NEWS OF THE FORCE: Saturday, March 12, 2016 - Page 1

24 views

Skip to first unread message

Newsoft...@aol.com

unread,

Mar 12, 2016, 12:30:45 PM3/12/16

to newsoft...@googlegroups.com, no...@yahoogroups.com

Saturday, March 12, 2016 - Today is the birthday of the Girl Scouts

U.N. report contains accounts of killings, rape and destruction in South Sudan

A new report on South Sudan published yesterday by the U.N. Human Rights Office describes "in searing detail" a multitude of horrendous human rights violations, including a government-operated "scorched earth policy," and the deliberate targeting of civilians for killing, rape and pillage.

North Korea orders more nuke tests

Pyongyang claims to have miniaturized nuclear warhead capabilities, placing the world in North Korea's crosshairs, but security analysts remain skeptical on how far the Kim regime has come.

Military strikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Iraq

U.S. and Coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Attack and fighter aircraft conducted nine strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government: Near Baghdadi, a strike destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun position; Near Hit, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit; Near Ramadi, five strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL rocket position, two ISIL vehicles, an ISIL fighting position and three ISIL tunnel systems, and denied ISIL access to terrain; and near Sinjar, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL weapons cache.

U.S. Senate approves sale of F-16s to Pakistan

U.S. senators have questioned the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, which they called an "uncertain ally" of the United States, but in the end they approved the deal.

Turkey's airstrikes in Iraq kill 67 PKK militants

Turkey's state-run news agency says the military has carried out air strikes against Kurdish rebel targets across the border in northern Iraq, killing at least 67 militants.

The Anadolu Agency, citing unnamed security sources, said today that 14 F-16 and F-4 jets were involved in the March 9 strikes which allegedly destroyed ammunition depots, bunkers and shelters belonging to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. The news agency said the offensive targeted five areas in northern Iraq, including the Qandil Mountains on the Iraq-Iraq border where the PKK's leadership is based.

Turkey's jets have frequently bombed PKK sites in northern Iraq since July, when a fragile peace process between the government and rebels collapsed. The PKK, which is fighting for autonomy for Kurds in Turkey's southeast, is listed as a terrorist organization.

Will Syria be divided?

By Lisa Levine, News of the Force Tel Aviv

Major powers have discussed a federal division of Syria as a possible option to end five years of foreign-backed militancy in the Arab state, U.N. diplomats say.

President Vladimir Putin says that the Russian anti-terrorist campaign in Syria has become a major test for the country's modern military equipment, especially for its aircraft.

U.S. and Coalition forces' attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft conducted eight strikes in Syria today: Near Hawl, a strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL mortar systems; Near Dayr Ar Zawr, a strike struck an ISIL gas and oil separation plant well head; Near Manbij, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed five ISIL vehicles and an ISIL fighting position; and near Mar’a, four strikes struck four separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL artillery piece, two ISIL weapons caches, 10 ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL heavy machine gun position.

And U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived at a military airbase in Saudi Arabia yesterday. He's there to discuss the wars in Syria and Yemen.

Cuzin Jim's Thought for the Day: Every dog has his day. Of course, his day consists of smelling other dogs' butts.

U.S. Navy and Marine Corps

India has ruled out participating in joint patrols in the South China Sea proposed by the United States. Experts say that India wants to focus on containing Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean, and despite a growing strategic partnership, it remains wary of being part of a military alliance with Washington.

The astronaut who holds the American record for most time spent in space, Capt. Scott Kelly, USN (Ret.) will retire from NASA on April 1, the U.S. space agency said yesterday. Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko returned to Earth last week after nearly a year on the International Space Station (ISS), the longest U.S. space mission on record, intended to pave the way for human travel to Mars.

Sailors of USS Porter (DDG 78), a guided-missile destroyer stationed in Rota, Spain, successfully completed a live-fire test from a SeaRAM missile system on March 4. SeaRAM, which replaced Porter's aft Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) mount, is a self-contained detect-to-engage ship self-defense capability that combines the sensor systems of a CIWS with an 11-round Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) launcher. The SeaRAM installation aboard Porter took place as a response to a formal Urgent Operational Need for forward-deployed naval forces in Europe. Porter is the first of four DDGs to receive the Mk 15 SeaRAM Missile System equipped with enhanced capability RAM Block 2 missiles. Additionally, the live-fire Combat Systems Ship Qualification Trial (CSSQT) represented the first cooperative effort between NAVSEA agencies and the El Arenosillo Test Range off the coast of Huelva, Spain. The success of this CSSQT concluded a year's worth of ground-breaking effort for the engineering and acquisition professionals at NAVSEA.
The amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), along with embarked Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), departed Bahrain after a scheduled mid-deployment voyage repair (MDVR), on Feb. 23. While in port, sailors and Marines were able to perform scheduled maintenance and preservation throughout the ship. Also during the ship's stay in Bahrain, the Sailors and Marines had the chance to experience some live music. Country music's super group, The Frontmen, performed in the hangar bay of Kearsarge. The Frontmen includes Richie McDonald, of the country band Lonestar; Tim Rushlow, formerly of the band Little Texas; Larry Steward of the band Restless Heart and Donnie Reis of The Donnie Reis Band. According to the band, The Frontmen have been performing for military members around the globe for more than 15 years. Kearsarge is the flagship for the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group (KSGARG) and, with the embarked 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), is deployed in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet's area of operations.

The Kearsarge Amphibious Readiness Group (KSGARG) participated in Amphibious Landing Exercise 2016 (PHIBLEX-16) Feb. 14 to March 9. PHIBLEX-16 is a U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (USNAVCENT)-led bilateral amphibious and ground exercise between the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the Kuwait Armed Forces to increase tactical proficiency, broaden levels of cooperation, enhance mutual capability and support long-term regional security and stability. U.S. Navy exercise participants included Amphibious Squadron 4 (CPR 4), the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), the dock landing ship USS Oak Hill (LSD 51) and the amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD 24). U.S. Marine Corps participants included the 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade's Command Element, the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), and Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force (SPMAGTF). Task Force 50, 51, 53 and 56 joined the Kuwait Armed Forces in the Arabian Gulf and ashore. During the exercise, nearly 1,000 Marines from the Echo, Fox and Gulf companies of the MEU embarked Arlington, Oak Hill and Kearsarge, and were transported to shore to participate in PHIBLEX-16. As part of the exercise, Marines conducted scenario-based drills such as medical evacuations of injured personnel as well as an embassy reinforcement drill. In addition to scenario-based training, Marines were able to train in basic warrior skills, such as combat-life savers, small unit leader courses and live-fire ranges. Arlington, on her maiden voyage, was moored in the Port of Shuaiba, Kuwait, during PHIBLEX-16. She was the reception platform for the 25th anniversary of the Liberation of Kuwait with music performed by the Air Force Central Command Band, "Galaxy."

John B. Hattendorf, a maritime historian at the U.S. Naval War College (NWC) in Newport, R.I., was awarded a Doctorate of Letters (D.Litt.) by the University of Oxford, England, during a ceremony held at the school on March 5. Hattendorf, who has produced scholarly work for nearly 50 years, has served as the college's Ernest J. King Professor of Maritime History since 1984 and also as chair of the Maritime History Department and director of the NWC Museum. The D.Litt., is a higher academic attainment than a Doctor of Philosophy, according to the school. Hattendorf was also a U.S. naval officer during the Vietnam War (1965-1973).

The commanding officer of Combat Logistics Regiment 35 (CLR-35) toured the Military Sealift Command (MSC)'s dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Sacagawea (T-AKE 2) on March 8 in Gwangyang, South Korea, prior to his organization's upcoming embark in support of exercise Ssang Yong 2016 (SY16). CLR-35 provides integrated intermediate supply and maintenance support to the III Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) including isolated components in garrison and when deployed as a MEF or as a part of a Marine Air Ground Task Force in expeditionary conditions. SY16 is the largest multilateral amphibious exercise to date. It is a biennial exercise conducted by integrated Marine Expeditionary Brigade/Navy Expeditionary Strike Group, forward-deployed forces with the Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy and Marine Corps designed to strengthen interoperability and working relationships across a wide range of military operations ranging from disaster relief to complex expeditionary operations. U.S. Marines will deploy cargo offloaded from the MSC ships to the field for their participation in the SY16 exercise, which includes more than 17,000 joint forces. The exercise takes place at various training areas primarily throughout the southern and southeastern ROK. In addition to offload activities three additional MSC ships will be conducting seabasing operations as part of SY16.

The Navy Service Migration Team (SMT) in Suffolk, Va., led by Naval Information Forces (NAVIFOR), was recently established as the Navy's designated advisory and action group to coordinate and direct the actions to successfully migrate base network traffic behind the Joint Regional Security Stack (JRSS). JRSS is a key security component of the Joint Information Environment (JIE) modernization framework comprised of shared information technology (IT) infrastructure, enterprise services, and a single-security architecture.

Commander, Navy Region Europe, Africa, and Southwest Asia (CNREURAFSWA) hosted an exchange of command ceremony at Naval Support Activity (NSA) Naples, Italy, on March 10. Rear Adm. John C. "Jack" Scorby, Jr., and Rear Adm. Rick Williamson exchanged command responsibilities in a unique ceremony, with Scorby relinquishing command of CNREURAFSWA to Williamson and Williamson relinquishing command of Navy Region Mid-Atlantic (NRMA) to Scorby. CNREURAFSWA and NRMA are the only two-star billets in the Navy Installations Command global enterprise.

A member of Amphibious Squadron 4 (PHIBRON 4) was presented with a Navy and Marine Corps Association (NMA) Peer Leadership Award aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) on March 4. Lt. (j.g.) Katherine Mann, from Berwyn, Pa., was nominated by peers at her previous command, USS Essex (LHD 2), for her exceptional leadership ability. Mann was one of 14 junior officers Navy-wide to receive the 2014 NMA Leadership Award.

The officers and crew of the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) were awarded with the Battle Effectiveness (Battle "E") award, on March 3.
The Naval Surface Forces Command (COMSURFOR) Battle "E" award is given annually to the best ships in the Atlantic and Pacific fleets, and recognizes a command's sustained superior performance. This is the seventh Battle "E" since Kearsarge was commissioned on Oct.16, 1993. Kearsarge may now display the large painted white letter "E" on her super structure.

SAIC announced yesterday that it has delivered the first Assault Amphibious Vehicle Survivability Upgrade (AAV SU) to the U.S. Marine Corps.

Marines will see changes in marksmanship and weapons gear this year, including the phasing out of legacy M16 iron sights and the three-point sling.

U.S. Navy Adm. Cecil D. Haney testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday on Stratcom's fiscal year 2017 budget, stressing that it’s critical to modernize the nuclear deterrent capabilities that underpin national security. "Future deterrence scenarios will likely include multiple adversaries operating across multiple domains and using anti-access and area denial, asymmetric warfare and escalate-to-deescalate tactics,” he said. “These trends affect strategic stability." Haney said that adversaries and potential adversaries challenge U.S. democratic values and security and are modernizing and expanding their nuclear capabilities, developing and testing counter-space and cyberspace technologies and advancing conventional and asymmetric weapons. "Given all of this," the admiral said, "the missions of the U.S. Strategic Command remain important to our joint military forces, to our nation and our allies and partners." Comprehensive strategic deterrence and assurance and escalation control are more than nuclear weapons and platforms, Haney said, adding that deterrence includes a robust intelligence apparatus, space, cyberspace, conventional and missile defense capabilities and comprehensive plans that coherently link organizations. Every day, Stratcom engages in activities across mission areas that guide his command priorities, Haney said, including intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, combating weapons of mass destruction, joint electronic warfare and analysis and targeting. "Achieving comprehensive strategic deterrence, assurance and escalation control require a long-term approach to investing in capabilities and a multigenerational commitment to intellectual capital," he told the panel. Haney said it’s important for the nation to have adequate strategic deterrence and assurance mechanisms, methodologies and capabilities. For the air leg of the triad, the admiral said, the platforms must be appropriately armed to be credible, including the B-52 aircraft and the B-2 - both of which will be flying for some time to come - along with the long-range strike bomber stealth aircraft. "Even while we have stealth aircraft it's important that we have standoff capability," the admiral said. "As we watch our adversaries work to have better anti-access and area denial kinds of capabilities, we must have standoff in order to manage strategic stability. As a result, I see the long-range standoff option being critical to all triad] platforms - all three of them.” It’s important to move forward with the new long-range strike bomber as a replacement bomber, Haney added, because the B-52s flying today rolled off the assembly line in 1962. Even the B-2 fleet is about 25 years old, he said, “So it's important that we're able to have that capability, that stealth platform, to deliver nuclear and conventional missions." On the submarine-launched ballistic missile arm of the triad, Haney said the "building and capability needed in terms of the Ohio replacement SSBN is a top priority." Having conventional capability across the joint military force is also important, and it's important to get the balance right, he added. "I depend upon a strong submarine in all its capabilities, but in particular to have that strategic survivable capability underwater is very important to our nation as a whole," he said. The president's fiscal 2017 budget proposal strikes a responsible balance between national priorities and fiscal realities, Haney told the panel, and it begins to reduce some of the risks that have accumulated because of deferred maintenance and sustainment. "This budget supports my mission requirements, but there is no margin to absorb new risk," Haney added. "Any cuts to that budget will hamper our ability to sustain and modernize our forces."

And federal agents with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) are probing a charity known as "Marines and Mickey."

Meanwhile, over at the WWP

Both the CEO and COO of the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) were fired yesterday for making "lavish expenditures" of the organization's funds which were supposed to be going to help wounded warriors.

Homeland insecurity

Homeland defense is the first priority of the U.S. Northern Command, Navy Adm. William E. Gortney told members of the House Armed Services Committee this week. Gortney wears two hats as commander of Northcom and of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, both headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo. The admiral testified before the panel on how the fiscal year 2017 DOD budget request impacts Northcom and NORAD. He also discussed command operations. Homeland defense, the admiral told the panel, "is a no-fail mission and it's just as important today as when NORAD and Northcom were established, with one single commander responsible for the defense of our homeland through the many domains of air, space, maritime, land and cyber." Within cybersecurity, he added, Northcom’s responsibility is to defend its own networks. Gortney named the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and whatever form it takes in the future, and trans-national organized criminals who move drugs, people, weapons and anything else that will turn a profit, as the most dangerous and likely threats to the nation. Terrorist organizations and global criminal networks exploit what the admiral calls “seams” between nations in North, Central and South America; seams between the government agencies of those nations; and seams created by inadequate authorities, resources and training of many of the same agencies. “And yes,” he added, “seams created by the geographic boundaries of our combatant command structure, seams for which Navy Adm. Kurt W. Tidd, commander of the U.S. Southern Command and I are accountable to close while we work the military-to-military effort or our nation's whole-of-government approach to the many shared challenges within North, Central and South America.” Today's evolving and resurgent threats are a function of the return to great power competition and the continuing threat of global terrorism, Gortney said. These threats, he said, create vulnerabilities best mitigated through an integrated and binational approach across multiple domains that requires an integrated defense in the air, in space, on and under the sea and on land domains. As a result, he said, “together NORAD and Northcom have evolved well past our Cold War and 9/11 origins and are today inseparable. The commands work seamlessly together to defend the homeland in the air through NORAD and the remaining domains through Northcom, facing the traditional and nontraditional threats in our assigned battle space," Gortney said. NORAD and Northcom are focused on unity of command and effort, he said, two commands but a single integrated headquarters, organized and trained to face the diverse array of evolving national security threats. Traditional military threats now exist created by the return of great power competition as illustrated by the recent actions of Russia, China, North Korea and Iran, Gortney said. Regarding nontraditional threats, the admiral said his main concerns involve homegrown violent extremists who are self-radicalized and don’t actively communicate with ISIL. "To counter this threat I'm a support team commander to the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice and the many law enforcement agencies engaged in this crucial fight,” Gortney explained. "These extremists are targeting soft Department of Defense targets,” he said, "Department of Defense personnel and facilities and our own fellow citizens. This is what occurred in Chattanooga on a DOD facility and in San Bernardino against our nation's civilian population." As the commander accountable for setting the force protection condition of DOD facilities in the continental United States, Gortney said, Northcom works closely with the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps "to balance the enduring nature of this threat with the services' ability to complete the many missions they have here in the homeland." Homeland partnerships also enable Northcom-NORAD success, he said. Northcom partners continuously with the interagency, the admiral said. Partners include National Guard airmen and soldiers, the intelligence community, law enforcement agencies and the Department of Homeland Security, which is Northcom’s closest partner, he said. "Our mission partners maintain nearly 60 liaison officers in our headquarters and these patriots are fully embedded in our intel organization," Gortney said, noting that building partnership capacity is vital to Northcom’s mission. At Northcom, he added, 70 percent of major exercises - involving nearly 200 each year - are focused on mission partners as the primary target audience. "We call this state-of-security cooperation within the homeland. This is Northcom supporting our mission partners and our mission partners supporting us," Gortney said, "which is why we view these homeland partnerships as our center of gravity."

And in an attempt to foster more innovation, the Defense and Homeland Security departments both recently opened offices in California's Silicon Valley.

U.S. Coast Guard

The U.S. Coast Guard is seeking input from commercial and recreational mariners for an assessment of navigation requirements on the Atlantic Seaboard and in the Gulf of Mexico.

The U.S. Coast Guard announced on Thursday the appointments of the chairman and seven members to serve on the 21-member National Boating Safety Advisory Council.

The U.S. Coast Guard has towed a commercial fishing boat and its three-person crew from stormy seas from about two miles off the Oregon coast.

The U.S. Coast Guard is responding to flooding in Washington Parish, La., after heavy rains brought flooding to southeast Louisiana.

An HC-130 aircrew has returned to Coast Guard Air Station Barber's Point, Hawaii, after they were on a deployment in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

GE Energy Power Conversion, in Pittsburgh, Pa., has won a $75,288.41 contract from the U.S. Coast Guard for work on an icebreaker.

The U.S. Coast Guard is evaluating a Virginia Department of Transportation study of the James River Bridge.

And on March 19, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 38 has a one-day, eight-hour "About Boating Safely" course at the Westfield Mall in Plantation, Fla.