Washington Post – Thomas Ricks states that a growing number of career professionals within national security agencies believe that the situation in Iraq is much worse, and the path to success much more tenuous, than is being expressed in public by top administration officials.
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US Navy – Navy Outlines New Vision for Unmanned Underwater Vehicles
Sea Power – Military robotics may be a long way from Isaac Asimovís vision of evolved, synthetic intelligence in I, Robot. However, thinking machines already have become familiar sights, flying above or rolling through todayís battle spaces. The U.S. Navy now is on the verge of unveiling a revised master plan that charts the course for new generations of warrior robots to help dominate the seas as well.
NATO – NATO answers call for sub SOS service
Virginian Pilot – A program designed to respond to submarine disasters around the world officially opened Monday ñ the result of a tragedy four years ago when 118 sailors died inside the Russian sub Kursk.
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US Marines – Dispelling the Myth of the MV-22
US Naval Institute Proceedings – Measures have been implemented to ensure the aerodynamic problem that grounded the Osprey in 2000 never happens again.
Iraq – The Next Iraqi War
New Yorker – What Kirkuk’s struggles to reverse Saddam’s ethnic cleansing signals for the future of Iraq.
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US Marines – Ready to attack when it suits you, Mr President
Daily Telegraph – With the Marines outside Fallujah.
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Royal Navy – Navy sub refit fails to save the whale
The Scotsman – The Royal Navy is also having problems fielding a whale friendly sonar.
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Israeli Navy – New Navy Commander takes over
Jerusalem Post – Rear Admiral David Ben-Bashat took command of the Israeli navy last week.
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US Navy – U.S. Wants to Lease Swedish Submarine
Associated Press – The United States wants to lease a Swedish attack submarine for naval exercises in the Baltic Sea. The Swedish submarine would play an “enemy” role in the exercises.
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US Marines – Marines Defend Manpower Stance, Say Equipment is the Urgent Need
Sea Power – Is there a need for more Marines?
Wargaming – The Global War Game
US Naval War College – The Newport Papers are extended research projects that the editor, the Dean of Naval Warfare Studies, and the President of the Naval War College consider of particular interest to policy makers, scholars, and analysts, and judge worthy of extensive, selective distribution.
Here are two Newport papers that trace the evolution of the US Navy’s Global War Game and its effect on US policy and strategy during the Cold War. Fascinating reading. Both papers are in PDF format.
Editorial Note
NOSI will next be updated on Monday September 27th. I have therefore provided the weekend’s background reading today. See you Monday!
US Navy – Navy's '60s-era Sea Knight helicopters make their last flights
Virginian Pilot – The helicopter the Navy has been trying to get rid of for a decade finally has retired, after 40 years of not only moving troops and cargo but rescuing hundreds of downed sailors and aviators. The last two Navy CH-46D Sea Knight helicopters, assigned to Helicopter Combat support Squadron Eight, made their final flights Thursday at Norfolk Naval Station. The entire line is being replaced by the newer MH-60S Night Hawk series of helicopters.
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US Marines – Arrival in Afghanistan
Marine Corps Gazette – The author recounts an unforgettable plane ride to Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom.
History – Ballfield to Battlefield
Naval History – A number of Navy football players took what they learned on the gridiron with them as they went on to serve with distinction in combat. Six earned the Medal of Honor.
Iraq – What Went Wrong in Iraq
Foriegn Affairs – Although the early U.S. blunders in the occupation of Iraq are well known, their consequences are just now becoming clear. The Bush administration was never willing to commit the resources necessary to secure the country and did not make the most of the resources it had. U.S. officials did get a number of things right, but they never understood-or even listened to-the country they were seeking to rebuild. As a result, the democratic future of Iraq now hangs in the balance.
US Marines – Marines Bide Their Time In Insurgent-Held Fallujah
Washington Post – With the Marines outside Fallujah.
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US Navy – New Command Will Unify Navy's Maritime Force Protection Units
Sea Power – Force protection has been a hot issue for the U.S. Navy since the terrorist bombing of the destroyer USS Cole in 2000 and the beginning of the global war on terrorism. The subsequent buildup of the Navyís force protection units and weapons will culminate next month with the establishment of a new fleet-wide command to bring them under a single umbrella.
Disarmament – The Wrong Deterrence
Washington Post – Bruce Blair states the the threat of loose nuclear weapons is one of our own making???and that the current deterrent practices of the two nuclear superpowers are not only anachronistic, they are thwarting our ability to protect ourselves against the real threats.
He also relates how the US Navy’s communication system with its Trident-class ballistic missile submarines was found to be vulnerable to terrorist hackers???
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Nigerian Navy – Embarrassment as Nigerian navy 'loses' impounded tanker
Daily Telegraph – Nigeria admitted a “national embarrassment” yesterday after a Russian tanker laden with 30,000 barrels of oil disappeared without trace from the custody of its navy.
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US Marines – 'Brilliance in the Basics' and Other Expectations of Combat Leaders
Marine Corps Gazette – Adherence to basics provides success on the battlefield.
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Iraq – Fresh hostilities don't alter the justice of deposing Saddam
Daily Telegraph – John Keegan analyses the current situation in Iraq.
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Taiwanese Navy – Sonar aboard Knox-Class frigates helps Navy keep a close watch
Taiwan News – While China’s Navy with its large number of surface ships and submarines can be an intimidating force, the Taiwan Navy sees its own Knox-Class frigates of the 168 Fleet as an ace in the hole.
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US Navy – Electric Drive for DD(X) Sparks Competition Over Exotic Motors
Sea Power – One of the keys to success in the U.S. Navyís pursuit of an integrated power system (IPS), or electric drive, for its future surface combatants is development of an electric motor that packs much more power in a much smaller machine than has ever gone to sea.
US Marines – Norfolk Marine tells story of rooftop fight in Iraq
Virginian Pilot – Marine Cpl. Lonnie Young waged the battle of his life in Iraq on April 4: Trapped on a rooftop with a handful of other men, he helped to face down hundreds of Iraqi insurgents attacking from all directions.
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