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Re: LHA-6, USS America Launched

Jeff Head said:

... the plan did call for LHA-6 and LHA-7 to be aviation centric ...

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Jeff, just out of curiosity, what does "aviation centric" really mean in that context? No well decks means no LCACs, I'm sure. Will there still be marines and light equipment on board to be airlifted by transport Helos / Ospreys, or is it a platform really primarily carrying attack assets like JSF/Vipers with only a small marine ship security detail, if at all?
Anyway, that would leave a complete LHA to focus on the CAS role in a landing, while another "traditional" LHA can focus even more on the troop transport role. And a CVN can do strikes as necessary.

Suicides surging in the US military.



"Suicides are surging among US soldiers, averaging nearly one a day this year, according to statistics from the country's defence department.

The 154 suicides for active-duty troops in the first 155 days of the year outnumber the US forces killed in action in Afghanistan by about 50 per cent, according to statistics obtained by the Associated Press news agency.

The numbers are rising among the 1.4 million active military personnel despite years of effort to encourage troops to seek help with mental health problems.

The reasons for the increase are not fully understood. Among explanations, studies have pointed to combat exposure, post-traumatic stress, misuse of prescription medications and personal financial problems.

Jackie Garrick, head of a newly established Defence Suicide Prevention Office at the Pentagon, said on Thursday that the suicide numbers this year are troubling.

"We are very concerned at this point that we are seeing a high number of suicides at a point in time where we were expecting to see a lower number of suicides," she said, adding that the weak US economy may be confounding preventive efforts even as the pace of military deployments eases.

Because suicides had levelled off in 2010 and 2011, this year's upswing has caught some officials by surprise...................................................................."

Thanks for posting Schumacher.

Very sad news. In 2008 the civilian suicide rate in the US was 12 deaths per 100,000 persons. This rate is about 26 per 100,000...more than double. Very sad.

The causes? Extended multiple deployment of at least a year in the Army. The other services? I'm not sure..could be more deployments, family separation..financial problems.

bd popeye said:

Thanks for posting Schumacher.

Very sad news. In 2008 the civilian suicide rate in the US was 12 deaths per 100,000 persons. This rate is about 26 per 100,000...more than double. Very sad.

The causes? Extended multiple deployment of at least a year in the Army. Thee other services? I'm not sure..could be more deployments, family separation..financial problems.

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Sad indeed, not to mention the divorce rates as well. The stress put upon these men and women service members are extreme, and then to came home into a more safer environment came as a shock to most of them.

Business Insider said:

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With the U.S. moving the majority of its naval fleet to the Pacific, commanders are eagerly looking for invitations to park the planes and ships that will be pouring into the region.

Travis Tritten at Stars and Stripes reports that the Pentagon has apparently been fanning the old flame of friendship with the Philippines and will be re-opening two bases it left in 1991 — Subic Bay and Clark Air Base.

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Although in the years since the US left these bases they have been developed in many areas for commercial and private use, they are huge bases and there's plenty of room left for both the large naval facilities and the air base.

Many, many American servicemen have fond memories of Subic Bay and Clark in the Philipines and the economic boom for the area will be welcome.

This is a part of the Pacific surge strategy and will allow the US to disperse its forces, yet have them close at hand in large numbers.

Lockheed Martin will know this summer if its government-proven Joint Light Tactical Vehicle design will move forward in the U.S. Army-Marine Corps competition. Drawing from over 40 years of vehicle integration experience, Lockheed Martin improved its offering for the next phase with a lighter, more affordable model, without sacrificing the impressive performance displayed in the 2011 testing phase.

“Our improvements removed hundreds of pounds of weight from our design, which was already proven in helicopter lift tests,” said Scott Greene, vice president of Ground Vehicles at Lockheed Martin’s missiles and fire control business unit. “With more than 160,000 combined testing miles behind us, we’ve proven our JLTV is reliable and that we meet protection standards of many existing mine-resistant vehicles in combat operations today.”

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Does anyone know how fast Virgina Class can go while submerged? bd popeye or Jeff?

it is rumoured that Astute Class can reach close to 30 knots, maybe undisclosed figure is higher

Does anyone know how fast Virgina Class can go while submerged? bd popeye or Jeff?

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That info is classified..I'm sure it can keep up with an CVN (30+ knots) while surfaced where as the Virgina class will be assigned to carrier battle groups. Submerged? I sure have no clue.

Re: LHA-6, USS America Launched

Scratch said:

Jeff, just out of curiosity, what does "aviation centric" really mean in that context? No well decks means no LCACs, I'm sure. Will there still be marines and light equipment on board to be airlifted by transport Helos / Ospreys, or is it a platform really primarily carrying attack assets like JSF/Vipers with only a small marine ship security detail, if at all?
Anyway, that would leave a complete LHA to focus on the CAS role in a landing, while another "traditional" LHA can focus even more on the troop transport role. And a CVN can do strikes as necessary.

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This means that they are designed specifically to be used as Sea Control carriers when needed, in which case on such deployments the number of Marines would be minimized and the vessel would contain a full compliment of F-35s and associated SAR, ASW and Searchy Helos. Probably 20-24 Fighters in that role.

Otherwise, she works as an assault vessel, carrung 1,900 or so Marines who can use air assault with Ospreys and helos to hit beaches or points inland, along with equipment thaty can be lifted into battle. In such a scenario, she woul;d operate in company with either San Antonio LPDs or Wasp LHDs who would utilize their well decks as necessary to land heavier equipment.

Now, a Wasp can operate in the Sea control mode, but she is not optimized to do so in terms of the amount of jet/aircraft fuel she carries and the amount of hangar space she has. The America LHAs that are optimized for aircraft have added much more aviation fuel and hangar space in place of the well deck.

---------- Post added at 11:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:21 PM ----------

navyreco said:

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That will be a really nice vehicle for US troopers to have.

asif iqbal said:

Does anyone know how fast Virgina Class can go while submerged? bd popeye or Jeff?

it is rumoured that Astute Class can reach close to 30 knots, maybe undisclosed figure is higher

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Fast.

As popeye said, the actual number is classified, but a number of 28+ knots means certainly it can maintain in excess of 30.

Re: LHA-6, USS America Launched

did a Soviet Nuclear submarine not shadow the USS Enterprise back in the days at top speed through the Pacific? i think it was late 1960s?

that must have been close to 30 knots