Posted on 07/03/2023 2:30:41 PM PDT by AndyJackson
Also, since all the Ukrainian troops are dead, why is the war still going on?
Yes, it’s a great story, and Yergin makes it a great read.
The point is, though, how petroleum became both the means of strategic dominance and the “prize”, the goal of that dominance. You can put Yergin up with Mahan as sources for strategic thinking in terms of the role of sea dominance and the why of it as well. One must control where the tankers go.
And then one goes on from there. Markets and their critical role in national strategy, etc. Everyone wants markets.
Yes, yes he did.
The USMC “dropping the amphibious assault role”? You are madder than a March Hare. So what do we do with our amphibious Navy?
Look it up.
No more tanks, no more conventional artillery, loading up on long range missile systems. Creating bases fast, and putting weapons there to control areas around them. In parallel with that, consider the recent Philippine bases agreement.
If you want to decipher bureaucratese -
“The American people have too soft a life to do anything about that, but that is changing”
I see it everywhere - every day.
I run circles around folks 20 years younger than me because they are either massively depressed, have hardly any motivation to do anything, have no desire to learn, and are physically lazier than any generation before them.
I don’t think Gen Z has it in them to do anything else but be slaves.
Are Filipinos ready to play the part of the Ukrainians in the Forever War?
Russia doesn’t have the manpower for a breakout offensive. It needs more manpower to protect the flanks of a rapidly advancing force.
Russia is probably focusing now on trying to improve its military leadership skills to cut down on unnecessary loses, which have been massive, probably over 100,000 unnecessary deaths.
Maybe next year Russia will be in a better position for a major offensive.
Filipinos for the most part are afraid of China, put plainly.
Public opinion is, per polls, steadily anti-China and pro-US. And the Filipinos are resentful of China taking Filipino territory, islands, fishing grounds and economic zones in the South China Sea.
A popular meme there is to rename the South China Sea the “West Philippine Sea”. I have the shirt, literally, found a month ago in a public market.
There is no “forever war” meme running in the Philippines. This is not a fever swamp of a US subculture. Duterte, the most pro-China Philippine president ever, promised economic benefits from aligning with China, not strategic matters. He never could get his supporters to go along with him on that. It didn’t help that the Chinese never delivered on their promises to him.
If you want to understand other countries, listen to their people, not your own arguments.
The last survey I could find-
You defend allies by mutually enriching each other economically and culturally, increasing communication and trust. You don’t defend allies by pitching wars to their elites through propaganda, and certainly not by blowing up pipelines to starve them of energy and crushing any remaining objectors with trade restrictions if they don’t play ball with the CIA.
That pizza joint in Kramatorsk was packed with ex-military murder tourists from the USA before it got hit with two Kinzals. The USA is at war with Russia and all that matters is that they believe it.
100% Amen. I would add that as we’re slow motion losing this world war, dedollarization is accelerating and important allies like Saudi Arabia and India are turning their backs on America. Brics nations are awake to the fatal consequences of being allied with the US. They’re no turning back and no peace treaty possible. This is it.
That was silly.
Murdered civilians and you will know if Russia and NATO ever go to war.
AMPHIBIOUS WARFARE SHIPS
Since 2019, three Department of the Navy studies have confirmed a requirement for 28-31 L-class amphibious warfare ships and 35 LSMs for maritime mobility. These are necessary for naval expeditionary forces to sustain consistent, forward-deployed, sea-based campaigning forces that can also respond to unforeseen contingencies. However, combining these findings with readiness trends over the past 10 years and projected ship availability rates demonstrates the need for no fewer than 31 traditional L-class ships to ensure the warfighting readiness and global responsiveness of amphibious naval forces.
Amphibious warfare ships are the cornerstone of maritime crisis response, deterring adversaries, and building partnerships. They persist forward, are globally deployable, and offer fleet and joint force commanders flexible and tailorable force options in competition and conflict. Amphibious forces are complementary to stand-in forces in a variety of ways. They coordinate their actions directly with stand-in forces to control maritime terrain, integrate with allies and partners, and, as a result, can play an outsized role in competition. In the future, amphibious warfare ships will offer even more capability, serving as “motherships” for a variety of manned, unmanned, and human-machine teamed systems.
SEA-BASED EXPEDITIONARY FORCES
The Navy and Marine Corps will continue to prioritize our sea-based expeditionary forces to maximize their forward presence as a keystone of our contribution to integrated deterrence. To deter or respond, we must be postured forward, operating from the sea.
LITTORAL MOBILITY
After extensive analysis, we determined a need for nine LSMs to support littoral maneuver of a single regimental sized unit. The Department of the Navy’s Amphibious Force Requirements Study over the last two years validated this number. Given that current force structure plans call for three MLRs, we will ultimately require 35 LSMs to account for operational availability and mobility for those units. However, current plans for LSM funding (beginning in FY25) limits our ability to bring this capability online within an operationally relevant timeframe. We have adapted to this challenge and are developing bridging solutions: Landing Craft Utility vessels, Expeditionary Fast Transports, and commercial Stern Landing Vessels, along with other vessels of opportunity. While these platforms will inform the eventual employment of the LSM, they will fall short of desired capabilities if called upon in an operational setting. Our modernized expeditionary forces need a comparably modern mobility platform to bring the full weight of their capability to bear on competitors or adversaries, particularly in littoral regions.
Agreed. Our involvement in Ukraine has resulted in a global political realignment, which is still evolving. Our enemies and other non-allies sense that America is in decline. Biden has created a leadership vacuum our enemies will try to exploit. We are in a new Cold War with all the dangers that poses. Elections have consequences and stolen elections have disastrous consequences.
It started with Kosovo.
Mobility, but not as an assault force, to take fortified beaches. Nor to serve as a heavy maneuver force inland (a la Kuwait and Iraq, 2003).
Rather, they will use mobility to quickly establish base areas in unopposed (they hope) landings. Not mentioned is that their primary weapon systems will be missiles, mostly in the form of HIMARS systems, with which to conduct precision strike at long range.
Also, note, very little conventional artillery.
What’s a “collasus”?
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