organization:united states marine corps

  • Marines seize an airfield and small island while testing tactics for fight against China
    https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2019/03/21/marines-seize-an-airfield-and-small-island-alongside-special-opera


    Marines with Charlie Company, Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, run toward security positions during a live-fire range as part of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit’s simulated Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations, Camp Schwab, Okinawa, Japan, March 13, 2019.
    Gunnery Sgt. T. T. Parish/Marine Corps

    Marines with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, or MEU, seized a small island and airfield with elite special operations airmen and soldiers as part of a test of its future fighting concept.

    That fighting concept, known as expeditionary advanced base operations, or EABO, will see Marines spread thinly across the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, operating from small bases — a tactic that will help Marines stay alive in a high-end fight with China.

    EABO is still in the early stages of experimentation. The concept recently was signed off by Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Robert B. Neller, but still awaits the signature of Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson.

    It’s a fight that will require assistance from the other services and the recent exercise that spanned March 11–14 included participation by U.S. Air Force 353rd Special Operations Group and soldiers with 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group, according to details in a command release.
    […]
    The exercise kicked off with the insertion of Marine reconnaissance via a military free-fall jump over Ie Shima Training Facility on Ie Jima Island, which is located off the coast of Okinawa, Japan, according to details in a command release.

    Grunts with 1st Battalion, 4th Marines then carried out a long-range raid to seize the island’s airfield, moving nearly 600 miles by MV-22 Ospreys supported by KC-130 air refuelers, the command release detailed.

    • vu par RT.com qui souligne l’absence quasi complète d’écho médiatique.

      The US just ‘invaded’ an island in the East China Sea & no one noticed — RT Op-ed
      https://www.rt.com/op-ed/455053-souch-china-sea-invade-us


      FILE PHOTO An MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft flies over U.S. Marines on their way to checkpoint during a vertical assault on Ie Shima Island, Japan, March 24, 2017
      © Global Look Press / ZUMAPRESS.com/Charles Plouffe/U.S. Marines

      Just recently, the US military launched a full-on invasion of an island in the East China Sea to send a strong message to China, and yet barely any mainstream media outlet has covered the story or its massive implications.
      […]
      Media blackout
      No one will come right out and say it, but it certainly seems as though the US military is actively preparing for a third world war. If this media blackout on the implications of these recent developments wasn’t bad enough; even more bizarre is the complete silence from the media on the enormous geopolitical activity itself.

      A brief search of Google News reveals that only a handful of media outlets even covered the event, many of which are not typically regarded as internationally mainstream sources. A ProQuest search for media coverage of the story in fact returned zero results. The most prominent western outlet that covered the story is Business Insider, as well as a number of military sites.

      I cannot find any mention of this story on any of the major news sites, whether it’s CNN, MSNBC, the Guardian, BBC, the New York Times – take your pick. Remember that the adversarial, independent and free media who is entrusted with informing you and keeping you up to date barely even mentions geopolitical manoeuvres that could lead to a global conflict.

  • Japan starts full-fledged landfill work to move U.S. base in #Okinawa | City-Cost
    https://www.city-cost.com/blogs/KyodoNewsPlus/GBgZA-news

    NAHA, Japan - The Japanese government on Friday pushed ahead with full-fledged offshore landfill work necessary for the relocation of a key U.S. base within Okinawa, despite persistent local opposition and legal wrangling.

    The adding of soil and sand began before noon in the Henoko coastal district of Nago, the planned site of a replacement facility for the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, marking the start of irreversible alteration of the site toward relocating the base, which currently sits in a crowded residential area of Ginowan.

    I cannot help feeling strong resentment towards the work being carried out in defiance of the prefectural residents’ will,” said Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki.

    The soil was dumped in a 6.3-hectare area on the southern side of the landfill site.

    Protestors gathered in front of the gates of U.S. Marines Camp Schwab, adjacent to the site, from early morning and held sit-in demonstrations while holding up placards and calling for the immediate suspension of the landfill work in a standoff with riot police.
    […]
    The relocation plan originated from an agreement reached between the Japanese and U.S. governments in 1996 after public anger was fueled by the 1995 rape of an Okinawa girl by three American servicemen. But progress has been slow, with many locals hoping that the U.S. base will be relocated outside the subtropical island prefecture.

    The feud between the central and local governments re-emerged under the tenure of previous Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga, and now the fight has been picked up by Tamaki, who was elected in September on an anti-U.S. base platform after his predecessor died of cancer.
    […]
    In April 2017, the central government began building seawalls in the Henoko coastal area so that it can place soil and sand inside the encircled area.

    Under a plan to transfer the air functions of the Futenma airfield to the site, the central government is scheduled to reclaim some 157 hectares of land in waters off the Henoko area and construct a V-shaped runway.

    While the ministry initially said it will need five years to complete the reclamation work, the work is expected to take longer due to changes in the construction procedure.

    After decades of hosting the bulk of U.S. military facilities in Japan, many people in Okinawa are frustrated with noise, crime and accidents linked to them and do not want any new base to be built inside the island prefecture.

    Locals and civic groups are also concerned about potential environmental damage caused by the relocation. The sea off Henoko has coral reefs and is a habitat of the endangered dugong.

  • Marine Corps F-35Bs Have Arrived Off the Coast of Africa For The Very First Time - The Drive
    http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/23414/marine-corps-f-35bs-have-arrived-off-the-coast-of-africa-for-the-very-firs
    https://timedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/f-35-essex-1.jpg?quality=85

    For the first time ever, U.S. Marine Corps F-35Bs Joint Strike Fighters are on an operational deployment in the Gulf of Aden, bringing them the closest they’ve ever been to conflict zones in Iraq and Syria, Yemen, and Somalia. The stealthy jets and their pilots set to join thousands of other U.S. Navy sailors and Marines for a two-week training exercise while they’re in the region, but there’s still no indication they are headed for actual combat, at least not yet.

    [...]

    Neither the Navy nor the Marines have announced any intention to send the F-35Bs into combat anywhere in the Middle East or East Africa while the Essex and her ARG are in the region, but there is always a possibility the U.S. military could decide to do so.

    #Etats-Unis #guerre

  • Lawmakers Want to Know if US Troops Are Ready for Arctic Warfare | Military.com
    https://www.military.com/kitup/2018/07/30/lawmakers-want-know-if-us-troops-are-ready-arctic-warfare.html

    The report should include:

    – A description of current cold weather capabilities and training to support United States military operations in cold climates across the joint force;
    – A description of anticipated requirements for United States military operations in cold and extreme cold weather in the Arctic, Northeast Asia, and Northern and Eastern Europe;
    – A description of the current cold weather readiness of the joint force, the ability to increase cold weather training across the joint force, and any equipment, infrastructure, personnel, or resource limitations or gaps that may exist;
    – An analysis of potential opportunities to expand cold weather training for the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Marine Corps and the resources or infrastructure required for such expansion;
    – An analysis of potential partnerships with state, local, tribal, and private entities to maximize training potential and to utilize local expertise, including traditional indigenous knowledge.

    If the proposal makes it to President Donald Trump for approval, it could lead to improvements in cold-weather equipment and training U.S. troops receive.

    #arctique #guerre #etats-unis

  • Trump Orders Establishment of Space Force as Sixth Military Branch - The New York Times
    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/18/us/politics/trump-space-force-sixth-military-branch.html

    WASHINGTON — President Trump said on Monday that he would direct the Pentagon to establish a sixth branch of the armed forces dedicated to protecting American interests in outer space, an idea that has troubled lawmakers and even some members of his administration, who have cautioned that the action could create unnecessary bureaucratic responsibilities for a military already burdened by conflicts.

    During a speech at a meeting of the National Space Council, Mr. Trump announced plans to protect American interests in space through monitoring commercial traffic and debris, initiatives he said would be “great not only in terms of jobs and everything else, it’s great for the psyche of our country.”

    With his interest in space, Mr. Trump appears to be taking a more protective stance than his modern predecessors, who over the years have wrestled with ways — and with rival governments, including Russia and China — to keep military conflicts in space at bay while still protecting American interests, including commercial operations and the current satellite system.

    “At best this is simply the creation of an additional D.O.D. bureaucracy,” Daryl G. Kimball, the executive director of the Arms Control Association, said in an interview, referring to the Department of Defense. “At worst, it is the first step in an accelerated competition between the U.S., China and Russia in the space realm that is going to be more difficult to avert without direct talks about responsible rules of the road.”

    The creation of a sixth branch of the military to join the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard would require congressional authorization and approval. Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida, who is on the Senate Commerce Committee overseeing the nation’s space program — and who once spent six days in space — said that the president’s order lacked the support of the generals who would be required to carry it out.

    #Militarisme #Espace #Fin_des_communs #Etats_Unis #Guerre

  • U.S. Navy Chaplain Fired Over Sex Act Caught on Camera at New Orleans Pub – gCaptain
    http://gcaptain.com/u-s-navy-chaplain-fired-sex-act-caught-camera-new-orleans-pub

    The U.S. Marines have fired a long-time Navy Chaplain who was caught on video having sex with a woman a New Orleans bar, USA Today reported Wednesday.

    On March 20, the Marines fired Navy Capt. Loften Thornton due to “loss of trust and confidence,” a spokesman for Marine Reserve said in a statement to the media. Thornton, a Navy Chaplain since 1992, had been chaplain for Marine Forces Reserve based in New Orleans.

    According to media reports, Thornton was captured on video having sex with a woman at a British pub across the Mississippi River from the French Quarter. DoD officials are in the process of reviewing the tape, reports said.

    The pub is about a five-minute drive from the Marine Reserve base.

    The U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps consists of clergy who are commissioned naval officers with the purpose to “promote the spiritual, religious, moral, and personal well-being of the members of the Department of the Navy,” including Marine Corps.

  • USS Ford et F-35 : état de la catastrophe
    http://www.dedefensa.org/article/uss-ford-et-f-35-etat-de-la-catastrophe

    USS Ford et F-35 : état de la catastrophe

    Dans un article récent de son Journal-dde.crisis (18 mars 2018), PhG prenait quelques libertés coupables avec les noms de baptême de deux fleurons et poutres-maîtresses de la puissance militaire à venir des USA : « Le F-35 Monad face au USS Leibnitz : l’Unité suprême ». Ce chroniqueur irresponsable moquait d’une façon inélégante et bien peu convenable par rapport à l’étiquette des normes-Système, d’une part le fameux avion de combat F-35, alias JSF, destiné à équiper à lui seuls toutes les forces aériennes des armes américanistes (USAF, Navy et Marine Corps) et de la plupart des pays du bloc-BAO, jusqu’aux plus insolents qui osent espérer parallèlement commander des systèmes d’arme russes ; d’autre part, la nouvelle classe de super-porte-avions de l’US Navy, avec le (...)

  • Mattis, “perdu dans ses rêveries” et en Syrie
    http://www.dedefensa.org/article/mattis-perdu-dans-ses-reveries-et-en-syrie

    Mattis, “perdu dans ses rêveries” et en Syrie

    Le secrétaire à la défense Mattis était désigné, il y a quelques mois, lorsque le WaPo ou le New York Times entendait décrire l’équipe Trump, autour du président Trump, comme « le seul adulte dans la pièce ». Ce général des Marines, faussement affublé du surnom de Mad Dog, colporté par la presse mais jamais employé dans ses décennies passées au sein du Marine Corps, est réputé comme un général-historien très-intellectuel, avec les sept mille ouvrages de sa bibliothèque et ses connaissances impeccables allant de Thucydide à Clausewitz. L’adulte décoré et très-cultivé, et donc d’une extrême sagesse, nous offre pourtant le spectacle étrange d’un emportement d’apparence raisonnable mais sans véritable frein, comme perdu dans les nuages, après tout aussi saugrenu et incertain (...)

  • Ten sailors missing after U.S. warship, tanker collide near Singapore
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-navy-crash-idUSKCN1B100C
    ça devient une habitude…
    mais cette fois à babord, donc, a priori, c’est lui qui a priorité…

    Ten sailors are missing after a U.S. warship collided with an oil tanker east of Singapore before dawn on Monday, tearing a hole beneath the waterline and flooding compartments that include a crew sleeping area, the U.S. Navy said.

    The collision between the guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain and the tanker Alnic MC was the second involving U.S. Navy destroyers and merchant vessels in Asian waters in little more than two months.

    The ships collided while the U.S. warship was heading to Singapore for a routine port call, the Navy said in a statement.

    • Ici, il est hors de question d’imaginer une quelconque défaillance de la veille sur l’un ou l’autre navire : ça doit être l’endroit où le trafic est le plus dense au monde et on est aux abords immédiats du port…

      En revanche, le communiqué de la Navy laisse songeur. Le John McCain est abordé à babord (à l’arrière de sa seconde cheminée), vraisemblablement à l’endroit où s’achève la dernière ligne droite de la trajectoire) alors que le pétrolier vient de l’est et se dirige vers le terminal pétrolier (dans l’axe de cette ligne droite). Difficile à imaginer si le John McCain entrait au port ; normalement, il présentait son flanc tribord…

      Au vu des photos, et de l’enfoncement des tôles, il semblerait que le pétrolier venait de l’arrière.

    • Stricken destroyer John S. McCain arrives in Singapore, 10 crew still missing
      http://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2017/08/20/navy-destroyer-john-s-mccain-collides-with-merchant-vessel

      Mounting questions
      The details of how the collisions occurred remain unkown, But incidents such as those with the McCain and Fitzgerald incidents are troubling, said Jan van Tol, a retired commander of three war ships who now serves as an analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.

      Navy destroyers are remarkably nimble and responsive, including rapid acceleration ability, thus should certainly be able to get out of the way of almost anything approaching ‘too close,’” van Tol said in an email.

      Such close quarters situations should NEVER be allowed to develop without various watchstanders and watchteams being well aware that they are developing,” he said.

      It is unknown whether McCain had suffered any kind of casualty to its engineering or steering systems ahead of the collision that would have contributed to the disaster.

      The collision was the fourth significant safety incident of 2017 involving a U.S. 7th Fleet ship. In January, the cruiser Antietam ran aground in Tokyo Bay and in May, the cruiser Lake Champlain collided with a Korean fishing boat in the Sea of Japan.

      (outre le Fitzgerald)

    • Complètement dingue !

      La collision a eu lieu nettement plus à l’est, juste à l’entrée du dispositif de séparation de trafic. Dans les derniers instants, on voit l’Alnic NC abattre en grand sur la gauche en ralentissant fortement, indice évident d’une manœuvre en catastrophe, qui ne peut se justifier (on est dans le rail, bon sang !) que par une tentative d’évitement désespérée…

      Mille sabords !, que fabriquait cet amiral de bateau-lavoir de USS John S. McCain à cet endroit là ?
      (NB : le père et le grand-père du sénateur, John S. McCain III, ont tous les deux terminé leur carrière comme amiral et, pour faire simple portaient également le même middle name, Sidney. On fait dans la dynastie ou pas…)

      Comment a-t-il pu couper la route d’un bateau dont la route est absolument rectiligne et prévisible (il est dans le rail) ? Peut-être le McCain n’y était-il pas et a-t-il manœuvré brutalement pour s’y placer ?
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlrA36GzHNs

      EDIT (24/08)
      pour gCaptain, l’abattée à gauche est le résultat de la collision, ce qui parait tout à fait crédible et explique bien la forme de l’enfoncement sur l’arrière de l’ouverture. Le McCain devait filer vite pour dévier à ce point la trajectore.
      Du coup, on peut élaborer un scénario où le McCain coupe, pour des raisons qu’il reste à préciser, le rail « conformément aux règles internationales » : perpendiculairement et le plus vite possible. Et dans ce cas, il est responsable à 100%…

      Comment, elle a dit déjà l’amirauté ? ah oui, #poor_seamanship

      http://gcaptain.com/uss-john-s-mccain-collision-ais-animation-shows-tankers-track-during-colli

    • The Latest: US Navy vessel arrives to help damaged destroyer - The Washington Post
      https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/the-latest-us-warship-sailing-on-own-power-after-collision/2017/08/20/9c7ae012-860e-11e7-96a7-d178cf3524eb_story.html

      5:00 p.m.
      The oil tanker involved in a collision with the USS John S. McCain destroyer in busy Southeast Asian waters had four deficiencies including navigation safety violations in its last port inspection.

      An official database for ports in Asia shows the Alnic MC was inspected in the Chinese port of Dongying on July 29 and had one document deficiency, one fire safety deficiency and two safety of navigation problems.

      The database doesn’t go into details and the problems were apparently not serious enough for the Liberian-flagged and Greek-owned vessel to be detained by the port authority.
      […]
      4:10 p.m.
      The chief of Malaysia’s Maritime Enforcement Agency says the collision between an oil tanker and the USS John S. McCain guided missile destroyer early Monday occurred at the start of a designated sea lane for ships sailing into the Singapore Strait, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

      Zulkifli Abu Bakar said the incident occurred 4.5 nautical miles (8.3 kilometers) from Malaysia’s coast. He said a Malaysian warship was in the area monitoring the cleanup of an oil spill from an unrelated collision of two merchant ships and was contacted by the McCain.

      Both Malaysia and Singapore say the accident happened in their waters, likely reflecting a dispute about ownership of some rocky outcrops in the area.

      It happened in Malaysian territorial waters, specifically in Teluk Ramunia waters,” Zulkifli said. “For this moment, we shouldn’t argue about whose waters. Most important thing is we focus on the search and rescue.

    • Frontière entre la Malaisie et Singapour — Wikipédia
      https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontière_entre_la_Malaisie_et_Singapour

      La délimitation de cette frontière maritime a fait l’objet d’un recours devant la Cour internationale de justice, effectué conjointement le 24 juillet 2003 par la Malaisie et Singapour. Le différend portait sur l’île de Pedra Branca, les Middle Rocks (deux rochers inhabités) et South Ledge, un haut-fond découvrant. Par un arrêt du 23 mai 2008, la Cour a attribué Pedra Blanca à Singapour, les Middle Rocks à la Malaisie, et South Ledge à l’État dans les eaux territoriales duquel il se trouve (la Cour n’ayant pas reçu mandat des parties pour délimiter leurs eaux territoriales respectives).

      L’arrêt de la CIJ
      Affaire relative à la souveraineté sur Pedra Blanca/Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks et South Ledge –(Malaisie/Singapour)
      Arrêt du 23 mai 2008
      http://www.icj-cij.org/files/case-related/130/130-20080523-JUD-01-00-FR.pdf

      (il me semblait avoir vu passer ce contentieux ici)


      (extrait de l’arrêt de la CIJ)

    • Serrage de boulons généralisé…

      Admiral to order operational pause in Navy after warship, merchant ship collide - CNN
      http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/20/asia/us-navy-destroyer-collision-singapore/index.html

      Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson is expected to order a one-day pause in operations “to ensure we are taking all appropriate immediate measures to enhance the Navy’s safe and effective operation around the world,” according to a US Defense official and an advanced copy of Richardson’s statement obtained by CNN.

      The stand-down will take place over the next couple of weeks, at the discretion of individual commands, the defense official said.

      The order comes after a US Navy guided-missile destroyer collided early Monday with an oil tanker east of Singapore, the fourth accident this year involving a US warship in Asian waters.

      This is the second major collision in the last three months, and is the latest in a series of major incidents, particularly in the Pacific theater. This trend demands more forceful action,” Richardson’s statement says.

      C’est le moment de ressortir la vanne éculée du phare et du porte-avions états-unien… #lighthouse_vs_US_Navy

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lighthouse_and_naval_vessel_urban_legend

    • US Navy also considering ’cyber intrusion or sabotage’ as possible causes for USS John McCain collision
      http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/us-navy-also-considering-cyber-intrusion-sabotage-possible-causes-uss-joh

      A steering failure, or maybe even hacked systems – the US Navy is considering all possible reasons after launching a broad investigation into the collision of the US guided-missile destroyer USS John McCain with an oil tanker off the coast of Singapore on Monday (21 August).

      Plusieurs médias reprennent l’hypothèse, apparemment émise par l’US Navy, de panne de l’appareil à gouverner (#avarie_de_barre, un des entrainements les plus fréquents en passerelle dans mon souvenir, presqu’autant que #un_homme_à_la_mer à babord/tribord suivie du Boutakov règlementaire…) Je ne trouve pas le communiqué original. Pas plus que, l’évocation officielle d’une #cyber-attaque qui aurait déjà été plus ou moins éliminée par la marine.

      Apparemment, la source initiale est CNN

      Ships, aircraft search for crashed US destroyer’s 10 missing crew - CNNPolitics
      http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/21/politics/uss-john-s-mccain-collision/index.html?sr=twCNN082217uss-john-s-mccain-collision0958AMVODtop

      What caused the accident?
      The warship suffered a steering failure as the warship was beginning its approach into the Strait of Malacca, causing it to collide with a commercial tanker Monday, a US Navy official told CNN.
      The official said it was unclear why the crew couldn’t utilize the ship’s backup steering systems to maintain control of ship.
      Earlier, another US Navy official told CNN there were indications the destroyer experienced a loss of steering right before the collision, but steering had been regained after the collision.

      Évidemment, l’option #hacker circule pas mal (déjà pour l’USS Fitzgerald), Popular Mechanics explique de son côté que ça ne peut pas être du #GPS_spoofing, etc.
      No, the USS McCain Wasn’t a Victim of GPS Spoofing
      http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/navy-ships/news/a27854/uss-mccain-collision-gps

    • Ah, ben Les Échos relaient le complotisme, bravo…
      (oubliant au passage l’hypothèse de l’avarie de barre, mise en avant par l’amiral Richardson (CNO : Chief of naval operations)

      Après la collision d’un destroyer américain, des experts agitent la piste de la cyberattaque
      https://www.lesechos.fr/industrie-services/air-defense/010189757977-apres-la-collision-dun-destroyer-americain-des-experts-agitent

      L’amiral n’a pas exclu que la collision ait pu être provoquée par un facteur extérieur ou une cyberattaque. Cet accident n’est pas le premier (voir encadré) et intrigue certains spécialistes de la Défense.

      « Il y a quelque chose de plus que la simple erreur humaine car sinon cela impliquerait énormément de gens », avance par exemple Jeff Stutzman interrogé par le site McClatchyDC.

      Pour cet ancien spécialiste de la guerre de l’information et de la marine, qui travaille désormais chez Wapack Labs, une société de sécurité informatique, tout bâtiment qui s’avance dans le détroit de Singapour aura sur le pont une équipe complète de vigiles et d’opérateurs radars.

      De son côté, interrogé par le site « International Business Times », Todd Humphreys, un professeur à l’Université du Texas et spécialiste en systèmes de navigation par satellite, va plus loin dans la suspicion.

      Pour lui, cet accident semble « statistiquement très suspect ». Et il n’hésite pas à faire un parallèle avec un incident intervenu en juin en Mer noire et au cours duquel des signaux GPS auraient été trafiqués via, selon lui, « un signal qui provenait du continent russe ».

      La piste russe n’est cependant pas la seule à être soulevée. Interrogé par le site australien news.com, Itay Glick, un autre expert de cybersécurité qui a travaillé pour les services de renseignements israéliens, avance que si la Russie a les capacités d’effectuer une telle attaque, la Chine l’a également.

      « Je ne crois pas aux coïncidences », explique-t-il encore en rappelant que « l’erreur humaine » est toujours une solution de facilité pour expliquer un accident.

      À « l’expert » dont les pontifications concluent l’article, on fera remarquer que la Navy a viré tout l’état-major de l’USS Fitzgerald et on rappellera aux Échos que l’amiral Richardson met en avant une deuxième hypothèse « matérielle ».

      Certains font remarquer que les nombreuses gesticulations de la Navy dans un contexte où le nombre de bâtiments baisse pourraient avoir aboutir à une fatigue des équipements et des équipages…

      Enfin, on sourira à la légende de la photo (bizarrement fournie par le SIPA) ouvrant l’article…


      Toutes les pistes sont envisagées y compris celle d’une cyberattaque, a laissé entendre l’amiral John Richardson, chef des opérations de la marine américaine.
      Daniel Chan/AP/SIPA

      … où on a un peu de mal à reconnaître l’amiral Richardson…

      la légende d’AP est la suivante
      Malaysian Maritime Director Indera Abu Bakar points to damage on USS John S. McCain at press conference in Putrajaya on Monday.
      AP Photo/Daniel Chan

    • China Calls U.S. Navy ’Arrogant’ After USS John Mccain Collision Accident
      http://www.newsweek.com/china-us-arrogant-john-mccain-653395

      A Chinese state-run newspaper claimed Monday that the most recent collision of a U.S. Navy destroyer with a merchant ship was an example of the U.S.’s “arrogance” in conducting patrols in and around the South China Sea.

      The nationalist Global Times ran an editorial Monday shortly after the USS John S. McCain was hit by an oil tanker east of Singapore in the Strait of Malacca and 10 sailors were reported missing.

      While stating the collision was an example of the U.S. military’s decline and that Chinese society’s “applause” was tantamount to the nation’s feelings toward the U.S. encroaching on its territory, the opinion piece also claimed that the U.S. is not trying to avoid such collisions.

      U.S. warships are constantly involved in accidents around the South China Sea,” the op-ed, which is often considered direct thoughts from the Chinese government, read. “On the one hand, the U.S. Navy has behaved arrogantly in the Asia-Pacific region. It lacks respect for huge merchant ships and fails to take evasive action in time, thus resulting in serious accidents.

      On n’est pas loin de la blague du phare…
      Blague qu’évoque le deuxième commentateur de l’article du Monde sur le sujet.
      https://seenthis.net/messages/623860

    • CNN sur la même – et évidente – question, mais beaucoup plus terre à terre : quand il y a série, c’est qu’il y a problème de fond…

      Why are so many Navy ships crashing ? - CNNPolitics
      http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/21/politics/navy-ships-crashing-readiness/index.html

      The US Navy is facing difficult questions about the health of its fleet in the aftermath of the USS John S. McCain’s collision with an oil tanker east of Singapore on Monday, the latest in a series of naval accidents in the Pacific.

      Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson ordered a rare, one-day operational pause in response to the latest collision. And while the cause of the USS McCain crash is still to be determined, the spate of accidents — four since January — suggests there could be a more systemic issue.
      Lawmakers and defense analysts are warning that the Navy’s readiness problems — which have led to longer deployments for ships and less time and money for maintenance and training — could be playing a role in the uptick in crashes.
      In addition to the Navy’s stand-down, the Marine Corps grounded all of its aircraft for 24 hours earlier this month on the heels of two deadly crashes “to focus on the fundamentals of safe flight operations, standardization, and combat readiness.

      House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, said it was unprecedented that “two military services have now had to take a knee to review safety and training procedures.
      […]
      Former Virginia Republican Rep. Randy Forbes, who is now a fellow at the Naval War College, said the concern over the recent incidents goes beyond just determining why the collisions occurred, but points to a broader issue if the Navy had to ramp up in a significant conflict.

      When our ships are having this much difficulty sailing in open waters, it gives us a lot of concern about what would happen if we were in a major conflict and how we would operate there,” Forbes said. “The Navy is in desperate need of additional resources so that they can do the kind of training they need, they can do the kind of ship maintenance they need.
      […]
      Thomas Callender, a defense analyst at the Heritage Foundation and former Navy submarine officer, noted that the destroyer collisions occurred in low-light times of day and highly trafficked areas.

      Those are some of the most difficult times, sunset and sunrise, of trying to determine what your contact picture is, what you’re really seeing with this,” Callender said.
      Forbes said traffic congestion would likely be a commonality, too.

      It’s like when you have accidents on roads: Normally it’s going to be where more vehicles are,” he said. “It still doesn’t justify it — we’ve got to operate in those waters.
      But the fact that all four Navy collisions this year occurred in the Pacific could also point to issues with training that are specific to the region, Hendrix said.
      The fact this is so regional ... it strikes me there’s a degradation in training standards and operational procedures,” he said.

    • Déclaration, ce soir à Singapour, de l’amiral Scott Swift, commandant de la Flotte du Pacifique (3è et 7è flotte)
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4YIXBf03eo


      pas d’info particulière dans la déclaration liminaire (tout bien, tout corporate)

      • toute première question (7:00) (on ne les entend pas bien, mais les réponses permettent de les reconstituer) : cyberattaque ?
      – j’ai entendu cette hypothèse, mais on n’a rien vu qui puisse laisser penser à quelque chose de cette nature, mais nous (il cite le CNO) n’écartons aucune hypothèse

      • des modifications dans la chaîne de commandement
      – c’est trop tôt pour conclure quoi que ce soit, laisser se dérouler l’enquête

      • la flotte n’est-elle pas épuisée ? y a-t-il eu des négligences ?
      – ce n’est pas ce que j’ai vu ce matin lors de ma visite du navire, les équipages sont déterminés et opérationnels, ils ont bien bossé pour le damage control

      • découverte de corps ?
      – la marine malaisienne a récupéré un corps (en mer, donc) et va nous le restituer ; les plongeurs ont trouvé des corps, nous sommes en train de les identifier

    • U.S. Navy to relieve admiral of command after collisions: WSJ
      https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-navy-crash-admiral-idUSKCN1B3034

      The U.S. Navy plans to remove from duty the commander of the fleet that has suffered four recent collisions in Asia and the deaths of a number of sailors, the _Wall Street Journal _reported on Tuesday, citing U.S. officials.

      Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, the three-star commander of the U.S. Seventh Fleet based in Yokosuka, Japan, will be relieved of command on Wednesday in connection with four collisions since January, including two involving fatalities, two U.S. officials said, according to the Journal. It said Navy officials declined to comment.

    • La Chine remet une couche…

      After U.S. destroyer collision, Chinese paper says U.S. navy a hazard
      https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-navy-crash-china-idUSKCN1B20O2

      The state-run China Daily said in an editorial on Tuesday that people will wonder why such a sophisticated navy keeps having these problems.

      The investigations into the latest collision will take time to reach their conclusions, but there is no denying the fact that the increased activities by U.S. warships in Asia-Pacific since Washington initiated its rebalancing to the region are making them a growing risk to commercial shipping,” it said.

      China has been upset at U.S. freedom of navigation operations near Chinese controlled islands in the disputed South China Sea, where China has been reclaiming land, building air bases and increasing its military presence.

      While the U.S. Navy is becoming a dangerous obstacle in Asian waters, China has been making joint efforts with the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to draw up a Code of Conduct for the South China Sea and it has boosted navigational safety by constructing five lighthouses on its islands,” the China Daily said.

      Anyone should be able to tell who is to blame for militarizing the waters and posing a threat to navigation.

    • Ah, quand même, on se décide enfin à demander leur avis à des experts en autre chose que les cyberattaques !

      US Navy 7th Fleet commander dismissed, Navy says - CNNPolitics
      http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/22/politics/uss-mccain-7th-fleet-commander-dismissal/index.html

      Carl Schuster, a Hawaii Pacific University professor and former director of operations at the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center, said that he thought it was unlikely that the ship would have been hacked.

      Navigating a ship in a shipping channel is a manual operation. It comes down to watch attention and awareness. It’s a training procedure issue and a watch qualification issue,” he said.

      He added that even if the steering had been compromised it would be possible for the McCain to outrun the tanker, and that some degree of directionality would be possible by changing the speed of the port and starboard propellers.

      The “traffic situation” in the shipping channel at that time should be the focus of investigation, Ridzwan Rahmat, a senior defense and security analyst at Jane’s suggests.

      The signs were that the merchant ship was in compliance and the damage on the USS John S. McCain suggests that it wasn’t in compliance” of traffic rules at the time, he said.

    • Si vous ne l’avez pas déjà lu, peut-être faites un petit détour sur le fil concernant le Fitzgerald, l’article de gCaptain, Red over red, concernant le rapport préliminaire sur l’abordage d’il y a deux mois est à lire absolument.
      https://seenthis.net/messages/607667#message624112

      Je reprends ici mon commentaire qui concernait plutôt les événements du McCain (je finis par m’y perdre…)
      https://seenthis.net/messages/607667#message624116

      Sur l’incompétence des commentateurs, je remarque qu’aucun n’a fait la remarque que le navire de guerre coupe la route d’un bâtiment de commerce dans un rail…

      L’hypothèse d’une cyberattaque relève du délire. Mais peut-être que les hackers russes ou chinois dont déjà capables aujourd’hui de liquéfier les cervelles d’une équipe de quart en passerelle, après tout de quoi ne sont-ils pas capables ?

      Si le GPS est tombé en rade ou a été piraté, on dispose d’autres moyens de navigation, mille sabords, notamment en vue de terre. Bon sang, l’abordage a eu lieu à 5 miles du principal phare de la région et à 10 miles de la côte ! Si la passerelle a besoin du GPS pour naviguer, il y a lieu de s’interroger sur les compétences requises pour être officier de quart dans l’US Navy.

      Mais, de fait, on en est bien là : couper la route d’un navire dans le rail (je sais je me répète, mais ça ne passe pas !…)

      d’où mon soulagement (enfin, presque…) dans le commentaire précédant immédiatement celui-ci…

    • Search for Missing U.S. Sailors Slowed by Extensive Damage to Vessel - The New York Times
      https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/24/world/asia/mccain-collision-destroyer-united-states-navy.html

      In the McCain case, the search is taking longer because the damage to the vessel appears to be more extensive. According to one Navy official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because investigations were underway, the Alnic appears to have hit the McCain nearly head-on, whereas the Fitzgerald suffered more of a glancing blow.

      C’est en effet compatible avec l’enregistrement de la trajectoire de l’Alnic MC (j’ai complété mon commentaire de la vidéo des relevés AIS https://seenthis.net/messages/623510#message623551 )

      Par ailleurs, le corps repêché par la marine malaisienne n’avait pas de lien avec l’abordage.

      A Malaysian Navy vessel found a body at sea on Tuesday, but it turned out to be the decomposed corpse of an elderly man and was unrelated to the collision, the United States Navy said.

    • China suspected after crashes of USS John S McCain and USS Fitzgerald | World | The Times & The Sunday Times
      https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0988b8f8-88fa-11e7-a8f3-117a3aea90d9

      The collision on Monday between a Liberian tanker and a US warship, the latest in a series of incidents in Asia, has provoked questions about possible Chinese involvement.

      A former Royal Navy officer said that the movements of the Guang Zhou Wan, a Chinese commercial vessel, could be significant in explaining the fatal crash off Singapore that left at least one sailor dead. A further nine are missing.

      Tracking data indicates that the tanker that collided with U_SS John S McCain_ was followed by the Chinese vessel, which appeared to steer out of the way before the incident.

      “You get the impression that fleet forces command are going to be looking at wider potential problems — hacking, crew training, how they are navigating, validating of ship-watch…

    • With the USS McCain collision, even Navy tech can’t overcome human shortcomings | Ars Technica
      https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/08/with-the-uss-mccain-collision-even-navy-tech-cant-overcome-human-shortc

      Initial reports from the organization suggest that a “steering casualty”—a loss of control over steering from the bridge—contributed to the McCain’s fatal collision. That, and the nature of the ship’s steering and navigation system, has led to speculation that the McCain was “hacked” and that perhaps some sort of malicious electronic attack was also involved in the Fitzgerald’s collision.

      But so far, available evidence suggests something much less sinister—though potentially more threatening to the overall readiness of the service. There was no hacking, no GPS spoofing or jamming, nor any other deliberate enemy electronic attack on the Navy ships involved in this year’s accidents. Instead, much more human factors were at work—and some of them are endemic to the Navy’s current management culture and operational readiness.
      […]
      Watch standers aboard modern warships may have more technology to help them, but they still face a daunting task when they enter high-traffic areas as treacherous as the Strait of Gibraltar—or the Strait of Malacca, the approaches to the Bosporus and Dardanelles, and the approaches to Tokyo Bay. In each, hundreds of other vessels may be visible to the naked eye or on the radar scope. The resulting sea of data points can overwhelm even an experienced bridge crew regardless of how good their technology is.

      Long article, où je finis par perdre le fil de ce qu’il cherche à dire…

    • U.S. Navy Provides Details of Surface Fleet Review In Wake of ’Disturbing Trend’ of Accidents – gCaptain
      http://gcaptain.com/u-s-navy-provides-details-surface-fleet-review-wake-disturbing-trend-accid

      The U.S. Navy has provided details of a comprehensive review of the Navy’s global surface fleet operations after the destroyers USS Fitzgerald and John S. McCain were both involved in major collisions with commercial vessels just two months apart.

      http://navylive.dodlive.mil/files/2017/08/MEMO-FOR-USFF_COMPREHENSIVE-REVIEW-OF-RECENT-SURFACE-FLEET-INCIDEN

      2. You are directed to lead a Comprehensive Review of surface fleet operations and incidents at sea that have occurred over the past decade with emphasis on SEVENTH Fleet operational employment to inform improvements Navy-wide. This review should address the follow areas:

      a. Individual training and professional development, to include seamanship, navigation, voyage planning, leadership development, officer and enlisted tactical training in formal schools and on the job;

      b. Unit level training and operational performance, to including manning, personnel management, watchbill management, bridge (and CIC) team resource management, contact management, contact avoidance, leadership oversight and risk assessment/mitigation at all levels of the chain of command;

      c. Development and certification of deployed operational and mission standards (Force Generation) with particular emphasis on Forward Deployed Naval Force (FDNF), to include validation of required certification standards, gaps between required standards and actual employment practices, effectiveness of leadership and oversight at all levels of administrative and operational chains of command, maintaining and enforcing standards throughout FDNF assignment including self-assessment practices, external inspection reinforcement, remedial action mitigation plans;

      d. Deployed Operational Employment and Risk Management (Force Employment), to include Combatant Commander mission requirements, theater security cooperation requirements, maintenance impacts, other competing priorities (fleet experimentation, concept development), and their corresponding impact to operational tempo (OPTEMPO) and fundamental mariner and seamanship proficiency;

      e. Material Readiness of electronic systems to include navigation equipment (e.g. AIS, radars, ECDIS, VMS, WSNs), propulsion machinery to include steering systems, combat system modernization, and material availability;

      f. Practical Utility of current navigation equipment and combat systems including sensors, tracking systems, displays, and internal communications networks to evaluate their effectiveness at integrating tactical data and providing situational awareness to our people.

    • Fatigue and Training Gaps Spell Disaster at Sea, Sailors Warn - The New York Times
      https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/27/world/asia/fatigue-and-training-gaps-spell-disaster-at-sea-sailors-warn.html

      The bridge of each Navy destroyer is controlled by a round-the-clock shift of young officers, who must pass written and oral exams to qualify for the positions. Still, they typically are under 25 and may have little shipboard experience. Junior officers also move on to other assignments after limited tours.

      Are we shortchanging their basic training, especially as we rotate our junior officers every 18 to 24 months?” asked Admiral Crowder.

      Training for junior ship officers has changed significantly in recent years. In 2003, the Navy dropped what had been an intensive six-month training course on navigation, basic seamanship, engineering and maintenance before new officers were assigned to their first ship.

      Instead, the new officers were sent directly to a ship where they were supposed to learn on the job. Some said they got practical training on deployments, and noted that the Seventh Fleet had a reputation as being the most experienced in the Navy. But, many commanders said, crews were too busy to provide that kind of instruction.

      By last year, the Navy had largely reversed course, sandwiching a junior officer’s first sea tour between 14 weeks of classroom work.
      […]
      Most ships use a traditional “five and dime” watch rotation, in which sailors serve five hours of watch, then have 10 hours off, he said. But during those 10 hours, sailors often have daytime duties.

      The rotation can lead to a watch officer pulling a 20-hour day every three days, Mr. Cordle said, adding that even designated sleep time can be interrupted by drills or refueling operations that can keep sailors up for days at a time. A recent Government Accountability Office report said sailors were on duty up to 108 hours each week.

      I averaged 3 hours of sleep a night,” someone described as a Japan-based Navy officer wrote on Reddit last week. “I have personally gone without sleep for so long that I have seen and heard things that weren’t there. I’ve witnessed accidents that could have been avoided because the person was so tired they had no right to be operating heavy machinery.

      Navy tests of sailors on the five-and-dime schedule found lack of sleep led to blunted decision-making and reflexes that were roughly the same as those of sailors who had downed several beers.

      The Naval Postgraduate School has developed a shorter watch schedule to match circadian rhythms, which uses three hours of watch duty and nine hours off. Recognizing the benefits, submarines were ordered to move to a similar schedule in 2015.

      Mr. Cordle said adopting the schedule could result in greater safety. But the Navy has left scheduling up to individual captains, and three quarters of ships still use the five and dime.

    • Ship Collisions : Address the Underlying Causes, Including Culture | U.S. Naval Institute
      https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2017-08/ship-collisions-address-underlying-causes-including-culture

      Un think tank naval, grosse institution privée (estd 1873…), entre dans la danse (après plusieurs autres dont gCaptain). Dans le collimateur :
      • l’organisation des tours de quart
      • la non-spécialisation des officiers entre pont et machine
      • la (non-)formation au quart
      (j’ai lu sur un blog que, sur les navires modernes de la Navy (classe Ticonderoga !), il n’y aurait plus de table à carte en passerelle (support traditionnel du point à la main) mais uniquement de l’électronique…, à confirmer)

      In the wake of the USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) and USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) collisions, the Navy is conducting investigations, relieving commanding officers, conducting safety stand downs (operational pauses), and retraining. This is a similar response to past mishaps, but this time the Navy must include true root cause analysis . Analysis after mishaps invariably uncovers human error and training deficiencies as causal factors. Some people get fired and others retrained. The Navy has begun to dig deeper with the CNO’s mandate for a fleet-wide investigation last week. I predict some of the findings of root causes will include the Navy’s approach to training and career development, surface warfare officer (SWO) culture, and high operational tempo (OpTempo) driving mission over people. 

      When a junior officer (JO) reports to a warship, he or she immediately has three jobs: standing watch under instruction, running a division, and earning qualifications (first as an officer of the deck and then as a SWO). Once qualified to be a watchstander, a JO is on the watch bill and expected to train the next batch of JOs. Depending on the number of qualified watchstanders on board, the watch rotation varies: “port and starboard” (6 hours on watch and 6 hours off); “five and dime” (5 hours on and 10 hours off watch, rotating); three or four section “chow to chow” rotating (based around mealtimes); “3 on/9 off” or “4 on/8 off” with two watches per day that do not change for a given underway. The “off” time is when a JO can accomplish day work, run the division, and work on qualifications—along with a little sleep and maybe squeeze in a run on the treadmill.
      […]
      The U.S. Navy appears to be the only maritime organization in the world that does not have dedicated watchstanders and separate dedicated professional tracks for deck and engineering.
      […]
      Another root cause likely will be the alertness level of those watchstanders. Watch rotations vary greatly in the fleet, partly because of the variability in the number of qualified watchstanders and partly because of SWO culture. Many COs will direct the watches be run the way he or she experienced as a JO. The vast majority of Navy ships still use rotating watches, which is completely against human circadian rhythms. With rotating watches, everyone sleeps when they are off watch because they are in a constant state of exhaustion. Myriad sleep deprivation studies have proven that lack of sleep is cumulative. You can’t “catch up” on sleep, and decision-making is impaired just like being under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Yet the Navy has not addressed watch rotations to maximize crew rest. Instead, it perpetuates a culture where lack of sleep is a rite of passage, and the main risk assessment tool does not account for crew rest.

    • Singapore-led safety investigation underway into USS John S McCain collision - Channel NewsAsia
      http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-led-safety-investigation-underway-into-uss-john-s-9174198

      The Singapore Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) launched a marine safety investigation following the collision of the USS John S McCain and Liberian-flagged oil tanker Alnic MC on Aug 21. 

      A TSIB spokesperson said on Thursday (Aug 31) that the investigation was launched immediately after the collision, and the probe was being conducted in accordance with the International Maritime Organization’s Casualty Investigation Code in Singapore’s capacity as a coastal state.

      The US Coast Guard, on behalf of the US National Transportation Safety Board, and the Liberian Maritime Administration are participating in Singapore’s safety investigation as Substantially Interested States,” the spokesperson said. 

      To date, investigators have interviewed the crew members of the Alnic, while TSIB has been coordinating with the US Coast Guard to gather relevant information on the US guided-missile destroyer, including statements of account from its crew. 

      TISB has also obtained shipboard data from the Alnic and other ships in the vicinity at the time of the collision to support the Singapore-led safety investigation, the spokesperson said.

      Si on lit entre les lignes, il semblerait que le TSIB rende public l’ouverture de leur enquête (avec 10 jours de retard) pour faire pression sur la Navy qui, à son habitude, ne semble pas particulièrement coopérative…

      Clairement, il n’est pas prévu qu’ils aient accès directement aux témoignages des marins du McCain

    • U.S. Navy to Haul Damaged Destroyer John S. McCain to Japan for Damage Assessment – gCaptain
      http://gcaptain.com/u-s-navy-to-haul-damaged-destroyer-john-s-mccain-to-japan-for-damage-asses

      The U.S. Navy is planning to haul the damaged guided missile destroyer USS John S. McCain to its ship repair facility in Yokosuka, Japan where damage assessments will continue to take place.

      The Navy said Tuesday it intends to issue a task order on an existing contract, for the salvage patching and transport via heavy lift of USS John S McCain (DDG 56) from Changi Naval Base in Singapore to the U.S. Navy’s Ship Repair Facility-Japan Regional Maintenance Center in Yokosuka, Japan. The Navy did not specify which existing contract it was referring to.

    • Une hypothèse circule depuis quelques jours : l’USS John S McCain aurait été en train de doubler l’Alnic NC, suffisamment près (ie beaucoup trop près…) pour que, vers la fin du dépassement, la perturbation hydrodynamique due à la vague d’étrave de l’Alnic vienne perturber le safran du McCain, provoquant une embardée à gauche, voire mettant en panne l’appareil à gouverner.
      http://forum.gcaptain.com/t/uss-j-mccain-alnic-mc-collision-near-singapore/45819/327

    • Un peu de ménage…
      Pour l’instant, l’état-major du destroyer n’a pas été touché.

      Admiral, Captain Removed in Ongoing Investigations into USS John S. McCain, USS Fitzgerald Collisions
      https://news.usni.org/2017/09/18/admiral-captain-removed-part-investigation-uss-john-s-mccain-uss-fitzgera

      The commander of the Navy’s largest operational battle force and his subordinate in charge of the attached destroyer squadron have been removed from their positions as a result of ongoing investigations into a string of incidents this year that resulted in the death of 17 sailors and hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, USNI News has learned.

      U.S. 7th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Philip Sawyer removed Rear Adm. Charles Williams, commander of Combined Task Force 70, and Capt. Jeffery Bennett, commodore of Destroyer Squadron 15, from their positions on Monday (Tuesday local time) due to a loss of confidence in their ability to command, two Navy officials told USNI News and later confirmed by a statement from the service.

    • Les réparations auront lieu « localement », à Yokosuka. Localement, parce qu’il faut encore acheminer l’USS John S McCain de Singapour à Yokosuka (transfert prévu dans le courant de ce mois). Contrairement à l’USS Fitzgerald qui lui était à Yokosuka et va être acheminé à Pascagoula dans le Mississippi (probablement en décembre).

      USS John S. McCain to Be Repaired in Japan – gCaptain
      http://gcaptain.com/uss-john-s-mccain-to-be-repaired-in-japan

      The U.S. Navy will repair the guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) at the U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility-Japan Regional Maintenance Center in Yokosuka, Japan.

      Repairs will begin upon arrival from Singapore aboard a heavy lift vessel in October, the Navy said.

      Accessoirement, on profitera de l’immobilisation pour faire un peu de remise à niveau :

      In addition to supporting repairs, the McCain’s crew will focus on training, readiness, and certifications to prepare the ship for its return to the Seventh Fleet, according to the Navy.
      […]
      On Thursday, the USS John S. McCain departed Changi Naval Base to meet the heavy lift transport vessel MV Treasure, which will transport it to Fleet Activities Yokosuka for repairs.

    • U.S. Navy says deadly McCain collision was #preventable, relieves ship commander
      https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-navy-asia/u-s-navy-says-deadly-mccain-collision-was-preventable-relieves-ship-command

      The commanding officer exercised poor judgment, and the executive officer exercised poor leadership of the ship’s training program,” the USS Seventh Fleet said in a statement released in Japan on Wednesday.
      […]
      The McCain’s captain, Commander A. Sanchez, and his executive officer, Commander J. Sanchez, were reassigned to other duties in Japan, where the Seventh Fleet is headquartered, the Navy said.

      On attend le rapport préliminaire d’enquête…

  • Le Canada utilise le stade olympique de Montréal pour abriter les réfugiés haïtiens qui fuient les États-Unis
    http://www.wsws.org/fr/articles/2017/aou2017/hait-a16.shtml

    La vague d’Haïtiens demandeurs d’asile a commencé à augmenter en mai quand l’administration Trump a recommandé de mettre fin au Statut de protection temporaire pour plus de 50.000 Haïtiens qui demeurent aux États-Unis. Les réfugiés haïtiens ont par la suite obtenu une prolongation de six mois, mais ils ont été avertis que cela pourrait être la dernière.

    Le général à la retraite du Marine Corps, John F. Kelly, qui était alors le secrétaire à la Sécurité intérieure et actuellement le chef de cabinet de la Maison-Blanche, a déclaré en mai que « Le département de la Sécurité intérieure exhorte les Haïtiens qui n’ont que le Statut de protection temporaire à utiliser le temps qu’il leur reste avant le 22 janvier 2018, pour se préparer et organiser leur départ des États-Unis. »

    « C’est du jamais vu », a dit la dirigeante de PRAIDA Francine Dupuis à la Gazette de Montréal. « En 30 ans, je n’ai jamais vu un tel volume ou une telle intensité. »

  • The U.S. war crime North Korea won’t forget - The Washington Post
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-us-war-crime-north-korea-wont-forget/2015/03/20/fb525694-ce80-11e4-8c54-ffb5ba6f2f69_story.html

    The story dates to the early 1950s, when the U.S. Air Force, in response to the North Korean invasion that started the Korean War, bombed and napalmed cities, towns and villages across the North. It was mostly easy pickings for the Air Force, whose B-29s faced little or no opposition on many missions.

    The bombing was long, leisurely and merciless, even by the assessment of America’s own leaders. “Over a period of three years or so, we killed off — what — 20 percent of the population,” Air Force Gen. Curtis LeMay, head of the Strategic Air Command during the Korean War, told the Office of Air Force History in 1984. Dean Rusk, a supporter of the war and later secretary of state, said the United States bombed “everything that moved in North Korea, every brick standing on top of another.” After running low on urban targets, U.S. bombers destroyed hydroelectric and irrigation dams in the later stages of the war, flooding farmland and destroying crops.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Documents expose how Hollywood promotes war on behalf of the Pentagon, CIA and NSA
    US military intelligence agencies have influenced over 1,800 movies and TV shows
    https://medium.com/insurge-intelligence/exclusive-documents-expose-direct-us-military-intelligence-influence-on-1-80

    We have recently acquired 4,000 new pages of documents from the #Pentagon and CIA through the Freedom of Information Act. For us, these documents were the final nail in the coffin.

    These documents for the first time demonstrate that the US government has worked behind the scenes on over 800 major #movies and more than 1,000 TV titles.

    The previous best estimate, in a dull-as-dishwater academic book way back in 2005, was that the Pentagon had worked on less than 600 #films and an unspecified handful of television shows.

    The CIA’s role was assumed to be just a dozen or so productions, until very good books by Tricia Jenkins and Simon Willmetts were published in 2016. But even then, they missed or underplayed important cases, including Charlie Wilson’s War and Meet the Parents.

    [...]

    #Vietnam is evidently another sore topic for the US military, which also removed a reference to the war from the screenplay for Hulk (2003). While the military are not credited at the end of the film, on IMDB or in the DOD’s own database of supported movies, we acquired a dossier from the US Marine Corps detailing their ‘radical’ changes to the script.

    This included making the laboratory where the #Hulk is accidentally created into a non-military facility, making the director of the lab an ex-military character, and changing the code name of the military operation to capture the Hulk from ‘ #Ranch_Hand ’ to ‘Angry Man’.

    https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opération_Ranch_Hand

    ‘Ranch Hand’ is the name of a real military operation that saw the #US_Air_Force dump millions of gallons of pesticides and other poisons onto the Vietnamese countryside, rendering millions of acres of farmland poisoned and infertile.

    They also removed dialogue referring to ‘all those boys, guinea pigs, dying from radiation, and germ warfare’, an apparent reference to covert military experiments on human subjects.

    [...]

    The #CIA has also managed to #censor scripts, removing or changing sequences that they didn’t want the public to see. On #Zero_Dark_Thirty screenwriter Mark Boal ‘verbally shared’ his script with CIA officers, and they removed a scene where a drunk CIA officer fires an AK-47 into the air from a rooftop in #Islamabad, and removed the use of dogs from the #torture scenes.

    [...]

    While very little is known about the NSA’s activities in the entertainment industry we did find indications that they are adopting similar tactics to the CIA and DOD.

    Internal #NSA emails show that the producers of #Enemy_of_the_State were invited on multiple tours of NSA headquarters. When they used a helicopter to film aerial footage of Fort Meade, the NSA did not prevent them from using it in the movie.

    According to a 1998 interview with producer Jerry Bruckheimer, they changed the script at the NSA’s request so that the wrongdoings were the actions of one bad apple NSA official, and not the agency in general.

    Bruckheimer said:

    ‘I think the NSA people will be pleased. They certainly won’t come out as bad as they could have. NSA’s not the villain.’

    This idea of using cinema to pin the blame for problems on isolated rogue agents or bad apples, thus avoiding any notion of systemic, institutional or criminal responsibility, is right out of the CIA/DOD’s playbook.

    #Censure #Propagande #censorship

  • Tomahawk Launches Practiced by U.S. Before Trump Gave Go-Ahead - Bloomberg
    https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-04-07/tomahawk-launches-practiced-by-u-s-before-trump-gave-go-ahead

    The U.S. used the latest-model Tactical Tomahawks, which can be redirected in mid-flight, transmit images to commanders and loiter over a potential target area, according to accounts by U.S. military officials who briefed reporters or spoke in interviews. They asked not to be identified discussing operational details.
    […]
    The fusillade of Tomahawks aimed at the Shayrat airfield was one of the options prepared by U.S. Central Command in about a day after Trump condemned the April 4 gas attack, on the assumption the White House might want to act fast to back up the president’s implied threat, one of the officials said. That proved correct when the administration formally requested that the Pentagon ready alternatives.

    Once Trump gave the go-ahead order for the Tomahawk strike, the operation moved at a rapid pace. Shortly after 4:35 p.m. New York time on Thursday, Army General Joseph Votel, the head of Central Command, received a call from Marine Corps General Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, telling him to execute the attack. Votel, who was at an event on the U.S. East Coast, passed the order on via a secure video link even before the White House’s written authorization, according to one of the officials.

    The 59 missiles launched — a 60th malfunctioned — hit an equal number of targets at the Shayrat air field, which one of the military officials said had been associated with Syrian government chemical attacks since 2013.
    […]
    The Navy says it’s buying the last 100 Tomahawks this year before ending production in favor of upgrades to the inventory and starting development on a successor “Next Generation Land Attack Weapon.”

    Bon, c’est le tout dernier modèle (avec les options…) mais c’est quand même du déstockage avant remplacement.

  • ‘It’s Marine Corps wide’: Female Marines detail harassment in wake of nude photos scandal - The Washington Post
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2017/03/07/its-marine-corps-wide-female-marines-detail-harassment-in-wake-of-nu

    Some female Marines were sent screenshots of nude and private pictures of themselves from concerned colleagues. A few would get texts from their friends alerting them to what was online. Others found vulgar messages from strangers in their inboxes. The red flags were different, but the revelation was the same: Their intimate photos had been shared online without their consent.

    Marine officials on Sunday said the branch was looking into a number of Marines, as well as current and former service members, who shared naked and compromising photos of their female colleagues on social media through a shared drive on a Facebook group called Marines United.

    The incident has prompted an outcry from senior Marine leaders and an investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, but according to ten current and former female service members interviewed by The Washington Post, online harassment goes well beyond a single shared drive or Facebook group. The behavior has become pervasive in the younger enlisted ranks throughout the Marine Corps, threatening unit cohesion at the lowest levels and its ethos at the highest.

  • Truppenbetreuung


    https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann-Margret

    Author: Unknownwikidata:Q4233718 or not provided
    Record creator: Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. U.S. Marine Corps. (09/18/1947 - )
    Title: Thousands of service personnel listen to Miss Ann-Margret sing one of her numbers during her show in Danang, Vietnam.
    Date: 13 March 1966

    #USA #Vietnam #guerre #musique #pop

  • Resources » With Swallows Wings
    http://www.withswallowswings.com/resources


    Au sein de nos sociétés civiles on ne s’intéresse guère aux veuves des soldats tués pendant les guerres impérialistes de notre époque, pourtant c’est un sujet assez important. Ces femmes ont le droit de ne pas se sentir abandonnées par les antimilitaristes. Elle représentent une image de la femme qui figure parmi les plus traditionnelles qu’il faut systématiquement mettre en question. Ceci est davantage plus important quand on se rappelle que c’est le slogan Get our boys back home qui a largement contribué à mettre une fin à la guerre au Vietnam.

    Recommençons alors à nous intéresser à une réalité réservée pour le moment au monde clos des militaires professionnels et de leur conjoint/e/s.

    From the initial shock of preparing funeral arrangements to the never-ending checklist that follows, it seems there is always something for a widow to take care of. And once the whirlwind of tasks begins to calm, we find that there are many ‘normal’ things in our new lives that aren’t so normal anymore. I’ve often said during these hard months that I wish I had a guide-book, a manual of sorts that would tell me what to do, give me advice on how to do it, and tell me what to expect. You may be thinking the same thing.

    Below I have compiled a list of websites, articles, books, organizations, and other resources that may help you along this journey, from day one to beyond. Some of these resources I am personally familiar with, some I am not. This list is not exhaustive by any means and is continually a work in progress, so if you know of a great resource out there please contact me and I will gladly share it.

    [Disclaimer: I cannot personally endorse any of these websites, books, or organizations. I am not a mental health, legal, or financial professional. Please use these sources for information only and consult professionals as necessary. If necessary, resources are labeled by topic.]

    Updated July 8, 2012

    .

    In the Beginning — Checklists and Helpful Guides

    A Survival Guide for Widows: a Blueprint for New Widows and their Friends
    Losing Your Spouse
    Losing Your Spouse (A Different Article)
    Newly Widowed Checklist: Some Things to Consider
    Widowed: What to Do When

    Your Grief Journey: Don’t Do It Alone — Widow Communities and Support

    Bereaved Spouses — Grief Support at LegacyConnect
    Camp Widow (a unique annual conference of widowed persons providing hope and community, highly encouraged!)
    FINE Young Widows
    Grief Net
    Grief Share
    Liz Logelin Foundation
    My Spouse is Dead
    Soaring Spirits Loss Foundation
    WidowSource.com
    Widows Speak Up!
    Widowed Village
    Widows Wear Stilettos
    Widows and Widowers Support Group
    Widows and Widowers Meetup Groups
    Young Widow
    Young Widow Bulletin Board

    Finding Your New Normal — Help for Your New Roles

    American Widow Project — Do-It-Yourself
    FINE Young Widows — FAQ’s
    For the New Widow: Ten Tips to Help Her Survive…After the Funeral
    Grief Journey — Do-It-Yourself
    Stop the Loneliness — Life After Being Widowed Begins Now

    How to Help Friends/Family Help YOU — Links to Share with Loved Ones

    10 Things NOT to Say to the Widowed
    7 Tips to Help a Widow
    A Christian Woman’s Guide to Grieving the Death of a Spouse (christian)
    A Survival Guide for Widows: a Blueprint for New Widows and their Friends
    How to Help a New Widow
    How You Can Be a Good Friend to a New Widow
    Supporting a Grieving Person
    Widows and Widowers—What Do They Need, How Can You Help?

    Financial Matters — Things to Consider and Where to Look for Help

    Death of a Spouse: Financial Steps You Should Take
    Financial Planning Considerations for a Surviving Spouse
    Financial Tips for Widows: How to Face Economic Challenges
    Living On Your Own: Picking Up the Financial Pieces after Widowhood
    Money Matters
    Money Tips for Widows and Widowers
    Social Security Online: Widows, Widowers, and Other Survivors
    SSA: The Economic Consequences of a Husband’s Death
    Who’s Responsible for a Deceased Spouse’s Card Debt?

    What About the Kids? — Parenting a Grieving Child

    Fathers/Guardians: Parenting Maternally Grieving Children
    Grieving Children: Helping Your Child Deal With Loss
    Grieving Parents Accompanying Grieving Children
    Helping a Grieving Child or Teen
    Helping Your Child Deal With Death
    Helping Your Grieving Child
    How Grieving Children Behave
    How to Help a Grieving Child
    How to Help Your Child Grieve
    Information for Parents Helping a Grieving Child
    Raising Grieving Children

    Carrying on Their Legacy — Honoring Your Loved One in Your New Life

    How to Honor Someone Who Has Died
    How to Love a Dead Husband: Five Years Gone (blog)
    Tips for Memorializing Your Loved Ones with Honor
    Valentine’s Day Tips for Honoring the Memory of a Loved One

    Spiritual Matters

    Helpful Books — Literature to Help You Along Your Path

    Being a Widow
    Creative Interventions for Bereaved Children (child)
    Experiencing Grief (christian)
    Finding Your Way After Your Spouse Dies
    From One Widow to Another: Conversations on the New You (christian)
    From Sorrow to Dancing: The Recent Widow’s Handbook (christian)
    Getting to the Other Side of Grief: Overcoming the Loss of a Spouse
    Grace for the Widow: A Journey Through the Fog of Loss (christian)
    Healing After Loss: Daily Meditations for Working Through Grief
    Help Me Say Goodbye: Activities for Helping Kids Cope When a Special Person Dies (child)
    How to Go On Living When Someone You Love Dies
    I Miss You: A First Look at Death (child)
    I Wasn’t Ready to Say Goodbye: Surviving, Coping, and Healing After the Sudden Death of a Loved One
    I’m Grieving as Fast as I Can: How Young Widows and Widowers Can Cope and Heal
    Living with Loss: Meditations for Grieving Widows
    On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss
    Parenting a Grieving Child: Helping Children Find Faith, Hope, and Healing After the Loss of a Loved One
    Reflections of a Grieving Spouse: The Unexpected Journey from Loss to Renewed Hope (christian)
    Sad Isn’t Bad: A Good-Grief Guidebook for Kids Dealing with Loss (child)
    The Death of a Husband: Reflections for a Grieving Wife
    Waterbugs and Dragonflies: Explaining Death to Children (child)
    When Bad Things Happen to Good People
    When Someone Very Special Dies: Children Can Learn to Cope with Grief (child)
    When You Lose Someone You Love: Comfort for Those Who Grieve (christian)
    When Your Spouse Dies: A Widow & Widowers Handbook
    When Your Soul Aches: Hope and Help for Women Who Have Lost Their Husbands
    When Your World Falls Apart (christian)
    Where Are You? A Child’s Book About Loss (child)
    Widowed Too Soon: A Young Widow’s Journey Through Grief, Healing, and Spiritual Transformation
    Widows Wear Stilettos: A Practical and Emotional Guide for the Young Widow
    Widow to Widow: Thoughtful, Practical Ideas for Rebuilding Your Life

    Specific Resources for Military Widows

    Making Arrangements

    Department of Defense Casualty Assistance Website
    Air Force Casualty Services
    Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operation Center
    Army Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Operation Center
    Burial Benefits: We Honor Veterans
    Marine Corps Casualty Assistance
    Navy Casualty Assistance
    Military Funeral Honors (Department of Defense)
    Patriot Guard Riders

    Benefits

    A Survivor’s Guide to Benefits (Department of Defense) (PDF file)
    Armed Forces Services Corporation (AFSC)
    Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Survivors Assistance
    Military OneSource
    National Resource Directory
    Social Security Survivor Benefits
    Survivors and Dependants Benefits — Death After Active Service
    TriCare Transitional Survivor Benefits
    Understanding Survivor Benefits
    With Honor and Respect: Veteran Death Benefits

    Financial Assistance/Scholarships

    Children of Fallen Soldier’s Relief Fund
    Fallen Patriot Fund
    Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund
    Freedom is Not Free
    Folds of Honor
    Hope for the Warriors
    Killed in Action Fund
    Operation Family Fund
    Scholarships for Military Children
    The American Soldier Foundation

    Organizations

    American Widow Project
    Gold Star Wives of America
    Gold Star Families
    Gold Star Family Support Group
    Society of Military Widows
    Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS)

    Honoring Their Sacrifice

    Honor and Remember
    Iraq/Afghanistan War Heroes
    Fallen Heroes Foundation
    Fallen Heroes Memorial
    US Fallen.Org

    Giving Back

    Soldiers Angels

    Helpful Books

    Military Widow: A Survival Guide

    Illustration de https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamiedfw

    Flickr

    #USA #Europe #guerre #impérialisme

  • Marine Corps looks to fighter jet ’boneyard’ after new fleet delay | Fox News
    http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/06/22/marine-corps-forced-to-pull-warbirds-out-boneyard-after-new-fleet-delay.htm

    The Marines are looking for a few good planes, and their search has taken them to an Arizona boneyard where the Corps’ old F/A Hornets have been gathering dust for years.

    The jets are being reclaimed and refurbished by Boeing after the service branch was caught short on planes because of long delays in the rollout of the much-awaited F-35.

  • Revealed: how Associated Press cooperated with the Nazis | World news | The Guardian
    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/30/associated-press-cooperation-nazis-revealed-germany-harriet-scharnberg

    The Associated Press news agency entered a formal cooperation with the Hitler regime in the 1930s, supplying American newspapers with material directly produced and selected by the Nazi propaganda ministry, archive material unearthed by a German historian has revealed.

    When the Nazi party seized power in Germany in 1933, one of its first objectives was to bring into line not just the national press, but international media too. The Guardian was banned within a year, and by 1935 even bigger British-American agencies such as Keystone and Wide World Photos were forced to close their bureaus after coming under attack for employing Jewish journalists.

    Associated Press, which has described itself as the “marine corps of journalism” (“always the first in and the last out”) was the only western news agency able to stay open in Hitler’s Germany, continuing to operate until the US entered the war in 1941. It thus found itself in the presumably profitable situation of being the prime channel for news reports and pictures out of the totalitarian state.

    #presse #agence_de_presse #nazisme

  • Okinawa governor leaves for U.N. to court world opinion over base plan
    http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/09/19/national/politics-diplomacy/okinawa-governor-leaves-for-u-n-to-court-world-opinion-over-base-plan

    NAHA, OKINAWA PREF. – Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga left for Switzerland on Saturday to deliver a speech at the U.N. Human Rights Council in a bid to make clear to the international community Okinawa’s opposition to the building of a new U.S. military base in the prefecture.

    “I want to call attention to the unreasonable situation Okinawa has been put in,” Onaga told reporters before boarding a flight at Naha Airport. “I want to send the message in a way that will capture (people’s) attention all over the world and get them thinking.”

    The trip to Geneva for the U.N. meeting follows the governor’s announcement last Monday that he will revoke a permit his predecessor gave to the central government for landfill work off Okinawa’s main island to build the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma base in a coastal area off the city of Nago.

  • Le JSF des Marines opérationnel : déploiement au Smithsonian Institute
    http://www.dedefensa.org/article-le_jsf_des_marines_op_rationnel_d_ploiement_au_smithsonian_instit

    • Le F-35, y compris dans sa version B (Marine Corps), va de plus en plus mal. •C’est une raison péremptoire pour que le Corps des Marines le déclare “apte au combat” (IOC). •C’est fait, la légende du JSF peut continuer...

  • Azov withdrawal: Scheduled rotation of Azov and Aidar battalions continues - fighter, terrorism, Ukraine, ATO, Anti-Terrorist Operation, Azov withdrawal, ATO press center (26.07.15 14:37) « News | EN.Censor.net
    http://en.censor.net.ua/news/345332/all_ato_forces_units_remain_at_positions_as_scheduled_rotation_of_azov

    The ATO press center is authorized to declare: the information that Azov battalion has left its positions near Shyrokyne and Aidar has left its positions in the Luhansk sector, which was published by some media, does not correspond to reality. This information is spread to discredit the ATO forces and disseminate panic in society. We pay your attention that a planned rotation of the mentioned battalions is in progress,” the report reads.
    One of the most combat-ready military units of the Marine Corps will take the Azov’s positions. The Mechanized Brigade of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will take the Aidar’s positions.

    All ATO forces units remain at positions,” the press center stressed.

    Scheduled rotation of Azov and Aidar battalions is carried out in order to improve the combat capability of these units. Re-equipment, resupply and combat coordination of the units will be performed.

  • Le A-10 succédera-t-il au JSF ?
    http://www.dedefensa.org/article-le_a-10_succ_dera-t-il_au_jsf__18_04_2015.html

    @TITREBREVE = Le A-10 succédera-t-il au JSF ? Certes, il n’y a rien de nouveau dans ce que nous allons vous conter rapidement, mais il est toujours excellent pour le moral d’aller sur le terrain constater que le Progrès-en-marche-arrière poursuit sa route à une fort belle allure. Il s’agit du F-35B, la version du JSF pour le Marine Corps avec sa propre narrative car les trois utilisateurs US ont chacun leur narrative-JSF ; donc, le F-35B des Marines va entrer en service cet été

    • Au rayon « Dont’ Be Evil Mon Cul » : qui donc est impatient d’utiliser de tels drones en situation de combat ?
      http://www.bostondynamics.com

      Organizations worldwide, from DARPA, the US Army, Navy and Marine Corps to Sony Corporation turn to Boston Dynamics for advice and for help creating the most advanced robots on Earth.

    • Le numéro de février 2015 de DSI publie un article sur la Robotique terrestre, le grand désenchantement ? qui a l’honneur de la couverture de la revue avec un titre un peu différent.

      Robots de Combat, la fin des illusions

      Outre les délicats problèmes que posent l’ouverture de feu automatique, notamment dans des situations ou sont présents des combattants amis, l’article raconte cette charmante anecdote sur l’emploi en « mule robotisée » (justement le créneau de Boston Dynamics)

      En Afghanistan, la fluidité des combats a fait qu’un robot armé expédié sur place pour évaluation en 2007 a fini par tomber entre les mains adverses, y gagnant le sobriquet de Taliban Replenishment System, les deux autres exemplaires de l’expérimentation finissant inutilisés dans leur base.

  • Marine Corps Veteran Opens Eyes, Hearts, and Minds of “American Sniper” Movie-goers
    http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/marine-corps-veteran-opens-eyes-hearts-and-minds-of-american-sniper-

    How does modern propaganda work? How effective is it? Marine Corps Veteran, Adam Kokesh interviews audience members exiting the theater after watching the new film “American Sniper”. By slowly...