Text Fwd: S. Korea, US to stage joint naval exercise next week

Korea Times

06-02-2010 19:21 S. Korea, US to stage joint naval exercise next week By Jung Sung-ki Staff reporter South Korea and the United States will stage a large-scale naval exercise in the West Sea next week, about two months after North Korea attacked a South Korean frigate there, officials of the Ministry of National Defense said Wednesday. Following the exercise to be held from May 8 to 11 in waters south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the navies of the two allies also plan to conduct a joint anti-submarine drill, they said. "After a multinational investigation pointed to North Korean involvement in the ship sinking, both governments agreed to show their firm deterrent against threats from the North," a ministry official said. The U.S. 7th Fleet will dispatch the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington, as well as nuclear-powered submarines, Aegis-equipped warships and amphibious assault landing ships, the official said on condition of anonymity. Named after the first president of the United States, George Washington is the sixth ship in the Nimitz class. Commissioned in July 1992, she is best known for her huge size ― 233 meters in length and 78 meters in width. The 100,000-ton aircraft carrier based in the Yokosuka naval base in Japan can accommodate about 6,250 crew members and carry some 90 fixed wing aircraft and helicopters. The South Korean Navy plans to mobilize 4,500-ton KDX-II destroyers, 1,800-ton Type-214 attack submarines and F-15K fighter jets in the drill, said the official. The exercise will include naval bombardment, dropping depth charges and checks of communications systems between the allied forces, he said. Last month, a South Korea-led multinational investigation group released a report saying a North Korean midget submarine had torpedoed the 1,200-ton frigate Cheonan in the West Sea on March 26, killing 46 sailors. The Seoul government pledged stern countermeasures in retaliation, including the ROK-U.S. naval exercise and the resumption of psychological warfare. gallantjung@koratimes.co.kr

Text Fwd: US Missile Submarines Operate At Cold War Levels

* Informed in StopNATO*
* Image source/captopn*
Same as original article below:

'(Mar. 16) - The USS Wyoming, a ballistic missile submarine, returns to its Georgia port in January (U.S. Navy photo).'

http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20090316_6606.php
Global Security Network
Federation of American Scientists
March 16, 2009
U.S. Missile Submarines Sustain Active Schedule
Hans Kristensen

The United States continues to operate its nuclear-armed submarines at rates
similar to Cold War levels and conducts more missile submarine patrol missions
than the rest of the world's nuclear powers combined, according to an analysis
by the Federation of American Scientists (see GSN, Feb. 20).

U.S. Ohio-class submarines conducted 31 patrols last year, said FAS nuclear
expert Hans Kristensen, who acquired the data from the Navy through the Freedom
of Information Act. While the total number of patrols has dropped significantly
from a high in 1967, the pace of operations for each submarine has remained
comparable. Each submarine is on patrol for 70-90 percent of the year, compared
to 50-60 percent during the Cold War.

The United States fields 14 ballistic missile submarines, two of which are
generally being overhauled at any one time. Among the other dozen, eight or nine
boats are on patrol and the rest are preparing for their next patrol, according
to Kristensen. The average patrol lasts 72 days, although some missions have
gone past 100 days.

Each submarine has two designated crews, so that when one patrol finishes, a new
crew can step in, refit the boat and deploy again within a few weeks.

Boats on patrol are not necessarily performing a nuclear deterrent mission at
all times, although the Navy tries to maintain two submarines each in the
Pacific and Atlantic oceans conducting such operations, Kristensen said.

Four other nations - France, China, Russia and the United Kingdom - have
nuclear-armed submarines, but they conduct slightly more than 20 patrols per
year combined. China has the least developed submarines and has never conducted
a deterrent patrol, according to Kristensen.
===========================
Stop NATO

Text Fwd: Security Industry: Obama hunts U.S. Navy's supercarrier force

Fwd from Corazon Valdez Fabros, Agatha Haun

Text Fwd: Security Industry: Obama hunts U.S. Navy's supercarrier force

This article from the right wing Lexington Institute expresses worry that the new administration is looking to cut 6-8 major military programs, including reducing the number of aircraft carriers to 10. It also contains a little snippet that should be of interest to anti-bases activists: "There's only one problem with all this. It reduces the United States' capacity to project power from the sea at the same time that access to foreign bases is becoming doubtful."- Kyle Kajihiro

http://www.upi.com/Security_Industry/2009/03/11/Obama_hunts_US_Navys_supercarrier_force/UPI-36041236781176/

Security Industry
By LOREN B. THOMPSON
Published: March 11, 2009 at 10:19 AM

(Loren B. Thompson is chief operating
officer of the Lexington Institute, an Arlington, Va.-based think tank
that supports democracy and the free market.)

ARLINGTON, Va., March 11 (UPI) -- The word within the U.S. Department of Defense is that the White House wants to collect six to eight "scalps" -- major program kills -- in this year's Quadrennial Defense Review.

Some of the cuts already are being considered as Defense Secretary Robert Gates rewrites the 2010 budget. You can expect to hear a lot of rumors about which programs are being targeted between now and when the Pentagon releases details of its budget request in April. But while most of the military services are scrambling to protect programs, at least one is getting ready to offer up a signature weapons system. The U.S. Navy will propose removal of one aircraft carrier and air wing from its posture, dropping the number of carriers to the lowest number since 1942.

Of course, today's aircraft carriers make World War II carriers look like toys. With nuclear propulsion, supersonic fighters and more than four acres of deck space, they are the biggest warships in history. But at any given time some are being repaired, some are being replenished, some are in training and some are in transit; if the fleet is cut to 10, then maybe half a dozen will be available for quick action on any given day.

The U.S. Congress didn't think that was enough, so it mandated in law that at least 11 carriers must be maintained in the force. But with big bills coming from the Obama administration and other items like healthcare costs pressuring Navy budgets, the service has repeatedly sought relief from that requirement. This year's quadrennial review is the likely venue for another such bid.

The issue is coming to a head now because the pace of new carrier commissionings is not keeping up with the rate of retirements. Kitty Hawk, the last carrier in the fleet powered by fossil fuels, was removed from the force last summer after nearly 50 years of service. The Navy plans to decommission the nuclear-powered USS Enterprise in November 2012, leaving the fleet with only the 10 flattops of the Nimitz class for three years, until the next-generation Ford class of carriers debuts in September 2015.

Going to 10 isn't supposed to happen under present law, but since the service hasn't made budgetary provisions for maintaining the Enterprise and its crew until the Ford class arrives, it looks like 10 carriers will be the total number in the fleet.

In the current budget environment, once the Navy gets used to having 10 carriers, that's probably where it will stay. Navy insiders think the service will decide to forgo the nuclear refueling of the USS Lincoln, which is scheduled for 2012. And when the decision to stay at 10 is formalized, the service also can move to eliminate one of its carrier wings.

That step would cut the Navy's projected shortfall in strike aircraft by half. So billions of dollars are saved by skipping the refueling, cutting the purchase of aircraft, and eliminating the need to sustain 6,000 personnel associated with ship operations and air-wing support.

There's only one problem with all this. It reduces the United States' capacity to project power from the sea at the same time that access to foreign bases is becoming doubtful. And why is such a move necessary? Because the Obama administration has decided to stick with Bush-era
plans to grow the size of ground forces by 92,000 personnel, and the Navy must pay part of the bill for that.

Yet the administration is getting ready to depart Iraq, which was the main reason for increasing the size of ground forces in the first place. There are precious few other places where the war-fighting scenarios for the next QDR suggest a big ground force will be needed. Most of the scenarios envision reliance on air power for the big fights of the future -- the kind of air power delivered by carriers. So cutting carriers to build a bigger ground force doesn't make much sense.

* Related articles*

http://www.nenasili.cz/en/3235_tomgram-frida-berrigan-how-shovel-ready-is-the-pentagon
Tomgram: Frida Berrigan, How Shovel-Ready Is the Pentagon?
15.3.2009 - www.tomdispatch.com


http://www.nenasili.cz/en/3236_pentagons-unwanted-projects-in-earmarks
Pentagon's Unwanted Projects in Earmarks
15.3.2009 - www.washingtonpost.com

Text fwd: Pentagon Practices For War On Korean Peninsula

Informed in Stop NATO

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2902232
JoongAng Ilbo
March 14, 2009

Inside missile-hunting U.S. warship
‘The North Korean missile was cut to pieces and the operation ended within 3
minutes’
Kim Min-seok

-U.S. destroyers loaded with missiles capable of intercepting enemy missiles -
or rockets - joined the drill. Among them is the 9,200-ton Aegis-guided USS
Chefee and the nuclear-powered 97,000 t-class aircraft carrier John C. Stennis
and a nuclear-powered attack submarine.

-The destroyer is also capable of loading 96 missiles on its vertical launch
systems. SM-3s, capable of intercepting a ballistic missile, are on board, along
with 20 Tomahawk cruise missiles, capable of a surgical strike against North
Korean buildings.

USS Chafee - “Kill! Track one, two, three, four!”

The air was thick with tension inside the combat information center of the USS
Chafee on Thursday as the war game began.

After North Korea launched a theoretical Taepodong-2 missile from its base in
Musudan-ri, the crew aboard the Aegis destroyer got busy. Inside the combat
information center, the train of the warship, the operation quickly began to
identify the object on the radar.

An officer in charge of the radar reported to the captain of the ship that the
object was an enemy ballistic missile, citing information provided by the
military intelligence network. U.S. Lieutenant Commander Choi Hee-dong, captain
of the USS Chafee immediately ordered an intercept. Chafee’s computer tracked
the location of the missile and two SM-3 missiles were fired one after another.
The interceptors soared from the launch pad on the front deck and destroyed the
Taepodong-2 about 200 kilometers (124.27 miles) above ground.

The North Korean missile was cut to pieces and the operation ended within about
three minutes.

[A]bout 26,000 American troops are participating in a joint military exercise
with South Korea. Of the forces, 12,000 are U.S. troops stationed in the South,
while the rest were deployed for the drill from overseas.

U.S. destroyers loaded with missiles capable of intercepting enemy missiles - or
rockets - joined the drill. Among them is the 9,200-ton Aegis-guided USS Chefee
and the nuclear-powered 97,000 t-class aircraft carrier John C. Stennis and a
nuclear-powered attack submarine.

USS Chafee is one of the two Aegis-class destroyers that arrived Korea for the
ongoing U.S.-South Korean joint military exercise. The U.S. military allowed the
JoongAng Ilbo, the JoongAng Daily’s sister paper, to join the drill on
Thursday by boarding the ship and watching the operation from the combat
information center.

The USS Chafee, deployed in 2003, is one of the newer Aegis U.S. Navy
destroyers. The $1.2 billion ship is capable of detecting and tracing a flying
object in a 1,000-kilometer range. The phased array radar system would allow the
ship to locate a North Korean missile in real time.

The destroyer is also capable of loading 96 missiles on its vertical launch
systems. SM-3s, capable of intercepting a ballistic missile, are on board, along
with 20 Tomahawk cruise missiles, capable of a surgical strike against North
Korean buildings.
....
While the USS Chafee is normally a part of the U.S. Third Fleet, the ship was
deployed for the Seventh Fleet, which supports Korea, for five months starting
with the joint drill. The destroyer will stay in the waters near the Korean
Peninsula for the next two weeks, Commander Choi said.

If North Korea stages an armed provocation during the Key Resolve exercises,
scheduled from last Monday to March 20, the USS Chafee’s mission will see some
changes, Commander Choi said.

Born in Incheon in 1968, Commander Choi moved to the United States when he was a
third grader in middle school. He is the first Korean-American caption of an
Aegis destroyer of the U.S. Navy and a veteran of ballistic missile
interception.

Before becoming the captain of USS Chafee, Choi used to work for the chief arms
officer for USS Shiloh, an Aegis-guided missile cruiser that conducted the U.S.
Navy’s first experiment with the SM-3s.
===========================
Stop NATO

Go Away, Stennis, Nuclear Powered Aircraft Carrier!!!!!

* Image Source *
No bases Stories of Korea

On March 11, 2009, The Solidarity for Peace And Reunification of Korea(SPARK) had a press interview against the visit of the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier USS John C. Stennis, coming for being part of the Key Resolve/Foal Eagle war exercise and harboring in the city of Busan, a south east tip of the Korean peninsula dring the war rehersal from March 9 to 20, 2009.

Joined by the Busan civil committee for the preparation of the founding of the Busan branch of the SPARK, it brought the many reporters from the press. The Press interview was done at 8:30 am, March 11, in front of the Naval Operation Command of the Republic of the Korea, Busan, South Korea. One could see the supercarrier of which size is the 3 times of the soccer fields along with the Aegis Destroyers of the U. S. & South Korea with one’s eye. Some peace activists had hung the banner of “NO WAR” at the high hill fiercely looking at the war ships.


* Related Korean article*

A Nuclear-Powered Supercarrier Participates the Key Resolve War Exercise of South Korea. There are protests. March 11, 2009

http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/politics/defense/343465.html

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_entertainment/343723.html
(English)

http://www.tongilnews.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=83262

http://www.tongilnews.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=83276


Jinhae, South Kyungnam, marine and navy exercise

http://www.tongilnews.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=83239


* Related blogs*

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/03/analysis-whats-behind-norths-opposition.html

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/03/all-over-korea-stop-war-exercise.html

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/03/stop-key-resolve-foal-eagle-war.html

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/03/photos-fwthe-preparation-of-key-resolve.html

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/03/stop-key-resolve-war-exercise.html


* The USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) in the Wikipedia *

'2000 - Persian Gulf/Pacific Ocean

7 January 2000 - Left San Diego to enforce the no-fly zone in Iraq and made port visits to South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Australia 3 July 2000 - Returned to San Diego

[edit] 2001 - Persian Gulf

12 November 2001 - Left San Diego for the Persian Gulf in support of operations in Afghanistan. 28 May 2002 - Returned to San Diego

[edit] 2004 - Pacific Ocean

24 May 2004 - 1 November 2004 Took part in Northern Edge 2004 in the Gulf of Alaska, Rim of the Pacific Exercise off Hawaii, exercises with the Kitty Hawk off Japan and goodwill visits to Japan, Malaysia and Western Australia.

8 January 2005 - Home port moved from San Diego to Bremerton.

19 January 2005 - Began 11 month Docking Planned Incremental Availability (DPIA) at Bremerton, the first time she had been dry-docked since commissioning. Upgrades included a new mast.

December 2005 - November 2006 Sea trials and exercises.

[edit] 2007 - Persian Gulf
USS John C. Stennis arrives in Bremerton on 31 August 2007.

On 20 January 2007 the Stennis set sail for the Persian Gulf as part of an increase in US military presence within the Middle East. The Stennis arrived in the area on 19 February 2007, joining the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the United States Fifth Fleet area of operations.[1] This marks the first time since 2003 that there have been two aircraft carrier battle groups in the region.

On 23 May 2007 the Stennis, along with eight other warships including the aircraft carrier Nimitz and amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard, passed through the Strait of Hormuz. US Navy officials said it was the largest such move since 2003.[2]

On 31 August 2007 the Stennis returned to Bremerton.

[edit] 2009 - Western Pacific

Late on 2008-09-23, the Stennis departed Bremerton for a two-month training cruise off of Southern California in preparation for a 6-month deployment to the Western Pacific in 2009.[3] The deployment itself started on 2009-01-13.[4]'