Mulling the Glenn Defense Marine Asia Fiasco

December 13, 2013

With Glenn Defense Marine Asia, the Navy is getting some overdue graduate-level training in how harbors—harbors everywhere–do business. The results aren’t pretty, and, as we are discovering with Inchcape, this episode will not be the first time harried American bureaucrats discover that loose-and-fast waterfront business culture (a culture not just confined to Asia, but Africa, […]

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Just Where Did We Think Japan Was Going…in 2003?

December 3, 2013

I am fascinated by our Capital’s crop of public national security prognosticators.  As these good folks race to produce more “guidance” on how American security should evolve, too few of us take the time to review and evaluate their prior work. That must change. So….Given the rapidly-changing nature of the Pacific, I thought it might […]

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Seafighters Will Never Operate In A Logistics-Free World

November 26, 2013

Every QDR season, Wayne Hughes rousts himself from his Naval Postgraduate School hideout and mounts a push for his beloved teeny-tiny combatant–the “Seafighter”.  His latest, “Sustaining American Maritime Influence,” published in the September 2013 USNI Proceedings, is his usual salesman-like effort (in which he is joined by retired Admiral John Harvey, NPS Operations Research heavy-hitter, […]

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Beating Drug Use In The Defense Industrial Base

November 21, 2013

Drug use in the defense industrial base is a problem. Despite initial pre-employment drug screening, limited post-employment drug tests do little to deter post-employment use within the defense industrial base. As defense manufacturers strain to get by on fewer employees, increased overtime or aggressive performance goals may act as an inducement for workers to swap […]

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Is the Navy’s HA/DR Water Distribution Doctrine Frozen?

November 16, 2013

Water, is, in a word, important.  Even for an organization that puts “Warfighting First”, water purification and water distribution weighs in at the top of any commander’s list of concerns.  And this is no a trivial matter, as the average requirement for a foot soldier or sailor is estimated to be about 4 to 8 […]

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Philippines Rescue Fleet Faces A Grim Fate

November 13, 2013

You might hate the “Global Force For Good” slogan, but I, for one, am darn proud of how the Navy is pivoting to the Philippines and preparing to project order ashore. But even as we (and many of our regional friends) cheer for this mission of mercy, the Fleet headed to the disaster zone faces […]

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Typhoons And Geopolitics: Time For U.S. Action In The South China Sea

November 11, 2013

The U.S. and Japan must consider the potential geopolitical impact of Super-Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda.  This natural disaster will “change the game” in the South China Sea–The demand for disaster recovery assets alone will force the rapid deterioration of the Philippines’ ability to support their South China Sea outposts, leading to further Chinese encroachment (though some Filipino […]

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The Virginia Peel: Why are $2 Billion Dollar Subs Losing Their Skin?

November 7, 2013

Submarines rely on stealth.  And American Virginia Class submarines are considered the quietest, safest subs on the planet–it’s how the U.S. Navy justifies spending about $2 billion dollars for each of the two boats the nation wants to build every year. So…who would expect that the pricey subs–the foundation of America’s dominance under the seas–would […]

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Marine Corps Week: Delay–But Don’t Sink–Swimming Tanks!

November 6, 2013

To continue the discussion of Marine Corps amphibious warfare, I turn to the amphibious tank, an asset the Marines have been trying to procure since the early days of Operational Maneuver From the Sea (OMFTS).  Now, let me be frank– I like the idea of an amphibious tank, and believe a turn towards the Pacific […]

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Marine Corps Week: Look to your LCUs

November 3, 2013

There is a certain rigidity to Marine Corps thinking on amphibious warfare that is exasperating. It’s ironic–Their decades-long pursuit of tools to enable “Operational Maneuver From the Sea” (an inherently adaptable approach to the amphibious battlefield) has spawned far too many rigid doctrinarians.  And that crowd is either unable–or unwilling–to break away from their OMFTS […]

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