Posts tagged as:

humanitarian response

The Pacific Pivot as An Old LCU

by Craig Hooper on November 18, 2018

To me, the picture accompanying this post speaks volumes about the “Pacific Pivot”. The photo shows LCU 1634 helping the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) recover after being leveled by Super Typhoon Yutu. Looks great, right? Well, it looks great until the observer realizes that LCU 1634 is ancient. That venerable LCU in the […]

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Back in late December of 2013, after ground fire somewhere in South Sudan bloodied a CV-22 flight and forced an ambitious Noncombatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) to abort with four injuries, I detailed how the V-22’s Operational Maneuver From The Sea (OMFTS) origins–and resulting inability to adequately suppress ground fire and lack of armor–made the platform […]

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In the game of “annual” Navy conferences, it seems every naval “Community”, no matter how small, has a conference of their own. Sail on surface ships as a Line Officer? Go to the Surface Navy Association meeting. Special Operators have their convo. Submariners have theirs. Marines have a few. Aviators have whatever they are calling Tailhook […]

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So…the CV-22 Osprey chalks up more combat experience in South Sudan, with three CV-22 Osprey aircraft apparently taking ground fire on descent into what was probably the Osprey’s first noncombatant evacuation operation (NEO). Four of the approximately 46 aboard were reportedly hurt, and the Ospreys aborted their mission and diverted to an alternative landing zone. […]

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What happens when U.S. Navy priorities, Department of Defense priorities and and the Obama Administration’s National Interests are misaligned?  And what are the implications when the differing priorities each suggest a very, very different future for the Navy? There is a dilemma afoot here.  Think back to why the Navy lost the fight to keep […]

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In Press: Stoking the soft-power arms race!

by Craig Hooper on September 12, 2010

Erstwhile NextNavy amigo Christopher Albon and I pounded out another call for more U.S. hospital ships–a second Great White Fleet, as it were. After watching many calls for new–or more–hospital ships go ignored, I can only wonder if things might change now that some new hospital ships, supported by a well-funded and savvy diplomatic corps, […]

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Retired Marine Corps General J. Michael Myatt is organizing San Francisco’s 2010 Fleet Week, and he’s going to follow my April 2009 suggestion of making the celebration an operational event. Here’s what the General sees coming for the 2010 Fleet Week: “We also want to take advantage of the military capabilities for disaster relief for […]

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USS Bataan: Is High OPTEMPO taking a toll?

by Craig Hooper on March 10, 2010

The USS Bataan (LHD-5)  was one of the first ships directed towards Haiti after the massive January 12 earthquake, but, once the ship arrived to serve in Operation Unified Response, the Bataan ran into a hail of criticism over it’s slow start in accepting and treating wounded Haitians.  One of my USNI pals was particularly […]

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Haiti earthquake: Awaiting the aid tsunami

by Craig Hooper on January 13, 2010

Five years ago, in days after the Indian Ocean Tsunami, I wrote an op-ed for the Boston Globe–a piece that, with the Haiti disaster, remains a relevant cautionary tale today: The tsunami response, being hailed as one of the biggest U.S. military disaster relief missions in history, has been less effective than portrayed. When a deployment of just 40 […]

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