US Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

Expected 40-year service life
Life-of-the-ship nuclear fuel core that is sufficient to power the ship for its entire expected service life, unlike the Ohio-class submarines that require a mid-life nuclear refueling

Although the SSBN(X) is to have fewer launch tubes than the Ohio-class submarine, SSBN(X) is expected to have a submerged displacement about the same as that of Ohio-class submarines.

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USMC Cannot Meet All Its Amphibious Needs, Top Marine Says
May. 29, 2014 - 08:44PM | By JAMES K. SANBORN | Comments

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The US Marine Corps cannot meet its amphibious assault needs with its current stable of ship-to-shore connectors, according to Commandant Gen. Jim Amos in a recent article he penned for the June edition of Proceedings Magazine.

Amos says the service must explore future options, despite austere budgets and cautions against letting the service’s amphibious capability atrophy further.

“Simply put, our current and proposed surface-connector inventory does not meet the current or future requirements and ability to maneuver from increased range beyond the threat,” Amos writes.

To fill the gap in ship-to-shore capabilities Amos proposes revising current programs like the Joint High Speed Vessel by modifying them to have ramps that can launch amphibious vehicles.

He proposes looking at existing technology like the US-produced Landing Catamaran, or L-CAT, which is now used by French forces. The L-CAT can move at 23 mph for up to 200 miles, meaning 100 nautical miles would still take it roughly 4.5 hours to traverse

Amos also mentions the experimental Ultra Heavy-Lift Amphibious Connector. The UHAC can also move at 20 knots, roll onto a beach and even scale 10-foot sea walls. The vehicle has caught some criticism for its outlandish design though, particularly the plainly visible pilot’s bay.

Finally, he mentions future connectors that only exist “on PowerPoint” like the T-CRAFT a gargantuan high-speed craft than can ride up onto beaches. Although it does not offer a short-term solution, Amos says all options should be explored and he welcomes the input of academia, industry and other services.

Part of the challenge is great standoff distance now needed to keep ships safe from the expanding threat of anti-ship missiles which are rapidly proliferating among poorer nations and could even be deployed by non-state actors.

“We know today that a combination of integrated acquisition systems, precision guidance, and coastal-defense cruise missiles can necessitate initial standoff distances as far out as 100 nautical miles,” Amos writes. “Ultimately, mission success foresees a requirement that enables the employment of contested, disaggregated, distributed, and dispersed forces maneuvering from the sea base to secure entry points.”

The service recently unveiled Expeditionary Force 21, a new doctrinal concept which emphasized sea basing and the use of prepositioned ships bearing gear so that Marines can quickly mass when crisis breaks out. But the concept requires ship-to-shore transport the service doesn’t currently have.

“These prepositioning ships hold our equipment and supplies at sea such that they can be moved rapidly ashore. However, without adequate means to get our people and equipment ashore, the ability to accomplish our mission quickly diminishes,” Amos writes. “Today, there is a significant gap in the planned surface-connector fleet inventory from FY17 to FY 26 that, in conjunction with our amphibious-ship shortfalls, will significantly limit the capacity for amphibious operations and must not be allowed to widen.”

The number of ship-to-shore connectors the service needs has increased even more since the number is no longer directly tied to the space available on Navy amphibs of which there will be just 30 by fiscal 2015.

Amos says the service’s MV-22s coupled with Landing Craft Air Cushions, commonly called LCACs, do offer some ability to move ashore, but do not fill all current or future capability gaps.

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VA Secretary Shinseki resigns
May. 30, 2014 - 03:47PM |


By Patricia Kime
Staff writer Army Times
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Congress & DOD
Related Links
Interim VA leader Gibson is new to department
Audit: Many VA facilities altered appointment dates
Shinseki apologizes, says VA problems 'can be fixed'
In wake of VA scandal, DoD to review its health system
Besieged Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki resigned Friday just days after the VA’s top investigator found significant issues — including cases of fraudulent reporting — with scheduling practices at VA medical centers.

The departure comes following weeks of reports of questionable scheduling practices at VA hospitals across the country that delayed care and may have contributed to the deaths of veterans.

On Wednesday, the VA inspector general found that more than 1,700 veterans were left off an official waiting list for primary care appointments at the VA Phoenix Health System, an omission the IG said allowed hospital administrators to receive performance bonuses.

Shinseki had promised in congressional testimony and several rare press conferences and interviews “swift and appropriate punishment” for those involved with the medical center delays and cover-ups.

And President Obama last week said he would wait for the outcome of several reviews before deciding who should be held accountable.

But the results of the VA IG’s interim report — along with the findings of an internal audit of the department’s medical facilities and increasing calls for a criminal investigation — proved to be too much.

“It is with considerable regret that I accepted [Secretary Shinseki’s] resignation,” President Obama said Friday.

The president called Shinseki’s service to his country “exemplary” and said he was “grateful.”

“He is a good man … a good person who has done exemplary work on veterans’ behalf,” Obama said.

But ultimately, the president added, Shinseki’s own admission that the VA needed new leadership persuaded the president that Shinseki must step down.

“He does not want to be a distraction to getting help to his fellow veterans … and ultimately, I agreed,” Obama said.

Addressing the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on May 15, Shinseki called his service as secretary a “privilege,” noting that he is able to “care for people I went to war with many years ago, and people I have sent to war, and people who raised me in the profession when I was a youngster.”

Shinseki, who was nominated for VA secretary in December 2008, was the longest-serving VA head. Coming into office, he made broadening compensation for Vietnam-era veterans a top priority, along with reducing veteran homelessness and cutting the claims backlog.

And in those efforts, the department has seen some success.

With the rise in the number of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan as well as older veterans previously shut out of VA care, he added more than 2 million veterans to the department’s compensation and health benefits rolls.

On Friday, he announced that by some estimates, the percentage of veterans on the streets has dropped by 24 percent in the last several years.

But along with these successes, there have been missteps — delays and errors that had prompted conservative critics, media outlets like Time magazine and influencers such as Jon Stewart to ridicule the department and begin calling for Shinseki’s resignation in late 2012.

The addition of new older veterans into the VA system as well as those returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan overwhelmed the benefits system and the number backlogged claims rose to 600,000 in February 2011.

An electronic health records system, intended to be developed jointly with the Defense Department, cost the government $1 billion before it was abandoned in favor of separate systems that could speak to each other. The programs still have not been developed.

And the issues with the medical scheduling systems have been known since before Shinseki took office. The Government Accountability Office and VA Inspector General have reported on scheduling problems and prolonged wait times for nearly 10 years.

A 2010 memo contained a warning from a a senior VA official to regional medical directors to stop “gaming the system.”

In December 2012, GAO released the most damning analysis up to that point: a report noting that schedulers at four VA medical centers hid actual wait times, fudged the numbers and backdated appointments to meet timeliness goals set by department headquarters.

But through it all, Shinseki quietly toiled outside spotlight, insisting that VA chip away at the backlog, modernize its own electronic health records system and turn to new problems at hand, including veteran suicide.

Under Shinseki’s tenure, the VA’s budget has grown to $164 billion. In April, VA announced that the number of backlogged claims fell below 350,000. The number of veterans getting health care in the VA system has grown to 230,000 a day.

Still, the successes weren’t enough to save him.

“Shinseki is deeply disappointed that bad news [about scheduling abuses] did not get to him,” Obama said.

Controversy is no stranger to Shinseki. Although he works outside the spotlight, he will be long-remembered for a number of very public decisions. In the Army, he will be forever remembered as the general who made the black beret a standard uniform item, and as chief of staff, he stood at odds with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld over staffing and execution of the Iraq War.

Shinseki was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1965 upon graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The son of Japanese immigrants in Hawaii, he was wounded three times in Vietnam, earning Purple Hearts for injuries that ranged from mortar shrapnel to his chest and a land mine that destroyed most of one of his right foot.

Shinseki became Army Vice Chief of Staff in 1998 and chief of staff in 1999. As chief of staff, the general estimated that several hundred thousand soldiers would be needed to secure a post-war Iraq — figures far higher than were estimated by Rumsfeld and his war planners.

He later was seen as vindicated when Central Commander Gen. John Abizaid requested more troops as part of the “surge” in Iraq to quell growing violence.

He will be replaced in the interim by Sloan Gibson, VA deputy secretary and former USO president. Gibson is a 1975 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and a former infantry officer and Army Ranger.

Before the White House announced Shinseki’s resignation on Friday, scores of lawmakers — including 36 Democrats — had called for him to step aside.

Shinseki’s departure is the second in the wake of the growing scandal. Earlier this month, VA Undersecretary for Health Affairs Dr. Robert Petzel tendered his resignation at Shinseki’s request, but his departure was seen by many as a meaningless gesture given he was scheduled to retire this summer.

On Friday morning, Shinseki said the top administrators at the Phoenix VA hospital will be fired and executive pay bonuses frozen as punishment for the scheduling abuses.

Staff writer Leo Shane III contributed to this story.

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General Dynamics Pulls Out of AMPV Program, for Now; BAE Remains
May. 28, 2014 - 03:45AM | By PAUL McLEARY | Comments
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A variant of the BAE Systems Bradley became the sole competitor for the US Army's Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle with the withdrawal of General Dynamics.
A variant of the BAE Systems Bradley became the sole competitor for the US Army's Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle with the withdrawal of General Dynamics. (US Army)
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WASHINGTON — On the day that final bids were due for the US Army’s Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) program, one of the two expected bidders — General Dynamics Land Systems — pulled out of the competition, leaving BAE Systems and its Bradley variant as the sole contender.

For now.

In a statement, GD didn’t completely close the door on the program. A spokesperson emailed that “the requirements and other provisions of the request for proposal (RFP) do not allow the company to provide a competitive solution,” but that “the company will not pursue the matter in Federal Circuit Court so as not to hinder the ability to continue to pursue its options to participate in the program.”

With the cancellation of the Ground Combat Vehicle earlier this year, the AMPV was the prize to be won while industry waits to see who the Army chooses next year to win the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program.

Just last month, GD saw a protest it had lodged with the Army Material Command rejected by the service, after which the company said it would refrain from lodging a new, more formal protest with the Government Accountability Office.

The protest argued that “the AMPV solicitation provides a competitive advantage” to BAE Systems, since BAE “has years of Army test and performance data” on the M113 personnel carrier, which the competition has been launched to replace.

The AMPV program, which would replace about 2,900 M113 infantry carriers, is expected to be worth about $5 billion to $7 billion when all is said and done.

BAE, on the other hand, released a statement touting its submission as a “highly survivable low-risk solution” for the Army.

Mark Signorelli, BAE’s vice president of combat vehicles, said its vehicle is “ready now and meets the Army’s survivability, force protection, and mobility requirements.”

The company also said its AMPV shares chassis and other components with the Army’s Bradley and Paladin systems — both BAE products — which would reduce the logistics tail in the service’s Armored Brigade Combat Teams.

General Dynamics had previously said it would use a variant of its eight-wheeled double V-hull Stryker vehicle for the program, and had lobbied Capitol Hill heavily in recent weeks to raise interest in a split buy that would see the Stryker used for at least one of the five AMPV variants.

The Army is planning on awarding an initial contract for the 52-month engineering manufacturing and development phase in January, followed by the first delivery of prototypes 24 months after that. ■

Email: [email protected].

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USAF ISR Head: Changes Needed to Prepare For Future
May. 30, 2014 - 04:25PM | By AARON MEHTA | Comments

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With no sign that the sequestration-imposed budget cuts are going away, the Air Force is going to have to change how it handles its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) architecture, the services top ISR official said Friday.

“We need to change direction in how we approach the architecture, and we’re looking for ideas,” Gen. Robert Otto told an audience of industry executives at an event hosted by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association. “So we’re concentrating on that right now. The notion is we get away from a propriety, very hierarchical type of system to something that is government owned, open architecture with competitions for the various applications.”

Otto highlighted the Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) program, which aims to collect information from various ISR sources and give it a central clearinghouse, as a platform that works very well but needs to be altered to fit the new fiscal realities.

“It’s a tremendous architecture which can do incredibly powerful things that has delivered unbelievable success on the battlefield,” Otto said of the system. “It’ also completely unaffordable, and if we don’t change the way we do business we will fail.”

The movement towards an open architecture is hardly confined to the ISR world – the service’s simulation community has also expressed a desire to move in that direction – but Otto indicated a desire to move in that direction sooner rather than later.

In order to change how it operates, the Air Force needs flexibility for planning from the men and women who control the purse strings.

“What [sequestration] really means is we need to reform,” Otto said. “We need the help of Congress in order to be able to reform the way that we do things going forward.”

That includes being given the flexibility to retire either the U-2 spy plane or Global Hawk unmanned system, something that has been blocked on the Hill so far.

“Our plan right now is to divest the U-2,” Otto said. “We supported the department’s position on that this year. The Air Force was going to divest the global hawk before. Our point is we can’t afford both, and so far we have been unable to make the case to retire either one.”

He highlighted how the cuts last year directly impacted two key ISR assets, the U-2 and the Rivet Joint manned aircraft.

“Last year for the U-2 we had about a $210 million budget and we had to cut about $55 million from that, about one fourth….what that really meant was our aircraft availability decreased by 15-20 percent,” Otto said. “Or you can look at the Rivet Joint which had a bout a $270 million budget for the year and we cut about $90 million of that. What happened was, we had to ground two of the airplanes. It’s a 17 airplane fleet, so if you ground two you’re going to have impact on what we can present going forward.”

Otto, who spoke with Defense News in January about the future of the service’s ISR strategy, said he is still a firm believer in the role of drones – he joked about the service’s “unsuccessful” campaign to get people to refer to them as “remotely piloted aircraft” – for the future, noting that he expects an “explosion” of those systems by the early part of the next decade.

Spending money on unmanned systems is probably “a good investment,” he told the crowd. ■

Email: [email protected].

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US Seeks Greater Missile Defense Cooperation By Japan, South Korea
May. 28, 2014 - 02:51PM | By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE | Comments

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Adm. James Winnefeld, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Adm. James Winnefeld, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (Lockheed Martin)
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Asia & Pacific Rim
WASHINGTON — A top US military official on Wednesday called for better missile defense cooperation between Japan and South Korea, in the face of strained ties between America’s two closest Asia allies and a belligerent North Korea.

“We’re encouraging our allies and partners to acquire their own missile defenses and to strengthen regional missile defense cooperation that will result in better performance than individual countries acting alone,” said Adm. James Winnefeld, vice-chairman of the Joints Chief of Staff.

“We will continue to emphasize the importance of developing regional ballistic missile defense systems,” Winnefeld said during a speech at the Atlantic Council think tank.

“This is a very politically sensitive topic for several of our regional allies, but progress in this area would only increase our confidence in the face of persistent North Korean provocations,” Winnefeld said.

“This is about ensuring we can deny the objectives of any insecure authoritarian state that believes acquisition of deliverable weapons of mass destruction is key to the preservation of its regime.”

Winnefeld said that in terms of weapons capability Pyongyang poses the greatest threat, “followed by Iran.”

His appeal comes with relations between Seoul and Tokyo at their lowest level in years, strained by Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea and a territorial dispute over islets in waters between the two countries.

Despite those regional tensions, Washington likely will “come to rely more” on its Asian allies “to resource the means for their defense,” the admiral said — especially “in a world of declining budgets.”

North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile program is a major security concern in the Pacific region and beyond.

Despite international isolation and extensive sanctions, Pyongyang appears to be readying a fourth nuclear test, observers have said.

While it’s among the states most concerned about North Korea, resource-poor Japan has maintained friendly relations with oil-rich Iran through its years of ostracism, keeping up a diplomatic dialogue during Tehran’s decades long confrontation with Washington.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Washington is weighing a plan to deploy an advanced missile-defense system in South Korea, one that could intercept short, medium and intermediate missiles.

The anti-missile system THAAD, short for Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, is similar to one deployed by the United States to protect bases in its territory of Guam.

A Pentagon spokesman, Col. Steven Warren, said Wednesday that while THAAD is “a very capable system ... as of today, there’s been no decision” by Seoul or Washington to deploy a battery in South Korea.

Winnefeld argued that a regional approach to missile defense could help spread the costs, noting that a single THAAD missile interceptor costs around $11 million compared to $3 million for a Scud, North Korea’s preferred missile.

Meanwhile, Winnefeld said the United States will deploy an additional TPY-2 radar in Japan by the end of 2014 “to both improve our homeland and regional defense capabilities.”

He added that the United States is also continuing to operate the Sea-based X-Band Radar (SBX) “as needed in the Pacific” and is planning to deploy a new, long-range radar for the Pacific region around 2020.

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F-35 and Typhoon Join Forces

The F-35 Lightning II flew in formation with two Typhoon jets as part of a simulated mission scenario.

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DDG begins 8-month cruise to Africa
May. 31, 2014 - 01:47PM |

By Lance M. Bacon
Staff writer NAvy Times
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NORFOLK, VA. — The destroyer James E. Williams began an eight-month deployment Friday, leaving here for the Horn of Africa to conduct training and exercises with partner nations.

Destroyers typically don’t sail on eight-month independent deployments to U.S. Africa Command for training, a job typically handled by frigates.

But frigates are rapidly leaving the service, and the littoral combat ships are all based on the West Coast. And eight months has become the new deployment standard.

The destroyer’s skipper said his crew was looking forward to the cruise and the opportunity to operate with African navies.

“It’s been a very long road for my crew,” said Cmdr. Curtis Calloway, the ship’s commanding officer. “We’ve worked hard to get to this point, and we’re very excited and ready to go.”

Calloway expects a slower pace of operations than the crew experienced when deployed with the Enterprise Carrier Strike Group for 7½ months in 2012. The crew is prepared for multimission tasking that can take down submerged, surface and air threats — and, of course, pirates.

Sailors and families who gathered for a farewell breakfast on the mess decks weren’t thrilled with the prospect of an eight-month deployment. But most took the duration in stride and accepted it as the new normal.

“The deployment is kind of long,” said Lt. Ray Adkins, the ship’s chaplain. “You do what you can to make the best of it. Family support and family preparation is huge, and we have to remember that each sailor is different and each relationship is unique.”

The ship has strengthened the spouses’ networks and upgraded the website to keep families in the loop, Calloway said.

This will be the first deployment for more than 100 crew members. Seaman Jessica Lacour is among them. She tried not to think about the time away from loved ones as the deployment drew near, and she admitted it was tough to say goodbye. She is counting on email and frequent-flier miles to get her through.

“It’s not the end of the world,” she said. “We’ll be back soon enough.”

Roughly one-third of the crew reported aboard within the past two months. Command Master Chief (SW) Travis Biswell said the new-joins have meshed well and are up to speed.

Among them is Lt. j.g. Emanuela Ferrentino, an officer of the Italian navy serving as the ship’s assistant navigation officer. While being selected to cross-deck is a career boost in itself, Ferrentino said she is excited to grow professionally as she works alongside her American counterparts.

“And I think it will help me improve my English, too,” she said in an Italian accent. “No, I kid. But truly I think this will be one of the best experiences of my life.”

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U.S. soldier Bergdahl freed from captivity in Afghanistan


By Julie Pace
The Associated Press
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World News
The only American soldier held prisoner in Afghanistan has been freed by the Taliban in exchange for the release of five Afghan detainees from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Obama administration officials said Saturday.

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was handed over to U.S. special forces by the Taliban Saturday evening, local time, in an area of eastern Afghanistan, near the Pakistani border. Officials said the exchange was not violent and the 28-year-old Bergdahl was in good condition and able to walk.

In a statement, President Barack Obama said Bergdahl's recovery "is a reminder of America's unwavering commitment to leave no man or woman in uniform behind on the battlefield."

The handover followed indirect negotiations between the U.S. and the Taliban, with the government of Qatar serving as the go-between. Qatar is taking custody of the five Afghan detainees who were held at Guantanamo.

According to a senior defense official traveling with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in Singapore, once Bergdahl climbed onto the noisy helicopter he took a pen and wrote on a paper plate, the "SF?" — asking the troops if they were special operations forces.

They shouted back at him over the roar of the rotors: "Yes, we've been looking for you for a long time."

Then, according to the official, Bergdahl broke down.

Bergdahl, of Hailey, Idaho, is believed to have been held by the Haqqani network since June 30, 2009. Haqqani operates in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region and has been one of the deadliest threats to U.S. troops in the war.

The network, which the State Department designated as a foreign terrorist organization in 2012, claims allegiance to the Afghan Taliban, yet operates with some degree of autonomy.

Officials said Bergdahl was expected to be transferred to Bagram Air Field, the main U.S. base in Afghanistan, for medical evaluations, then on to the United States.

Several dozen U.S. special operations forces flew into Afghanistan by helicopter and made the transfer with the approximately 18 Taliban members. The official said the commandos were on the ground for a short time before lifting off with Bergdahl.

The official added that the U.S. still believes that Bergdahl was being held for the bulk of the time in Pakistan, but it was not clear when he was transported to eastern Afghanistan.

All the officials insisted on anonymity in order to discuss details of Bergdahl's transfer.

Officials said Obama spoke with Bergdahl's parents Saturday, shortly after their son had been taken into U.S. custody. Bergdahl's family was in Washington on a previously scheduled visit when they received the news.

The parents of the freed soldier, Bob and Jani Bergdahl, said in a statement that they were "joyful and relieved."

"We cannot wait to wrap our arms around our only son," they said.

The U.S. has long been seeking Bergdahl's release, but efforts have intensified as Obama finalized plans to pull nearly all American forces out of Afghanistan by the end of 2016.

Officials said the Taliban signaled to the U.S. in November that they were ready to start new talks on the issue of detainees. After the U.S. received proof that Bergdahl was still alive, indirect talks began, with Qatar sending messages back and forth between the two parties.

The talks intensified about a week ago, officials said, resulting in Bergdahl's release and the transfer of the Afghan detainees.

The five Guantanamo detainees were still at the base as of Saturday morning, but were being transferred into the custody of Qatari officials. Under the conditions of their release, the detainees will be banned from traveling outside of Qatar for at least one year.

Obama and the emir of Qatar spoke last week about the conditions of the release, which have been codified in a memorandum of understanding between the two countries, officials said.

The detainees are believed to be the most senior Afghans still held at the prison. They are believed to be:

—Abdul Haq Wasiq, who served as the Taliban deputy minister of intelligence

—Mullah Norullah Nori, a senior Taliban commander in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif when the Taliban fought U.S. forces in late 2001

—Khairullah Khairkhwa, who served in various Taliban positions including interior minister and had direct ties to Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden

—Mohammed Nabi, who served as chief of security for the Taliban in Qalat, Afghanistan, and later worked as a radio operator for the Taliban's communications office in Kabul

—Mohammad Fazl, whom Human Rights Watch says could be prosecuted for war crimes for presiding over the mass killing of Shiite Muslims in Afghanistan in 2000 and 2001 as the Taliban sought to consolidate their control over the country.

Taliban and Afghan officials could not be reached for comment. In Pakistan, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said her government was "not aware of" Bergdahl's release or the negotiations leading up to it. She declined to comment further.

The circumstances surrounding Bergdahl's capture remain something of a mystery. There has been some speculation that he willingly walked away from his unit, raising the question of whether he could be charged with being absent without leave (AWOL) or desertion.

___

Baldor reported from Singapore. Associated Press writers Rahim Faiez in Kabul, Afghanistan, and Zarar Khan in Islamabad contributed to this report.

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kwaigonegin said:

Eric Shikseki is a good man and a war hero who has done more for his country than most. He has taken bullets for his country but this time he took one for Obama out of honor.
The VA has been rife with incompetence and waste for a very long time and shinseki was actually cleaning some of that up when the tragic events broke.
He had no choice but became cannon fodder and fallguy for the politicians.

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