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Speech at Family Research Council, Washington D.C. Admiral Says "I am not backing down"

BANGKOK — Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta has ordered the Pentagon to find out why so many generals and admirals have become embroiled in legal and ethical problems, a trend exacerbated by recent investigations of two of the military’s best-known commanders. The Pentagon disclosed Panetta’s directive on Thursday after he arrived in Thailand as part of a visit to Asia. But aides insisted that he had been considering the review for some time and that it was not prompted by revelations that the FBI has been investigating former CIA director David H. Petraeus, a retired Army general, and Marine Gen....

WASHINGTON – The military officer charged with monitoring North Korea at a time when the rogue nation is threatening to unleash missile attacks worldwide has used a Senate hearing to double down on his claim that it is global warming that is the real danger. Navy Adm. Samuel Locklear III originally caused a stir just weeks ago when in a speech to scholars at Harvard and Tufts universities in Cambridge, Mass., he said the climate change factor should be the focus of American concern. At today’s hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee he defended his assessment that global warming...

"SOS" is a naval emergency distress call meaning "Save our Ship", but at the CPAC, (Conservative Political Action Committee) convention, "SOS" stands for SpecialOperationsSpeaks.com, a new organization of former US Special Ops officers who are issuing distress calls about urgent high-profile questions, and critical unanswered mysteries about the 2012 Obama Benghazi debacle. CAPT Larry Bailey, USN (Ret.), a former senior SEAL commander and co-founder of Special Operation Speaks, demands to know, "Where the heck is Admiral Gaouette?" ADM Gaouette was the commander of the USS Stennis Carrier Strike Group on station in the Persian Gulf area who was mysteriously summarily...

America’s top military officer in charge of monitoring hostile actions by North Korea, escalating tensions between China and Japan, and a spike in computer attacks traced to China provides an unexpected answer when asked what is the biggest long-term security threat in the Pacific region: climate change. Navy Admiral Samuel J. Locklear III, in an interview at a Cambridge hotel Friday after he met with scholars at Harvard and Tufts universities, said significant upheaval related to the warming planet “is probably the most likely thing that is going to happen . . . that will cripple the security environment, probably...

WASHINGTON -- The Navy said Saturday it is replacing the admiral in command of an aircraft carrier strike group in the Middle East, pending the outcome of an internal investigation into undisclosed allegations of inappropriate judgment. Rear Adm. Charles M. Gaouette is being sent back to the USS John C. Stennis' home port at Bremerton, Wash., in what the Navy called a temporary reassignment. The Navy said he is not formally relieved of his command of the Stennis strike group but will be replaced by Rear Adm. Troy M. Shoemaker, who will assume command until the investigation is completed. It...

The latest rumor making the rounds is that Barack Obama replaced General Carter Ham at Africom after the general made a move to help the US security officials at the Benghazi consulate and annex. Ham was replaced by Gen. David Rodriquez on October 18. Tiger Droppings reported: The information I heard today was that General [Carter] Ham as head of Africom received the same e-mails the White House received requesting help/support as the attack was taking place. General Ham immediately had a rapid response unit ready and communicated to the Pentagon that he had a unit ready. General Ham then...

WASHINGTON -- The Navy said Saturday it is replacing the admiral in command of an aircraft carrier strike group in the Middle East, pending the outcome of an internal investigation into undisclosed allegations of inappropriate judgment.

The Stennis Carrier group is in the Persian Gulf area, which is the 5th Fleet Area of Responsibility. It's nowhere near Libya, which is in the 6th Fleet AoR. Most importantly is this little tidbit in the story. The Stennis group deployed from Bremerton in late August and had entered the Navy 5th Fleet's area of operations in the Middle East on Oct. 17 after sailing across the Pacific. I don't know exactly where Stennis was on SEPTEMBER 11th but it was nowhere near Libya.

The Navy said Saturday it is replacing the admiral in command of an aircraft carrier strike group in the Middle East, pending the outcome of an internal investigation into undisclosed allegations of inappropriate judgment. Rear Adm. Charles M. Gaouette is being sent back to the USS John C. Stennis' home port at Bremerton, Wash., in what the Navy called a temporary reassignment. The Navy said he is not formally relieved of his command of the Stennis strike group but will be replaced by Rear Adm. Troy M. Shoemaker, who will assume command until the investigation is completed. It is highly...

The world of military aviation is an environment intolerant of screw-ups. You might think the career of a US Navy junior lieutenant who intentionally shot a live missile at an Air Force F-4 during a training exercise, nearly killing two airmen, would have been over. Instead, the Obama administration has nominated him for promotion to Admiral. The Washington Times reports that among the list of nominees submitted to the Senate by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta (pictured) is navy Reserve Captain Timothy W. Dorsey who, on September 22, 1987, was taking part in a non-fire flight exercise over the Mediterranean in...

Admiral James Stavridis, commander of NATO and overall chief of U.S. and coalition forces in the Libyan war, says American intelligence agents are "examining very closely" the rebel forces for whom U.S. forces have gone to war. So far, Stavridis says, the U.S. has discovered "flickers" of the presence of al Qaeda and other terrorist groups, although Stavridis calls the opposition leadership "responsible."

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States is working to rush assistance to Mexico as it fights violent drug cartels, including equipment to help authorities track the narcotics mafia, according to the top US military officer. "We're all working very hard to move the capabilities that are desirable to Mexico as quickly as we can," Admiral Mike Mullen told reporters by phone from his aircraft after holding talks in Mexico. During his meetings with the country's military leadership, Mullen said he discussed how Washington could help in the battle against the powerful cartels, citing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) as a...

The British are building 2 carriers. Video at link. Humor

WASHINGTON - Two years after the nation's commando forces were given broad authority to attack terrorist networks, the elite units remain hampered by uncertainty over coordination, says the admiral chosen to head the U.S. Special Operations Command. Navy Vice Adm. Eric Olson said that while the command has the lead for "synchronizing" the Bush administration's global war on terror, enforcement of that expanded jurisdiction has been difficult. The command's "ability to drive behavior within (the Defense Department) is limited due to unclear definition of authorities," Olson said in a written response to a question from the Senate Armed Services Committee....

"The fact that he's dead is unfortunate but looking back on his life it's a very pleasant thought."The father of late The Doors singer Jim Morrison has branded the death of his estranged son "unfortunate," despite the rocker often singing about his family's imagined demise. George Morrison, a retired Navy admiral, insists memories of his rocker son are "pleasant" - even though he once joked his parents were dead and used Oedipal rant "The End" to imagine killing his dad and sleeping with his mother. However, in a new memoir of the band, George remains positive about his child. Contributing...

A PAKISTAN-born Muslim has become the Royal Navy’s first non-white admiral. Amjad Hussain, 47, was this week promoted to Rear-Admiral, from Commodore, to become the highest-ranking minority ethnic officer within the three armed forces. Rear-Admiral Hussain, who lives in Hertfordshire with his wife, Wendy, said that he was proud to be part of an organisation that was “more interested in what you do rather than where you come from”. The father of three arrived in Britain with his mother in 1962 to join his father, who was working as a railway signalman. After joining the Royal Navy in 1977 Rear-Admiral...

WASHINGTON, June 7, 2006 – It is not enough to win tactical engagements in the war against terror -- the United States and its allies must win the peace, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told the National Defense University's 2006 graduating class today. Navy Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (left), congratulates a student at the National Defense University's graduation ceremony, June 7. Photo by Steven Donald Smith  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Cultivating international partnerships and facilitating strong cooperation throughout the U.S. government to maximize all of...

DJIBOUTI, April 24, 2006 – The complexity of operations in the Horn of Africa boggles the mind. A person may be tempted to throw his hands up and decide that conditions are too dire, the people are too many, the politics are too tangled to make any changes in the region. But that person would be wrong, said Navy Rear Adm. Richard Hunt, commander of Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa. Hunt leads a small command dedicated to improving lives in the region so the people do not embrace extremist ideologies or shelter terrorists. The command includes Djibouti -...

MINA SALMAN, Bahrain, April 24, 2006 – Pakistan today became the first regional country to command a combined task force in the Middle East in the war on terror. Pakistani Rear Adm. Shahid Iqbal received command from Dutch Commodore Hank Ort during a ceremony aboard the HNLMS De Zeven Provicien in the harbor here. Iqbal will command the force for the next six months. American, French, German, British, Dutch, Australian, New Zealand, Canadian, Spanish, Italian, Turkish and Portuguese ships have participated in the force. Japan has provided logistical support to the effort. "I, my team, and the Pakistan navy, feel...