Why another aircraft carrier? Japan needs a MPF and Hospital Ship.

USNS Comfort receives supplies during an underway replenishment with USNS Robert E. Peary

MV Cpl. Louis J. Hauge Jr.

A barge carrying Marine Corps vehicles approaches USNS Pfc. Dewayne T. Williams

ASD News is reporting that another aircraft carrier is on its way to Japan.

"We currently have an aircraft carrier in Japan, and another is on the way," Obama said. He said another ship was heading to US territories in the Mariana Islands to "assist as needed."

A Pentagon spokesman said the two carriers were the USS George Washington, which is based at Yokosuka near Tokyo, and the USS Ronald Reagan, which was en route to South Korea for exercises and has been redirected to Japan.

Why?

Unless their are security concerns that I'm not aware of then what the Japanese people really need is (in addition to the Marines already on the island)...

1.  Activation of the 82nd's Ready Brigade.  I understand that its been stood up again after a hiatus.  Now is as good a reason as any to test its capabilities.
2.  A hospital ship to treat injured civilians.  Local hospitals are state of the art but are suffering from rolling blackouts...possibly a shortage of personnel due to the tremendous loss of life and also possibly damage from the earthquake and tsunami.  A hospital ship would be a life saver.
3.  An MPF ship.  The Marines have alot of helicopters in the area.  The Japanese forces can provide even more...what they might lack is organic heavy equipment.  If roads are impassable then we're talking weeks, maybe months until they can be repaired.  Rescue operations will require cranes, bulldozers and other equipment to start the search.  The Japanese authorities can start working north from unaffected areas but to get to the zone quickly a port must be established.  Since they were damaged then the amphibious capabilities of the MPF and their assorted equipment must be brought to bear.

An aircraft carrier is the last thing Japan needs...unless they're worried that N. Korea is about to do something stupid.

Welsh Guards Battlegroup Sniper. One bullet...Two kills.

via the Telegraph.

Within 40 days, the two marksmen from 4 Rifles, part of the Welsh Guards Battle group, had achieved 75 confirmed kills with 31 attributed to Potter and 44 to Osmond. Each kill was chalked up as a little stick man on the beam above the firing position in their camouflaged sangar beside the base gate – a stick man with no head denoting a target eliminated with a shot to the skull.

Follow the link.  Fascinating.

XC-120. A transport that should have made it to production.

Something other than war is taking place in Afghanistan.

Ya know...when you see these types of events taking place inside a so-called war zone...then you have something other than a war going on.  Full blown nation building?  A relaxed view of the threat?  But when you have Infantrymen running a half marathon instead of being out on patrol its worrying.

Maybe I'm making assumptions that I shouldn't...I know I took heat for the Officer that sponsored a men's water polo team for the ANA but this just doesn't feel right.

CAMP BASTION, Afghanistan-Lance Cpl. Richard J. Powell, an infantryman with 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, Marine Corps Reserve, took first place in a half marathon on Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, with a time of 1 hour, 22 minutes, March 13. Powell finished first out of more than 400 coalition troops and civilians who took part in the run.
, Lance Cpl. Samantha H. Arrington, 3/13/2011 5:54 AM

And here's the story....

Coalition forces double-time through Camp Bastion, Afghanistan 

3/13/2011  By Lance Cpl. Samantha H. Arrington  , 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (Fwd) 

 

CAMP BASTION, Afghanistan  — Lance Cpl. Richard J. Powell, an infantryman with 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, Marine Corps Reserve, took first place in a half marathon on Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, with a time of 1 hour, 22 minutes, March 13. Powell finished first out of more than 400 coalition troops and civilians who took part in the run.

UPDATE:
Is this why we see the nonsense of controversies like 'only grunts' should have crossed rifles in their rank insignia?  Do we have two wars going on?  One where frontline personnel are actually carrying the burden while those in the rear have almost a stateside existence?

Yes I know this has been going on since warfare began but its NOT RIGHT, ITS UNSEEMLY and someone should find better stuff for a deployed USMC Rifleman to be doing...he can run half marathons in the states...NOT IN THE FUCKING WAR ZONE!

CH-46's riding to the rescue.

A short video of CH-46's working in Japan during the relief effort.

Is it just me or will we look back at this simple, risk free helicopter and miss those qualities?  I think we will but time will tell.


Now I know what you're thinking.  What could have performed the same mission as the CH-46 but been a lower risk solution than the MV-22?  How about the Boeing 360?

BattleHawk...the Navy's way back to its SeaWolf legacy.

S70-054_ABH_BR_hi

During the Vietnam war the US Navy operated Huey helicopters in the armed gunship role to great effect.  They were known as SeaWolves and they terrorized the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops.  If the Navy is going to get serious about combating modern threats...piracy, fighting in the littorals, stopping missile boats before they close to major ships and even operating in blue water then its time to bring this capability to the fleet.

Visit SealWolf.org to get a view of a lost but fascinating part of naval history.

Big Navy attempts to justify carriers...proves the opposite.

Galrahn has a post on the relief efforts in Japan with an updated list of the ships involved.  Awesome stuff.  Where we go in opposite directions is his last paragraph....

With the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) expected to serve as a helicopter support base offshore for both US Navy and Japanese SDF helicopters, once again the nuclear powered aircraft carrier is poised to be the most versatile and flexible capability in responding to the needs following an international catastrophe.

What the fuck?

Talk about justifying using super carriers in an LHD role!

We've gone over it and I've rechecked the numbers.  Unless the CVN dumps its entire airwing and reloads with helos (which in order to fill it out would have to come from LHDs anyway)....one LHD has the helo lift of 5 aircraft carriers.

One.

Additionally the LHD has onboard a surgical hospital, and is designed to handle refugees...the CVN isn't.

The LHD can offload troops and have space tailor made for those needing extra bunks...like Japanese Helicopter Crews in the middle of rescue operations....the CVN can do likewise but will have to jump thru hoops to do it.

What are we actually seeing in the Navy's deployment of ships to these recent disaster zones?

1.  The budget wars are here.  An aircraft carrier steaming at 35 knots to Haiti...an aircraft carrier steaming to Japan...all show no go.  Just like the Coast Guard sending ships to Haiti...they can get there first--make claims about all the work they're doing but its all about publicity and budget more than getting the actual work done.  Show over go!

2.  Bastardizing the Sea Base concept.  Simply having an assemblage of ships operating off a coast is not a sea base.  I'll be watching Marine Corps reaction to these events...if they even whisper the term sea base in describing this then the sea base concept as I've read it is as dead as disco.

3.  Looks matter more than performance.  Watching the Navy get the "facts" out about the action in Japan indicates that our PAO's have jumped the shark.  What do I mean?  Its no longer about actually telling the story to the American people but in tailoring it in such a way as to emphasize certain weapon systems...ships etc...

Information should be provided to the public...we don't need publicist in uniform.

UPDATE:
This photo by MS1 Steve Smith shows to good effect the potential for the LPD-17 class to revolutionize amphibious operations in general and disaster relief in particular.  Note the number of helos on the deck of this LPD!  Two CH-53's and other helicopters plus room for a MV-22 to land?  That represents more than the standard number of helicopters found on a CVN.  Amphibs prove their worth...carriers show the flag.

UPDATE 1:
Another fallacy needs to be put to rest on this operation.  A fleet of ships does not constitute a sea base.  An aircraft carrier that leaves its planes on shore and becomes a helicopter carrier is not a sea base....we need to make sure that we stick to the approved USMC definition of a sea base...otherwise we will be left with a pale version of the same.

 UPDATE 2:
The USMC has removed its Sea Basing Site and all the information within from the web.  Why they've taken this action is beyond me...luckily I have archived past information...future developments will be hard to come by.  It seems that the proper telling of the USMC's story and the debate about its future needs will be done outside the view of the public.

BattleHawk ... the video..

Saw this on Military Photos.net.