The State of the U.S. Military

Posted by Matt in January 27th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Military, U.S., arsenal, Collective Decisions, Congress, Jeopardy, Military Equipment, Military Personnel, Planes, Platforms, Republican Presidents, ships, tanks, Tools

Regrettably, the tools required to sustain all of these efforts are in jeopardy. The collective decisions by Congress and both Democratic and Republican Presidents over the past 15 years have left the U.S. military using equipment that is extremely old and, in many cases, outdated.
While compensation for military personnel continues to rise necessarily and deservedly, [...]

America Effectively Declares War on American Somoa

Posted by Matt in January 19th, 2010 | no comment

Published in general, 60 Minutes, American Economy, American Samoa, American Somoa, Congress, Consumer Goods, Insult To Injury, Layed Off, Legislation, Minimum Wage, Minium Wage, ships, Somoans, Tuna

America has devastated the economy of American Somoa with one piece of legislation. What was this legislation? It was our minium wage law that was changed to include American Somoa.
Approximately 80% of the American Somoa economy was based on canning tuna. With the large increase in the minimum wage mandated by congress, one tuna company [...]

Retired admiral says Russia losing its navy

Posted by Matt in November 27th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Russia, Adm, Admiral, Amphibious Assault, Associated Press, Decommissioning, Deploy Troops, Deployments, Dramatic Decline, Faces, helicopters, News Agency, Popov, Retired Navy, Ria Novosti News, Russia, Russian Officials, ships, Vyacheslav, warships

Russia’s once-mighty navy faces further dramatic decline after 2015, when most Soviet-built ships will have to be mothballed, a retired admiral was quoted as saying Friday.
The warning follows comments by Russian officials they were planning to buy a French amphibious assault warship able to carry at least a dozen helicopters or to land forces.
Russia currently [...]

Medvedev says Russia to step up navy presence in world’s oceans

Posted by Matt in November 17th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Military, Russia, International Missions, Medvedev, Navy Presence, Russia, ships, Syria, warships, World Oceans, World S Oceans

In September 2008, Russia was reported to be in talks with Syria on turning the Tartus port into a permanent Middle East base for Russian nuclear-armed warships.
Medvedev said Russia needs an effective navy to be able to send ships to take part in international missions.
Medvedev says Russia to step up navy presence in world’s oceans

Tension grows between China and India as Asia slips into cold war – Times Online

Posted by Matt in November 11th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Asia, China, India, 33 Years, Asia Online, AsianColdWar, beijing, China, Coastal Command, Cold-War, ColdWar, Direct Response, Hambantota, helicopters, India, Indian Ocean, Maldives, radar, ships, Slips, Sri Lanka, Surveillance Aircraft, Tension, War Times

Now, 33 years later, India is preparing to reopen the base to station surveillance aircraft, helicopters, and possibly ships, to monitor Chinese vessels in the Indian Ocean. Under a deal signed in August, India is also installing radar across the Maldives, linked to its coastal command.
Both countries publicly deny that the move is aimed at [...]

US drones protecting ships from Somali pirates

Posted by Matt in October 23rd, 2009 | no comment

Published in Africa, Military, Associated Press, bombs, Command Headquarters, Drones, Fly, Indian Ocean, Infrared Laser, Island Nation, Jet Fighter, Military Officials, Military Surveillance, Missiles, Moeller, radar, Reapers, ships, Somali Pirates, Stuttgart Germany, Surveillance Planes

In an effort to stem the surge, unmanned U.S. military surveillance planes called MQ-9 Reapers stationed on the island nation of Seychelles are being deployed to patrol the Indian Ocean in search of pirates, Moeller told The Associated Press in an interview at command headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. The patrols began this week, military officials [...]

China sets its sights on US Navy, admiral warns – World News – World – General – Straight Furrow

Posted by Matt in October 5th, 2009 | no comment

Published in China, Capabilities, Capability, China Navy, John Bird, Navy Admiral, Navy News, News World, Seventh Fleet, ships, Straight Furrow, Sydney, Us Navy, Vice Admiral, Weapons Systems, World News

The commander of the Seventh Fleet, Vice-Admiral John Bird, said in Sydney yesterday that China’s naval capability “has grown much faster than any of our predictions”.Of China’s new capabilities, “many are intended to counter a navy such as the US Navy,” with weapons systems “targeted to our carriers and larger ships.”
He suggested that China aimed [...]

China’s New Weapons May Threaten U.S. Bases, Ships, Gates Says – Bloomberg.com

Posted by Matt in September 16th, 2009 | no comment

Published in China, Advocates, Audience, Bloomberg, China, Defense Secretary, Freedom Of Movement, Military Presence, New Weapons, Robert Gates, Secretary Robert, ships, Suburban Maryland

China is developing new weapons that could threaten the U.S. military presence in the Pacific, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today.
“We should be concerned less with their potential ability to challenge the U.S. — fighter-to-fighter or ship-to-ship — and more with their ability to disrupt our freedom of movement and narrow our strategic options,” Gates [...]

Was Russia’s ‘Arctic Sea’ Carrying Missiles to Iran? – TIME

Posted by Matt in August 31st, 2009 | no comment

Published in Russia, Arctic Sea, ArcticSea, Distress Signal, Hijackers, Hijacking, Hostage, Iran, Israeli President, Lawyer, Missiles, moscow, Navy Ship, Political Conflict, Political Game, Russia, Shimon Peres, ships, Surprise Visit, Suspected Pirates, Target, Wrong Place At The Wrong Time

But as details of the hijacking emerged, the tale got murkier, and Moscow’s explanation does little to clear things up. Why, with so many other ships carrying much more valuable cargo, would the hijackers target the Arctic Sea and its small load of timber? Why didn’t the ship send out a distress signal? Why did [...]

China urges U.S. to halt surveillance near its shores | Reuters

Posted by Matt in August 27th, 2009 | no comment

Published in China, China Economic, Confrontations, Exclusive Economic Zone, Led, Military Air, Reuters, Sea Surveillance, ships, Survey Operations

Five times this year, Chinese vessels have confronted U.S. surveillance ships in Asian waters, the U.S. Defense Department said in May. China said the U.S. vessels had intruded its territory. There has since been a sixth incident.
“China believes the constant U.S. military air and sea surveillance and survey operations in China’s exclusive economic zone had [...]