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
Tag: Underway replenishment
Zelensky Ukraine victory speech: Listen for the quiet parts
Zelensky Ukraine victory speech: Listen for the quiet parts
Zelensky is going to give his “victory” speech on October 16 to Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, but much of the speech will be secret. The secret part is about giving up territory to Russia.
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The Rada has just passed new legislation that allows NATO officers to command Ukrainian units. So far, the Russians have been mostly quiet, probably because they do not believe NATO will supply field commanders for Ukraine’s military. But if it happens, and that is a big if, the Russians will see it as NATO sending combat troops and react accordingly.
Some speculate that Zelensky will hint at a desire to get some sort of ceasefire and establish a buffer zone patrolled by a kind of coalition of NATO-willing. This is being billed as a Zelensky “concession” to the reality of Russia occupying Ukrainian territory.
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There also are rumors that Ukraine may try to attack Transnistria, the breakaway area of Moldova that includes a few thousand Russian troops – some of them on an agreed peace-keeping mission and others protecting a huge ammunition dump left over from the Soviet period.
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The Russians also have been attacking dry cargo ships in the port of Odessa that are unloading weapons and military supplies from Turkey.
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Moldova also has an important election on October 20. An attack on Transnistria could backfire and topple the current pro-NATO. pro-EU Moldovan government.
Following in the footsteps of Nikita Khrushchev? FYI, “Khrushchev Lied!”😉
Related:
Read More »Sole US Navy Oiler – USNS Big Horn – in the Middle East Damaged | September 23, 2024
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
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.”…
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.
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 