US Marines – With the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit inside Afghanistan.

• Los Angeles Times: Marines Close to the Front, Far From the Action
  

Portugese Navy – The Portugese Navy is bankrupt and has been ordered back to port.

• Daily Telegraph: Portuguese navy runs out of money

US Navy – How the US Navy is using instant messaging technology in combat between its ships and its allied ships.

• International Data Group: Navy floats IM with allies

US Navy – The US Navy would like to provide ashore housing for its junior enlisted sailors, who must now live aboard ship while in port.

• Virginian Pilot: Off the Racks: Navy hopes to get sailors living ashore

US Navy – The military aspect of homeland defense.

• Sea Power: After 11 September: The War at Home

US Navy – Reflecting of the sucess of unmanned aircraft in the war in Afghanistan, the US Navy is reconsidering the role of unmanned submarines – unmanned underwater vehicles, or UUVs.

• Associated Press: U.S. Navy mulls robot submarines

Canadian Navy – HMCS Vancouver rescued a boatload of refugees in the Arabian Sea.

• Canadian Press: Frigate rescues starving refugees

Background – Transformation – An interview with the US Army’s Chief of Staff on his initiative to create Medium Brigades within the US Army that will have more combat punch than light infantry but still be easily and quickly deployable around the world. He states that he wants the US Army to be more like the US Marines Corps, and sees them as a model!

• PBS Frontline: The Future of War: Interview with General Eric Shinseki

Background – Information Warfare – James F. Dunnigan on likely targets for cyberwarriors.

• Strategy Page: The Ugly Faces of Cyberwar
  

Royal Navy – Excerpts from the memoirs of John Nott, which were published today. Nott was the UK’s Defense Secretary during the Falklands War. It is always fascinating to learn the politics behind the strategic and tactical decisions made in wartime. (There are 7 parts to the excerpts, to read them all follow the Related Reports links on the right side of the page under the Amazon ad.)

• Daily Telegraph: We were heading for war???and the Commons blamed me

US Marines – Marine Cobra attack helicopters continue to provide close air support in Afghanistan.

• Associated Press: U.S. helicopters blast cave entrances

NATO – A look at operations inside NATO’s Supreme Allied Command Atlantic during a recent wargame in Poland.

• Virginian Pilot: Norfolk NATO command puts new emphasis on warfighting

German Navy – Atlantique maritime patrol aircraft will be based in Kenya and will be used to help patrol the shipping lanes off the Horn of Africa. They join the German Navy task force based in Djibouti which is patroling the same area. Of interest is that maritime patrol aircraft from at least Germany, Canada, the US and the UK are working in the region as part of the coalition.

• BBC: German spy planes bound for Horn

Royal Australian Navy – HMAS Canberra has replaced HMAS Adelaide in the Gulf.

• Sydney Morning Herald: Adelaide Home Tomorrow From Terrorism War Duty

US Navy – An extensive review of the Aegis Combat System, Cooperative Engagement Capability,
Naval Surface Fire Support, Theater Ballistic-Missile Defense, Mine Warfare, SQQ-89 Surface-Ship ASW System, Ship Self-Defense System, Surface Combatant Modernization, and the
Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasures System.

• Sea Power: Integrated Combat Systems
  

Background – Information Warfare – In information warfare, for every measure, there is a countermeasure.

• Strategy Page: Cyber Deceptions

Canadian Navy – The submarine HMCS Windsor returns to sea.

• Daily News: Patched-up sub sails again
  

US Navy – A US Navy pilot, listed as missing in action in Iraq since 1991, may be alive and in prison in Iraq. For full details, follow the link entitled “Scott Speicher: Dead or Alive?”

• Virginian Pilot: MIA pilot might be alive, held in Iraqi jail
  

US Navy – The battle is joined for the USS John F Kennedy battlegroup.

• Virginian Pilot: Carrier JFK in war zone, formally joins fight
  

Background – Iraq – The British are preparing their bases on Cyprus for “actual operations,” presumeably against Iraq.

• Washington Times: Britain sparks fears with upgrades of Cyprus bases

Background – Iraq – The current US thinking and plans about how to oust Saddam Hussein.

• New Yorker: The Debate Within
  

US Coast Guard – On patrol with the Coast Guard’s Port Security Units.

• Seattle Post Intelligencer: Elite Coast Guard units are patrolling state’s waters

Background – Transformation – An excellent review and update on where the US military currently is regarding transformation. The author hypothesizes that transformation is one of the casulaties of September 11.

• New York Times Magazine: The Fighting Next Time

Royal Marines – Royal Marines aboard HMS Ocean in the Arabian Sea await the call to action.

• Daily Telegraph:
  British soldiers in bloody fight to clear caves

US Navy – If you have been wondering how P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft can be used to monitor ground operations over Afghanistan, Somalia, and Yemen, wonder no more. This excellent set of articles describes how the P-3’s with the aircraft improvement program (AIP) modification are conducting ground surveillance as well as surface ship surveillance throughout the Arabian Sea. The lessons learned here are being applied to the requirements specifications of the P-3’s successor.

• Aviation Week: Navy Exploits P-3
  In Overland Recce Role

• Aviation Week: Air Patrols Watch For Fleeing Leaders
• Aviation Week: P-3’s Tactical Value
  Increases With Age
  

• Aviation Week: War Experience Shapes
  Navy P-3 Follow-on

French Navy – Aircraft from the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle are flying strike missions in Afghanistan.

• Washington Post: 7 Nations Have Units Aiding U.S. Offensive

Italian Navy – The Italian Navy has been criticized for inadequate search and rescue efforts.

• The Guardian: Italian navy ‘let immigrants drown’

US Navy – The USS Peleliu’s amphibious ready group has returned home.

• San Diego Union Tribune: Marines, Navy amphibious group returning from war

US Coast Guard – Why the LORAN system is still important for navigation, and how it is maintained.

• Las Vegas Sun: Dry dock: Coast Guard’s desert outpost still vital

Background – US strategic thought – A fascinating essay by Ralph Peters on why the US should stop pursuing stability as its goal in international relations, and should instead embrace instability.

• Parameters: Stability, America’s Enemy

Royal Navy – The dock landing ship HMS Fearless is to be scrapped before her replacement enters service. The Royal Navy’s Sea Harriers will be retired early and will be replaced by upgraded RAF Harrier GR9s – The Royal Navy’s carriers will thereby lose their organic air defense capability.

• The Times: Navy’s oldest warship steams off to scrapheap
  

Canadian Navy – Why is Canada having so many problems with it’s Upholder-class submarines?

• National Post: Submarine woes blamed on Britain
• Daily News: Cracks found on sister sub delayed Windsor mission
• Daily News: Flood nearly ‘catastrophic’
  

• Halifax Herald: Crew didn’t panic over ‘minor’ flood

Background – US Strategy in the Pacific – An essay reviewing the Bush administration’s current strategy in the Pacific.

• Sea Power: Resilience and Power in the Pacific
  What a Difference a Day Makes
  

US Navy – The USS John F. Kennedy battlegroup has relieved the USS Thedore Roosevelt battlegroup in the Red Sea.

• Virginian Pilot: Kennedy finally relieves TR so it can head back to Norfolk
  

US Navy – A US task force is exercising in the Baltic Sea, in the biggest NATO exercise since the Cold War.

• Virginian Pilot: Norfolk-based ships part of NATO training in Poland

Canadian Navy – More on the flooding aboard the submarine HMCS Windsor – what happened was worse than originially revealed.

• Toronto Globe and Mail: Human error causes flood on sub
• Daily News: Newest sub erupts in panic: ‘Flood, flood!’
  

• Daily News: Some fear subs tied up too long
  

US Marines – How Civil Affairs personnel can aid a Marine air-ground task force.

• Marine Corps Gazette: Civil Affairs Marines Strengthen Expeditions
  In Complex Contingencies
  

Canadian Navy – HMCS Windor’s sea trials lasted only a few hours instead of two weeks. More troubles with the ex-Upholder class submarines for Canada.

• Halifax Herald: Leak cuts short new sub’s sea trial

Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force – Japan is considering a request from Australia to provide underway replenishment for its ships in the Arabian Sea. As usual, there are complications involved for the Japanese.

• Sydney Morning Herald: Japan baulks at refuelling request

US Marines – Marine Sea Cobra and Sea Stallion helicopters from the USS Bon Homme Richard have been sent to aid US troops battling in the mountains in eastern Afghanistan; as replacements for damaged and lost US Army Apache and Chinook helicopters.

• Associated Press: Marine choppers join battle in eastern Afghanistan

US Navy – The past, present and future of naval intelligence.

• Sea Power: Fundamental Strengths and a New Threat Environment

Background – Transformation – Ralph Peters on transformation and the military; and the relationship of the US Army’s upcoming medium brigades and the US Marines.

• PBS Frontline: The Future of War

Background – Open Source Intelligence – The case for open source intelligence in the war against terrorism.

• Time: The New Craft of Intelligence: Making the Most of Open Private Sector Knowledge

Canadian Navy – The Canadian Navy’s role in hunting terrorists in the Arabian Sea.

• National Post: Canada’s warships hunting al-Qaeda
  

US Navy – A cogent and succint summary of the air war to date in Afghanistan and the lessons learned.

• BBC: Analysis: Afghan air power revolution
  

Background – The Ground War – Ralph Peters on why casualties, though regretable, must be acceptable to us if we are to triumph over terrorism.

• Wall Street Journal: In War, Soldiers Die

Background – Iraq – More and more indicators point to a campaign to unseat Saddam Hussein.

• Daily Telegraph: US puts the finishing touches to Saddam war plan

Background – Information Warfare – James F. Dunnigan on why Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union are breeding grounds for criminal hackers.

• Strategy Page: Cybercriminals
  

Russian Navy – The Kursk will be scrapped by the end of the year.

• Associated Press: Russia to start dismantling Kursk next month, finish by end of year

Canadian Navy – The Canadian frigate HMCS Charlottetown has returned home from the Arabian Sea.

• Canadian Press: Canadian frigate returns from Arabian Sea

US Navy – Training aboard the USS Winston Churchill.

• Sea Power: Training To the Highest Level

US Air Force – The story of the Combat Controllers on the ground, who call in the air strikes.

• Associated Press: U.S. Combat Controllers Recall Mission

Background – Terrorism – A chilling look at our progress on stopping the next attack.

• Time: Can We Stop the Next Attack?

US Navy – A summary of the accomplishments of the maritime quarantine in the Arabian Sea to date.

• Associated Press: U.S., Coalition Ships Search Vessels

US Navy – The Spruance-class destroyer USS Ray is decommissioned.

• The Herald: Beyond the call of duty

Background – Nuclear Threat – The US is taking the possibility of terrorists having a nuclear weapon quite seriously – a shadow government is now up and running outside of Washington DC.

• Washington Post: Shadow Government Is at Work in Secret

???while the search for such weapons intensifies???

• Washington Post: Fears Prompt U.S. to Beef Up Nuclear Terror Detection

Background – Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

• Air Force: The Little Predator That Could
  

Background – Jihad in the UK – Jihad is being actively preached in the United Kingdom as well as in the US; UK law enforcement agencies again can do little to stop it.

• Washington Post: Radical, Retaliatory and Right There on British Bookshelves

Russian Navy – The Russian Navy’s decomissioned but not yet scrapped extensive fleet of nuclear submarines continues to pose an extreme environmental hazard, but the Russians will not accept outside help in trying to eliminate the problem.

• Associated Press: Old Russian Nuclear Subs Pose Risk

US Coast Guard – Aboard the USS Shamal, a Cyclone-class coastal patrol craft, showing how the US Navy and US Coast Guard are working more closely together in coastal defense.

• Associated Press: Navy, Coast Guard team up

Background – Islam – Thomas Friedman on how the US and Middle Eastern states need to tear down the walls of ignorance and dishonesty between them in order to achieve a lasting victory in the war on terrorism.

• New York Times: Wall of Ideas

Background – Terrorism – An excerpt from a new book that documents the presence and acts of Islamic terrorists within the US and how US law enforement agencies have been unable to address the threat due to legal restrictions on their operations.

• MSNBC: ëAmerican Jihadí – The threat from within the U.S. border

US Marines – Aboard the USS Peleliu with the Marines of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit who are now homeward bound from Afghanistan.

• San Diego Union Tribune: A little piece of the war
  

US Navy – The US Navy’s shipbuilding budget is currently inadequate, says CINCLANT.

• Virginian Pilot: Natter sets the tone for battle over more ships
• San Diego Union Tribune: Navy admiral says administration’s shipbuilding budget is inadequate

Royal Navy – How the lessons learned from the Falklands have influenced naval affairs 20 years later.

• Sea Power: A Long Look Back to the Present Day: The Falklands War Revisited

Background – Special Forces – Sir John Keegan believes the way to combat terrorism is not with high tech alone, but with high tech coupled to special forces.

• Daily Telegraph: Bin Laden will be run to earth only in the old-fashioned wa

US Navy – CINCLANT confirms the US Navy almost ran out of smart weapons in Afghanistan.

• Associated Press: War drained Navy’s equipment, Natter said

US Navy – The USS Theodore Roosevelt finally gets into port.

• Virginian Pilot: TR ends record run at sea

US Marines – US Marines are receiving unique urban combat training in US towns.

• Reuters: Marines to Practice Urban War in Real City

US Marines – Based upon their recent successes in Afghanistan, the Marines and Special Operations Command will strive to collaborate more closely in the future.

• Washington Post: Marines, Special Operations Command Increase Ties

US Marines – An overview of current Marine procurement programs including the Osprey, Advance Amphibious Assault Vehicle, Landing Craft Air Cushion, Joint Strike Fighter, Lightweight Howitzer, and others.

• Sea Power: An Eclectic Overview of Selected Marine Corps Programs

Background – Operations Other Than War – The US Secretary of Defense has stated he is against using US military forces for operations other than war. This is quite a change from the prior administration.

• Washington Times: Rumsfeld takes dim view of U.S. peacekeeping role

Background – Saudi Arabia – Thomas Friedman on two potential futures for the Saudis.

• New York Times: 1 Country, 2 Futures

US Navy – An overview of several US Navy shipbuilding and conversion programs.

• Sea Power: An Eclectic Overview of Selected Navy Programs
  

US Coast Guard – How the number one job of the US Coast Guard has shifted from search and rescue to homeland defense.

• Armed Forces Journal International: Preparing For The New War

Background – Collateral Damage – William Arkin on how little we currently know about collateral damage and civilian casualties from airstrikes in Afghanistan.

• Washington Post: Not Good Enough, Mr. Rumsfeld

Please keep those Comment Forms coming folks! I’ve received over 20 in the last 2 days, which is more than I’ve received in the last 2 years. I have already received many excellent suggestions for improvements. In a week or two I will summarize the feedback I have obtained, and address many of your questions. Thanks again!

Irish Navy – The Irish Navy is playing a bigger role in search and rescue operations.

• Associated Press:
  Irish Navy Aids Search for Family
  

Swedish Navy – The corvette Visby is undergoing sea trials.

• Jane’s: Sweden’s Visby begins sea trials

US Coast Guard – Aboard several USCG cutters, patroling at sea.

• Sea Power: Homeland Defense Begins at the Water’s Edge

Background – Donald Rumsfield – An in depth interview with the US Secretary of Defense. Amongst the interviewers is the military historian Sir John Keegan.

• Daily Telegraph: ‘You can only defend by finding terrorists and rooting them out’

Background – War gaming – A preview of the war game “Millennium Challenge 2002.”

• Virginian Pilot: Experiment in Norfolk could change pace of war

US Navy – One reason the US cannot attack Iraq today – a shortage of smart munitions.

• Washington Post: Anti-Iraq Rhetoric Outpaces Reality

Russian Navy – The view from Moscow – A lack of discipline caused the loss of the Kursk.

• Moscow Times: Military Unfit for New Toys
  

US Navy – A review of naval and marine operations of coalition forces in Afghanistan, to late January.

• Sea Power: Navy and Marine Corps Units
  Continue Hunt for Terrorists
  

US Coast Guard – The Coast Guard Auxillary is forming air units.

• Northwest Florida Daily News : Panhandle Coast Guard flotilla to
  begin air patrols over Gulf Coast

US Navy – How port security is evolving in the Hampton Roads area.

• Virginian Pilot: Navy, Coast Guard lock arms to protect the port
  

Special Request – Send Comments Please – This week marks NOSI’s 2 year anniversary. I know that hundreds of you read NOSI every day, but unfortunately I receive feedback about NOSI from very few of you. Could I therefore ask you to take a minute to fill out our brief Comments Form to give us some feedback so that we may further improve NOSI. I thank you in advance for your time.

US Navy – The USS Theodore Roosevelt achieves the 10,000 trap of its deployment.

• Virginian Pilot: TR marks 10,000th arrested landing in record time
  

US Marines – Marines are training with the latest chemical and biological warfare protection gear.

• North County Times: Marines train with protective suits

US Marines – What life was really like in the early days at Camp Rhino.

• Soldier of Fortune: SOF at FOB Rhino

Background – Pakistani Nucs – Do a significant number of Pakistani’s believe the only hope they have for the future is an apocalyptic nuclear exchange with India?

• Atlantic Monthly: A modest proposal from the Brigadier

US Navy – The USS Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard, deploys to relieve the USS Bataan Amphibious Ready Group.

• Virginian Pilot: 4,500 sailors and Marines deploy with Wasp amphibious group

US Navy – CINCPAC on how important US allies are in the war on terrorism.

• Washington Post: Allies Called Essential As Terror Hunt Widens

Iranian Navy and Taiwanese Navy – Iran’s navy has received Crotale-compatible surface to air missiles from China; meanwhile the US still cannot figure out how to supply Taiwan with diesel submarines.

• Washington Times: Inside the Ring

Background – Hunt for Bin Laden – Has the hunt, now being run by the SAS and Delta, moved to Indian Kashmir?

• Daily Telegraph: SAS joins Kashmir hunt for bin Laden

Background – Iraq – Has an attack on Iraq by summer become a foregone conclusion?

• Washington Times: Uniting mission and coalition

Background – Paul Wolfowitz – James Fallows on deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, how he is influencing the pursuit of the war against terrorism, and his future view of the world.

• The Atlantic: The Unilateralist

US Navy – US Navy P-3 Orions are flying intelligence missions over rebel strongholds in the Phillipines.

• Washington Post: Spy Planes Seek Out Philippine Guerrillas

US Marines – US Marines have been helping to provide radar coverage at the Olympics.

• San Diego Union Tribune: Marines stand cold watch in icy mountains above Olympic venues
  

Russian Navy – Another twist to the case of a former Russian naval officer being tried for treason over his revealing of how nuclear waste is being disposed of illegally by the Russian Navy.

• Associated Press: Russia’s Top Court Overturns Soviet-Era Order in Victory for Jailed Journalist
  

US Navy – Preliminary lessons learned on network-centric warfare from the US Navy War College’s Global 2000 war game.

• Naval War College Review: GLOBAL 2000
  

US Navy – Difficulties faced between target designators on the ground and pilots at high altitude and how US forces are trying to resolve them.

• Washington Post: In War, Mud Huts And Hard Calls

US Navy – The USS Theodore Roosevelt sets a record for most continuous days at sea.

• Virginian Pilot: Roosevelt becomes Navy’s new Iron Man
  

US Navy – How reservists are helping port security.

• San Diego Union Tribune: Naval reservists on patrol
  

Canadian Navy – The supply ship HMCS Preserver rescued two sailors stranded at sea in the Arabian Sea.

• Halifax Herald: Preserver crew saves starving sailors

Background – US defense budget – How the proposed US defense budget fails to transform.

• Economist: Transformation postponed