Us navy

What today’s Iran headlines don’t reveal about ‘Project Freedom’

"Operation Epic Fury is concluded," declared Marco Rubio, holding his first White House press conference yesterday. The Secretary of State explained that the new mission – reopening the Strait of Hormuz – would essentially be a humanitarian operation, resulting in military exchanges only if US ships came under fire while clearing the passage of mines and other obstacles. Later, President Trump went further, saying that "Project Freedom" (the Hormuz operation) had been paused "to see whether or not" a "Complete and Final Agreement can be finalized and signed." “Project Freedom” is unworkable because the Navy cannot complete the de-mining operation Today, the markets have rebounded on news that US and Iranian officials are discussing "a memorandum of understanding.

Why is Trump sending an aircraft carrier to Venezuela?

Venezuela has been on tenterhooks for weeks, waiting as the United States gathers an armada of warships. The world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford, looks likely to arrive in the Caribbean from the Mediterranean early next week to join the assortment of destroyers, frigates, amphibious assault vessels and a nuclear-powered submarine.  No one seems to know exactly what this magnificent display of American naval firepower is all about. Has it been sent to destroy the cocaine smuggling networks in Venezuela, or topple President Nicolás Maduro, the egregious leader of that poor country? Or is its purpose to remind the Latin American region that the US under Donald Trump could come in guns a-blazing whenever it wants?

Trump plays battleships

The US Navy retired its last battleship 19 years ago, the grand warship’s devastating firepower deemed surplus to requirements in the new war on terror. But the era of Great Power conflict has now returned with storm clouds gathering between the US and China. And with them the old warhorse bristling with guns, the battleship, is facing a call back to action. President Trump has said the battleship will come back as the centerpiece of his new Golden Fleet – a cadre of warships designed to equip our navy to face the challenges of the future, not the past.In a speech to the nation’s top military brass, Trump said:“I think we should maybe start thinking about battleships, by the way.

Trump battleships

Will Venezuela crisis spill into conflict with US?

The authoritarian left wing regime of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has mobilized his ruling Socialist party’s paramilitary militia in response to US President Donald Trump sending a task force of warships into Venezuelan waters as part of a US crackdown against alleged cocaine trafficking by the poverty-stricken country.Declaring that “no empire will touch the sacred soil of Venezuela “ Maduro sent his militia to reinforce the country’s borders with neighboring Colombia, who he has accused of collaborating with America in a pincer movement against his country.

Venezuela

America’s new stealth jets don’t need pilots

Donald Trump is presiding over an unprecedented boom in stealth jet production. He announced the F-47 in March and the F-55 in May – alongside upgrades to the F-22 Raptor. He inherited the B-21 Raider project and will make a decision about the Navy’s F/A-XX program. It promises to be a deadly stable of airborne thoroughbreds. But before the President and the rest of the national security apparatus commits future generations to paying for these programs, they should pause and consider a basic reality: in most cases, the military doesn’t need manned aircraft to fly over enemy territory anymore. Most of the functions of the four new, exquisite and very expensive, manned aircraft under development can already be performed by other, far less expensive systems.

Stealth

Only two years for selling military secrets to China?

When it comes to enforcing America’s national security laws, the Biden administration claims that it will stop at nothing to protect our democracy. The Department of Justice has embraced hyperaggressive prosecution theories, curtailed First Amendment rights and even breached the historical divide between law and politics — such measures are regrettable, but necessary when Democracy itself is on the line.   Despite all the tough talk, Biden’s DoJ just accepted a shockingly lenient plea deal for a military servicemember caught selling secrets to China.   Earlier this week, US Navy Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao pled guilty to conspiracy and bribery for providing highly sensitive military information to the Chinese government.

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Is the US Navy the new Bud Light?

Cockburn spotted a news story this morning that had him spitting out his breakfast cocktail of bourbon and vicodin (difficult to do these days). He read that the US Navy has appointed a nonbinary drag queen, "Harpy Daniels" as a “digital ambassador” charged with recruiting new members to the military. Cockburn's brief time in Navy Yard means that he knows sailors have unorthodox tastes, but come on. Surely, this must be the handiwork of some rogue underling with access to the Navy’s TikTok password — although isn’t TikTok banned on official military devices? In the wake of the Dylan Mulvaney backlash, which has seen Bud Light stock plummet 17 percent since partnering with the trans activist, could this really have been an edict from the Navy’s top brass?

us navy harpy daniels

The military recruitment drought is a national security crisis

“Leave no one behind” has been the American warrior’s ethos for decades. It is ingrained in the Army Ranger’s Creed: “Leave no fallen comrade behind.” It is the reason they searched so desperately for Navy Seal Marcus Luttrell, the Lone Survivor, and so many others throughout our country’s history who have been separated from the team in the heat of battle. As a midshipman at the United States Naval Academy, the Marines who trained us beat accountability into us to ensure we take care of our own — always.  These are the core values service members carry with them, and these are the values that attract young Americans to join the armed forces. That is, until Joe Biden became commander-in-chief.

military recruitment drought

Trump’s common-sense response to the Saudi shooter

Observing the rocky relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia is like watching two men balancing on a log in the middle of a fast-flowing river. Even when both manage to get what appears to be a secure foothold, you know it is only a matter of time before they go hurtling back into the water. The latest fall out between the two countries centers on the Saudi Air Force's Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, who last week murdered three sailors and wounded eight others at Pensacola navy base before being shot dead himself. Amid initial reports that he may have acted in conjunction with a number of other Saudis, wild analogies were quickly drawn with the September 11 attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, carried out by mostly Saudi hijackers.

pensacola saudi