From the monthly archives:

January 2011

The U.S. Navy in Egypt: A bright spot during dificult times

by Craig Hooper on January 28, 2011

As Egypt implodes, the incredible diplomatic resiliency of the Cairo-based U.S. Navy Medical Research Unit Number 3 (NAMRU-3), deserves another look. With the U.S. government scrambling to control the diplomatic damage in Egypt–and as the U.S. Embassy’s traditional friends in the cozy upper-echelon of Egyptian society pack up and leave–this Navy facility will still be [...]

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Did RAND force the "Green Fleet" out of the State of the Union Address?

by Craig Hooper on January 27, 2011

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Show, don't tell: Circumspection over Virginia Class MIP/SHT woes

by Craig Hooper on January 21, 2011

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In Press: Talking carriers and INSURVs with the San Diego Union-Tribune

by Craig Hooper on January 20, 2011

Jeanette Steele, one of the better national security reporters working today, chatted with me about the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), which will, in 2012, be headed off for a year’s maintenance in far-off Washington State. The story is here. This was big news for the San Diego region, which was all excited about being the [...]

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In Press: Talking tankers with the Mobile Press-Register

by Craig Hooper on January 17, 2011

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Australia's Amphibs: Retire the old stuff and experiment!

by Craig Hooper on January 14, 2011

Australia has three creaky old amphibious vessels, the HMAS Tobruk, HMAS Kanimbla and HMAS Manoora. They are scheduled to retire over the next 8 years to be replaced in 2014-15 by the Canberra Class LHDs. Australia’s legacy amphibs are, at this point, feeble, unreliable platforms. They’ve done yeoman service, but, in September, the Kanimbla an [...]

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CNO Admiral Roughead: An unsung healer of the civil-military divide

by Craig Hooper on January 12, 2011

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French arms for sale: Reckless opportunism or glue for a future NATO?

by Craig Hooper on January 10, 2011

Back in 2008, In NDIA’s National Defense Magazine, I called for the purchase of the Mistral-class “projection and command” ships, noting that the acquisition of the vessels would be an ideal mix of capability and geopolitical utility. In what was a sidebar discussion of next-generation hospital ships, Jim Dolbow and I snuck in some geopolitical [...]

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A national security meme to end: China and territorial expansion

by Craig Hooper on January 5, 2011

The Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University came out with a fantastic, information-packed study entitled “China’s out of area naval operations: Case studies, trajectories, obstacles and potential solutions” (ChinaStrategicPerspectives3). There is a lot of good, solid research here, and I commend the authors. It’s great, and my comments (those that follow [...]