creatures of the deep before the highest court in the
whales.
land. This story involves whales and the U.S. Navy and the
JOEL REYNOLDS [Natural Resources Defense
balance between protecting nature and protecting the nation.
Counsel]: We shouldn’t allow the U.S. Navy to practice war
Here’s our justice correspondent, Pete Williams.
games in the middle of a national marine sanctuary. Whales
PETE WILLIAMS: For more than 40 years the U.S. Navy
and other marine life should not have to die for practice.
has trained sailors by running military exercise off the
PETE WILLIAMS: To a whale, they say, the sonar
Southern California coast. But environmental groups say
sounds 1,000 times louder than a jet engine in a closed room.
mounting evidence shows the Navy’s sonar is so powerful, it
They say in sonar exercises elsewhere, whales developed
severe internal injuries, leading them to beach themselves and
die.
U.S. NAVY CREWMAN:...sonar, the sonar has powered
down by six decibels.
PETE WILLIAMS: Environmentalists won a court order
forcing the Navy to turn down the sonar when whales and
dolphins get too close. But last January, President Bush said
because of national security, the military should not have to
restrict its exercises.
The Navy says sailors must train under exactly the same
circumstances they’d find in hostile waters.
REAR ADM. STEPHEN PIETROPAOLI, USN (RET.)
[Navy League of the United States]: If a sailor is not able to
train effectively, when it comes to wartime or it comes to a
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shooting war, that sailor is not going to come home alive
unless they have been practicing the way they expect to fight.
PETE WILLIAMS: Based on their questions today, a
majority of the justices seem to think the courts went too far in
ordering the Navy to restrict its training.
Isn’t there something incredibly odd, Justice Samuel Alito
asked, about a single judge making a decision contrary to the
Navy’s extensive findings? And Justice Stephen Breyer said
he could find no basis for the judge’s order. That means the
Navy will likely be allowed to continue full speed ahead
unless more convincing proof is found that its sonar is killing
whales.
Pete Williams, NBC News, at the Supreme Court.
View Clip
5. CBS Evening News Coverage Of Navy Sonar Hearing
(CBS 08 OCT 08) ... Transcript
KATIE COURIC: The Supreme Court waded into choppy
waters today.
David Martin reports it heard arguments in a case that pits
the safety of whales against national security.
DAVID MARTIN: It’s a head-on collision between
whales and the U.S. Navy and it brought America’s top
admirals to the Supreme Court asking to throw out a ruling
that restricts their use of sonar during training. The case is
centered off the California coast, where the Navy practices
finding enemy submarines.
Ships send out a sound wave looking for the silent subs.
Here’s what it sounds like to humans. But to whales that
sound can cause disorientation and even death. Eight years
ago, 15 whales beached and eight died in the Bahamas after an
antisubmarine exercise.
RICHARD KENDALL [Natural Resources Defense
Counsel]: The sound intensity produced by sonar is 2,000
times louder that a jet engine.
MARTIN: When the Navy said tens of thousands of
marine mammals could be injured off California,
environmentalists sued and a federal court ordered the Navy to
limit its sonar use.
Today at the Supreme Court, Gregory Garre argued for
the Navy that in the middle of two wars, a federal judge can’t
play commander-in-chief and, quote, “interfere with critical
training exercises.”
The case will likely be decided this spring. And as Chief
Justice Roberts put it, “It will have to balance potential harm
to marine mammals against the potential a North Korean
submarine might sneak up on Pearl Harbor.”
David Martin, CBS News, the Pentagon.
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6. Supreme Court Weighs Navy Sonar Case
(NEW YORK TIMES 08 OCT 08) ... Adam Liptak
WASHINGTON — On the one hand, there is "the
potential for harm to marine mammals," Chief Justice John
Roberts said Wednesday at a Supreme Court hearing over the
Navy's use of sonar in training exercises off the coast of
Southern California.
On the other, the chief justice continued, there is "the
potential that a North Korean diesel electric submarine will get
within range of Pearl Harbor undetected" if Navy personnel
are not properly trained in the use of sonar.
"Now, I think that's a pretty clear balance," Roberts said.
Other justices also indicated an inclination to overturn a
decision from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals imposing
limits on the exercises, saying either that national security
concerns trumped environmental ones or that judges are not
competent to weigh the competing interests.
"I don't know anything about this," Justice Stephen
Breyer said. But he said he was inclined to believe, in the
absence of evidence to the contrary, a sworn statement from
an admiral saying the restrictions would harm military
preparedness.
Richard Kendall, an attorney for the Natural Resources
Defense Council, which had sued the Navy over the exercises,
insisted that courts have an important role to play in protecting
whales and dolphins even when the executive branch asserts a
national security interest.
"The Navy cannot be judge of its own cause," Kendall
said.
The two sides agreed that sonar can harm marine
mammals, but they disagreed about how much. Kendall said
sonar produces noise as loud as 2,000 jet engines and that
some whales die or become stranded in their frantic efforts to
avoid it.
Gregory Garre, the U.S. solicitor general, said the impact
on the animals was minor and passing.
"They hear the sound, and they go in the opposite
direction," Garre said. "It can also mean that they could have
some temporary effect on their feeding or breeding patterns."
In February, the 9th Circuit upheld a trial judge's order
that the Navy suspend sonar use if it detects a marine mammal
within 2,200 yards.
The questions before the court in the case were tangled. Is
an agency called the Council on Environmental Quality —
"more or less an office in the White House," in Roberts' words
— permitted to override a court order? Did the lower courts
use the wrong standard in entering an injunction? Must the
environmental group prove harm to an entire species rather
than to individual animals?
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But at the heart of the case were arguments about the role
of the courts in matters of national security.
7. NOAA, Court Focus On Marine Mammals
Ship Speed Limited; Sonar Use Debated
(WASHINGTON POST 09 OCT 08) ... Jerry Markon and Juliet Eilperin
The government yesterday issued a long-delayed
Environmental advocates say the exercises violate the
regulation imposing speed limits on East Coast ship traffic that
law, citing evidence showing that the sonar disorients whales
threatens the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale,
and other marine mammals, sometimes leading them to strand
while barely a mile away the Supreme Court wrestled with a
themselves and die. The Navy says the exercises are needed to
dispute between the Navy and environmentalists over the
train sonar operators to detect quiet new submarines deployed
impact of sonar exercises on whales and other marine
by China, North Korea and other potential adversaries. It calls
mammals.
the training vital to national security in a time of war.
North Atlantic right whales, which were intensely hunted
"I don't know anything about this. I'm not a naval officer,"
in the 1800s during the height of the U.S. whaling boom, now
Breyer told an environmental lawyer during the arguments. He
number fewer than 400 and rank among the most endangered
later said: "Why couldn't you work this thing out? . . . You are
animals in the world. The rule issued by the National Oceanic
asking us -- who know nothing about whales and less about
and Atmospheric Administration requires large ships to slow
the military -- to start reading all these documents to try to
to 10 knots (11.5 mph) during parts of the year when they
figure out who's right."
come within 20 nautical miles of several East Coast ports in
As laughter echoed in the marble-and-velvet courtroom,
areas where the whales feed, reproduce and migrate.
Breyer added: "I think the whole point of the armed forces is
In July 2006, NOAA scientists proposed buffer areas
to hurt the environment. . . . On a bombing mission, do they
extending 30 nautical miles, but shipping interests said that
have to prepare an environmental impact statement first?"
would cost them too much time and money, and they lobbied
The comments from Breyer, a member of the court's
the White House to scale back the regulation. Aides to Vice
liberal wing, indicated that the decision in Winter v. Natural
President Cheney and National Economic Council Director
Resources Defense Council might not fall along ideological
Keith Hennessey weighed in on the issue, questioning the
lines. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. sharply questioned
benefits of establishing a wider buffer.
both sides, calling a key part of the Navy's argument "odd" but
NOAA Administrator Conrad C. Lautenbacher said the
said environmentalists are being "very unfair" because the
new rule, along with existing measures aimed at preventing
Navy is trying not to cause harm.
the whales from becoming entangled in fishing gear, would
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. questioned whether a lower
help protect the species. "The ship strike rule, based on
court judge who halted the use of sonar, but then allowed it
science, is a major addition to NOAA's arsenal of protections
with restrictions that the Navy opposes, is "an expert on antifor this endangered species," he said in a statement.
submarine warfare." "Isn't there something incredibly odd
Researchers at NOAA's Fisheries Service estimate that
about a single district judge making a determination on that
about 83 percent of right whale sightings in the mid-Atlantic
defense question that is contrary" to the Navy's, he said.
region are within 20 nautical miles of shore, while the 30-mile
Although much of the argument focused on the potential harm
limit would encompass 90 percent of all sightings.
to whales, legal experts said the case raises broader questions
Scientific experts said yesterday that the rule, which will
about the military's obligation to obey environmental laws as
go into effect in early December, could help protect the right
well as the constitutional separation of powers. The dispute
whales even if it does not go far enough. On Monday, the
centers on 14 training exercises off the California coast that
International Union for Conservation of Nature cited ship
began in February 2007 and are scheduled to end in January.
strikes as a major factor in why nearly a third of the world's
The Natural Resources Defense Council filed suit in federal
marine mammals are at risk of extinction.
court to stop or modify the use of sonar. The Bush
Randall Reeves, chairman of the union's cetacean
administration, seeking to overturn an appellate court ruling
specialist group, praised the 10-knot restriction in an
that upheld the restrictions on sonar use, is relying on
interview, saying that a 30-nautical mile buffer "would have
arguments it has offered in other national security cases since
been nice, but 20 is better than nothing."
the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The administration's attorneys said
Since NOAA first proposed the regulation in 2006, at
the judiciary must defer to its determination that the exercises
least three right whales have died from ship strikes, and two
constitute a national security emergency that overrides the
have been wounded by propellers.
requirements of several environmental laws.
During oral arguments before the Supreme Court
Environmentalists say the Navy must adhere to the law. They
yesterday, Justice Stephen G. Breyer expressed frustration at
say that an adverse ruling could free the government to take
the dispute over the Navy's use of loud, mid-frequency sonar
other actions that could harm the environment without
during submarine exercises off the Southern California coast.
studying their effects.
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8. Supreme Court Hears Case On Navy Sonar, Whales
The Justices Appear Divided On Whether Environmental Laws Can Protect The Marine Mammals During
Military Exercises. A Ruling Is Not Expected For Several Months.
(LOS ANGELES TIMES 08 OCT 08) ... David G. Savage
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court justices sounded
closely split today on whether environmental laws can be used
to protect whales and other marine mammals from the Navy's
use of sonar off the coast of Southern California.
A Bush administration lawyer urged the high court to
throw out a Los Angeles judge's order that requires the Navy
to turn off its high intensity sonar whenever a whale or
dolphin is spotted within 1.2 miles of a ship.
This order disrupts the Navy's war-game exercises, which
are "critical to the nation's security," said U.S. Solicitor Gen.
Gregory Garre. He also disputed claims that the piercing
sound of the sonar causes severe harm to the whales.
But Los Angeles lawyer Richard B. Kendall described the
sonar as like the sound of "a jet engine in this room multiplied
by 2,000 times." He said beaked whales, in panic, dive deeply
to escape the sound, and they sometimes suffer bleeding and
even death when they try to resurface.
Kendall also said the judge's order has had a minimal
impact on the Navy. It has conducted 13 extended training
exercises off California in which Navy officers practice
detecting enemy submarines. Only on a few occasions have
ships been forced to turn off their sonar, he said.
But the case has turned into a major dispute over whether
judges, acting on a suit brought by environmentalists, have the
power to stop the government from conducting a crucial
exercise because it had not carried out an environmental
impact statement.
In this case, the Natural Resources Defense Council in
Santa Monica sued the Navy, and asserted it had failed to
conduct an environmental impact assessment to see whether
its use of high-intensity, mid-frequency sonar would harm
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marine mammals. U.S. District Judge Florence Marie Cooper
in Los Angeles agreed with the NRDC, but she did not order
the Navy to halt its training exercises. Instead, she ordered the
Navy to take steps to protect these mammals, including by
turning off the sonar when they were spotted nearby.
Justice Antonin Scalia suggested the judge had exceeded
her power. He said the law was merely "procedural" and did
not give environmentalists or judges the authority to halt a
government operation.
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. appeared to agree. Is Judge
Cooper an expert on the Navy? he asked, adding that the judge
should have deferred to the Navy's view that its exercises
would not hurt the whales.
But Justices John Paul Stevens and David H. Souter
wondered how the Navy could know its sonar would not harm
the whales until it had studied the matter. "The whole point of
doing an EIS [Environmental Impact Statement] is we don't
know what the harm will be," Stevens said.
Sounding frustrated, Justice Stephen G. Breyer wondered
how the court is supposed to resolve the conflicting evidence
on whether the sonar will or will not harm marine mammals.
"Why couldn't you work this out?" he asked Kendall, rather
than having a court resolve the dispute.
"The Navy is focused on having it its own way," Kendall
replied.
"That's not fair," Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.
interjected. The Navy had taken steps to protect the marine
mammals, he said, and the judge gave it little credit for doing
so. "No good deed goes unpunished," he added.
The justices are likely to hand down a ruling in the case,
Winter vs. NRDC, in several months.
9. High Court Hears Navy Sonar Case
(NPR ALL THINGS CONSIDERED 08 OCT 08) ... Nina Totenberg; Transcript
The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard arguments in a
On the steps of the Supreme Court on Wednesday, Paul
case testing how far the president and his agencies can go in
Kamenar of the Washington Legal Foundation argued that the
setting aside environmental laws in the name of national
courts cannot trump the president's powers in a case like this
security — and how far the courts can go in intervening in
"The president is the Commander in Chief of the Armed
such a controversy.
Forces and the Navy. It's his judgment — and his admirals'
At issue is the long-running dispute over the Navy's use of
judgment — on how best to train our seamen in this time
mid-frequency sonar in training exercises off the California
when we have two wars going on," Kamenar says.
coast. Environmental advocacy groups contend that federal
But Richard Kendall of the National Resources Defense
law requires the Navy to assess the damage that could be
Council countered that even though these exercises are almost
caused to whales and dolphins and to adopt steps to minimize
over, much is at stake for the future.
that damage.
"If the executive branch can say after an Article III court
The president and his council on environmental quality
has ruled 'Your ruling doesn't count. Now you have to go
have gotten around that requirement by ordering
back, and do it again because we disagree,' then our
environmental laws suspended in the name of a national
constitutional framework would have just undergone an
security emergency.
earthquake," Kendall says.
The federal courts, however, concluded that there was no
Inside the courtroom, Justice Samuel Alito asked the
emergency — that the military knew for years that it had a
government's chief advocate just how many marine mammals
problem and ignored it.
have been killed or injured. Solicitor General Gregory Garre
The lower courts ruled that the executive branch cannot
contended there has been no serious harm.
simply waive federal environmental laws on its own. But the
Justice Ginsburg: I thought there are records of 564Bush administration won a temporary reprieve while it
beaked whales suffering severe harm.
appealed.
Garre: Our best evidence is that that harm has not been
permanent.
Much of the argument focused on the Navy's refusal to
produce an environmental impact statement before it began
the exercises.
Justice Souter: You've known since before the exercises
began in 2007 that this was a requirement, and you still didn't
produce it. Why shouldn't we say the only emergency was
created deliberately by the Navy.
Justice Breyer: The reason the law requires the
environmental impact statement is that once the agency reads
it, it might decide to do something different. That's the whole
point.
But it was Kendall, representing environmental groups,
who took the real beating Wednesday.
Justice Alito: There's something incredibly odd about a
single district court judge making a judgment contrary to the
determination the Navy has made.
Kendall: The judge was extraordinarily deferential to the
Navy, but the evidence showed that the Navy could, without
any major problems, conduct these exercises in a way that
minimized damage to marine mammals.
Justice Kennedy: The president and the Defense
Department deserve some deference, too. Justice Breyer: The
Navy is saying, "If we can't train personnel using these levels
of sonar, we can't train people to find submarines where they
hide.' This makes me very nervous."
Chief Justice Roberts: We should stop the Navy from
doing this just because we think there is likelihood they might
be inflicting unneeded damage?
Kendall: Yes … the Navy cannot be the judge of its own
cause. There's a limit to deference..... The evidence is
overwhelming that beaked whales are being stranded by sonar
and killed. Autopsies show they are hemorrhaging and dying.
Justice Breyer: That the whole purpose of the military is
to hurt the environment. You go on a bombing mission. Do
you have to prepare an environmental impact statement?
Kendall: No, of course not in combat. But here in a
training exercise the military is supposed to minimize the
damage.
Click on link to listen to the broadcast.
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CURRENT OPERATIONS:
10. After Historic African Visit, TR Sails On
(NAVY TIMES 08 OCT 08) ... Philip Ewing
The carrier Theodore Roosevelt and its strike group sailed
from the South African city of Cape Town on Tuesday, having
paused there for three days on its way to the Persian Gulf. The
ship’s visit was part of an unusual trip for a Norfolk, Va.based carrier, most of which usually steam across the
Mediterranean and down through the Red Sea.
The TR was the first nuclear-powered carrier to visit Cape
Town, and the first U.S. carrier to visit since the
conventionally powered flattop Franklin D. Roosevelt arrived
in 1967. According to reports in the South African press, there
were concerns until just days before the TR arrived about
whether the country’s regulators would issue the ship a special
nuclear permit so it could drop anchor in Table Bay.
Once it did, the strike group was evidently a hit.
Thousands of people turned out to see the carrier and its
escorts.
“It was a manic, fantastic and unbelievable turnout,”
waterfront marketing manager Penny Randall told The
Independent newspaper. “The waterfront was absolutely
packed and traffic kept streaming in.”
The South African news media covered the ship’s visit
extensively, referring to the TR as the “USS Theodore” and by
a nickname used by its crew, “Big Stick.”
“The Big Stick, whose range is limited only by food, has
3,200 naval personnel, which is nearly half the size of the
South African Navy, and 2,480 air wing personnel onboard,
along with 90 aircraft and helicopters, which is almost the size
of the South African Air Force,” wrote Graeme Hosken on the
news site IOL.
One columnist, Brian Ingpen, wrote in the Cape Times
that he hopes South African authorities agree to dredge the
channel coming into Cape Town so that more American
warships can visit as they pass between the Indian and
Atlantic Oceans. He cited “the US Navy’s fine record with its
nuclear-powered ships, as well as the positive economic and
military spinoffs for South Africa of these visits.”
While the TR was near port, its crew members took wine
tours, hiked the nearby Table Mountain and went on safaris,
according to a Navy announcement. They ate warthog,
crocodile and gazelle steaks. Sailors also took part in a
“bushman experience,” in which they visited an ostrich farm
and a South African village, where bushmen showed them
some traditional skills.
“It was crazy to see how other parts of the world live,"
said Storekeeper Seaman Lacy Frye. “My favorite part was
definitely sitting on an ostrich. That is something you do not
get to do back home.”
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11. Abraham Lincoln Strike Group Arriving In Port
(SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE 08 OCT 08) ... Laura Embry
SAN DIEGO – The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier
Abraham Lincoln and two locally based ships have arrived in
San Diego Wednesday following a seven-month deployment.
The Lincoln will return to its homeport of Everett, Wash.,
after dropping off personnel and aircraft in San Diego,
according to the Navy's Third Fleet public affairs office.
Joining the carrier as part of the Abraham Lincoln Strike
Group will be the San Diego-based guided-missile cruiser
Mobile Bay and guided-missile frigate Curts, according to the
Navy.
During its stop in San Diego, the Abraham Lincoln will
also host a change-of-command ceremony. Rear Adm. Scott
Swift will relieve Rear Adm. Scott Van Buskirk as
commander of the strike group.
During it's deployment, pilots from the Abraham Lincoln
flew more than 7,100 sorties in support of coalition ground
forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to the Third Fleet.
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It also stopped at ports in Singapore, Brunei, Bahrain,
Thailand, Australia, Palau, Saipan, Cyprus and Oman,
according to the Navy
12. All 5 Of Yokosuka’s Tugboats Return To Operational Status
(STARS AND STRIPES 09 OCT 08)
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan - The hard work
paid off last weekend when all five of Yokosuka’s tugboats
took to the water for the first "photo exercise" in 11 years.
Middle age — the average tugboat in the fleet is 40 years
old — and difficult repairs took their toll on the boats. At one
point last year, none of the tugs was operable.
The concerted effort to get the tugs running paid off
Saturday, Port Operations Officer Lt. Andrea Zenn said.
"If anything, this has an impact on our personnel as they
could see the fruits of their labor and what a large change they
made over a matter of months," Zenn said.
The tugboats will continue to rotate into scheduled
maintenance periods because "they don’t want to stress out the
tugs too much," Zenn said.
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Yokosuka is one of the only Navy ports that operates
tugboats and is unique in that "a first class petty officer can be
the CO of a ship," Zenn said.
The tugs move warships around the port and are
responsible for jobs Japanese contract tugs won’t do, such as
moving ordnance and submarines and working outside the
Yokosuka operational limit line boundary.
Using Navy tugs is less expensive than using the Japanese
tugs, Yokosuka’s base commander said this summer.
All five of the tugs are now considered "active," Zenn
said. "The sailors were elated."
13. Farragut Completes POA 08, Returns Home
(THE MIRROR (NAVAL STATION MAYPORT, FLA.) 09 OCT 08) ... Lt. Jacob Steele
USS Farragut (DDG-99) returned to its homeport at Naval
Argentina, before transiting the Straits of Magellan and
Station Mayport Oct. 5 after a six-month deployment with
entering the Pacific Ocean.
Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 40 in support of Partnership
"The inland passages near the Straits of Magellan are
of the Americas 2008 (POA 08).
some of the most beautiful and dangerous waters in the
Farragut departed Mayport Apr. 7 on the first leg of their
world," said Farragut Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Scott
route to circumnavigate South America.
Dugan. "We are privileged to have sailed there and faced the
In Rio, Farragut participated with DESRON 40 ship USS
challenges the climate, seas, and weather the narrow passages
Kauffman (FFG-59) and embarked Helicopter Anti-submarine
provided for us. Few Sailors in the world have gone there, and
Squadron Light (HSL) 42 Detachment 7 as well as USS
to do so for such a worthwhile purpose made it only better."
George Washington (CVN-73) in the Atlantic Phase of the
Farragut then participated in the Submarine Warfare
multi-national UNITAS exercise.
exercises "EJAS Norte" (Spanish for Anti-Submarine Warfare
Another important component of the Partnership of the
Exercise North) with the Chilean Navy and Silent Forces
Americas engagement were the Theater Security Cooperation
Exercise (SIFOREX) with Peru before pulling into port in
(TSC) missions, which Farragut conducted in each one of
Lima, Peru, to prepare for UNITAS Pacific Phase. UNITAS
the13 ports it pulled into during the deployment. TSC
Pacific included the Navies of Colombia (who has participated
Missions feature Subject Matter Expert Exchanges (SMEE),
in all 49 annual UNITAS exercises held so far), Ecuador,
Distinguished Visitor tours, receptions, and sporting events
Peru, and Chile.
which promote goodwill and esprit de corps between the U.S.
The also participated in TSC events in Cartagena,
Navy and Partner Nation navies.
Colombia, and then to Colon, Panama, to participate in the
Consistently, one of the most powerful acts of goodwill in
largest multi-national joint exercise in this hemisphere,
which Farragut Sailors participated were the Community
PANAMAX, which focuses on bringing many nations
Relations (COMREL) projects, which were a part of every
together to practice defending the Panama Canal, a vital and
TSC mission. During COMRELs, Farragut Sailors helped
vulnerable passage for commercial and military ships from all
paint and rebuild schools, orphanages, and elders' residences
over the world. Over 20 nations and 35 ships participated this
in 13 cities throughout the Caribbean and Central and South
year along with Farragut.
America.
After successfully completing PANAMAX, Farragut
In conjunction with the COMREL projects, Farragut
returned to conducting TSC missions in the Caribbean,
distributed donated goods from Project Handclasp, an official
spreading goodwill to Curacao, Trinidad and Tobago, St.
U.S. Navy program which coordinates delivery of
Lucia, and Martinique.
humanitarian, educational and goodwill material, to all 13
Most recently, Farragut conducted 14 days of Countercities they visited.
Illicit Trafficking Operations in the Caribbean in support of
Upon completion of UNITAS Atlantic Phase, Farragut
Joint Interagency Task Force South. On Oct. 1, Farragut
conducted TSC visits in Montevideo, Uruguay, and Ushuaia,
intercepted a vessel with an initial tally of three metric tons of
cocaine onboard.
"Interdictions such as Farragut's, which discourage cartels
from shipping illicit drugs, encourage legal trade between
nations, and perhaps most importantly, keep drugs off of
American streets, are key to our safety as a nation and to
regional stability and our ongoing cooperation with Partner
Nations," said Capt. Rudy Laco, DESRON 40 Commodore.
"As Farragut returns home to friends and family, her
Sailors can look back on a deployment full of achievement,
success, faith and goodwill towards all of our Southern
Neighbors," said Dugan. "Interoperability, cooperation, and
partnership cannot be surged. Farragut can be proud that she
has made enormous steps for the United States towards just
those goals, and towards ensuring stability throughout the
region for years to come.'
During the deployment, Farragut was under operational
control of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command
(NAVSO)/U.S. 4th Fleet conducting TSC missions, and
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counter-illicit trafficking operations in the U.S. Southern
Command (SOUTHCOM) area of focus, which encompasses
the Caribbean, Central and South America, and surrounding
waters. Once the ship returned to Mayport, U.S. 2nd Fleet
took over operational control.
NAVSO, the Naval Component Command of
SOUTHCOM, directs U.S. Naval Forces operating in the
Caribbean, Central and South American regions and interacts
with partner nation navies within the maritime environment.
Various operations include counter-illicit trafficking, Theater
Security Cooperation, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster
Relief, military-to-military interaction and bilateral and
multinational training.
Fourth Fleet is the numbered fleet assigned to NAVSO,
exercising operational control of assigned forces in the
SOUTHCOM area of focus.
GLOBAL MARITIME ENVIRONMENT:
14. Kenya's Navy To Help Free Ukrainian Arms Ship Seized By Pirates
(BLOOMBERG 08 OCT 08) ... Eric Ombok
Kenya's navy will help free a Ukrainian ship carrying a
cargo of battle tanks that was hijacked by Somali pirates last
month, Kenya's Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula said.
``The Kenyan navy is already engaged with our partners
in the process of trying to liberate this ship,'' Wetangula told
reporters today in the capital, Nairobi.
Somali pirates seized the Faina, a Belize-flagged vessel
with a crew of 17 Ukrainians, three Russians and one Latvian,
on Sept. 25, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said. One of the
Russians died soon after the hijacking. The ship was carrying
at least 30 Soviet-designed T-72 tanks to Kenya.
The Faina is under surveillance by U.S. warships,
including the USS Howard. A Russian warship, the
Neustrashimy, or Intrepid, is also on its way to Somalia.
France, Germany and six other European Union governments
said on Oct. 1 that they will deploy additional warships off the
coast of Somalia to fight piracy as soon as next month.
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The United Nations Security Council yesterday voted 15
to zero to adopt a resolution, drafted by France, that seeks
deployment to the area of naval vessels and military aircraft to
use ``the necessary means, in conformity with international
law'' to engage pirates.
``The ship that is under illegal custody of these pirates,
will very well be one of those that will be liberated in
furtherance and giving mean to the UN resolution,'' Wetangula
said today.
Piracy may force ships to avoid the Gulf of Aden and
Suez Canal in Egypt, increasing the costs of oil and other
goods from Asia and the Middle East. Lloyd's of London
reclassified the Gulf of Aden on May 2 as a war-risk area,
meaning it is as dangerous as Nigeria, Iraq and parts of
Indonesia.
The Somali pirates who hijacked the Faina are demanding
a $20 million ransom to release the vessel and its crew.
15. UK: Civilian Ships Must Be Armed Against Pirates
Britain's Senior Royal Navy Commander In The Gulf Has Called For Merchant Shipping To Hire
Mercenaries To Fight Off The Increasing Danger Of Piracy.
(THE TELEGRAPH (UK) 08 OCT 08) ... Thomas Harding
At a time when there is a record number of ships being
hijacked off the coast of Somalia, Commodore Keith
Winstanley said he believed that the situation has become so
serious that civilian vessels should be armed.
He said that private security companies deployed in Iraq
or Afghanistan could be better used guarding ships, which in
pirate-infested regions need a "visual deterrent" such as
mounted heavy machine guns. "This coalition headquarters is
advocating that as an option," he said in an interview with The
Daily Telegraph.
If his plea is adopted then it will be the first time that
merchantmen have been significantly armed since the Second
World War when the U-Boat menace was sinking dozens of
ships a week.
With insurance rates for ships spiralling as the kidnappers
move on to seizing major vessels - some the size of aircraft
carriers worth $5 million (£2.85 million) or more in ransom the problem is having an effect on international market prices.
There are currently 12 commercial ships being held by
pirates along the Somali coast, the most prominent of them a
Ukrainian ship with 33 T72 Russian tanks on board, along
with 240 crew held hostage, which is locked in a stand off
with the US Navy.
A flotilla of German, Danish, US and now British ships
have deterred up to 15 attacks in the last six weeks. The Type
23 frigate HMS Northumberland has joined the force this
week as the first dedicated British anti-pirate ship.
But Cdre Winstanley, who commands the 11 Royal Navy
ships in the region from his headquarters in Bahrain, said that
greater efforts are needed to stop the current surge in piracy
while the brigands are "holding more targets than they have
held at any other time".
"We have never seen as many ships hijacked or crews
held hostage. Last year they went for large fishing dhows or
small coastal vessels well now they are attacking and seizing
vessels over 70,000 tonnes," he said.
With 22,000 shipping movements passing through the
area each year it is important to the world economy to keep it
secure.
Cdre Winstanley said: "There is a very active debate at
the moment about whether or not the international shipping
community employs armed security detachments.
"It is a measure we are encouraging people to at least
consider. This has got to be a business decision and its going
to cost money."
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The commander also advised ships to use "speed and
manoeuvre" when accosted by the smaller pirate ships who
use AK47 assault rifles or rocket-propelled granades (RPGs)
to force the vessels to halt. Some ships have rigged fire hoses
as a last line of defence.
The naval coalition in the region has recently sunk two
pirate skiffs, and destroyed or seized a large quantity of
machine guns, RPGs and equipment such as large boarding
ladders. Dozens of Somali criminals have also been detained.
If piracy continues shipping companies might be forced to
send ships round Africa rather than through the Suez Canal on
a costly 20-day diversion.
A Chatham House report has estimated that up to £17
million has been paid to the pirates who have links to
fundamentalist Islamic movements in Somalia.
Lloyd's insurers also raised premiums this summer from
zero to 0.25 per cent of the vessel's worth for each journey.
16. Gates Says Ukraine Wants Warships, But Has To Wait
(STARS AND STRIPES 09 OCT 08) ... Jeff Schogol,
OHRID, Macedonia — Ukraine wants U.S. Navy
warships, officials said Wednesday.
Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is based partly in ports on
Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula — a source of tension between
the two countries.
Ukraine’s interest in U.S. ships came up when Defense
Secretary Robert Gates met with the Ukrainian Defense
minister Wednesday at the annual South-Eastern Europe
Defense Ministerial, Gates said.
"I explained that process to the minister including the
need for Congressional approval," Gates told reporters. "I also
advised that it would be some time before ships — U.S. ships
of interest to Ukraine — would be available for transfer."
Gates also said both sides agreed to talk about the matter
further at an upcoming meeting between U.S. and Ukrainian
officials in December in San Diego.
Ukrainian Minister of Defense Yuriy Yekhanurov
dismissed a reporter’s question on the subject.
"As usual, [the] press knows better what needs to be done
in the military, so thank you very much for this advice,"
Yekhanurov said, speaking through a translator.
Gates did not specify what ships Ukraine wants, but a
senior Defense official said they are Oliver Hazard Perry Class
frigates.
First deployed in December 1977, Perry Class frigates’
armaments include torpedoes, a 76 mm gun and a Phalanx
Close-In Weapons System, according to the Navy. Their
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missions include anti-submarine warfare and supporting
amphibious expeditionary forces.
But Anne-Marie Slaughter, dean of the Woodrow Wilson
School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton
University, said the United States should proceed with
caution.
"This is not a road we should be going down," Slaughter
said in an e-mail to Stars and Stripes. "It’s a classic security
dilemma, where one side (Ukraine) feels threatened and takes
action that will be interpreted by the other side as aggressive,
which in turn leads it to take action that will increase the
perceived threat. The answer here is not arms, but creative and
committed diplomacy by the U.S. And the EU together."
The U.S. Navy has transferred decommissioned frigates
to Poland, Egypt, Bahrain and Turkey, which borders the
Black Sea, along with both Ukraine and Russia.
Also Tuesday, Gates said he reaffirmed U.S. support for
Ukraine joining NATO.
But recent political events in Ukraine have raised
questions about whether Ukraine will become a member of the
alliance. Last month, the ruling coalition collapsed, and the
country’s new prime minister has indicated she favors stronger
ties with Russia.
Gates said the U.S. government’s position toward Ukraine
joining NATO remains unchanged in principle.
"Of course, we all have to deal with political realties," he
added.
17. Russian Warships To Visit Libya: Navy
(AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE 08 OCT 08)
MOSCOW — A group of Russian warships will stop in
Libya next week before moving on to joint exercises with
Venezuela and an anti-piracy mission off Somalia, a navy
spokesman said Wednesday.
"The ships of the Russian Northern Fleet and the frigate
Fearless are going to stop in Tripoli to obtain supplies from
October 11 to 13," navy spokesman Igor Dygalo told AFP.
The Northern Fleet ships, led by the massive nuclearpowered missile cruiser Peter the Great, will "fulfil several
tasks in the Mediterranean Sea" before moving on to the
Caribbean, Dygalo said, without giving further details.
Meanwhile the Fearless is headed to the coast off Somalia
"to ensure the security of Russian vessels" in pirate-infested
waters, a mission it was sent on after Somali pirates seized a
Ukrainian cargo ship last month, Dygalo said.
On Sunday, the spokesman told Interfax news agency that
the Northern Fleet ships had crossed through the Gibraltar
Straits and would call at several Mediterranean ports before
setting sail for Venezuela.
Russian media have speculated that the warships might
stop in Syria, a former Cold War ally of Moscow.
The Russian warships, which include the destroyer
Admiral Chabanenko and escorting ships, are expected to
arrive in Venezuela in late November at the invitation of the
country's leftist firebrand president, Hugo Chavez.
Once there, they are scheduled to take part in joint
exercises with the Venezuelan navy near US waters,
something which has not been done since the Cold War.
Return to Index
18. North Korea Ready To Fire More Missiles: Report
(REUTERS 09 OCT 08) ... Jack Kim and Isabel Reynolds
SEOUL - North Korea has deployed more than 10
missiles on its west coast for what appears to be an imminent
launch, a South Korean newspaper said on Thursday, two days
after the North fired two short-range missiles into the Yellow
Sea.
It would be an unprecedented test if the North fired all of
the surface-to-ship and ship-to-ship missiles, but intelligence
sources quoted by the Chosun Ilbo paper said they thought the
North may launch five to seven of them.
The North has forbidden ships to sail in an area in the
Yellow Sea until October 15 in preparation for the launch, an
intelligence source told the paper.
The North fired two missiles on Tuesday in routine
military drills, South Korea's defense minister said on
Wednesday.
"If the North fires a large number of missiles, it would be
difficult to see it as routine exercise," the source was quoted as
saying.
A South Korean defense ministry official declined to
comment on the report but said the government had no
indications of unusual activities in the North.
A senior U.S. nuclear envoy visited the North Korean
capital last week in a bid to convince the state to return to a
disarmament-for-aid deal and halt plans to restart an aging
nuclear plant that makes bomb-grade plutonium.
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Washington is reviewing the discussions U.S. Assistant
Secretary of State Christopher Hill held in Pyongyang to see if
it can begin verifying statements the North made about its
nuclear program, an official in Seoul familiar with the talks
said.
A U.S. military commander played down any escalation
of the threat posed by the North, which recent reports have
said conducted engine tests this year at a new missile launch
site.
"We have seen no increased movement or military
activity in North Korea, nor have we responded in any way
with any military posture changes," Admiral Timothy Keating,
commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, told reporters in
Tokyo on Thursday.
The United States was keeping the area under close
observation he said, but declined to comment on the missile
reports.
"Hypothetically, if North Korea were to fire off 10
missiles in short order, that would be very unusual," he said.
North Korea has a history of timing its missile launches at
periods of increased tension to show that it is ready to take a
hard and defiant line, analysts say.
North Korea fired seven ballistic missiles in July 2006
including a long-range Taepodong-2 off its east coast. Three
months later, it conducted a nuclear test.
PERSONNEL:
19. Ike Sailor Was Struck By Super Hornet
(NAVY TIMES 08 OCT 08) ... Andrew Scutro
NORFOLK, Va. — The sailor killed Saturday night
aboard the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower was struck
by an F/A-18F Super Hornet on the flight deck “during
catapult launch,” according to the Naval Safety Center’s
online mishap log.
Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Aircraft Handling) 2nd Class
(AW) Robert Lemar Robinson, 31, of Detroit, was killed. The
matter remains under investigation according to 2nd Fleet
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spokeswoman Lt. Courtney Hillson. She said the ship remains
at sea.
Hillson said Robinson was killed during flight operations
off the coast of Cherry Point, N.C.
Robinson leaves behind three children. He joined the
Navy on Sept. 24, 1998. He previously served aboard the
aircraft carrier Enterprise.
20. Local Navy Submarine Officer Was A Warrior, Hero
(CASPER (WY.) JOURNAL 07 OCT 08) ... Wyoma Groeneberg
Master Chief Petty Officer Kevin Page never bragged, so
his parents didn’t know all of his accomplishments and
missions while in the United States Navy.
While Bob Page and Judy Steffens of Casper probably
never will learn everything about their 39-year-old son’s
military career, they discovered a lot at his two funeral
services in Hawaii.
Kevin, a 1987 NCHS graduate, died Aug. 27 in Honolulu
from his second battle against leukemia and after receiving
two bone marrow transplants.
Following services held at the Submarine Memorial
Chapel at Pearl Harbor and the Punchbowl National Memorial
Cemetery, his parents said that Kevin’s commanding officers
and shipmates lined up to talk to them about their son.
“That young man was dedicated to our country, to our
freedom, and he really wanted to give 30 years (to the Navy),
but with his sickness and all, he only ended up with 22,”
Robert said about his son.
In talking with others, his step-mother Judy said the
words used to describe Kevin that really caught her attention
were “great warrior.”
“(Kevin) is my hero, will always be my hero,” she said,
but noted that she never had seen him as a warrior, because
Kevin never told his parents much about his Navy
achievements.
They did know that Kevin, a submariner, had reached the
highest enlisted rank in the Navy, a master chief petty officer.
After serving aboard three subs, he completed qualifications to
become a chief of the boat (COB).
So about a year ago, he was named COB of the USS
Cheyenne, the first Wyoming citizen to earn that appointment.
Kevin even designed his own coin, which submariners often
do, his parents said.
They also believe he was being primed by the Navy to
work at the Pentagon.
Bob said that Kevin never thought he was better than
anybody, and he always encouraged them to be better or “to
go for it.”
Judy explained that they taught their seven kids from their
first marriages that “everyone has a right to be on this Earth”
no matter what race, sexual orientation or anything.
Happy celebration
The family is planning a celebration of Kevin’s life at 2
p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, at the Ramada Plaza Riverside.
There will be some formal parts in the service, but the
celebration will continue as long as people stay, Judy said,
adding that there will be food.
They’re asking for Hawaiian or casual attire, and
everyone is invited to share memories of Kevin. His stepbrother, Michael Steffens, will perform guitar solos and his
longtime friend, Chad Lore, also will be on hand with
entertainment.
His wife, Lisa, who will be moving back to the mainland
soon, and his siblings, Stephanie, Dennis, Ben and Heidi
won’t be attending this service. But his step-sister, Linda
Harrison, will along with her brother.
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An all-around good guy
According to Mike Colling, a former neighbor of the
Pages and a member of the Casper Police Department, Kevin
was a “fine young guy … responsible and really caring.”
At one point when Kevin started hanging out with the
“wrong crowd,” the Pages gave credit to Colling for helping
get their son back on track.
In addition to Bob’s ultimatum that Kevin would join a
military branch, his parents noted that Colling talked with
Kevin about the military.
Colling hadn’t seen Kevin for about 20 years, but said
Bob was proud of his son and kept Colling up to date about
Kevin’s life.
Mike Gaither, a childhood friend, remembered Kevin as
fun-loving, friendly and adventurous and shared memories
confirming his thoughts.
Gaither recalled days when they played at Nancy English
Park, wearing their fathers’ military uniforms n Bob was in the
Marine Corps and Mike’s dad, Jim, had been in the Army.
In junior high, he said, a group of friends would gather to
perform in their “air band,” playing recorded music and then
imitating playing imaginary instruments that the band would
have used to produce the song.
Gaither said Kevin usually was the drummer, but the guys
periodically would switch instruments n easy enough to do
when they aren’t real.
Their first job in high school was mowing lawns around
town. However, some of their work entailed whistling at girls
who were passing by, Gaither said.
He knew that Kevin’s naval career was going well when
he got a call from the Navy, asking questions about Kevin’s
character for a background check to be used for security
clearance.
The last that Gaither had heard was Kevin’s leukemia was
in remission, so he was shocked to hear about his death.
About Kevin’s death, Judy said, losing a son in the
military, whether it’s at war or to an illness, is classifying
death, something she doesn’t believe in doing.
“Loss is loss … he was defending our country,” she said.
“We never gave up hope in believing in miracles.”
Kevin was told he had nine weeks or nine months to live;
he only lived for five weeks after the diagnosis.
But Judy believes her prayers for a miracle were
answered.
“Mine was that he didn’t have to suffer any more than he
had to. … Kevin was sick, but he did not suffer.”
FORCE STRUCTURE/PROGRAMS:
21. Navy Needs Ships It Can Evolve To Meet Growing Ballistic, Cruise Missile Threats, Official Says
(DEFENSE DAILY 09 OCT 08) ... Geoff Fein
The Navy has to move toward an open systems
environment in its surface combatants if it wants to avoid
retiring ships too early and to keep pace with the burgeoning
ballistic missile threat, a top Navy official said.
"When you build a ship, you have to be able to evolve it
over the course of its life to meet changing threats. You
wouldn't want to build a ship that was tapped out from a
stability standpoint, cooling standpoint, electric generation
capacity standpoint, the day it was launched," Vice Adm.
Barry McCullough, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for
Integration of Capabilities and Resources, told Defense Daily
in a recent interview.
"You need the ability to grow systems, for a reasonable
cost, to meet the changing security McCullough pointed to the
Navy's past of decommissioning surface ships before they
reached their estimated service life.
"The 993-class DDGs were decommissioned because we
couldn't evolve the combat systems much further from where
they were to meet an evolving security threat. So they were
decommissioned at 17 years or about half their life," he said.
The same thing occurred with the Ticonderoga-class
Baseline I, McCullough said. "We couldn't evolve the combat
system at a reasonable cost to meet evolving threats, so they
got decommissioned at 20 years."
The same thing happened with the Spruance-class
destroyers. Those ships went out at an average of about 22
years, McCullough added.
The average price of a complex surface combatant is
around $1.8 billion today. You can't be making that kind of
investment and then taking it out of service half way through
its life," he said.
The Navy has been able to evolve the combat systems
aboard the DDG-51-class ships, McCullough noted.
The USS Arleigh Burke (DDG0-51) first deployed in
1991. McCullough notes that the Arleigh Burke is nowhere
near the ship that DDG-112 will be.
"With the proliferation of ballistic missiles, the
improvement in capability of ballistic missiles, and just the
sheer numbers, we were able to adapt that combat system
through the addition of some adjunct processors and different
computing code to be able to engage ballistic missiles. That
was never envisioned when that ship was built,"
McCullough said. "So that combat system has shown the
ability to evolve and as we go into these ACBs (Advanced
Capability Build) it will be able to continue to evolve."
The initial ACB, McCullough explained, known as ACB
08, separated the hardware and software. The first ship to
undergo this effort was the USS Bunker Hill (CG-52).
McCullough acknowledges that the software on Bunker
Hill is not fully open yet, but by the time the The Navy also
plans to introduce integrated air defense and missile defense at
extended ranges with the follow-on family of missiles from
the Standard Missile (SM)-2 in ACB 12, McCullough said.
Raytheon [RTN] makes the Standard Missile.
"It will have in-stride ballistic missile defense (BMD)
with a multi-mission signal processor, and the launchers get
the appropriate upgrades to fire SM-3s," he explained. "When
we looked at where we were going with the DDG-51s and
[DDG-]1000s, that modification program we put together for
DDGs will allow that combat system, the ACB 12 combat
system, to be dropped right into DDG-113, which will be the
first new DDG under our revised DDG plan."
Those new ships that the Navy has proposed buying
instead of additional DDG-1000s would be built with
extended range area air defense with SM-6s and in-stride
BMD and would help the Navy get at the capability gap it sees
evolving, McCullough said.
The Navy has been taken to task by Congress for what
appeared to be a sudden change in direction, moving away
from the Zumwalt class of advanced combat ships and
restarting the Arleigh Burke production line.
McCullough said a lot of frank discussions went into
making that decision.
"I have had several classified briefings with staffers and
members to explain how rapidly the threat has changed over
the last three years. It's hard to talk about that in an open
hearing," he said. "I've told the acquisition and technical
authority people this repeatedly, 'the DDG-1000 was an
evolution from arsenal ship to Surface Combatant 21 to
DD(X) to DDG-1000, and the capability requirement for that
ship was developed in the early '90s and matured as its design
went along.
But it's predominately a land attack ship and that's what it
was built for."
There are some things that have changed in the global
security environment in a rapid pace that outstripped the
capability set that DDG-1000 was designed to combat,
McCullough said. "Once we got to that point, we really had to
look at what we were doing with our future force structure and
were we buying the right things to meet the evolving
capability gaps that we saw? And we weren't."
"Once I [was] able to sit down with folks in a classified
environment and talk to them about what's happened, while
everybody acknowledges the decision was difficult and some
may agree or not agree, they understand why we made the
decision, and so I think that's gone some way in buying back
what some may perceive as a credibility crisis," McCullough
added.
McCullough added that the process the Navy undertook to
make its decision was done right.
"First we conducted an in-depth evaluation [within] the
Navy. Once we came to the conclusion that rendered the
decision that the Navy made then we socialized this with
OSD, because we want to have a solidified Navy position and
then we wanted a solidified 'big' department-wide position.
Once we received approval from OSD to go forward, that's
when we took it to Congress," he explained. "That's the right
way to do it."
It wasn't approval of the plan, McCullough added, it was
the approval to go to Congress with the Navy's proposal.
"That's what we did. We think that's the right way to do
business."
"From the outside, it looks like the timing was bad. The
timing was hard and we realized that, but we wanted to make
sure we had the decision right and then we wanted to make
sure we briefed OSD on where we wanted to take the Navy
and then go to Congress," McCullough said.
"As I look back on it, I really think we did it right, and it's
required some intense socialization with industry, with
members of Congress that have an interest in it from an
industrial base concern.
"Congress was generous in the '09 appropriations, giving
us $200 million in advanced procurement for DDG-51s to start
that line up again in FY '10, should that decision be approved
by OSD," he added.
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22. Destroyer Passes Navy Test
Truxtun Safely Fires Its Big Guns
(MISSISSIPPI PRESS 08 OCT 08) ... Harlan Kirgan
PASCAGOULA Northrop Grumman shipbuilders and
Navy sailors put the Truxtun through its acceptance trial in the
Gulf of Mexico last week and reported that the destroyer
passed all of its tests.
All major systems and equipment on the DDG 103 were
tested during the acceptance trial, conducted Tuesday through
Friday, according to a news release from Northrop Grumman
Shipbuilding of Pascagoula.
"The Aegis combat system, main propulsion and auxiliary
systems operated smoothly, culminating in two successful
missile engagements and 5-inch, gun-firing demonstrations,"
said Navy Capt. Pete Lyle, DDG-51 program manager.
"Truxtun's acceptance trial was dynamically and safely
executed by the NGSB and SUPSHIP Gulf Coast Team,
despite conducting the last DDG acceptance trial almost two
years ago."
The Navy is scheduled to accept delivery of the ship Oct.
24, according to Northrop Grumman spokesman Bill Glenn.
The crew is scheduled to move aboard Dec. 8, and the Truxtun
will be commissioned in the spring, he said.
"NGSB did an outstanding job of operating and
presenting the ship to the Navy for inspection," said Navy
Capt. Beth Dexter, supervisor of shipbuilding, Gulf Coast.
"The coordination of trial events was well organized and
managed to meet customer requirements. Truxtun's
performance during acceptance trials was exceptional, and her
crew is looking forward to their chance to take her back to
sea."
The Truxtun is the 25th Aegis guided-missile destroyer
built by Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding. The ship's cost was
about $1.1 billion, according to Tom Kiss, military legislative
assistant to U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Bay St. Louis.
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The previous DDG-51 built at Pascagoula was DDG 100,
the USS Kidd, which was delivered to the Navy on Dec. 18,
2006, and commissioned in Galveston, Texas, on June 10,
2007.
In September, the Truxtun completed two days of
builder's sea trials in the Gulf of Mexico. Northrop Grumman
planned a quick turnaround after what the company said was
the suc cessful sea trial, according to Michael Petters,
president of Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding.
The Truxtun is one of four DDG-51 class destroyers in
the Pascagoula shipyard, according to Glenn.
Northrop Grumman describes the DDG 103 as a multimission ship, capable of a variety of operations from
peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and
power projection.
"Truxtun will be capable of simultaneously fighting air,
surface and subsurface battles. The ship contains a myriad of
offensive and defensive weapons designed to support maritime
defense needs well into the 21st century," a Northrop
Grumman news release said.
The 510-foot, 9,200-ton Truxtun has an overall beam of
66.5 feet and a navigational draft of 31 feet. Four gas-turbine
propulsion plants will power the ship to speeds above 30
knots.
The ship was named for Commodore Thomas Truxtun,
captain of the first U.S. Naval ship, the USS Constellation.
23. Navy Exploring How To Best Meet Growing Partnership Requirement
As Outlined In Maritime Strategy
(INSIDE THE NAVY 06 OCT 08) ... Zachary M. Peterson
The Navy continues to explore how to best meet its
growing requirement to form and maintain maritime
partnerships around the globe, but buying smaller ships is
likely not the answer to achieve this objective, the Navy’s top
programmer told Inside the Navy in a recent interview.
“We like our ships to be self-deployable for a lot of
reasons and when we start getting into a 100-foot ship, its
ability to be self-deployable becomes a limiting factor,” Vice
Adm. Barry McCullough, deputy chief of naval operations for
integration of capabilities and resources, said in a Sept. 24
interview when questioned about the possibility of the service
procuring smaller ships to work better with nations that have
limited naval capabilities.
“We’ve got the [Littoral Combat Ship] program, we think
that will get at a lot of our ability to our building partnership
requirements and theater-security cooperation requirements,”
he noted. “And we’re just going to have to see how all that
comes together.”
Both LCS hull designs are more than 300 feet long.
In an interview earlier this year, the director of warfare
integration told ITN that the Navy was mulling a smaller,
“green-water” ship to better serve the need of working with
foreign partners in Africa and Latin America.
“We’re contemplating a green-water craft of some kind,”
then-Rear Adm. Bruce Clingan said in a May 19 interview at
the Pentagon. “That’s one of the things that we will explore”
in the next Quadrennial Defense Review, Clingan, who is now
a three-star admiral and commander of 6th Fleet, said.
Further, McCullough said last month that the leased highspeed vessel Swift could be used for engagement missions by
putting a military detachment aboard the vessel, which is
normally operated by civilian mariners under the jurisdiction
of Military Sealift Command.
“There’s potential we can put a [military detachment] on
[Swift] and use [the ship] as part of our global fleet stations,”
he said. “So, we’re looking at a variety of things to try and
answer that growing requirement.”
Swift (HSV-2) took part in the initial deployment of the
Africa Partnership Station (APS) in West Africa, which began
in late 2007 and finished this spring. The ship carried training
teams and personnel from European navies, the Coast Guard,
the State Department and nongovernmental organizations. The
engagement included visits to Senegal, Ghana, Cameroon,
Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe and
Liberia. The amphibious dock landing ship Fort McHenry
(LSD-43) was the APS flagship.
The frigate Elrod (FFG-55) is in West Africa this fall
continuing the APS initiative.
This week, the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt (CVN71) will anchor off South Africa, marking the first time a
nuclear-powered carrier has visited the country. The last
carrier to visit South Africa was the conventionally powered
Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42) in 1967, according to Navy
spokesman Lt. Sean Robertson. The cruiser Monterey (CG-61)
will be pier-side in Capetown, Robertson noted. -- Zachary M.
Peterson
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24. NAVAIR To Release RFP On Subsonic Missile Target Soon
(INSIDE THE NAVY 06 OCT 08) ... Dan Taylor
Naval Air Systems Command plans to release a request
for proposals this quarter for the development of a subsonic
missile target to be used in testing naval combat systems in
advanced fleet training, according to a notice posted last week
on Federal Business Opportunities.
The subsonic aerial target (SSAT) system will be “a
recoverable aerial target vehicle capable of realistically
representing enemy threats that operate in the subsonic
regime,” according to the Oct. 2 notice, which says an RFP
will be released in the first quarter of fiscal year 2009.
“The SSAT will be launch-capable from ashore, at sea or
by air and will be remotely controlled,” the notice adds.
NAVAIR will hold an industry day for the SSAT
development program Oct. 21 in California, MD.
A Sept. 11 sources sought notice describes the system as
.9 to .95 Mach-capable.
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The notice adds that follow-on production should begin in
FY-11, and will cover a 15-year period at a rate of about 45
vehicles a year.
The Navy has also been developing a supersonic target
for use in training. Last month, the sea service awarded a $97
million contract to Alliant Techsystems to develop the multistage supersonic target (MSST), which will be used to
simulate sea-skimming, anti-ship cruise missiles.
The MSST is meant to ensure that ship self-defense
systems can defend against more advanced cruise missile
threats. Its initial operational capability is set for 2014.
“The most important use of targets nowadays is to be sure
you can accurately emulate the threats so that you can test
your defensive systems,” Rear Adm. William Shannon, the
program executive officer for unmanned aviation and strike
weapons, said in an Aug. 18 interview with Inside the Navy.
BASES / COMMUNITY OUTREACH:
25. Sonar Range Proposal Draws Flak At Hearing
Whales Might Face Harm, Environmentalists Tell Navy
(FLORIDA TIMES-UNION 09 OCT 08) ... Steve Patterson
A Navy proposal to build a training range for underwater
warfare off Jacksonville's coast has disturbed groups
concerned about environmental damage.
The range, about 50 miles offshore, would be used by
planes, helicopters and ships using sonar systems to practice
hunting submarines.
But some environmental advocates worry training in that
area could harm endangered right whales, which give birth
and nurture calves near the coastline each winter.
"We couldn't have picked a worse site for the whales,"
Vicki Cornish, vice president for the Ocean Conservancy, a
national environmental advocacy group, said Tuesday.
It's one of four areas the Navy is still considering as
potential sites, with a final decision expected by summer.
Navy officials consider Jacksonville their preferred choice.
But Cornish said a site off North Carolina would pose less risk
because whales migrate through but don't winter there.
Submarine warfare involves so-called active sonar
systems, which locate underwater objects by creating bursts of
sound and measuring the echoes they produce.
That sound is thought to cause tissue damage in whales
under some conditions.
Some whales found dead after sonar exercises elsewhere
have had bleeding around their brains and ears, and agencies
including the International Whaling Commission have
expressed concern about how and where sonar is used.
A Navy hearing on the project Tuesday night at the
University of North Florida attracted around 50 people, a mix
of worried environmental advocates, range supporters and
conflicted Beaches residents.
Range supporters said right whales generally stay close to
shore and probably wouldn't be affected. They said the Navy
watches closely for whales anyway, widely reports its
sightings and moves military exercises to stay clear.
But the sailors and aviators need a training range soon.
"They are at risk today because we do not have a proper
training facility," said Ed Froehlich, a retired Navy captain
who is executive director of the Jacksonville Area Ship Repair
Association.
"We've needed that range for the last decade," he said.
Froehlich and others said Florida's coast reflects the
settings where submarine operations have shifted since the end
of the Cold War.
Instead of chasing Soviet-era ballistic missile subs that
hid deep in the ocean, Navy crews now often look for dieselpowered subs running closer to shore. Iranian submariners
have operated in the Persian Gulf, near areas where
Jacksonville-based sailors routinely deploy.
The range, which would cover about 500 square nautical
miles, would have an ocean floor wired with devices that
receive and send acoustic signals. Those would collect
information to evaluate crews' performance.
One of the chief advantages of the Jacksonville site is its
closeness to the bases where many anti-submarine units are
already stationed.
"Off the coast of Jacksonville has really become the
training area for the East Coast fleet," said Dan McCarthy,
Jacksonville's director of military affairs.
"It seems only fitting that we would add one more
component," McCarthy said.
A Navy analysis anticipates no right whales would be
seriously harmed by sonar near Jacksonville, but says there's
some chance of lesser disturbances that could affect their
behavior and cause temporary hearing loss.
The same analysis says some dolphins in the area could
be seriously affected, and said there was some risk for other
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whales.
26. Navy Ships Open For First Time Since 9/11
(NAVY TIMES 08 OCT 08) ... Andrew Scutro
NORFOLK, Va. — For the first time since the security
crackdown after the 2001 terrorist attacks, Navy ships in
Hampton Roads will be available for public viewing during
Fleet Week.
Non-military visitors will be allowed into Naval
Amphibious Base Little Creek this coming Sunday and
Monday and are invited aboard the dock landing ship
Whidbey Island and the coastal patrol vessels Monsoon and
Thunderbolt.
At Naval Station Norfolk on those same days, holders of
Defense Department identification and their guests are invited
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aboard amphibious transport dock Ponce, destroyer Laboon,
frigate Nicholas and attack submarines Newport News and
Montpelier.
Beth Baker, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic spokeswoman,
said the week of events beginning this Thursday has been
widely advertised and a large turnout is expected.
“It’s weather dependent, but we put out the word pretty
widely,” she said. “It’s a chance to see the Navy up close.”
Visit the Fleet Week Hampton Roads 2008 Web site for
more information.
27. Navy Is Ballast For Region's Economy
(NORFOLK VIRGINIA-PILOT 09 OCT 08)
Amid all the signs of a depressed national economy stalled home sales, a depreciating dollar, fewer jobs, falling
stocks - Hampton Roads is still doing better than most regions
across the nation.
An analysis by Moody's Economy.com showed that about
two-thirds of the country's 381 metropolitan areas are in
recession and another 20 percent, including Richmond, are at
risk of recession. In Hampton Roads, however, Moody's found
that the economy was expanding.
That's not a misprint.
For that, we can thank the Department of Defense, which
generates more than 40 percent of our regional income. Old
Dominion University's annual State of the Region report,
released recently, found that regional economic growth this
year has been about 1.7 percent. That's well below our 35-year
average of 3.4 percent, but it's still growth.
Defense spending in Hampton Roads, including pay and
procurements, is $18.3 billion this year and is responsible for
more than 70 percent of the economic growth in the region
since 2000.
The rate of unemployment here is below the national
average, and per capita income is above average. Tourism,
predictably, has slowed after steady increases during the past
decade.
Here's the bad news: Population growth has virtually
stopped, and the ripple effect is a decline in home construction
and new jobs. Authors of the ODU report predict Hampton
Roads will see the economy bottom out in the middle of 2009.
The report concludes: "All things considered, things
definitely could be worse."
As we hear about businesses closing, homes lost to
foreclosure and food pantries with bare shelves, that's worth
remembering.
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28. Project To Save Navy $32 Million In Energy Costs
(WVEC.COM (ABC HAMPTON ROADS) 08 OCT 08)
VIRGINIA BEACH -- Navy's colors may be blue and
gold, but on Thursday, Dam Neck will go green.
The Navy will cut the ribbon on a project designed to
save more than $32 million in energy costs over 17 years.
The system, which is funded through operational savings,
included upgrades to 36 buildings with new geothermal water
source heat pumps. That replaces the inefficient central steam
plant on Dam Neck Annex.
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With the new Dam Neck Energy Savings Performance
Contract, the Navy is saving more than $5 million each year in
Hampton Roads by having this newer, more energy efficient
equipment installed.
The same contract is also in place at Naval Air Station
Oceana and Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek.
29. Unanimous Vote: City Donates $5K To Sub Event
(SEACOAST ONLINE.COM (PORTSMOUTH, N.H.) 08 OCT 08) ... Adam Leech and Deborah McDermott
PORTSMOUTH —- One week after stating the city’s
believed the donation was appropriate given the positive
contribution to the commissioning of the submarine New
influence it will have on the city,” said Ferrini.
Hampshire would be in-kind services only, Mayor Tom
Councilor Ken Smith, who worked with Ferrini to bring
Ferrini and the City Council unanimously voted to donate an
the measure to the council, said he hopes the city’s
additional $5,000 to the events.
contribution will prompt other communities, such as
“It was clear (the Community Commissioning
Somersworth, Rochester and Dover, to donate to the
Committee) are trying to make the event successful and we
ceremonies.
The committee still needs to raise $50,000 in the next few
weeks before the Oct. 25 commissioning.
“I am hoping that doing this will also encourage other
surrounding communities with more (Portsmouth Naval)
Shipyard workers to step up to the plate,” said Smith. “It’s a
one-time event that will really show off the city of Portsmouth
... and the Shipyard.”
In addition to the monetary donation, the city’s in-kind
contributions — including the services of police, fire and
public works employees — are estimated to cost the city
between $10,00 and $15,000, according to Smith.
While the city has made a donation, the state of New
Hampshire will not be contributing to the commissioning
events. Bruce Clark, chairman of the Community
Commissioning Committee, said Wednesday that Gov. John
Lynch called him recently to tell him personally that the state
would not be able to participate financially.
“He told me there was a $200 million shortfall in the
budget and we’re not even into the next biennium yet. The
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state’s hurting. He just can’t open the pursestrings. That’s it.
Cut and dry,” said Clark. “He told me he’d be more than
willing to help in any other way he can, any non-monetary
way. I was hopeful, but life is what it is. We’re just going to
have to make up the shortfall otherwise.”
With the city’s $5,000 donation as a backdrop, Clark said,
he and the committee members are hoping to entice other
towns and cities to contribute.
“I’m really glad the city stepped up,” he said. “Hopefully,
it’s a springboard that will pay dividends for us. It’s a good,
solid beginning.”
He said the committee intends to seek donations from
communities within a 50-mile radius of the yard, including
those in Maine. He’s already been in touch with a number of
town and city managers, and will be making more calls in the
coming days.
“Portsmouth broke the ice. We’ll be using Portsmouth to
issue a challenge to other towns,” he said.
30. Aviation Business Eyeing BNAS
(TIMES RECORD (MAINE) 08 OCT 08) ... Seth Koenig
BRUNSWICK — A nationally recognized Maine firm
that customizes private aircraft is gauging a move to
Brunswick Naval Air Station property, and could represent the
first potential civilian tenant at an airfield the Navy is
scheduled to vacate in 2011.
Oxford Aviation's link to the base property was first
reported by the trade publication Flight Daily News on
Tuesday and subsequently confirmed to The Times Record by
John Richardson, state commissioner of economic and
community development.
Richardson also serves on the Midcoast Regional
Redevelopment Authority's board of directors and heads the
authority's aviation subcommittee.
He was reached Tuesday by telephone while in Orlando,
Fla., to attend the National Business Aviation Association
(NBAA) annual conference. According to a woman who
answered the phone at Oxford Aviation, the company's owner,
James Horowitz, was also attending the conference.
"I know that Oxford has approached MRRA, and has
shown interest in the reuse of the base," said Richardson. "I
think that's about as far as it's gone so far. But obviously, that's
the kind of job creation that we'd be looking to consider.
"The refurbishing world is where the action is," he
continued. "They're looking to expand and move to the next
level, and that's exciting no matter where they go, whether it's
in Sanford or Brunswick or somewhere else."
Richardson was quick to say that he didn't "want to
overstate the issue," because even though the company is
interested in base property, the Navy is still three years away
from leaving Brunswick and turning its assets over for civilian
redevelopment.
In previous interviews, MRRA executive director Steve
Levesque said he hoped companies might be able to move into
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the base's state-of-the-art airport facilities earlier than the 2011
turnover of the bulk of the base property. Military use of the
airfield, he said, would cease by the first quarter of 2010.
When reached Tuesday, MRRA deputy director Jeffrey
Jordan said he couldn't confirm or deny talks with any
particular company until there's been a deal finalized for the
company to expand or relocate at the base.
A 2007 study done by consulting firm Edwards & Kelcey
reported that the Navy's aviation facilities would be best
reused for, among other things, aircraft maintenance, repair
and overhaul — a burgeoning industry the firm said could
help generate as many as 3,150 jobs and $485 million in
annual economic benefit for the Mid-coast region. Job creation
is considered important by those planning for the
redevelopment of the base, because the Navy's departure is
expected to strip the region of more than 6,000 jobs.
Oxford Aviation fits comfortably in Edwards & Kelcey's
vision for the airfield's reuse. According to the company's
Web site, the nearly 20-year-old Oxford Aviation "has
provided premium custom paint refurbishment, modification,
and completion services to over 4,000 private and business
airplanes and helicopters." The company operates three
locations: maintenance facilities in Oxford and Fryeburg, and
a 70,000-square-foot business jet and corporate design facility
currently under construction in Sanford.
On Tuesday, Flight Daily News called Oxford Aviation
the "first user of the (BNAS) facility with what president Jim
Horowitz describes as (the company's) 'newest, most
sophisticated and most capable facility in its 21-year history.'"
Tuesday afternoon, Richardson called an actual move by
Oxford to base property "a ways off," but offered: "To hear
that they're interested is encouraging."
31. Hundreds Run For Breast Cancer Awareness In Portsmouth
(WVEC.COM (HAMPTON ROADS, VA) 08 OCT 08) ... Sandra Parker
PORTSMOUTH -- It was a beautiful day to take a run.
At Naval Medical Center Portsmouth on Wednesday, about
600 people ran with a purpose.
Retirees, those on active duty, dependents and breast
cancer survivors got moving in the third annual Pink Ribbon
5K Fun run/walk.
"Having the survivors here is a real plus because that's
what it's all about, bringing awareness to what they went
through," said Dexter Nesbit, fitness coordinator for Naval
Medical Center Portsmouth.
The survivors say they’re inspired by the support.
"It makes me feel good to know other people are on the
band wagon," states Delores Hawkins.
That’s true as well for Barbara Mann.
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"It makes me feel wonderful just to know someone else
cares. That's why I'm out here to let people know that I care
and I will do everything I can to encourage others to get out
there and fight."
First Class Petty Officer Paige Weifert lost her sister to
breast cancer.
"It can happen to any family, even if there is no history of
breast cancer. Uou can't tell when it's going to come. So
everyone needs to be aware of the different types of breast
cancer and the different symptoms because it can strike at any
time,” she noted.
While awards were given to those who crossed the finish
line, it’s the breast cancer survivors who came out were the
real winners.
NEWS OF INTEREST:
32. Arctic Scramble
U.S. Icebreaker Maps Ocean Floor For Science And Country
(KODIAK MIRROR 08 OCT 08) ... Jan Huisman
When the legendary Revenue cutter Capt. Mike Healy
patrolled the Bering Sea in the 19th century, it was a cruel,
unforgiving and little known place. Sailing for months at a
time, Healy saved whalers trapped in sea ice, supplied remote
villages with food and medicine and chased illegal fur traders
from his waters.
Today a Coast Guard icebreaker named in honor of Healy
carries on his legacy in the Arctic, providing security,
enforcing law and above all, uncovering the unknown.
Healy made port in Kodiak Tuesday on its return to
Seattle after a four-month scientific mission in the Arctic. The
420-foot Healy is a Coast Guard Arctic research vessel used
by the National Science Foundation for scientific purposes.
Some 50 defense attaches from international military
institutions were in Kodiak Tuesday on a tour of Alaska.
Healy officers and crew gave the dignitaries a tour of the ship
and presented some of the research conducted this summer.
Healy is one of just two large icebreakers currently
operating in the U.S. fleet. As the only icebreaker equipped to
undertake scientific missions, Healy has an integral role in
American efforts to map the Arctic and claim economic rights
to the region.
The Arctic scramble
As warming oceans shrink the ice cap, the Arctic is more
accessible to shipping and the exploitation of resources. For
the first time in recorded history, the Northwest Passage was
open for several weeks this summer.
Healy’s executive officer Dale Bateman expects
commercial traffic to increase in the Arctic since the
Northwest Passage can save millions of dollars in shipping
costs between Asia and Europe.
Scientists aboard the Healy this summer used advanced
sonar technology to map the Arctic seafloor.
“The Arctic, up until very recently, wasn’t a viable
seaway for anyone,” Bateman said. “So there was no
particular need to have accurate charts of the ocean floor.”
“Many of the charts that are used throughout the world
have data that dates from Capt. Cook,” he said.
The mapping data, gathered in cooperation with the
Canadian icebreaker Louis S. St. Laurent, also may be used by
the U.S. government to lay claim to the Arctic seafloor.
“At some point in the foreseeable future, the United States
and Canada will both submit a claim under the Law of the Sea
Convention to the extended continental shelf,” Bateman said.
Under the convention, a country has sole rights to the
economic resources stored within its continental shelf, such as
oil or minerals. Despite broad support from diverging interest
groups, the U.S. has not ratified the convention over concerns
regarding national sovereignty.
Now that Arctic waters are becoming accessible and
exploitation of its resources could become feasible, many
northern countries are making excursions into the Arctic to lay
symbolic claim to the region.
A Russian submarine made headlines last year by diving
under the ice cap and planting a Russian flag on the ocean
floor at the North Pole.
Dispute also exists over the Northwest Passage, which
Canada says is an internal strait. Denmark and the United
States consider the passage international waters over which
Canada should not be able to exercise authority.
Pure science
Bateman said the Coast Guard and scientists aboard the
Healy were interested in the mapping data for reasons of their
own.
“I feel very comfortable we’re doing pure science,” he
said. “It’s not politically motivated at all.”
Larry Mayer, director of University of New Hampshire
Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping, said mapping work on
the Healy was funded by the Extended Continental Shelf Task
Force chaired by the State Department, the U.S. Geological
Survey and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration.
“This is a wonderful example of being able to do things
that are good for the nation at the same time that science is
being advanced,” Mayer said.
Mayer said certain “morphological and geological
criteria” must be met in order for a nation to claim sovereign
rights over the seafloor beyond the usual 200 nautical miles
exclusive economic zone.
“That’s why we are mapping,” Mayer said, though he said
the research also holds great scientific value.
“Inasmuch as the Arctic is the least mapped ocean basin
in the world, everything we collect is important to our further
understanding of the evolution of the Arctic and the history of
ice and climate,” he said.
Mayer said they mapped more than 10,000 square
nautical miles on his leg of the trip alone, the fourth such
mission since 2003.
As ships start trying to navigate the Northwest Passage
from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, Bateman said,
the need for Coast Guard rescue missions will likely increase.
“Right now it’s a dangerous route,” Bateman said.
Three vessels in the oil industry were stuck in ice near
Barrow in August, but were able to free themselves as the ice
melted.
“That’s the scenario that the Coast Guard in particular has
an interest in,” Bateman said. “Quite apart from any Law of
the Sea Convention claims, for the United States Coast Guard
it really is a matter of being able to be there to do traditional
Coast Guard missions.”
U.S. fleet lacking
Bateman said the Coast Guard leadership advocates for
expansion of the U.S. icebreaker fleet to meet the rising
demand for Arctic missions. Russia operates seven large
icebreakers while the Canadian Coast Guard has six.
A provision passed last week in a federal spending bill
provides for the reactivation of the vessel Polar Star, bringing
the number of large U.S. icebreakers back up to three.
Coast Guard commandant Adml. Thad Allen testified to a
House of Representatives committee recently that America’s
icebreaker fleet was losing ground and needed improvement.
“We are losing ground in the global competition,” Allen
told the House committee. “I’m concerned we are watching
our nation’s ice-breaking capabilities decline.”
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The U.S. Coast Guard temporarily opened bases in
Barrow and Prudhoe Bay this summer to support Arctic
operations.
Yet, Bateman said an Alaska-based icebreaker is not a
likely option. Icebreakers require frequent maintenance and
repairs that are cheaper and easier to carry out in Seattle.
“The transit from Seattle to Kodiak is four days,”
Bateman said. “So it’s cheaper for the Coast Guard and we’re
able to leverage those resources by putting them in Seattle
rather than Kodiak.”
The Healy family
The Healy made headlines and rocked the Kodiak Coast
Guard community in August 2006 when two divers died in an
accident 500 miles northwest of Barrow.
Lt. Jessica Hill and Petty Officer 2nd Class Steven
Duque, both from Florida, became unconscious while diving
and could not be revived after they were pulled to the surface.
Bateman said the crew of Healy still mourns the tragedy
every day, but it does not keep crewmembers from doing their
job. He said there are still some crewmembers on the Healy
who were on board during the accident.
“I think it highlighted for the ship the need to make sure
that we were always doing things by the book, double and
triple checking that we’re operating safely,” Bateman said.
The Coast Guard is reorganizing its dive program “largely
as a result of the accident,” he said.
“I don’t think that it’s ever very far from anyone’s mind
on board, but it’s not constantly in our face,” Bateman said.
On the one-year anniversary of the accident a memorial
service was held aboard the Healy, which was at sea at the
time, he said.
Bateman said the crew of a Coast Guard ship tends to
become a family over the course of their tours.
“I find that to be particularly true of the icebreakers,” he
said. “We go away for so long and go to places where we’re it.
So you really do become a family.”
“I don’t want the ship to ever forget the loss of those two
lives,” Bateman said. “Especially since we operate in places
(where) if we’re not careful it can happen again. If we’re not
careful, people can get hurt.”
“What we do is not inherently dangerous,” he said. “But
where we go is absolutely unforgiving.”
33. Painting Honors USS Oklahoma Sailors
(ASSOCIATED PRESS 08 OCT 08)
OKLAHOMA CITY - A painting depicting the USS
Oklahoma Memorial at Pearl Harbor has been dedicated at the
state Capitol.
The painting, by Oklahoma City artist Christopher Nick,
honors the 429 sailors killed or missing after the Japanese
attack on Dec. 7, 1941.
Ed Vezey of Center, Colo., and Paul Goodyear of Casa
Grande, Ariz., survivors of the attack, are shown in the
painting.
Also shown are members of the Claremore High School
ROTC, who took part in the dedication of the memorial last
Dec. 7 in Honolulu.
Vezey and Goodyear were on hand for Wednesday's
unveiling of the painting in the state Senate chamber.
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34. Mullen: No JCS Enlisted Advisor
(NAVY TIMES 08 OCT 08) ... William H. McMichael
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has decided not
to name a new senior enlisted advisor, saying he’d rather reach
out on his own for input and advice from the military’s
enlisted community.
The decision leaves vacant a position established by Adm.
Mike Mullen’s predecessor, Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace,
and filled by Army Command Sgt. Maj. William Gainey for
2½ years before his April retirement after 33 years of service.
“He’s made this decision after long and careful
consideration, and consultation with the senior enlisted
advisors of the four services,” said Navy Capt. John Kirby,
Mullen’s spokesman. “He has decided that it would serve him
best to not necessarily fill that position with an individual, but
continue to reach out on a regular and concerted basis with the
senior enlisted advisors of the services and the combatant
commands.”
Gainey spent the final seven months of his tour advising
Mullen. Kirby said Mullen’s Oct. 1 decision had nothing to do
with the quality of Gainey’s service or Pace’s decision to
create the job.
“They had a very good working relationship, and Adm.
Mullen has nothing but respect for Sgt. Maj. Gainey, his
service and the job that he did here on the Joint Staff,” Kirby
said.
Mullen’s decision is not a statement on Pace’s original
concept or Gainey’s performance in the job, Kirby said. “This
has nothing to do with them,” he said. “This has to do with
Adm. Mullen’s particular leadership style, and the goals and
objectives he set as chairman.”
Kirby said Mullen took so long to decide whether to fill
the job after Gainey retired — five months — because “he
really wrestled with it. … He wanted to make sure that he was
making it for the right reasons.”
One of Mullen’s concerns, Kirby said, was that the
chairman did not want to take any of what he called “these
top, hard-charging enlisted leaders” and “bring them to the
Pentagon in a time of war and great uncertainty for the troops
and their families if he couldn’t ensure that that position was
going to be 100 percent impactful. I think he came to the
conclusion that that senior enlisted talent is better placed in the
field and in the fleet.”
Mullen will tap into that expertise “as often as he can,
rather than have one of those talented individuals simply
reside here in the Pentagon with him,” Kirby said.
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The top enlisted Marine said he has no quarrel with that
decision.
“The chairman knows his situation best,” said Sergeant
Major of the Marine Corps Carlton Kent. “If he feels the
mission can be accomplished without filling that billet, I have
full confidence in that decision. Admiral Mullen has made it
known that he wishes to work closely with the senior enlisted
of all services, so I stand ready to give my support and sound
advice when called upon.”
The Navy’s top sailor said he is also comfortable with
Mullen’s decision.
“Admiral Mullen has voiced a desire to establish a closer
relationship” with the services’ senior enlisted advisors, said
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Joe Campa.
“I wholeheartedly support that,” Campa said. “Our
services are working more jointly than at any time in our
nation’s history, and we have the responsibility to ensure our
men and women are well supported through a broad spectrum
of operations. Feedback from the senior enlisted leaders
working in our combatant commands and our joint task forces
is equally critical.”
Mullen has a habit of reaching out personally to enlisted
service members. On trips to the field, he frequently makes
time to meet not only with senior enlisteds of all the services
but with younger troops and their families — meetings in
which they are encouraged to speak candidly.
“His main job is to advise the secretary of defense and the
president on issues of military matters and national security,”
Kirby said. “This is a question he asks every day — how best
do I give that advice? And he does believe that input from the
troops and their families is vital to him being able to give that
advice.”
Kirby said Mullen has spoken with the services’ senior
enlisted advisors and met with them just prior to making his
decision to “explain his thought process.”
“He does intend to reach out to them on a more frequent,
regular basis, now that he’s made this decision,” Kirby said,
adding that Mullen understands and respects the relationship
between the service chiefs and their enlisted advisors and will
not try to circumvent that
35. Bahrain Proposes Middle East Organization To Include Israel
(5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES (LAWRENCE, N.Y.) 08 OCT 08) ... Hana Levi Julian
The foreign minister of Bahrain has suggested forming a
The U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and the U.S.
Middle Eastern regional organization that would include both
Navy’s Fifth Fleet is stationed in Bahrain, a small island
Israel and Iran in addition to all the Arab nations. Bahraini
kingdom in the Persian Gulf strategically located east of Saudi
Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa said in
Arabia and north of Qatar. The small American ally, which is
an interview in the Arabic daily newspaper al-Hayat that such
also a member of the Arab League and the Cooperation
an organization would be a good way to resolve the dispute
Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, is ruled by Sunni
between them.
Muslims, although populated by a Shi’ite majority.
One day earlier, al-Khalifa also made the
The Bahraini foreign minister was quoted as suggesting,
recommendation in his speech to the United Nations’ General
“Why don’t we all sit together even if we have differences and
Assembly, where he called for a Middle East organization that
even if we don’t recognize each other? Why not become one
would include all the nations in the region “without
organization to overcome this difficult phase?” Al-Khalifa
exception.”
recommended the group should include Turkey, which has
Only Egypt and Jordan currently have peace treaties with
been brokering indirect talks throughout the summer between
the Jewish State, although Bahrain became the first Arab
Israel and Syria, as well as the rest of the nations in the region.
nation in the world to appoint a Jewish woman as its
“Let them all sit together in one group,” he said. “This is the
ambassador to Washington D.C. earlier this year.
only path to solve our problems.”
5 Towns Jewish Times is a weekly independent
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newspaper out of Lawrence, NY.
OPINION:
36. Attacking The Pirates May Be Too Costly
(DAILY NATION (KENYA) 09 OCT 08) ... Editorial
The decision by the United Nations Security Council to
sanction international navy vessels and military aircraft to use
‘‘all necessary means’’ to stamp out piracy off the coast of
Somalia gives a seal of approval to those countries whose
warships are surrounding the hijacked Mv Faina and to attack
it and free the hostages and military hardware cargo.
However, whether that is a practicable solution to this
particular act of piracy is not clear. After all, had the issue
been that simple, the standoff that has lasted a fortnight now
would have been over long ago.
The hesitation, it can be assumed, could be because in the
event of such an attack, the human collateral damage would
prove to be too high — at least 20 innocent crew members —
and the lesson learnt by the pirates too little to be of much use.
What is even more disconcerting is Foreign minister
Moses Wetang’ula’s statement that the Kenya Navy will
‘‘fight the pirates anywhere and everywhere” to keep the high
seas safe, and would patrol Somalia’s territorial waters to
secure the Indian Ocean coast.
Such bravado would make sense if only he could prove
that our navy is equipped well enough to sail into the murky
waters of international crime.
Nevertheless, something has to give. But it is not clear
whether paying the ransom demanded — scaled down to $8
million from a high of $20million two weeks ago — will be
the solution either.
What is not negotiable is that the 33 T-72 tanks and huge
cache of high-calibre rifles on board must not fall into the
hands of the lawless warlords in Somalia, for that would upset
the balance of power, not only in Somalia, but in the whole of
eastern Africa.
What is required is a solution to the problem, which will
lead to as little loss of life as possible. And instead of sabrerattling in a situation as fraught with danger as this, maybe the
United Nations should be thinking of employing the services
of negotiators skilled in the art of handling hostage situations.
Once the hostages are free, and the deadly cargo secured,
then the international community must strike once and for all
and rid the Somali coast of this growing and extremely costly
menace of piracy.
At the moment, precipitate action is certainly not advised
— too much is at stake, whether we are dealing with an
organised international criminal syndicate, or a ragtag bunch
of pirates employing the services of high-velocity grenade
launchers and communicating through satellite phones.
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37. We Shouldn't Pay For Sub Celebration
(CONCORD (N.H.) MONITOR 08 OCT 08) ... John B. Andrews ; Letter to the Editor
The USS New Hampshire's Community Commissioning
kind of money whenever they commission a ship of the line.
Committee is looking for the state and/or city of Portsmouth to
Somehow, I doubt it. Methinks the commissioning committee
pony up "at least" $50,000 to pay for breakfast, 3,000 lunches
over-promised and now wants to tap public treasuries that,
and a "commander's reception" at the exclusive Wentworththemselves, are running under water.
by-the-Sea to celebrate our namesake sub's entry into service.
One of the folks helping raise the money is a prosperous
We're told that "many of these events are required by the
owner of a chain of McDonald's restaurants. McDonald's
secretary of the Navy when he chooses a site for a
traditionally provides breakfast for each governor's inaugural.
commissioning." I wonder if the cities of Bath, Maine;
Let them eat Big Macs. Millions (billions . . .trillions) for
Newport News, Va.; or Pascagoula, Miss.; come up with this
defense but not one cent for tribute.
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