Photo caption: A B-52 Stratofortress aircraft out of Minot Air Force Base, N.D., flies over the Pacific Ocean on Nov. 13, 2008. The aircraft is deployed to the 23rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, and is part of a continuing operation to maintain a bomber presence in the region.   DoD photo by Master Sgt. Kevin J. Gruenwald, U.S. Air Force.

American's celebrate Thanksgiving by gathering for large meals featuring turkey and mounds of food, watching football and enjoying each others company.  In my years of active duty, I missed two Thanksgiving's with my family, one was spent on alert with my B-52 crew and one stationed on Okinawa with my fellow service members.  I give thanks this year for the men and women who continue to serve in far flung places but also those who have paid the ultimate price.  Less than two weeks ago, a B-52 crew and flight surgeon were interred in Arlington Cemetery  from a crash near Guam in July this year.  These families will not have a good Thanksgiving but helped ensure we will.  As you sit around the family meal and while shopping, please say a prayer or a toast to the service members who are serving in harms way and those that have already sacrificed through injury or their death.

We salute and give thanks for the service of Col. George T. Martin, Maj. Christopher M. Cooper, Maj. Brent D. Williams, Capt. Michael K. Dodson, 1st Lt. Robert D. Gerren and 1st Lt. Joshua D. Shepherd.   

Caption: Gen. Norton Schwartz hands a folded American flag to one of the family members of the fallen B-52 Stratofortress crewmembers Nov. 14 at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. A group burial took place for six crewmembers of a B-52 that crashed off Guam's Northwest coast July 21. General Schwartz is the Air Force chief of staff. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Catherine Thompson) 

• this is, I would say, part of an overall effort here at the State Department to really better use technology, better use various applications of those technology, including social networking and social media to better communicate with the rest of the world and to do our job. You’re well aware of what we’re doing in terms of the briefing room here, Briefing 2.0, Facebook, our blog, and a lot of other efforts that we’ll talk about after this. 

• Also, a foundation will be created called the Alliance of Youth Movements. And a hub, an electronic hub, again, anyone will have access to it around the world. Now, this conference – the entire conference will be streamed by MTV and by Howcast. We are – we at the State Department are one partner. In fact, we take a back seat to what the private sector is doing, which is just fabulous. But we’re happy to have gotten this thing started, at any rate. 

• We feel that around the world, young people are using the internet to push back against violence in a new way, using social networking, convening large groups to have conversations, basically, to share information. And this is something that al-Qaida and the violent extremist groups cannot stand. They cannot stand criticism. You know, sometimes they’ll post videos on YouTube until YouTube takes them down, and they get tremendous amounts of critical comments. They don’t want that. Their whole philosophy is based on trying to isolate potential members and keep them away from critical comment, from discussion. So we want to take exactly the opposite tack, and we think that the technology that exists today is on our side; it’s not on the extremists’ side.

Bravo to the State Department for this effort, there will undoubtedly be problems and I will guarantee some will accuse them of propaganda and probably a lot worse, but in this world, if you aren’t using the internet to communicate and collaborate, you’ll lose every time.

Photo caption: Model Mayra Veronica sings during a USO show at Camp Liberty, Iraq, Nov. 14, 2008. Veronica is traveling for the second time with Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright on a USO tour.
DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Adam M. Stump.  Full photo essay from that trip here.

The photo above of Mayra Veronica, a model I confess I didn't know about, reminds me of the famous photos of Marilyn Monroe with the troops in Korea. Miss Veronica is a big supporter of the USO, a group that does wonderful things for the troops.  To all the troops, have a great week!

  When piracy is on the nightly news and all over the cable news channels, it's becoming a big deal and even the White House and the Pentagon spokesman were talking about it today.  This article in the Times Online talks about how difficult any military options are.  Indeed.  There are reports of 17 ships with over three hundred hostages, I'm guessing these are multiple bands of pirates, now in competition for the money and the women in Somalia, read this article and they discuss how these thugs are becoming the big men on campus. The Indian Navy's ship INS Tabar sunk a pirate mother ship and killed it's crew, good for them. The Brits recently captured more with their Royal Marines seizing a Dhow. Excellent job lads.  And it sounds as if the collective world (or at least those with Navy's in the region) is getting fed up with this situation. Don't forget, Blackwater's ship Macarthur is still enroute with Erik Prince saying on today’s news he'll be meeting in London with over 60 companies interested in his services. 

H/T Danger Room. This story by Reuters says the latest pirate action took place 450 miles from Kenya, of course, given the African coastline, it could be much closer to the coast but the seizure of a ship the size of an aircraft carrier, less than one year old, carrying $100 Million US Dollars worth of oil, headed to the United States, is in my mind, a game changer.  Looking at photo of the ship, see Danger Rooms post here, tells me they either had a serious mother ship, or aircraft to assault the ship, or the sailors on the ship were so oblivious to the event the pirates found something hanging down and climbed up.

Standing by on a hill top, soldiers with the 101st Division Special Troops Battalion, 101st Airborne Division watch as two Chinook helicopters fly in to take them back to Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, Nov. 4, 2008. The soldiers searched a small village in the valley below for improvised explosive device-making materials and facilities.   U.S. Army photo by Spc. Mary L. Gonzalez. 

In the run up to the end of the election, some commentators, especially on the right side of the spectrum, made much of the comments candidate Obama made regarding a “civilian national security force” with the commentary that this was somehow going to be a parallel civilian security apparatus.  Now, here’s a link to a previous interview with President Elect Obama’s designated Chief of Staff Congressman Rahm Emanuel discussing a three month obligatory training period for 18-25 year olds.  Here’s how the interview is described on the site:

•  In a 2006 interview with Ben Smith of the NY Daily News, Rahm Emanuel, who will be Barack Obama's White House chief of staff, laughed at Smith's concerns about how far-reaching a mandatory civil-service plan would be. 

This interviewer clearly has personal issues with “living in a barracks” (I don’t know if this guy is homophobic or just watched Full Metal Jacket too many times and fears a blanket party, dude, grow up!) but listening to the interview, what I think Emanuel is discussing is a sort of minimalist approach to national service.  It’s difficult to ascribe motive or intent to these two notions of civilian service, but I’m going to take a stab and frankly, I don’t think either of these ideas is radical and I think they might have a serious ability to help our national and homeland security.

First: civilian national security force.  In both Afghanistan and later Iraq, we have Provincial Reconstruction Teams or PRT’s which are transitioning from solely military organizations to civilian dominated outfits and that is a very good thing.  PRT’s have performed brilliantly in Afghanistan with all sorts of reconstruction, governance, logistics, all of the non-kinetic, non-military areas that are vital to rebuilding shattered societies and communities.  US Agency for International Development is recognized by most observers as under manned and increasing both the size of the organization and their funding should be on the President Obama’s agenda.  I’ve also believed for a long time that a reserve corps of State Department folks is needed as does the Bush Administration.

From the Office of the Civilian Response Corps here, is this extract from President Bush’s State of the Union address in 2007:

• "A second task we can take on together is to design and establish a volunteer Civilian Reserve Corps. Such a corps would function much like our military reserve. It would ease the burden on the Armed Forces by allowing us to hire civilians with critical skills to serve on missions abroad when America needs them. And it would give people across America who do not wear the uniform a chance to serve in the defining struggle of our time."– President Bush’s State of the Union Address, January 23, 2007 

Also from that same site:

• Civilian Reservists will enter into an agreement with the Department of State to serve for 4 years, during which time they will be expected to deploy for one year. They will be given the option to end their service upon returning from their one year deployment or to extend their service for another 4 years, if they performed at a satisfactory level. Upon entering the Reserve Component, they will be required to attend 2-3 weeks of orientation training, and will receive 10-15 days of pre-deployment training prior to each deployment. In addition, they must attend 5-10 days of annual training throughout their service. Refusal to deploy or to attend mandatory training will result in their removal from the CRC and they will be required to repay the government for the full cost of their training, including related travel, lodging, pay, and per-diem.  

OK, so if the proposal by candidate Obama is along the lines of a State Department Reserve Corps and increasing US AID, I think that’s a great idea.  Now, let’s ponder national civil service for a three month period.  First, I would presume that the military (active and reserve/guard) would be not required to do this nor qualified first responders such as firefighters, police officers, and EMT’s (if they join between 18-25, if not, I guess they would have to participate)

So, what could you do in three months?  I’m thinking first aid training (ala American Red Cross), potentially disaster response stuff (debris clearing, fire fighting) possibly basic firearms training, especially weapons safety, which actually could be done with electronic weapons simulators. I think living in the outdoors to include starting fires, surviving severe weather, building shelters, etc. Basically, take parts of Army/Marine basic training (physical fitness, team work, firearms) throw in some first aid training, combine with some Boy Scout/Girl Scout outdoors stuff, this would be good for everyone.  But, to put meat on the bones, I would make a final month (either in the 3 or add a fourth) and have these folks actually do things:  fight fires in the west, disaster response (hurricane, flooding, and earthquakes) volunteer in hospitals, clinics, or as a volunteer first responders in rural America, or on the border watching for illegal’s crossing.

As they say, the devils in the details.  Maybe I’m way too naive on this, but I don’t see this as some brown shirt/Gestapo move by Emanuel but there could be an aspect like the CCC, the Civilian Conservation Corps which of itself was a jobs kick start program during the Great Depression.  I’ve also seen commentary that Emanuel went to Israel (he’s Jewish) to serve in the Israeli Defense Forces or along those lines.  I remember very clearly when I went to Israel on military exchange during college, my host family’s father used to patrol the markets in the weekends with an Uzi, a couple of extra mags, and a ball cap or some other identifying piece of clothing.  One thing I do agree with conservative observers, if George Bush had proposed this, the cry would have been heard round the world!  Either way, I kind of like both these ideas.

This is mostly a bunch of old Air Force main gate postcards and some other assorted photos, but it's a really cool look at lots of vintage gates and Air Policeman. Enjoy

 Thanks Gene, the BBB!

H/T Defense News article here. 

Congratulations to Austal USA for (finally!) receiving the contract for the Joint High Speed Vessel!  As I’ve discussed in previous posts, this is a program near and dear to my heart and I fully intend to write a book about this someday (and of course a movie deal will be forthcoming).  The High Speed Vessel program began in the late nineties and many observers (myself especially) noticed a very unusual ship operated by the Royal Australian Navy, the HMAS Jervis Bay.  The RAN leased an aluminum commercial car ferry and used it for relief operations to East Timor.

What captured my attention, after months of research, was the open nature of the vehicle deck, coupled with a large passenger area, all with a low draft hull but with the ability to make better than 30 knots. My research was focused on capability, not hull form, type, manufacturer, none of that stuff that maritime designers and naval architects become obsessed with.  I was obsessed with its potential.  As someone who spent much time and many sleepless nights waiting on broken C-5’s throughout the Pacific, I really thought this type of ship was a potential game changer and my boss at the SEAL headquarters also immediately understood the potential and before long, with no money but a lot of enthusiasm, we were part of the team of organizations which would eventually lease the HSV X-1 Joint Venture.

Eventually, the US military would operate four high speed vessels, technically, the first was the Westpac Express and a sister ship to the design chosen today.  Built by Austal in Western Australia, they operated in direct support of the Marines of III MEF on Okinawa.  Then, we got the HSV X-1, followed by the Army’s lease of the TSV 1X Spearhead, and finally the HSV-2 Swift, the best design of all with the most capability.  The latter three ships were all built by Incat in Tasmania Australia.  Only the Swift and WestPac Express are still operated by the US military.  While assigned to the Pacific Command as a reservist, I also convinced the theater Special Operations Commander there to get another HSV and while successful in convincing the SECDEF and SOCOM Commander of the need, the decision was made to go after the original HSV X-1 Joint Venture and while it performed fairly well (from what I hear) the decision was made to allow it to go back to the manufacturer.

Later, I also did work as a contractor on the program and throughout the entire process, was amazed at the institutional opposition, mostly because it didn’t look like traditional navy grey steel single hulled ships.  Then along came the Littoral Combat Ship and when the Navy selected Austal’s trimaran as one of the two designs, I thought there was still hope. Now today, to see one of the two original companies selected, is a very good day indeed. The program looks to be five ships for the Army and five for the Navy.  I’m going to go out on a limb and say this will not be the end of this program, either for the US military or foreign buyers.  In today’s’ world, buying a vessel that’s part multi-mission ship, part helicopter carrier, part afloat staging base, that can do 30 plus knots and costs 180 million, will be a hit.

Two final comments:  When we had our first major meeting at the Navy Warfare Development Command and we went around the room and asked, what each of us thought about this concept’s potential I said it will be the C-130 of the sea.  It could be a relief or rescue vessel, a command post, a helo carrier, an amphib like ship, and most important to me, a special operations forces afloat staging base.  The most succinct comment ever uttered on the high speed vessel was the first Navy SEAL SDV platoon commander who embarked and at the end of his brief wrote: you are only limited by your imagination. 

OK, it is looking more and more like the Air Force under the leadership of General Norty Schwartz is really considering doing the unthinkable from just a couple years ago: getting serious about counter-insurgency airpower.  For years, Air Force leaders, their surrogate talking heads, and hired think-tanks have made the claim that the Air Force was really engaged in the COIN fight: strike aircraft hitting targets, ISR support, cargo hauling. Basically, that the Air Force of the post Cold War era was good enough, so why look at a fleet of low end COIN aircraft?

Inside Defense news has two headlines of great interest to me, both require subscriptions but here’s a link to a forum that has posted the first one regarding the AT-6’s. Interestingly, in those forum discussions, there are claims that many USAF personnel are very interested in both the new RC-12 ISR aircraft as well as speculation that a buy of armed AT-6’s might be imminent.  This story here says the USAF is buying a fleet of 40 RC-12 ISR aircraft to supplement the UAV fleet.

The two titles for the articles (subscriptions required for both):

-- ACC Officials Want Air Force Irregular Warfare Fleet of Aircraft

The fact that these articles are being written at all is significant but the pace at which the service is considering change is depressingly slow.  Today, Noah Shachtman in Danger Room writes about the fact that USAF leaders are “coming around” to agree with SECDEF Gates on many of these issues, interestingly, the General quoted, LtGen. Raymond Johns Jr., is a T-38 IP/airlift/test pilot and not a fighter guy.  Noah apparently interviewed the general and some comments are here. .

And here comes a AF Times story that reenlistment rates in the Air Force are plummeting.  You know, people really hate it when you screw around with their careers and ability to serve their nation (that concept formerly known as “force shaping” which was a euphemism for kicking out people because you are a terrible personnel planner) all the while trying out new uniforms. Hopefully, the fact that our leaders have begun to take care of the here and now and not totally obsess with the future may be paying dividends. 

Here’s one of the quotes from the discussion with LtGen Johns:

Here’s another suggestion for LtGen. Johns: fire some of those high priced think-tanks and consultants, they haven’t seen the GWOT goal posts since kickoff.

Doug and I were very close in college but time and distance diminished the frequency of our contact, but not the intensity of our friendship.  He and I, like many of our contemporary military buddies, knew almost every line of all the "classic" movies like John Wayne, war movies, and comedy's like Animal House and the Blues Brothers.  Doug and I might not see each other for years and pick up exactly where we left off.  He loved his family, especially his fantastic wife Michelle, he loved serving in the military, and he loved his country very deeply and he was a true patriot and warrior.

Today is the 233^rd birthday of the United States Marine Corps and we wish all Marines everywhere Happy Birthday!  I especially would like to offer my best wishes to my cousin Luke Pernotto, veteran of two combat deployments to Iraq, now an infantry instructor and three Marine Colonels I’ve worked for in the Pentagon: Matt Chicchinelli, Joaquin Malavet, and Royal Mortenson.  But two weeks ago, there was an incredible sadness in the Marine Corps family with the loss of a towering figure: Colonel John Ripley.  Best known for his heroism at the Dong Ha Bridge where he dangled for three hours underneath the bridge, rigging explosives to delay the offensive of 20,000 North Vietnamese.  The photograph shows the scene at the Naval Academy Chapel for his funeral, the accompanying story says it was one of the largest funerals ever held there.

Rest in Peace Colonel Ripley, a grateful nation thanks you and best wishes to Marines everywhere: Semper Fi!

• I, (full name) having been appointed a (rank), United States Air Force, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States, against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter, so help me God.

The above words represent the oath of office for an Air Force officer; I have taken that oath (or words close to that) at least four times in my life: when I entered the scholarship program of ROTC, upon graduation from college and being commissioned a second lieutenant, receiving my regular commission, and when I entered the Air Force Reserve.  Note, we don’t swear loyalty to an individual, to a position such as President, or to a political party.  We swear fealty to a piece of paper, one that represents collectively the people of the United States of America.

In our country, unlike many others, we have a single national leader.  Great Britain for example, has a head of State which is the Sovereign, currently represented by Elizabeth II, Queen of England and they have a head of government, represented by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.  Our nation has the most effective armed forces on earth and we also have the most stable.  The reason, in my opinion, is that the officer corps understands completely that we serve the people and every so often, occasionally through death, once through resignation, but most often through elections, we transition our national leadership. Two days ago, President Elect Obama was selected via a peaceful nation election and on January 20^th 2009, he will assume the office of the President of the United States and by extension, Commander in Chief of our Armed Forces.

We congratulate President Elect Obama, Vice-President elect Biden, their families, and their soon to be named leadership teams and wish them the very best luck for their term.  When creating this company Excalibur R&D, this vision, and through the words on this site, I have deliberately avoided any hint of political because frankly, whatever happens politically, the nation needs defending.  Of course, we have elections to determine how the policy decisions will be made.  The world we live in is a dangerous and complicated environment and President Elect Obama will be taking the reins amidst financial difficulties, American troops in combat in two major areas, and a host of hidden and in many cases unforeseen challenges which lie ahead. President Elect Obama will have little opportunity for rest and reflection as the schedule now becomes nearly as frenetic as the campaign and as I said before, the best of fortune to them. Here is a quote from former Defense Secretary Rumsfeld which I think sums up the most difficult challenge for President Elect Obama:

• There are known knowns. There are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we now know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we do not know we don’t know.

            To Senator McCain and Governor Palin, their families, and supporters, it’s time for rest with knowledge they gave it their all.  Senator McCain’s life has been of long and distinguished service and his concession speech the other night illustrated how much he exemplifies the best of integrity, character, and grace.  A few years ago, certain rabid elements in our society castigated our national leaders for sending troops into combat while their children did not serve.  I find it fascinating that in this election cycle, three of the final four individuals for our national leadership had offspring who had or were serving in a combat zone.

            On November 5^th, our troops woke up to the news that Barrack Hussein Obama II won the Presidential election.  On January 20th, he will take the Oath of Office and be sworn in as our 44^th President.  Our troops will continue to keep performing their duties brilliantly.  We wish those deployed in harms way, as well as all of them serving anywhere, the same good fortune we wish upon the new Commander in Chief as they collectively serve the United States of America.

May God continue to bless America.