I saw this one under construction at the Bath Iron Works when I took a tour. Beautiful vessels.
I read an interesting article recently about the Japanese versions of the Arleigh Burke class they are building there, and while they appear nearly identical, they said they were built to a “maritime” standard to save money, so they might be more susceptible to battle damage.
Lovely and capable vessels in any case...
There is a longstanding Navy tradition of naming destroyers after servicemen who earned the MoH. Cruisers and now attack subs are named after cities.
It used to be that you’d hear a vessels name and you knew instantly what type of ship. Much more difficult now.
As always.
Contrast the young people who serve in our Armed Forces with those you usually see at a typical occupy movement rally...
Things that (really don’t) make you go hmmmmmm.
Its been awhile since I toured a commissioned warship, so I hadn’t seen the new 25mm cannon. Looks nasty.
.
Years ago I did an EMC RF survey on board the fairly new USS Valley Forge off San Diego. Some ot the senior chiefs were telling us of when the ship was new how upset they were after it got the first scratches.
They sounded like guys talking about their first new car they were so proud.
Oh yeah, I really want one of those 25mm remote guns. If someone else will pay for the ammo.........
As an Air Force vet I must admit that this ship sends a tingle up my leg.
Obama Pledges Cuts in Missile Defense, Space, and Nuclear Weapons Programs
February 29, 2008 :: News
MissileThreat.com
A video has surfaced of Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama talking on his plans for strategic issues such as nuclear weapons and missile defense.
The full text from the video, as released, reads as follows:
Thanks so much for the Caucus4Priorities, for the great work you've been doing. As president, I will end misguided defense policies and stand with Caucus4Priorities in fighting special interests in Washington.
First, I'll stop spending $9 billion a month in Iraq. I'm the only major candidate who opposed this war from the beginning. And as president I will end it.[not win it -etl]
Second, I will cut tens of billions of dollars in wasteful spending.
I will cut investments in unproven missile defense systems.
I will not weaponize space.
I will slow our development of future combat systems.
And I will institute an independent "Defense Priorities Board" to ensure that the Quadrennial Defense Review is not used to justify unnecessary spending.
Third, I will set a goal of a world without nuclear weapons. To seek that goal, I will not develop new nuclear weapons; I will seek a global ban on the production of fissile material; and I will negotiate with Russia to take our ICBMs off hair-trigger alert [they are NOT on "hair-trigger alert" now -etl], and to achieve deep cuts in our nuclear arsenals.
You know where I stand. I've fought for open, ethical and accountable government my entire public life. I don't switch positions or make promises that can't be kept. I don't posture on defense policy and I don't take money from federal lobbyists for powerful defense contractors. As president, my sole priority for defense spending will be protecting the American people. Thanks so much.
Article: Obama Pledges Cuts in Missile Defense, Space, and Nuclear Weapons Programs:
http://missilethreat.com/archives/id.7086/detail.asp
"MissileThreat.com is a project of The Claremont Institute devoted to understanding and promoting the requirements for the strategic defense of the United States."
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"I will not weaponize space"
"I will cut investments in unproven missile defense systems"
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2008 Pentagon Report (March 2008):
China's Growing Military Space Power
By Leonard David
Special Correspondent, SPACE.com
March 6, 2008
GOLDEN, Colorado — A just-released Pentagon report spotlights a growing U.S. military concern that China is developing a multi- dimensional program to limit or prevent the use of space-based assets by its potential adversaries during times of crisis or conflict.
Furthermore, last year's successful test by China of a direct-ascent, anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon to destroy its own defunct weather satellite, the report adds, underscores that country's expansion from the land, air, and sea dimensions of the traditional battlefield into the space and cyber-space domains.
Although China's commercial space program has utility for non- military research, that capability demonstrates space launch and control know-how that have direct military application. Even the Chang'e 1 — the Chinese lunar probe now circling the Moon — is flagged in the report as showcasing China's ability "to conduct complicated space maneuvers — a capability which has broad implications for military counterspace operations."
To read the entire publication [29.67MB/pdf], see U.S. Dept of Defense:
http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/pdfs/China_Military_Report_08.pdf
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Obama: "We Welcome China's Rise"
CBS News ^ | January 19, 2011 | Stephanie Condon
Appeasement: From ObamaCare to recess appointments, honoring the Constitution has not been an administration hallmark. But when it comes to betraying secrets to mollify the Russians, it becomes a document the president hides behind.
It was bad enough that the 2012 defense authorization bill signed by President Obama set America on a downward spiral of military mediocrity.
He also issued a signing statement, something he once opposed, saying that language in the bill aimed at protecting top-secret technical data on the U.S. Standard Missile-3 — linchpin of our missile defense — might impinge on his constitutional foreign-policy authority.
Section 1227 of the defense law prohibits spending any funds that would be used to give Russian officials access to sensitive missile-defense technology as part of a cooperation agreement without first sending Congress a report identifying the specific secrets, how they'd be used and steps to protect the data from compromise.
The president is required to certify that any technology shared will not be passed on to third parties such as China, North Korea or Iran, that the Russians will not use transferred secrets to develop countermeasures and that the Russians are reciprocating in sharing missile-defense technology.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.investors.com
Open Mic Catches Obama Asking Medvedev for Space on Missile Defense
March 26, 2012
"In a private conversation about the planned U.S.-led NATO missile defense system in Europe, President Barack Obama asked outgoing Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for space on the issue.
“This is my last election,” Obama told Medvedev. “After my election I have more flexibility.”
“I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir,” Medvedev said, referring to incoming President Vladimir Putin."
http://fox8.com/2012/03/26/open-mic-catches-obama-asking-medvedev-for-space-on-missile-defense/
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Obama was talking with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev when neither of them realized that their conversation was being picked up by microphones. Here is what they said:
Obama: “On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved, but it’s important for him to give me space.”
Medvedev: “Yeah, I understand. I understand your message about space. Space for you ...”
Obama: “This is my last election. After my election, I have more flexibility.”
Medvedev: “I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir.”
“This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility.” That statement tells us much about the president’s mindset.
The specific mention of missile defense is worrisome enough. Mr. Obama has retreated from the missile defense plan that was negotiated with European allies during the George W. Bush administration. Apparently, he is signaling Moscow that he intends to retreat further. The clear implication from the president’s comments is that he cannot tell the American people before the election what he plans to do after the election.
In addition, there is the phrase “on all these issues,” implying more is at stake than just missile defense.”
Article: Obama plans double cross on missile defense
When it comes to keeping America safe, we shouldn’t be too flexible:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/mar/29/obama-plans-double-cross-on-missile-defense/print/
I apologize...I just realized I was unknowingly trying to hijack your thread.
I DO have a story that involves Michael Murphy indirectly via the book “Lone Survivor”.
I was out in Buffalo a few years back with a bunch of friends, and we got to know a cab driver quite well, so every year we went out, we would always try to get him when in town. We took him out to eat a few times, and he came to a few of our parties. Great, hardworking American guy.
A few years back, I was in the front seat talking with him, and I had just finished reading “Lone Survivor”, and it had impressed me with the nearly biblical moral choices those guys made.
If you made up some kind of reality show and gave a bunch of writers a month or so to think the scenarios up, those writers would likely not have been able to even stumble on them.
The reason we were on the subject was that his 13 year old daughter was stuck on an important book report assignment, and she couldn’t select a book. He was having a tough time helping her. I had just read “Lone Survivor” and suggested she read that and do a report on it.
I haven’t seen the guy since, but via correspondence he said she had read the book, and was drawn into it to such a degree that her book report was the best one received in the class (if I recall correctly)
I thought that was fitting. This daughter of a good, hardworking man had seen in that book something that she and her dad both connected on.
God Bless Michael Murphy for how he lived his life, and how he died.