Tag: Military Sealift Command

The Pentagon’s IPO for War: Now With 100% More Cowbell

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

The Pentagon’s acquisition system is being overhauled into a “Warfighting Acquisition System,” turbocharging weapons production, slashing bureaucracy, and empowering officials to deliver arms at “wartime speed.” Portfolio Acquisition Executives now wield sweeping authority, startups are courted like prom queens, and the defense industrial base is being rebranded as Silicon Valley with missiles.

So much for the “peace president”—Trump’s arsenal of freedom looks more like an IPO for war, where venture capital meets missile launchers and bureaucrats cosplay as battlefield commanders.

Forging the Arsenal of Freedom

Related:

FoRGED Act Documentation

How the US is preparing a military staging ground near Venezuela + the 160th SOAR(A)

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

The United States military is upgrading a long-abandoned former Cold War naval base in the Caribbean, a Reuters visual investigation has found, suggesting preparations for sustained operations that could help support possible actions inside Venezuela. 

…

“The land is going to be next,” he said.

How the US is preparing a military staging ground near Venezuela

Related:

Venezuela Flashpoint: Real-Time Intelligence Analysis

Compounding these indicators is also the confirmed presence of United States special forces support assets (Ocean Trader / Night Stalkers) in the theatre of operations. Washington also authorised Langley to conduct covert action in Venezuela through a presidential finding reported on October through credible media outlets. Grey Dynamics’ real-time monitoring and analysis of the situation aims to deliver continuous updates and verified intelligence on the ongoing flashpoint.

Night Stalkers = 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne)

The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), abbreviated as 160th SOAR(A), is a special operations force of the United States Army that provides helicopter aviation support for special operations forces. Its missions have included attack, assault, and reconnaissance, and these missions are usually conducted at night, at high speeds, low altitudes, and on short notice.

For Want of an Oiler: The Fragile State of America’s Afloat Logistics Fleet

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)
What’s Going On With Shipping?

Salvatore R. Mercogliano, Ph.D. – 

The Navy oiler – a tanker designed to refuel other ships while at sea – shuddered from the hit. Almost immediately, water began to flood into the engine room and at least one of the ship’s rudders was out of service. The damage and flow of water proved challenging for the crew. As the only US Navy fuel ship in the area capable of supporting a carrier strike group came to a stop, the vulnerability of the thin lifeline of American afloat logistics became apparent. How would an entire carrier strike group remain operational without fuel for its planes and escorts? With one stroke, the hitting power of a substantial portion of the U.S. Navy was reduced.

For Want of an Oiler: The Fragile State of America’s Afloat Logistics Fleet

(Primer) A Decade of EDCA: US military bases and its expanding war games in the Philippines

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

EDCA-Primer.pdfDownload

The outright re-establishment of US military bases in the country and its relentless and escalating war games on land, sea, and air are flagrant manifestations of US imperialist domination of the Philippines. This further tightens the grip of US imperialism on the Philippine neocolonial state, especially on the puppet Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

(Primer) A Decade of EDCA: US military bases and its expanding war games in the Philippines

US Army Soldier Dies from Injuries in Biden-Harris Gaza Pier Debacle

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

US Army Soldier Dies from Injuries in Biden-Harris Gaza Pier Debacle

This marks the third death related to the Gaza Pier mission. Just days before Sgt. Quandarius Davon Stanley’s passing, Norfolk’s Marine Hydraulics International (MHI) reported that two shipworkers died aboard the USNS 2nd Lt. John P. Bobo, a Military Sealift Command ship undergoing repairs in connection with the Gaza aid mission, was the site of a tragic accident during maintenance. The workers’ identities have not been released. The vessel had previously been dispatched to support the pier mission but was diverted to the shipyard after its engine room caught fire en route to Gaza in April.

Sole US Navy Oiler – USNS Big Horn – in the Middle East Damaged | September 23, 2024

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)
What’s Going On With Shipping

by John Konrad – gCaptain has received multiple reports that the US Navy oiler USNS Big Horn ran aground yesterday and partially flooded off the coast of Oman, leaving the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group without its primary fuel source.

US Navy Oiler Runs Aground, Forcing Carrier Strike Group to Scramble for Fuel

Related:

Oiler USNS Big Horn Damaged off the Coast Of Oman, No Fuel Leak Detected

The US Navy Needs Tankers: A Crisis In Capability

US sending more troops to Middle East as violence rises in the region

Navy to sideline 17 vessels due to manpower shortage

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)
Full video

The Navy will reportedly sideline 17 vessels due to a manpower shortage that makes it difficult to properly crew and operate ships across the fleet. 

Navy to sideline 17 vessels due to manpower shortage, operating crews will be redistributed: report

Related:

Navy Could Sideline 17 Support Ships Due to Manpower Issues

“This is basically the result of many years of neglect and mismanagement of their force,” Sal Mercogliano, former MSC mariner and associate professor of history at Campbell University told USNI News on Thursday.
“They are just burning through people.”

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While the order has yet to be signed, Mercogliano has tracked EPFs beginning to return to the U.S. from aboard far from the end of their expected service lives.

“These ships have a lot of life in them,” he said.