Several naval related blogs have been writing and analysing the need for the United States Navy to develop better platforms to preform their primary mission, protect the homeland. A story filed by Reuters News Service reports that Mexico captures submarine loaded with drugs this week. This is not the first time a submarine has been captured. It is a problem that has been occurring the past seven years, during the time when we were fully committed to the World Wide War on Terror. Naval forces from several Central American countries and the U.S. Coast Guard have been intercepting small submarines loaded with cocaine since the 2000. The smuggles have gotten more sophisticated and now have tried to mask engine sounds by playing recording of whales and dolphins to try and throw off the pursuers. The links below along with a youtube link showing the capture of a drug sub is just the tip of the iceberg of what has been happening while our focus has been on building for a great state war, by spending billions on questionable platforms. DDG-1000 Hits an Iceberg, Taking on Water.
Another cocaine-laden submarine sinks off Colombia International ...
To follow up on this line of thought is a link to a series of posts on
Strategy by the informative naval blog Information Dissemination. The subject of naval strategy is even more important to the long term security of both the United States and the World and it deserves special attention and awareness.I have for some time had a special affinity for the sea. Perhaps it came from my dad who conceived me shortly after serving almost four years in the Pacific during World War II. And further nurtured by a long voyage to Vietnam on the USS
General John Pope. Threats like those poised by cocaine smugglers are only the tip of an iceberg that someday could include oil revenue fueled 4th generation counter-globalization factions. Piracy is already at epidemic levels often ignored or confronted only in prose, as many of the most stalwart nations of the twentieth century decide it is better to flee than fight. Two more posts by
Information Dissemination explain how much the strategy on piracy is in dissaray..
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Another interesting example of political confusion fighting piracy is Germany, who announced this week they will not be sending a ship to replace FGS Emden (F210) when it leaves the region. Germany's laws prevent their Navy from taking any action against pirates, and believe it or not, the reason is because the German government cannot even find consensus on the issue of maritime piracy!
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And a story to make Lord Nelson spin in his coffin, or fall from his perch in Trafalgar Square.
The worm is turning, the Navy seems to be getting it right as it pulls back on billion dollar plus battle platforms and away from the industrial/military/congressional triad to try and build the navy we need, not the navy we had for the last great un-fought war. To those who think that we can not build a fleet of ships to meet these challenges. our World War experience of building a vast fleet of capital ships, supported by over three hundred destroyer escorts , who cleared and secured the sea lanes. The latest on this, is a post Littoral Dominance Requires a Broader System of Systems Battle Force Approach by Galrahn.
