Tag Archives: US Navy

Podcast, Sea Control: Asia-Pacific (ASPI)

Sea Control 106 – Diver Tough and #Submarinerlife

January 18, 2016 Guest Author Leave a comment

What’s life like on a US Navy submarine? Do submariners listen to Lauryn Hill? What kind of whiskey do they drink?

In Sea Control: Asia-Pacific’s first podcast for 2016, Natalie Sambhi, Analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, interviews the very cool dudes from Diver Tough, a weekly podcast series by former US Navy submariners and Navy divers Walter Lyon and Josh Toth. Walt and JT tell us about Diver Tough before sharing their thoughts on #submarinerlife and the best music to listen to underwater, the end of combat exclusion for women, Navy SEALs and female submariners, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and action heroes, and lastly, their favourite scotch and whiskey picks.

DOWNLOAD: Diver Tough and Submariner Life

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The War

Members' Roundup

November Member Round-Up

December 9, 2015 Guest Author 1 Comment

Welcome to the November 2015 Member Round-Up. Over the past several weeks CIMSEC members have examined several international maritime security issues, including the modernization of U.S. Naval capabilities and strategies, France’s air war against ISIS, Russian military involvement in the Syrian conflict, the future of the U.S. Air-Sea Battle operational concept and growing maritime trilateral relations between India, Japan and the U.S.

Beginning the Round-Up at The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, Bryan Clark discusses the unsustainable operational stress the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps are facing with longer and more frequent deployments in multiple areas of operation. As the U.S. combats ISIS across Africa and the Middle East while also addressing Chinese and Russian international boundary conflicts, Mr. Clark explains that current processes to prepare forces for deployment are insufficient and limit the abilities for naval and marine forces to deliver certain capabilities effectively. Also at CSBA, Mr. Clark explains the affects of a decreasing Defense Department budget and the possible steps it can take to minimize the impact of reduced spending levels.

Chuck Hill, for his Coast Guard Blog, discusses the development of the National Fleet Plan and its objective to increase cooperation between the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard through increased opportunities of commonality and interoperability. Mr. Hill describes the strategic laydown of the plan concerning shared facilities and ports, particularly the stationing of Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Cutters at U.S. Naval bases.

At The War on the Rocks, Bryan McGrath provides an analysis outlining key components of Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio’s military modernization platform. Mr. McGrath is supportive of Rubio’s focus to place priority on undersea and electronic warfare technologies considering these features of naval power are imperative for the U.S to maintain primacy in the maritime domain. Further to this, the strategy supports the development and construction of the Navy’s next ballistic missile submarine (SSBN(x)), the Air Force’s LRS-B and modernization of the U.S. nuclear arsenal to enhance strategic deterrence in the future.

Also on the future of U.S. military and naval strategy, Harry Kazianis at The National Interest shares an interview he recently participated in with the Air-Sea Battle Office. In the interview Mr. Kazianis poses several questions concerning the operational capabilities of U.S. forces within challenging environments where advanced Anti-Area/Access-Denial strategies are in effect. The interview focuses on the applicability and difficulties key components of the ASB concept encounter within A2/AD environments and the corresponding development of the Joint Concept for Access and Maneuver in the Global Commons (JAM-GC) framework.

Entering the Asia-Pacific, Mira Rapp-Hooper at Lawfare discusses the U.S.S. Lassen’s freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) in the Spratly Islands and the legal implications the operation has concerning the status of the U.S. government’s recognition of the artificially constructed islands. Ms. Rapp-Hooper analyzes the U.S.S. Lassen FONOP attempting to establish whether the operation was an exercise of innocent passage or a demonstration of normal military operations within the surrounding Chinese-claimed 12 n.m. territorial waters. Ankit Panda, at The Diplomat, also interprets tensions in the South China Sea with an explanation of the political statements released from senior Chinese and American officials. Mr. Panda discusses the opposing remarks provided by Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter concerning U.S. FONOP’s in the South China Sea and the overall security of the region’s maritime domain.

Paul Pryce, for Offiziere, explains aspects of the Papua New Guinea Defense Force procurement strategy and the regional pressures demanding its success. Mr. Pryce suggests that Papua New Guinea become a more independent actor in terms of patrolling and monitoring its territorial waters without extensive foreign assistance from regional allies such as Australia. The procurement of affordable high-capacity offshore patrol vessels as opposed to advanced and expensive frigates is crucial for New Guinea to develop the ability to control its expansive EEZ territory and contribute to maritime stability within the region.

To conclude the November Round-Up, Darshana M. Baruah also for Offiziere, discusses the evolving trilateral relationship between Japan, India and the U.S. in the Indo-Pacific. An analysis of the trilateral naval exercise Malabar 2015, where an aircraft carrier, missile cruisers and frigates participated, reveals that the alignment of Indian, American and Japanese interests are consistent with the developing geo-strategic landscape of the region. Ms. Baruah suggests that the rise of China and the changing dynamics of maritime security and naval strategy have resulted in the need for these new political and strategic arrangements.

Members at CIMSEC were also active elsewhere during the month of November:

Robert Farley, at The National Interest, provides an analysis of five likely regional conflicts capable of escalating into an international conflict resulting in the start of World War III. In a second article at The National Interest, Mr. Farley explains how the U.S. anti-submarine capabilities developed during the cold war diminish the current credibility of the Chinese maritime nuclear deterrent.
Sam LaGrone, at S. Naval Institute News, shares two articles regarding the establishment of a Chinese military base near the Gulf of Aden as well as the French air campaign against ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria. The first article discusses the confirmation from U.S. Africa Command concerning the official formation of a Chinese forward operating base in Djibouti. The second article outlines the ongoing operations of a French carrier battle group stationed in the Mediterranean.
Dave Majumdar, at The National Interest, explains the strategic and political consequences of Russia’s S-400 surface-to-air missile defense system being deployed to Syria in response to Turkey shooting down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 bomber. In a second article, Mr. Majumdar describes the pair of Turkish F-16C fighters engaging the Su-24 bomber and analyzes the international response to the event.
James Stavridis on Bloomberg Business explains the significance of the Turkish Presidential elections and the outcome it can have regarding alterations in the region’s balance of power. Additionally, ADM. Stavridis discusses the dynamics of the Syrian conflict and the requirement of both diplomatic efforts towards the Assad regime and united NATO military operations towards ISIS to stabilize the region.
At The National interest, Ankit Panda describes major organizational changes within China’s Peoples Liberation Army. This restructuring intends to consolidate power throughout the hierarchal governance system within the army. Within the article, Mr. Panda also discusses institutional shortcomings concerning Iran’s ICBM development programs.

At CIMSEC we encourage members to continue writing, either here on the NextWar site or through other means. You can assist us by emailing your works to dmp@cimsec.org.

Sam Cohen is currently studying Honors Specialization Political Science at Western University in Canada. His interests are in the fields of strategic studies and defense policy and management.

Capability Analysis

THE U.S. NAVY’S SELF-IMPOSED BLOCKADE

November 11, 2015 Guest Author Leave a comment

By Noel Williams

This article originally featured on War on the Rocks. You can read it in its original form here.

The U.S. Navy is confined to a narrow intellectual roadstead, effectively corralled in its thinking and investment decisions by the three horsemen of budget constraints, bureaucratic sclerosis, and constricting congressional mandates. The current received wisdom of the institution judges that inadequate resources for shipbuilding, coupled with a ponderous acquisition process and regulatory constraints, such as the requirement to maintain 11 aircraft carriers, means it is not possible to build a new ship or redesign our fleet architecture — or even think about doing so. The “smart” thinking is that the only way forward is to simply repeat improved versions of existing platforms — destroyers, littoral combat ships, aircraft carriers — and perhaps even rename and re-categorize a few. Regrettably, our adversaries are not similarly encumbered in their thinking, and this simple systemic asymmetry between our calcified bureaucracy and their capacity for innovation means we are effectively ceding the field, or ocean, to future adversaries. It is “baked in” that we will lose the next big naval contest if we maintain our current heading.

Given the seriousness of the circumstances, we should be working overtime to change this disastrous course and start thinking again about fleet and ship design, even if today’s resources don’t allow full implementation of the new fleet architecture and the ships we may envision. There is a benefit to having a plan, even if current circumstances militate against its full implementation.

Read the rest here.

Members' Roundup

October Member Round-Up Part Two

November 6, 2015 Guest Author Leave a comment

Welcome to Part Two of the October 2015 Member Round-Up, covering the second two weeks of the month. Over the past two weeks the U.S. freedom of navigation operations (FONOPS) in the South China Sea have dominated the attention of the maritime security community. Although the incident was a significant development in the region, CIMSEC members have focused on several other international maritime issues in addition to the FONOPS. These issues include Russian operations in the Middle East, Canada’s blue-water naval capabilities, strategic alliances in the Indo-Pacific and features of the U.S. Navy’s procurement strategy requirements.

Beginning the Round-Up at The National Interest, Scott Cheney-Peters discusses the necessity of U.S. FONOPS directed at China’s artificial islands in the South China Sea. Mr. Cheney-Peters explains that the U.S. position was twofold; it was critical to uphold commonsense interpretation of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea while also reassuring commitment to regional allies concerned with China’s growing military capabilities. Mr. Cheney-Peters also explains the FONOPS repercussions and implications in an article at Sputnik.

Bryan Clark is interviewed at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments concerning the U.S. Navy’s freedom of navigation maneuvers and the potential consequences of such operations. He explains the possibility that these U.S. operations may initiate FONOPS response equivalents off the U.S. West Coast from PLA-N vessels. However, Mr. Clark also notes that inaction would abandon sovereignty disputes over the artificial islands ceding the region to the Chinese, a circumstance at odds with regional U.S. interests.

Fiery-Cross-Reef-China-base-SCS-150311_fieryBase_2detail-1024x863-1024x863 — China’s new airstrip built over Fiery Cross Reef in the South China Sea (CSIS image)

Mira Rapp-Hooper, at Lawfare, explains the U.S. FONOPS in the South China Sea through an international law context. The objective of her article is to outline the key legal and factual features of freedom of navigation while accurately describing the relationship between the military operation itself and maritime law. Also following a legal perspective, Alex Calvo for The Asia-Pacific Journal provides a comprehensive analysis on the ongoing legal dispute in the South China Sea. Mr. Calvo explains that the arbitration case currently being held in the Netherlands will contribute to the future dynamic of the entire South China Sea region and the ability for international law to resolve territorial conflicts peacefully and without recourse to military options.

Concluding the Round-Up’s discussion on the South China Sea FONOPS, James Goldrick at The Interpreter discusses the political and strategic need for Australia to assert freedom of operation throughout China’s artificial island network and its corresponding contested waters. Mr. Goldrick maintains that Australia should dispatch a naval force to operate in the vicinity of the Chinese artificial islands to demonstrate commitment to upholding international law and support for regional allied interests.

Darshana Baruah, at Offiziere, discusses the developing relationship in the Indo-Pacific between India and Australia. The article explains that the recent completion of the first bilateral naval exercises between the two countries indicates an aim to strengthen interoperability between their respective navies for the purpose of increased maritime security. Further to this, Ms. Baruah identifies the U.S. rebalance to the Asia-Pacific and the rise of China as having contributed to geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific region, which has resulted in strategic opportunities for Indo-Pacific actors to collaborate in bilateral or multilateral arrangements.

Bryan Clark, before the House Armed Services Seapower and Power Projection Forces Subcommittee, argued that the U.S. Navy must increase development of advanced undersea systems to sustain American dominance in undersea operations. Mr. Clark explains that U.S. undersea warfare capabilities face the threat of being effectively challenged as a result of new detection technologies and quieter submarine fleets being developed by U.S. competitors.

To conclude Part Two of the October Member Round-Up, Ken Hansen for The Conference of Defense Associations Institute discusses the loss of Canada’s two primary logistical ships and the implications the loss will have on the Navy’s operations. Mr. Hansen explains that the decommissioning of the HMCS Preserver and the major fire onboard the HMCS Protecteur has entirely eliminated the Navy’s ability to conduct global force projection operations due to a lack of at-sea replenishment. Mr. Hansen explains that the Canadian Navy has acquired Spanish and Chilean logistical ships for temporary use for blue-water training operations and to maintain task group readiness throughout the logistical ship replacement process.

Members at CIMSEC were also active elsewhere during the second part of October:

Robert Farley, for The National Interest, discusses the complexities of allocating sufficient and appropriate resources to each branch of the U.S. military while maintaining a strategic outlook for the entire force as a whole.
Chuck Hill, for his Coast Guard Blog, criticizes the lack of attention from both the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy regarding EEZ enforcement in the Western Pacific.
At The Diplomat, Ankit Panda discusses the first decision made by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PAC) concerning the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea with regards to the Philippines v. China dispute. Mr. Panda clarifies that the PAC stated it was within the court’s jurisdiction to proceed with the evaluation of legal assertions in the South China Sea. Mr. Panda shares a second article describing a joint Japanese-U.S. naval exercise in the South China Sea where a U.S. Nimitz-class super-carrier and Japanese Akizuki-class destroyer were involved.
Sam LaGrone, at U.S. Naval Institute News, examines the U.S. Air Force’s decision to contract Northrop Grumman to build the Long Range Strike Bomber for a unit cost of $564 million in fiscal year 2016 dollars. Mr. LaGrone in a second article discusses the USS Ronald Reagan’s decision to launch alert fighters to intercept two Russian surveillance aircraft that came within one nautical mile of the forward deployed carrier.
James Stavridis in an interview with CNN discusses the potential Russian threat against trans-Atlantic fiber optic cables and the destabilizing consequences that would occur if Russia were to interfere with global communication-information networks.
Dave Majumdar, for The National Interest, explains that Chinese naval surface combatants, Diesel-electric submarines and sea mines can provide effective military options for the PLA-N to combat U.S. regional influence in the South China Sea.

At CIMSEC we encourage members to continue writing, either here on the NextWar blog or through other means. You can assist us by emailing your works to dmp@cimsec.org.

Sam Cohen is currently studying Honours Specialization Political Science at Western University in Canada. His interests are in the fields of strategic studies and defence policy and management.

Center for International Maritime Security

Tag Archives: US Navy

Sea Control 106 – Diver Tough and #Submarinerlife

November Member Round-Up

THE U.S. NAVY’S SELF-IMPOSED BLOCKADE

October Member Round-Up Part Two

Fostering the Discussion on Securing the Seas.