Lessons from a Training Ship

USNI Blog – As a former surface warfare officer, now a civilian pursuing a merchant mariner license, I recently had the opportunity to serve onboard the State University of New York (SUNY) Maritime College’s training ship, the Empire State VI. I was assigned as a deck training officer and lab instructor, but I also received an immersive education in how the Merchant Marine trains its officers and operates its ships.

The Future of Aircraft Carriers: Consider the Air Wing, Not the Platform

CIMSEC – Robert Rubel asks what is it that the air wing, irrespective of the range of its aircraft, is supposed to do? That is a function of the ability of aircraft to penetrate to a launch point, and the ability of the weapons they deliver to achieve the effects needed. A valid discussion of those factors involves much more than just “bombs on target.”

Spencer’s firing is latest in string of disasters for US Navy leadership

Defense News – Last week’s ouster of Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer marked the latest in a string of leadership disasters for a beleaguered service, one that has seen a slew of admirals and senior captains reprimanded, fired or had their careers cut short for everything from ethics violations to poor performance on their watch.

German Navy chief of staff: The naval force is preparing for challenges beyond 2020

Defense News – The German government’s 2016 defense whitepaper picked up on the fragility and volatility of the political and security landscape around Europe shown in recent years and provided a new strategic outline for the German armed forces and the German Navy. Strategically we have to equally balance collective and national defense with the tasks of international crisis management.