Hopefully a change in administration will result from the election being held tomorrow and the new team in charge will take the steps necessary to promote “Peace Through Stength”.
You’re right… too many leaders have had too much time to effect change and they didn’t and it’s made China all the bolder for it.
Unfortunately, the permanent bureaucracy will fight any administration that threatened its power and privileges. I doubt Congress will pass "STFU or else" legislation like they recently did for chip factories.
...the Navy should also be well versed in designing, building and maintaining ships, unfortunately those core competencies are seemingly problematic and challenging.
He’s seems like a nice guy but some of his claims are total nonsense.
I’m still waiting for Russia’s collapse from it’s invasion of Ukraine. Seems like they have had nonissue working around tue West’s actions & are even stronger in someways given the alliances they have created with like minded warmongers.
Prior to who would have had Korean forces fighting in Europe?
Who would of had Iran becoming a major Russia Arms supplier?
China being in bed with Russia was more or less a given but looks to be even deeper with the SU57 landing in China this week.
We are surrounded internally by a ship of fools that have no understanding of hard power & of close to H-Hour we truly are.
1. Isn't the current publicly available information that Xi has told the PLA to be ready for war with the US by 2027?
2. Taken with previous posts about the miserly missile procurement schedule in the near- to mid-term, what are we going to stuff in those launchers? How are those demands going to balance against the need for those missiles aboard ships or in other locations? When you have to apply High Demand/Low Density conditions on your munitions, you've made some very bad decisions early on.
This is merely a reason why no major projects can get done in our country anymore.
The "Environmental Impact Statements" are massive and take as much time and money as the actual project. Note SpaceX having to expose seals to rocket noises, or massive new statements all the time. The civil service no longer suits the needs of the country, and that's a shame.
Recently my YouTube is full of videos about Tinian. Specifically, the USAF red ball cap guys have reclaimed the old runways at the northern air field there, abandoned after WWII. This is a masterstroke to neuter the PRC's expansionist plans.
Because one, the PRC can't target Tinian, and two, they don't watch YouTube.
I have an awful feeling it may be far, far too late, no matter who wins tomorrow.
One candidate will not care, and will blame it all on someone else when it goes south, and the other may make real efforts to change things - but will be lawfared into stalemate.
Unfortunately, I think the US military is no longer fit for purpose. Certainly the government is not. Pax Americana lasted about 80 years, much of the world will miss us when we're gone.
They need to be more like Elon. Create a team that doesn’t understand can’t & constantly feels behind the clock this accelerating every minute of every day and strips out the nonsense.
Great and timely post, Sal. And this line caught my eye: "We are going to take a decade to build 16 air defense sites. I think in WWII, Seabees would do it in about 10 weeks."
WWII Seabees outnumbered, say, the current size of the US Marine Corps (174,500 active plus 32,000+ reserve). Almost all were trained construction workers & tradespeople, brought into the Navy and given combat arms training on top of their skill set. Important because if civilian construction workers take up arms against their opponent, under international law they can be considered guerillas and treated as such.
From the Proceedings article cited above: "A SeaBee," they said, "is a soldier in a sailor's uniform, with Marine training, doing civilian work at WPA wages."
Of course, by the 1940s US had many skilled construction workers available for service, an outgrowth of FDR's WPA and massive construction efforts building dams out West, and TVA down South. Which is to say that a decade of internal improvements -- bridges, dams, etc -- paid unexpected dividends.
More from Proceedings article: "SeaBees were, for the most part, typical American craftsmen—plumbers, carpenters, steam-shovel operators, truck drivers, wharf builders, engineers, surveyors, draftsmen, clerks, lawyers, teachers, preachers, cooks, and bakers—in fact, almost every trade and profession was represented in the ranks of the SeaBees. Of the 10,000 officers, almost 85 per cent had one or more college degrees, mostly in engineering. Others were honor graduates of the "University of Hard Knocks," tempered in the fire of the highly competitive construction industry. Most of the officers had been contractors, project managers, superintendents, and foremen on construction operations in civil life."
Plenty more history out there about Seabees. Sad to say, much of it is that proverbial "history that nobody knows." Neglected and long forgotten, Now, to be re-learned the hard way, it appears.
"AmeriCorps officially the Corporation for National and Community Service or CNCS) is an independent agency of the United States government that engages more than five million Americans in service through a variety of stipended volunteer work programs in many sectors."
My father was a SeaBee in the Great Pacific War, toiling away on various and sundry base-building projects on Okinawa. Fortunately Mr. Truman bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki so he didn't have to undertake a pleasure cruise to Kyushu for Operation Olympic ...
Being just dumb garbage (h/t to our drive-by Admiral.), you have to wonder why THAAD overseas and Aegis ashore have not interfered with aircraft communication. You also have to wonder if they're radiating at a level that is doing the RF/EM thingy to commercial aviation, why they would be flying into Guam unescorted at all. The NOTAM prohibiting commercial flights would probably already be several days old.
A THAAD battery is set up at Guam. The TPY 2 probably puts out enough RF energy to concern aircraft and life forms in the array spread at close range. I do not know TPY 2 other than X band which is extreme high frequency and uses a lot of volts.
I won’t go into a couple of war stories but radars like MDA handle can do strange things to electronics in their close range, some not discovered until the first unexpected event.
It is not beyond an SPY 6 longer range than TPY 2 deployment, that would require site design in the radar over the DDG usage.
I have not found what else MDA is doing for intercept, sensors and command/control. Probably Patriots around high value points.
The old Continental Micronesia operation (now part of United Airlines), which opened up for business during the Vietnam war, hubs out of Guam. GUM is actually quite busy with civil traffic.
Its the way folks get around to all the old WWII haunts...
BTW, the Dutch Flag carrier KNILM Royal Dutch Indies Airways operated in the Indies region into the Spring of 1942. the surviving aircraft then escaped to Australia.
Airlines operating in warzones is common. Look at BEI.
One program I worked years ago, SPM wanted to set up a “radar range” to test radar SW changes through a full up antenna across a sensor Ed range…. Environmental impact caused it to shut down, an endangered species….
Second there is a subset of people domestically that certainly deserve to lose.
Went down a rabbit hole when I realized Jake Sullivan’s wife moved to NH to run for congress. These carpetbagging elites truly need to be required to enlist in the Corp for a full hitch prior yo be allowed to do such things. No OCS start as a boot & make their own way.
Unfortunately, it’s going to take another Pearl Harbor to get people off their butts in DC. Any number of answers have been posted to this blog to the problem of collective blindness in the Pacific, but aside from USAF action on Tinian all we get is crickets. Mass public firings would seem appropriate.
Hopefully a change in administration will result from the election being held tomorrow and the new team in charge will take the steps necessary to promote “Peace Through Stength”.
You’re right… too many leaders have had too much time to effect change and they didn’t and it’s made China all the bolder for it.
I guess we will see what the future holds.
Unfortunately, the permanent bureaucracy will fight any administration that threatened its power and privileges. I doubt Congress will pass "STFU or else" legislation like they recently did for chip factories.
Yep, Jerry Pournelle's "Iron Law of Bureaucracy in action. The goal is not the mission, but the survival of the agencies.
Don't bigger ships take more time, space, and power to make a turn? Seems like something the Navy should know about.
...the Navy should also be well versed in designing, building and maintaining ships, unfortunately those core competencies are seemingly problematic and challenging.
"I guess we will see what the future holds."
The future certainly isn't guaranteed, is it...
And if the current regime is able to survive, we’ll have Tampon Tim as our “China Czar”.
What about the impact of DF-26's hitting fruit bat nesting sites?
Depends on the bats' preferred pronouns, I suppose.
The bats will develop and install their own air defense sites faster than the US. They'll be fine.
sure, they already have the detection systems (sonar) in place
Bats eat insects. They were nice to have in the sandbox.
I'm starting to think they believe Peter Zeihan is 100% correct, and China probably won't do anything much.
Zeihan is a broken clock. Correct 2x a day.
About like you.
Oh look, Zeihan’s Fan boi….
And you want to play the idiot again. Have a ball, Child.
Lol. Saying Zeihan three times might make him appear in your bed room. Try it.
Your acting like a child.
He’s seems like a nice guy but some of his claims are total nonsense.
I’m still waiting for Russia’s collapse from it’s invasion of Ukraine. Seems like they have had nonissue working around tue West’s actions & are even stronger in someways given the alliances they have created with like minded warmongers.
Prior to who would have had Korean forces fighting in Europe?
Who would of had Iran becoming a major Russia Arms supplier?
China being in bed with Russia was more or less a given but looks to be even deeper with the SU57 landing in China this week.
We are surrounded internally by a ship of fools that have no understanding of hard power & of close to H-Hour we truly are.
Yeah, somehow I didn't have a DPRK-ROK proxy war in Ukraine on my 2024 bingo sheet.
It's not about being right, it about exposure and the benefits reaped.
2028 - ?
1. Isn't the current publicly available information that Xi has told the PLA to be ready for war with the US by 2027?
2. Taken with previous posts about the miserly missile procurement schedule in the near- to mid-term, what are we going to stuff in those launchers? How are those demands going to balance against the need for those missiles aboard ships or in other locations? When you have to apply High Demand/Low Density conditions on your munitions, you've made some very bad decisions early on.
Is this from the same people that said Iraq had WMDs?
This is merely a reason why no major projects can get done in our country anymore.
The "Environmental Impact Statements" are massive and take as much time and money as the actual project. Note SpaceX having to expose seals to rocket noises, or massive new statements all the time. The civil service no longer suits the needs of the country, and that's a shame.
Don't forget the DEI people get to review everything too.
Recently my YouTube is full of videos about Tinian. Specifically, the USAF red ball cap guys have reclaimed the old runways at the northern air field there, abandoned after WWII. This is a masterstroke to neuter the PRC's expansionist plans.
Because one, the PRC can't target Tinian, and two, they don't watch YouTube.
Why can't they target Tinian?
Because Biden told them "Don't."
I have an awful feeling it may be far, far too late, no matter who wins tomorrow.
One candidate will not care, and will blame it all on someone else when it goes south, and the other may make real efforts to change things - but will be lawfared into stalemate.
Unfortunately, I think the US military is no longer fit for purpose. Certainly the government is not. Pax Americana lasted about 80 years, much of the world will miss us when we're gone.
The DOD leadership & political class certainly aren’t fit for purpose.
No doubt we'll miss America! May God allow the US prevail in the long term.
The lack of a sense of urgency is the real problem. One we see every where.
They need to be more like Elon. Create a team that doesn’t understand can’t & constantly feels behind the clock this accelerating every minute of every day and strips out the nonsense.
Great and timely post, Sal. And this line caught my eye: "We are going to take a decade to build 16 air defense sites. I think in WWII, Seabees would do it in about 10 weeks."
Umm... Yes. And there's a reason for that... In WWII, Seabees numbered over 250,000 in uniform by June 1945; over 83% deployed Out-CONUS. (Fascinating history here: https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1962/march/seabees-world-war-ii?check_logged_in=1 ). In terms of Pacific theater, over 175,000 Seabees mobilized out of Port Hueneme alone.
WWII Seabees outnumbered, say, the current size of the US Marine Corps (174,500 active plus 32,000+ reserve). Almost all were trained construction workers & tradespeople, brought into the Navy and given combat arms training on top of their skill set. Important because if civilian construction workers take up arms against their opponent, under international law they can be considered guerillas and treated as such.
From the Proceedings article cited above: "A SeaBee," they said, "is a soldier in a sailor's uniform, with Marine training, doing civilian work at WPA wages."
Of course, by the 1940s US had many skilled construction workers available for service, an outgrowth of FDR's WPA and massive construction efforts building dams out West, and TVA down South. Which is to say that a decade of internal improvements -- bridges, dams, etc -- paid unexpected dividends.
More from Proceedings article: "SeaBees were, for the most part, typical American craftsmen—plumbers, carpenters, steam-shovel operators, truck drivers, wharf builders, engineers, surveyors, draftsmen, clerks, lawyers, teachers, preachers, cooks, and bakers—in fact, almost every trade and profession was represented in the ranks of the SeaBees. Of the 10,000 officers, almost 85 per cent had one or more college degrees, mostly in engineering. Others were honor graduates of the "University of Hard Knocks," tempered in the fire of the highly competitive construction industry. Most of the officers had been contractors, project managers, superintendents, and foremen on construction operations in civil life."
Plenty more history out there about Seabees. Sad to say, much of it is that proverbial "history that nobody knows." Neglected and long forgotten, Now, to be re-learned the hard way, it appears.
I know it. My nephew SeaBee is a Senior Chief stationed in Pearl. The last one of my family still serving.
We should bring back the WPA / CCC again. It has shown to work.
You'd probably have to draft people into a new WPA/CCC. It is hard, icky work that is done with your hands.
You mean it's "work Americans won't do"? I think I have an solution.
Where have you been?
"AmeriCorps officially the Corporation for National and Community Service or CNCS) is an independent agency of the United States government that engages more than five million Americans in service through a variety of stipended volunteer work programs in many sectors."
Wikipedia
Hard times produce hard men…….
A shout out to Admiral Ben Moreell
My father was a SeaBee in the Great Pacific War, toiling away on various and sundry base-building projects on Okinawa. Fortunately Mr. Truman bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki so he didn't have to undertake a pleasure cruise to Kyushu for Operation Olympic ...
Being just dumb garbage (h/t to our drive-by Admiral.), you have to wonder why THAAD overseas and Aegis ashore have not interfered with aircraft communication. You also have to wonder if they're radiating at a level that is doing the RF/EM thingy to commercial aviation, why they would be flying into Guam unescorted at all. The NOTAM prohibiting commercial flights would probably already be several days old.
FAA would worry about all radars.
A THAAD battery is set up at Guam. The TPY 2 probably puts out enough RF energy to concern aircraft and life forms in the array spread at close range. I do not know TPY 2 other than X band which is extreme high frequency and uses a lot of volts.
I won’t go into a couple of war stories but radars like MDA handle can do strange things to electronics in their close range, some not discovered until the first unexpected event.
It is not beyond an SPY 6 longer range than TPY 2 deployment, that would require site design in the radar over the DDG usage.
I have not found what else MDA is doing for intercept, sensors and command/control. Probably Patriots around high value points.
MDA running this thru Army!
The P-8 would (will) have some of the same problems.
“Drive-by Admiral”. I wish I had come up with it.
Me too. I assume you are talking about the Frankenstein Mikey?
The old Continental Micronesia operation (now part of United Airlines), which opened up for business during the Vietnam war, hubs out of Guam. GUM is actually quite busy with civil traffic.
Its the way folks get around to all the old WWII haunts...
https://i0.wp.com/crankyflier.com/wp-content/uploads/2024_10_10-asiaua.jpeg?w=1000&ssl=1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Micronesia
How do you think all those contractors get out and about in that part of the world?
CMI plucked the EP-3 crew out of Hainan in 2001...
https://media.gettyimages.com/id/51343387/photo/a-continental-boeing-737-departs-from-haikou-airport-on-chinas-hainan-island-12-april-2001.jpg?s=612x612&w=gi&k=20&c=IIjsZGs6PlfH_0_510A2pyve6i-ThTAHJ58bjSZ0_JA=
https://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=83953
https://www.hazegray.org/features/vq1homecoming/hainan.htm
BTW, the Dutch Flag carrier KNILM Royal Dutch Indies Airways operated in the Indies region into the Spring of 1942. the surviving aircraft then escaped to Australia.
Airlines operating in warzones is common. Look at BEI.
https://thejavagoldblog.wordpress.com/background-info-book-1/airlines/knilm-the-airline-of-the-dutch-east-indies/
Laughs in Rat Willard…
https://youtu.be/cesSRfXqS1Q
“We don’t anticipate that..”
He said it with a straight face… lol
The Honorable Congressman Johnson is still serving 13 years later.
whatever else, we must ensure the peace and safety of the limestone fruit bat.
Geez, CDR, what a blue Monday you bring.
( Usually...cough, cough.... you're a pretty upbeat guy! )
One program I worked years ago, SPM wanted to set up a “radar range” to test radar SW changes through a full up antenna across a sensor Ed range…. Environmental impact caused it to shut down, an endangered species….
We had the antenna and building!
I am old!
I'm starting to wonder if maybe we deserve to lose.
First that is a HARD NO.
Second there is a subset of people domestically that certainly deserve to lose.
Went down a rabbit hole when I realized Jake Sullivan’s wife moved to NH to run for congress. These carpetbagging elites truly need to be required to enlist in the Corp for a full hitch prior yo be allowed to do such things. No OCS start as a boot & make their own way.
Whoever said the Constitution is not a suicide pact, the EPA surely is.
Nixon's got a lot to answer for, wherever he may be burning these days.
Don’t blame Nixon. He envisioned clean air and water not wokeness.
It's not the vision that counts—it's the translation of purity into the shit of real life.
You can't lay the of the current state of Eco-Fascism on Nixon a half century plus ago.
Yes, the propagandist book Silent Spring was out, but there really were legitimate concerns about pollution then:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz0U90okKn0
This whole CLIMATE CHANGE! cult embers started to glow in the 80's with Senate testimony deliberately planned at the hottest time of the year...
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/03/14/1988-congressional-climate-change-hearing-claims-of-accelerating-sea-level-rise-failed/
Then the adorable sex puppy Al Gore self anointed himself the Grand Priest of the religion....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqvNcXGIcWc
Unfortunately, it’s going to take another Pearl Harbor to get people off their butts in DC. Any number of answers have been posted to this blog to the problem of collective blindness in the Pacific, but aside from USAF action on Tinian all we get is crickets. Mass public firings would seem appropriate.
Appropriate yes. Realistic no. No one was directed over the Afghanistan debacle. Lots of medals handed out.