In Forbes: Urging Better Funding for U.S. Deep Sea Fishing Enforcement

May 24, 2021

Here’s the link. The emergence of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing as an “issue” in the Trump Administration is a tale that needs telling. It was, on the part of many folks, an act of bureaucratic legerdemain–The issue couldn’t get too big too fast, or it would have been targeted and killed as a risk […]

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Can’t Have Too Little Coast Guard

May 23, 2021

President Biden spoke to Coast Guard Academy graduates last week, charting out an organizational future that everybody kind of already knows–that the Coast Guard is bound for bigger things. That’s all great news, but there seems to be no money coming behind it. And that’s a problem. The Coast Guard faces cost challenges everywhere. It’s […]

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DDG-51 Cut: Not The End, But Maybe The Beginning Of The End?

May 22, 2021

I discussed the “surprising” DDG-51 cut in the Portland Times Herald last week, and, while I get the frustration about how the Congress and the Navy seem to treat “multi-year” and “block” buys as more piggy-banks than real obligations, I think you’re stupid if you don’t believe the DDG-51 is going to end sometime in […]

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In Press: Discussing BIW’s Production Delay

August 31, 2020

I had the opportunity to exchange a few emails with the Times Record’s indefatigable BIW scribe, Kathleen O’Brien, last week on a story “Strike, Pandemic Further Delay Production at Bath Shipyard”. In light of the strike and COVID-19, Bath is more than a year behind schedule. The locals, of course, are concerned about the implications of the delay.

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What Does A $362 Million Hospital Ship Look Like?

August 1, 2020

My hospital ship piece in Forbes.com last week has led to quite a bit of discussion on my suggestion that, at the $362 million price point, the NSMV would be a good hull for a dedicated medical vessel. For a piece that didn’t get a lot of eyeballs/clicks at Forbes, it certainly has sparked a […]

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VT Halter Seeks Pricing/Estimating Help

July 28, 2020

So, a few weeks after detailing my concerns that VT Halter’s impressive book of business might have been caught by over-aggressive pricing over at Forbes.com, the new VT Halter President/CEO Bob Merchent is seeking a Senior Vice President of Contracts and Pricing. I like VT Halter–it’s a scrappy and hungry yard, but it has a […]

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SECNAV Meets With Jim Webb

October 28, 2019

So, today, news broke that SECNAV Spencer–who is in a full retreat from his bombastic attack upon the Navy’s friends in Congress–spent some time this weekend with Jim Webb, the only SECNAV who quit the job. Maybe Spencer got some pointers. If you are in the reading mood, I was over at Forbes.com last night […]

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Secretary Spencer Needs To Stop His Business Analogies

October 23, 2019

I don’t know where Secretary Spencer gets his business analogies for his “set” stump speeches, but he tells one about the Truman CVN that…is just wrong. And he tells it a lot, too. Somebody do the Secretary a favor and cut the story out of his speeches. I’ve heard it several times; he’ll start talking […]

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A Few Updates…

October 23, 2019

Hey, I’m over on Forbes.com, talking about the need to secure the Alaskan EEZ and what may be another Navy attempt to avoid shock testing the USS Ford. Let me know what you think! I am also wondering if the SECNAV is going to say anything interesting when he speaks–and takes moderated questions–from the safe […]

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US Navy Declines To Party With PLA(N)

April 19, 2019

The old movie Wargames reminds us that, sometimes, “the only winning move is not to play.” It looks like the U.S. Navy is doing just that with China’s massive naval review this month, refusing to send ships to celebrate the 70th anniversary of China’s Navy beyond the local attache. From the Japan Times: The United […]

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