American warships sent to deal with Russian and Chinese navy ships
Four U.S. Navy ships were dispatched to Alaska’s Aleutian Islands to intercept 11 foreign warships that had gotten too close to Alaska. There seems to be a conflict on reporting on this story, with one side saying that they conducted incursion into American waters, while another side says that they remained in international waters. The 11 ships contained both Chinese and Russian warships.
From Alaska’s News Source:
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Four U.S. Navy warships were recently dispatched to the Aleutian Islands following an incursion of 11 foreign military vessels in American waters.
The exact time and location of the incursion was not made public, and information about the event is still being declassified.
Speaking by phone on Saturday, Senator Dan Sullivan confirmed the event happened “within the last few days,” and that while the military response was robust — four naval destroyers were dispatched to the ships’ location — it was also uncommon.
“First, this is unprecedented, not just for Alaska, but for America to have 11 warships jointly being operated by the Chinese and Russians — who are increasingly working together — essentially doing freedom of navigation and navigation operations incursions into Alaska’s area,” Sullivan said.
Ships from other nations are permitted to complete voyages through waters identified as territories of another country in a practice known as innocent passage. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas defines innocent passage as travel “not prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal State” whose waters are transited — but the 11 transiting vessels discovered recently were identified as military ships.
“It certainly reminds us of how important Alaska is, from both a strategic standpoint, but also a force projection standpoint,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan has repeatedly pressed military leaders for an increase not only in assets available to defend the nation, but in the infrastructure necessary to defend Alaska.
“After last year’s incursion, I mentioned to several leaders in the military, hey, we need to prepare for this happening again. And when it does, we need to have a much more robust response,” Sullivan said.
Alaska’s News Source has the balance of the story here.
Category: China, International Affairs, Navy, Russia
Battle of the Komandorski Islands Part II?
Let’s don’t do another Battle of Kiska. The US invaded the island in 1943 and suffered over 300 casualties.
Probably would have been worse if there had actually been any Japanese on the island.
How do Canadians and Americans mistake each other for Japanese anyway?
In the far frozen north? Under all those layers of warm & woolies? I’m surprised they didn’t mistake each other for polars & grizzlies.
Yup. The whole thing was a recipe for Blue on Blue
My late father-in-law was on both Kiska and Attu … as an artillery officer. He said it was a very severe time.
[photo taken at Shumshu Island, Sakhalin]
I poked around on Kiska and Attu. Kiska in 1968, lots of unexpended ammo laying around, Quonset huts still standing. One of them was a dispensary with medicine bottles still on the shelves. Went back in 1986, Quonset huts all collapsed, but the Japanese wooden structures were still standing. Quite a few caves dug by the Japanese.
Attu in 1986, visited the Loran station. No exploring.
Here’s one of my guys with an old shell casing on Kiska:
Senator Sullivan wants a Naval Base built in Nome, Alaska,
a town of 3700,
with a really really small port.
Adak is still usable, no?
Chicoms drops hints about Taiwan for everyone dosing off in the cheap seats:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/china-releases-eight-part-documentary-172947473.html
Is that the sequel to “Russia Annihilates the Ukraine”? That didn’t turn out the way anybody expected.
More than likely why China adjusted fire and made their mini-series here while they fixed war plans instead kickin’ off on Taiwan last Spring.
During my military industrial complex career I had a front row seat to the production of hardware for the defense of Taiwan.
Now retired, I don’t know wether to laugh or cry at how things
have turned out. I’m up in a balcony seat now, enjoying the
shitshow.
Hey, optimal Strait-crossing time (right after Equinox) is coming up in October again…
Steely-eyed SecState Blinken will write them a sternly worded letter.
In crayon
Which might also apologize for the United States being so strong in the past.
Been done…
We’re projecting military weakness on a global scale; unlike anything we’ve seen since maybe the start of the Spanish-American War. Perhaps my history is off a bit, but let’s see, we got increasingly involved in world politics throughout the 20th Century, including projecting military power into conflicts that we arguably should have stayed far away from. Even during Clinton’s presidency, we conducted air strikes against Iraq and other nations and intervened in the Balkans, then during King Obama the First’s reign we made (questionable) drone strikes against a multitude of targets. In the past ten or so years, though, we’ve done little besides end long-term conflicts and conduct small-scale SOF-type and remote operations.
It’s not all about Trump, but he managed to somehow avoid starting any wars while simultaneously ensuring potential enemies that they should not test our mettle when it comes to our allies and foreign interests. His successor has helped the military become more of a DEI workshop, with the most notable US military “successes” of the past two years being our poorly staged pullout from Afghanistan and our increasing support for a non-ally in Ukraine.
Let’s face it, we might still have the most powerful military in the world, but adversaries like China and Russia can easily combine their resources and inflict some pain. When we have leaders like Biden, Austin, and Milley, and the military seems more focused on recruiting transgenders and ensuring that minorities are promoted over equally or better qualified White males, we have effectively surrendered our place as the dominant world power.
We need to either go back to isolationism (virtually impossible in the 21st Century) or elect effective leaders who will in turn appoint effective military leaders. All the “feel-good” bullshit can stop. Here’s your Hurt Feeling Report, Commies.
“pullout”
Excellent word choice.
What do Saddam Hussein, his Father as well as the Fathers of Barack 0bama and Joe Biden have in common?
All of them should have pulled out early.
Today, 7 August 2023, Is National Purple Heart Day.
Salute.
Never Forget.
The one award the ninja family never wanted and thankfully, never received.
To this day, we still don’t understand why some folks have expressed on social media that they wish they had receive the Purple Heart.
Baffles us completedly. Those who coveted the Purple Heart must have never lost a relative, a friend or a battle buddy in combat, let alone them being wounded in any traumactic event such as a car accident, a robbery gone wrong, a house fire or working at the Pentagon or the World Trade Center on 9-11.
The worse ones are Phonies who claim to their families, friends and the public that they are Purple Heart recipients. How many of THOSE have we seen exposed on TAH?
Ditto. Anyone who wishes they had part of their body blown away or pierced by a bullet has a mental problem.
We Infantrymen can be heartless and cold SOBs. A buddy I had the honor of serving with, Will McCotter, earned the Purple Heart. He just came from the 82nd and I had served in the 101st, plus I was acting Squad Leader when he arrived, so we hit it off well. We’d constantly talk smack to each other, and I’d rib him about being a no-go on Individual Movement Techniques during his CIB testing.
McCotter went on to earn an MSM as a SSG before becoming rated as a Blackhawk pilot in September 2010. Shortly after, WO1 McCotter was pending PCS to Hawaii and started feeling a lot of stomach pain. On 26 December 2010 he died from stage four stomach cancer at the age of 26. WO1 William Joseph McCotter (1984-2010) – Find a Grave Memorial
We Infantrymen might make inappropriate jokes, but we also remember. The Purple Heart is an award that no one should desire. Those who have earned it have my respect. McCotter’s Colors Team challenge coin he had minted is my most cherished, over all of the Generals’ and various unit coins given to me over the years.
fm2176:
Thank You for sharing!
Rest In Peace, Chief.
Salute.
Now here is something that we are scratching our heads…
Have to admit, have been ignorant about PROJECT DYNAMO and its Founder, Bryan Stern.
According to this article that came out yesterday, on 9-11-2001, Bryan Stern was serving as an Army Intelligence Officer in New York City and working at the World Trade Center that Tuesday morning when he was injured:
“Project Dynamo Founder Shares 9/11 Story That Earned Him Purple Heart”
https://www.wfla.com/news/hillsborough-county/project-dynamo-founder-shares-9-11-story-that-earned-him-purple-heart/
He joined the US Navy shortly afterwards and received his Purple Heart at a ceremony in Tampa, Florida in July 2021.
https://youtu.be/cwfhnQiwkUM
We found his picture receiving his Purple Hear via this link. He is identfied as being a Navy LTCDR (please see the picture).
https://www.oppenheimer.com/news-media/2021/blog/oppenheimer-employees-fundraise-for-afghanistan-rescue-mission.aspx
We thought his Ribbon Rank was interesting…
Then we found this picture of him…and still thinks his Ribbon Rack is interesting…
Then we found his Navy Bio…and still think his Ribbon Rank is interesting…
Hard to make it out completely, but it looks like he’s wearing upwards of 30 ribbons in the bio picture (if he’s wearing staggered ribbons). Not entirely implausible, if he started in the Army. There’s the gimmes (ASR, OSR if he deployed, NCOPDR if he was an NCO, NDSM and other service medals, GCM, etc.), the unit awards that we Soldiers wear on the right chest, and Navy/Joint awards, plus the marksmanship ribbon(s) and whatever the Navy Reserve might hand out for service. I know I’ve seen some Soldiers looking like Audie Murphy because they were Prior Service, currently serving in the Guard and wearing state awards, or were Reservists.
That said, both his story and ribbon rack seem extremely “interesting”, to use your word.
I know and have served with Bryan Stern. Quite the fellow and has a million stories. Good dude even though he works for that repulsive snake Leon Panetta.
“We” can talk smack to and about each other, it’s all friendly inter-family. But don’t DARE let an outsider civilian say a negative word, then it’s GAME ON!
True, we “get it”, though there is a fine line between joking and blatant disrespect. Those of us who serve with and get to know each other truly become a brotherhood, to use a cliched term. If we simply cross paths, it’s a bit different.
At the Drill Sergeant Academy, I sat next to a veteran of the Battle of Wanat. Despite being acquaintances and “Army buddies”, so to speak, I never dared to joke around with him about his Purple Heart. He spoke exactly once about the events of 13 July 2008, during which he earned a Silver Star. It was clear that day still haunted him nearly eight years later. The DS Leaders jumped through hoops to ensure he was able to graduate, as he’d been DA Select despite his injuries, and the Army at the time basically considered it a career killer to fail DS or Recruiter School.
Maybe, if the US Military wasn’t stretched so thin defending other countries, we could allocate resources to defend the US. “…adventurous abroad and despotic at home.”
It’s coming…Prepare.
Blast this out to the 11 Ruskie/chi-com ships before you open up on them unless biden decides to punk out (chicken out) on any attacks
A sailor went to sea, sea, sea.
To see what he could see, see, see.
But all that he could see, see, see.
Was the bottom of the deep blue sea, sea, sea!
A sailor went to say, say, say.
To see what he could say, say, say.
But all that he could say, say, say.
Was the bottom of the deep blue say, say, say!
A sailor went to sigh, sigh, sigh.
To see what he could sigh, sigh, sigh.
But all that he could sigh, sigh, sigh.
Was the bottom of the deep blue sigh, sigh, sigh!
A sailor went to so, so, so.
To see what he could so, so, so.
But all that he could so, so, so.
Was the bottom of the deep blue so, so, so.
A sailor went to soo, soo, soo.
To see what he could soo, soo, soo.
But all that he could soo, soo, soo.
Was the bottom of the deep blue soo, soo, soo.
A sailor went to sea, sea, sea.
To see what he could see, see, see.
But all that he could see, see, see.
Was the bottom of the deep blue sea, sea, sea!
Meanwhile, Kim Jong Un shootin’ at the range… must be nice:
https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AA1eU00l.img?w=1920&h=1080&q=60&m=2&f=jpg
I’ll just stick this right here for…reasons… Prepare!
That says it all.