US Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

Jeff Head said:

I did so...and responded there with a pic!

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Air Force Brat said:

"Now that there is an RV Clark" cousin Eddie on "Christmas Vacation".

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Jura said:

scary in several ways:
Admiral: Time is running out to begin updating nukes

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The upcoming costs for modernizing America’s nuclear arsenal require a new national dialogue about the strategic deterrent, the No. 2 uniformed officer at the Pentagon argued Thursday.

Gen. Paul Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spent a chunk of his appearance at a defense conference discussing the need to educate the public on why nuclear weapons remain relevant in order to secure funding for a coming wave of modernization costs.

“We have a bill to pay to modernize our nuclear force in all three legs of the triad. And we need to figure out how to do that and how to talk about it so that everybody understands why each leg of the triad is so important,” said Selva during the annual McAleese & Associates and Credit Suisse 2017 Defense Programs conference.

“As a nation, we have to have the discussion about how much we value that capability, why it is important, why it keeps us a great power and why each leg of the triad makes each of the other legs that much more credible,” he added. “Those are important questions we need to be able to ask and answer.”

In January 2015, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the nuclear arsenal will cost $348 billion to upgrade and maintain over the next decade, while an August 2015 study by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments found that upgrading and maintaining the US nuclear force posture will cost more than $700 billion over the next 25 years.

The heaviest costs of that budget bow wave hit in the mid 2020s — the same time that a number of conventional systems need to be upgraded as well. This has prompted top Pentagon leaders to sound the alarm that unless budget top lines are increased, tradeoffs will need to be made. And unlike in the past, when the need for a nuclear deterrent was largely accepted, the Pentagon will need to make a strong case to the public to sell paying that bill.

“In our history, every time that has happened, we have added a specific amount to the Defense Department’s top line to accommodate the modernization of our strategic nuclear arsenal,” Selva said of the coming costs. “That is a substantial bill for the nation to pay.

“If we are not starting that discussion right now, this instant, it will be too late,” he concluded. “We are already formulating the [Program Objective Memorandum] that defines the top line for the early ‘20s. We have to get this conversation to the forefront.”

Selva seemed to argue that the triad — the naval, air and ICBM nuclear delivery arms of the Pentagon — needs to take precedent over conventional systems, given its centrality to American global power projection.

“Our capacity to deter nuclear foes adds credibility to our conventional force, and if we are ever threatened by a nuclear foe who is our equal or our better, then our conventional force loses relevance quick,” Selva said.

As the general painted it, the issue of explaining the need for a nuclear triad ties into a broader cultural divide between those under 40 and those over 40 on national security issues as a whole.

Those under 40, he argued, generally do not see national security as a major discussion topic the way it is for an older generation.

“The debate about national security disappeared, in any real measure, from our national dialogue” post Desert Storm, he said. “9/11 made it worse, not better, because 9/11 made national security about counter terrorism … broad strategic conversation about the value of the military outside of that context was lost.”

Fixing that, and finding a way to inject substantive conversation about defense issues back into the everyday discourse, is a heavy load, Selva said.

“College professors have to say it’s important. High school teachers have to say it’s important. Clergy have to understand,” he said. “And how do you motivate them to have that conversation? I don’t know.”

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Jura said:

related:
No. 2 Military Officer: National Dialogue on Nuclear Deterrent Vital

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PanAsian said:

Ideally the US should bring back the draft to permanently re-invigorate military service as a civic duty and military priorities as a continuous part of the national consciousness. It should be done in ways that deepen Americans' understanding and appreciation for national military power and reduce special interest influence and waste in military policy.

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navyreco said:

Now with video


Video: USS Porter is the First US Navy Burke-class Destroyer to Test Raytheon's SeaRAM CIWS

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Jura said:

related:
No. 2 Military Officer: National Dialogue on Nuclear Deterrent Vital

source:

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Jura said:

if interested in the rest of it, visit
Document: DoD Plans to Integrate Women Into Special Operations Forces

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Naval Today said:

Having completed its second scheduled deployment to the Western Pacific, U.S. Navy’s Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Texas (SSN 775) returned to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, March 9.

During deployment, the boat steamed over 27,000 miles and conducted four port-call visits in two foreign countries while conducting missions.

Cmdr. Todd Nethercott, commanding officer of USS Texas, said:

“The ship and crew performed exceedingly well. Few Sailors aboard two years ago could even fathom that Texas would be pulling in today after having completed a highly successful Western Pacific deployment.”

USS Texas had been in dry dock for 26 months before she deployed, which made guidance from senior crew members crucial.

Master Chief Machinist’s Mate Daniel Kloepfer, chief of the boat aboard USS Texas, said:

“There is nothing better than taking a shipyard crew and training them into sharp, proficient, steely-eyed killers of the deep. While the first-term sailors brought an abundance of energy and enthusiasm to the boat, the seasoned Sailors brought the experience and the knowledge necessary to change Texas from a ship into a warship.”

During their deployment, 11 Sailors and three officers earned their submarine warfare qualifications and now wear the submarine warfare insignia, or dolphins. Additionally, 11 Sailors were advanced in rank.

A number of objectives were accomplished during the submarine’s deployment, including participation in two exercises with the air, surface and subsurface components of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.

USS Texas set a new submerged endurance record for the ship while conducting missions vital to national security. Also, the culinary team was recognized as one of four finalists for the Captain Edward F. Ney award for culinary excellence.

Commissioned September 9, 2006, USS Texas is the second of the Navy’s Virginia-class fast-attack submarines and the fourth warship to be named after the U.S. state of Texas. Measuring 377 feet (115m) long and weighing more than 7,900 tons, the submarine is capable of executing anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, and shallow water operations.

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