From the monthly archives:

July 2010

Military Memorials: Is the Intrepid sailing into trouble?

by Craig Hooper on July 27, 2010

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MV-22: General Trautman, your job is on Line 1…

by Craig Hooper on July 23, 2010

According to this DOD Buzz article, Lt. General George J. Trautman III voiced his frustration that MV-22 Osprey readiness rates in Afghanistan had topped out at “roughly 70 percent.” Glad to see Trautman get frustrated. As a taxpayer, I am too. I expect better performance from brand-new aircraft. According to the DOD Buzz piece, Trautman […]

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The Army’s LSV: Why ignore the modern-day LST?

by Craig Hooper on July 23, 2010

I have long thought the Army’s little Navy had the potential to drive some innovation–unencumbered by the Navy’s biases and relatively unfamiliar with the sea, the Army’s fleet has a chance to generate some creative tension by stealing a march or two on the Navy and Marine Corps. Fabrication of the Army’s new littoral tool, […]

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Violent anti-government extremism comes home:

by Craig Hooper on July 21, 2010

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In Press: Discussing the small boat menace and the illicit international arms trade on the BBC

by Craig Hooper on July 16, 2010

File on 4, an award-winning news show on the BBC , sat down with me last week to discuss illegal arms traffic.  Part of the conversation turned to Iran’s appetite for high-performance boats, and that’s the piece that made it into this week’s File on 4 documentary. Allan Urry and the rest of the BBC […]

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In Press: Proceedings article explaining the Olympia (C-6) debacle

by Craig Hooper on July 16, 2010

In America’s constellation of troubled maritime memorials, none are more threatened than the Protected Cruiser Olympia (C-6). This humble ship is, in itself, an American treasure of unmatched historical, technical and symbolic value (In response to Robert Farley’s twitter yesterday, I’d trade an Iowa Class Battleship for the Olympia–in a heartbeat!). Everybody is eager to […]

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In Press: Quoted In the Des Moines Register on ex-USS IOWA (BB-61)

by Craig Hooper on July 14, 2010

Last week I had a great chat with Des Moines Register columnist Marc Hansen about the ex-USS Iowa (BB-61).  In the resulting July 10 article in the Des Moines Register, I was somewhat blunt about the poor performance of the nonprofit Historic Ships Memorial at Pacific Square, the organization currently designated as the future recipient […]

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On spying and premature gloating:

by Craig Hooper on July 13, 2010

In light of the long-pursued “Illegals” spy case with Russia, every commentator under the sun has taken it upon themselves to mock Russia’s spycraft.  And why not?  The idea that Russia would maintain such a sad “odd lot” of characters is, on the surface, laughable. But resist the urge to snicker. There’s probably more to […]

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Prompt Global Strike will transform U.S. Naval Power:

by Craig Hooper on July 8, 2010

As many of you know, I’m occasionally contributing to the military.com universe as their resident Naval Analyst.  In today’s post, I wonder what will happen if, over the next two years, the 7,804 Vertical Launch System (VLS) cells in the surface fleet suddenly acquired a Prompt Global Strike capability? It’s just a DARPA project now, […]

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Virginia Class Subs: A rosy shipbuilding story…or was is all a dream?

by Craig Hooper on July 7, 2010

For years, the Virginia Class has been portrayed as a shipbuilding success story. The subs have been, for years, touted as a model program–one that got the “Submarine Production Procurement Price” down and delivered needed boats to the fleet, are the efficiency chickens coming home to roost? A June 30 memo from J. Michael Gilmore, […]

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