topcover -- commentary and news blog

VECO CEO Bill Allen plead guilty to bribing lawmakers this morning in Federal Court in Anchorage. One of his VPs, Rick Smith, also plead guilty. Both are facing serious time and sentencing is to be scheduled for June.

Looks like Allen is spilling all the beans and the next guy to go down is former state senator (and Senate President) Ben Stevens -- the son of US Senator Ted Stevens. Another target is Senator John Cowdery.

No doubt there is more to come. Stand by.

Like cockroaches scurrying into nooks and crannies when a light is switched on, Alaska state Republican representatives, senators and other politicians (Governor Palin too) are climbing over each other in trying to distance themselves from the ever-deepening corruption morass. Even right-wing radio talk jocks are jumping on the bandwagon to concurrently hammer and run away from any possible appearance of being tight with the swindling pricks (er, alleged swindling pricks). It would all be comical if it wasn't about seriously damaging future of my state.

While I admit to being often irreverent and disrespectful when dealing with the powers that be. I find it hard, make that nearly impossible, to not use my sense of humor when things turn ugly. Now mind you, I don't believe that the three legislators charged so far: Kohring, Kott and Weyhrauch (plus, there is also another Republican former representative from Anchorage by the name of Tom Anderson who's trial for bribery and mondey laundering begins 25 June) are being charged for being corrupt because they are Republicans. Republicans, on a individual basis are as good a people as those who are Democrats, Greens, independents (like me), etc. But, here in Alaska and nationally, Republican lawmakers tend to be more corrupt and oddly immoral and self-righteous (this is partly because they have been the dominant party for nearly two decades and have become arrogant and corrupt). Long story short, both major parties suck and the Republicans are the suckiest. The Republicans are also in bed with the biggest of big business and in Alaska there is no bigger business bigger than oil. In the case of the latest arrests, the company in question is VECO. In recently released FBI phone tap transcripts, VECO's notoriously crass CEO Bill Allen went so far as to tell former House Speaker Kott that, "I own your ass."

Nice quote Bill.

As as an Alaskan, I don't deny that oil is a vitally important component of our economy and I happily cash my annual Permanent Fund check knowing full well where it came from (oil revenue). I'll be damned though, if big oil is to be allowed to run the state and to buy off the political process. I can only hope meaningful ethics reform comes from this whole shitstorm (that, and sending a bunch of out-of-control Republicans to jail for some hard time).

In the meantime, don't forget to get your own Corrupt Bastards Club action wear and skivies.

Ever hear of the Corrupt Bastards Club?

If not, I'm sure you will. Driven by billions of oil and other resource extraction dollars, politics in Alaska are notoriously sleazy.

It just got a lot nastier today when three (one current and two former) Republican legislators were charged with bribery & extortion involving the proposed trans-Alaskan natural gas line (one is a former Speaker of the House)

I've seen some rotten things in my 18 years of living in Juneau (15 years of covering the legislature). I know many of the people currently involved (and of course, they are innocent until proven guilty) and I have every reason to expect more heads to roll (sooner than later). If these guys did it, they are fucking knuckleheads who sold us Alaskans out for chump change. I've no tolerance for government corruption -- so Go FBI!

On the 60th birthday of Japan's pacifist constitution, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has requested a review of the document. Article Nine rescinds Japan's ability to use military force as an implement of national policy.

It is the right time for Japan take it's rightful place among the rest of the nations of the world and to be able to project it's military power offensively. Japan of today isn't the martial Imperial country driven by right-wing warlords. We don't restrict the geo-political/military actions of Germany, Italy or other former WW II enemies and nor should restrict Japan (especially considering North Korea's actions).

Japan's military is a formidable defensive force which should be able to transform itself into a balanced offensive/defensive organization within a few years. As Japan bears more responsibility in East Asia and throughout the world, we should support their effort to take a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Japan is a great ally and an equal and we should see them as such (I know many American WW II veterans who fought in the Pacific will have a difficult time supporting this, but I also suspect that they understand that today's Japan is not the same country they fought over six decades ago).

With Major Scott Floyd at the stick and 90th FS Commander Lt. Col. Colin Wright in the WSO seat, the final F-15E mission blasts-off Friday morning.

The 90th Fighter Squadron "Pair-O-Dice" flew the last official Strike Eagle mission yesterday. A two-ship left Elmendorf for a hour and a half of low-level raging in the Stony MOA west of Anchorage. After 15 years of service, the 90th is sending their 21 "E" models south (-220 engined) to Mountain Home AFB, Idaho -- before trading up to the Lockheed-Martin F-22A Raptor (the official Raptor acceptance is slated for 8 August).

Elmendorf's last F-15E mission is treated to a water cannon salute upon their return to base.

I'll post more shots later. For now, all I can say is I'm going to miss the Strike Eagle (it is still the World's best operational deep strike/interdiction aircraft and, of all the planes I've had the good fortune to fly in, the best flight of my life was a three-hour mission back in '98 in a "Pair-O-Dice" -229ed engine Strike Eagle. Simply eye-watering).

Yesterday, Russian President Putin asserted the proposed deployment of ten (that is right, ten) missile interceptors in Poland could lead to, "The threat of causing mutual damage and even destruction." Let us not forget that some Russian strategic ICBMs such as the R-36UTTh and R-36M2 (NATO SS-18) carried up to ten warheads per missile (as did the American LGM-118 "Peacekeeper" that was retired almost two years ago).

Once again, I read that Putin's comments are aimed not for our consumption (though if it irks us, so be it), but for the Russian people. I'm sure he is happy to foster and whip up a little fear and then play the role of the resolute Leader against the West. Given that Russia is in the midst of deploying a new RT-2UTTh ICBM (NATO SS-27)that may have a new hypersonic maneuvering scramjet-powered re-entry vehicle (that Putin has claims voids our GMD system) and developing a new stealth nuclear cruise missile, eight new Borei-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine and Bulava SLBM.

Bush may be an idiot manchild, but Putin is a coldly-calculating fear monger.

Didn't Bush once say something about looking in Putin's eye?

During his last annual address today to the Russian parliament not-so-lame duck President Vladimir Putin put the West on notice that Russia plans to cease to abide the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty (CFE) in part due to our plans to deploy a handful of Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) antiballistic missile interceptors in Poland and a X-band radar in the Czech Republic. The CFE treaty dates from 1990 and limits the type, number and location of various types of non-nuclear weapons throughout Eurasia (and is generally thought to be a fairly successful agreement). Putin also alleges his response is a reaction to the encroachment of US and allied bases around the periphery of the Russian Federation.

Putin is tough fellow to figure out: spy, statesman, judo expert and hands-on commander-in-chief. He is smart, shrewd, manipulative, tough, dark and brooding. Many Westerners find him scary while most Russians accept, if not like, his macho quasi-charismatic strongman persona. He may not be universally liked in Russia but he is respected (in that uniquely Russian manner of respecting an iron-willed leader. Though he has failed to eliminate corruption, organized crime and most of the oligarchs, his presidency has brought his country (using oil, gas and arms revenue) from total economic basket case to a moderate level of prosperity (compared to Soviet levels, though Mexico has a greater GDP than the Russian Federation).

Vladimir after a flight in a Su-27 Flanker fighter.

That Putin should suspend Russia's participation in the CFE should not be surprising. Many Russians do feel hemmed-in by us and the expansion of NATO. While we are not viewed as an enemy, there are lots of people in Russia that hold us responsible for the tough times that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union and they feel as if we took advantage of their economic weakness and didn't (and still don't) pay enough respect to a very proud (and rightly so) people. Now that the petrorubles are flowing, Putin and other Russian political and military leaders have embarked on a moderate strengthening and upgrade of the country's military forces (conventional, unconventional/special warfare and nuclear). Our GMD system poses no real stopping power vis-a-vis the Russian strategic ballistic missile forces (particularly the land based ICBMs as the SLBM subs rarely put to sea) as it it is primarily suited to counter the People's Republic of China's handful of ICBMs along with possible accidental/rogue commander launches and, in time, North Korean and Iranian IRBM/ICBMs. Putin's rhetoric fails to mention that the Russian Federation has an antimissile defense system (operational for over three decades with 100 interceptors -- mostly ringing Moscow)Our GMD system and the possible basing of some elements of it in Europe gave Putin a great opportunity to stand-up to the West -- for the benefit of his internal constituency.
We don't need to freak-out about the Russian suspension of the CFE nor Putin's tough talk (though American conservative hardliners will undoubtedly use such actions to support retaliatory acts and acquisition of new offensive nuclear hardware -- despite our overwhelming technical and numerical superiority).

What we need to accept is that Russia is back as a major player on the world scene (they never really left, but certainly did take a break). I see us remaining partners in certain endeavors (military to military contacts, search and rescue treaties, strategic nuclear limitation and nonproliferation treaties, some space programs and resource extraction) and becoming serious competitors in others (geopolitical maneuvers, sales of weapons, use of resources). Russia, for at least a decade, will remain our only other nuclear superpower/nuclear rival. If relations worsen, we may find ourselves non-directly facing the Russians militarily in proxy conflicts (ala the Cold World War). There is a possibility of the rise of a stronger Russian Federation/PRC alliance but it is unlikely considering the centuries-old animosity/distrust that lies beneath the surface of the present (though that might be overcome due to the PRC's need for resources and Russia's want of revenue -- a great reason for us to remain deeply economically engaged with both countries and to pursue a greater alliance with India).

Maybe what matters most about President Putin's address was that he pledged, as is the law, to give up power next year -- though he made no mention of who he wants to hand over the reigns of power. 2008 promises to be an exciting year.

An artist conception of the Gliese system.

The discovery of a possibly habitable world, Gliese 581c, is a momentous discovery. Only 20 light-years away, the slightly-larger-than-earth planet is close enough for serious research to be done. Unfortunately, NASA's Terrestrial Planet Finder is moving slow (read, low-funded and essentially cancelled), when in my mind, the program should be fully-funded and launch date set. My readers know my love-hate relationship with NASA and, in this case, I blame the White House for talking large about the exploration of the cosmos all the while they funnel money into bloated, go-nowhere programs such as International Space Station.

Drawing upon information from well-placed sources, I will again allege that the ultra-religious President Bush has purposely put the brakes on projects capable of produce unequivocal evidence of off-world life.

What a shame. Hell, with the 9 billion dollars that Halliburton alone "lost" in Iraq, the full-up TPF could be built, tested and launched within five years. With the spare chage, a multiple Earth defense observing spacecraft could be sent to an orbit near Venus and another out towards Jupiter where both could key an eye out for asteroids and comets headed towards Earth.

Beyond my bitching, I'd like to think that radio astronomers are slewing their dishe torwrd the Gliese system. I know the SETI groups are probably already listening in. Given that it's only 20 light years away, we as a people and as a scientific technical culture must start thinking if what it going to take to build a probe to go there. If we can make an engine capable of accelerating the probe to a velocity say, 20 % C (speed of light), we could have the probe arive in Gliese system in about 100 years from launch.

If it takes passengers, sign me up.

For excellent coverage of Gliese 581c go to: Centauri-Dreams.org (a favorite Web site of mine)

Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, yesterday in New Hampshire, asserted (and I'm paraphrasing) that the terrorist-caused body-count here at home will skyrocket should American elect a Democrat as president.

Whoa Rudy.

I've done a lot of reading about ,and listening to, Giuliani since 9/11. I liked that he is pro-choice and had nothing against same sex civil unions (I don't care about people's sexual preference and I feel homosexuals should have the same rights as heterosexuals). I liked that he is in favor of certain gun control measures. I liked that he was able to admit to making mistakes. I liked how he publicly addressed his bout with prostrate cancer and worked to educate men about the disease. I liked that he seemed to do a stand-up job during and after the attack on the World Trade Center (WTC). For a while, I thought I might even be able to vote for him for president. Yes, I am a liberal, I could vote for a Republican for president as all I want is the best person for my country.

I could still vote for a Republican but not Giuliani, not any more.


I never cared for his way-too-close relationship with Bernard Kerik (who is corrupt, sadistic and allegedly in bed with some elements of organized crime). What most changed my opinion of Giuliani, and I came to this conclusion months ago, is that he made a terrible decision to base NYC's emergency command center at the WTC (that is why he was Rudy-on-the-spot during the immediate aftermath of the initial attacks). That decision made makes no-fracking sense considering the goal of the 1993 bombing -- which was to topple one tower into the next. Also, it was under his watch (and Kerik's) that the police and fire radios and the emergency communication network were haphazardly, if at all, upgraded. If Giuliani wants to talk body-counts, he should begin with all the brave public safety servants that died needlessly during 9/11 because they couldn't talk to each other nor hear the commands to evacuate the Twin Towers.


Playing to their own base is what politicians do and politics itself is an often nasty, manipulative and distasteful business. As it stands now, no one running on either side would get my vote if today was election day. I didn't vote for Bill Clinton either time (as I detest the milquetoast "third way" of politics that he practiced) and there is no way I will vote for Hillary (I like that she has tried to help sick 9/11 first responders and clean-up personnel but that is about as far as my support of her goes). I thought I liked McCain, but I'd never vote for him now that he sold-out. Obama is a great speaker and a smart fellow yet I don't feel fired-up about him. Fred Thompson interests me but he is too conservative when it comes to key social issues. Gore should stick to doing what he can to promote environmental causes. Edwards is intelligent and competent but I don't see me voting for him. My perfect candidate would be a mix of Senators Joe Biden and Chuck Hagel with a liberal sprinkling of Congressman Dennis Kucinich.

Hopefully, there will be few more qualified people to jump into the race and I think 2008 may be the year that an independent (or mixed Democrat/Republican ticket that runs as independents) candidate could win the White House. As I said earlier, all I care about is that we elect someone who can honestly work towards repairing the economic, civil liberty, economic, political and military damage caused by Bush and Cheney, to make us safe and prosperous at home and to help us regain our proper and rightful place in the world. I know that it is a tall order -- but we can afford nothing less.

It is days like today that make me ashamed to be a member of the species (homo home sapiens). The word is out that shitbag Russian poachers shot, wounded and then beat to death one of the remaining last seven (yes, seven) wild female Amur Leopards.

Those who don't know the doomed Amur Leopard, they live in the Russian Far East and have been both driven from their habitat by the oil and timber industries and hunted relentlessly by humans.

Current estimates peg the entire population of Amur Leopards to be between 25 and 24. Most geneticists believe that at least 100 or so individuals are required to ensure enough genetic diversity to allow a species to survive. The Amur Leopard and the Siberian Tiger are among my favorite mammals and I have studied both species since I was a kid and I've always wanted to see both in the wild. My interest in the big Siberian cats isn't just because they are beautiful but it is due to them being the top feline predators in their environment and that they are wily, intelligent and amazingly stealthy and powerful hunters.

I don't believe that all development is wrong. Greedy and unrestricted growth along with human overpopulation are the real problems -- along with predatory capitalism and the seriously mistaken belief that the planet and all life on it are ours to hold dominion over and relentlessly consume. I know people need to eat and have a place to live. I understand that many people still need to hunt animals in order to feed themselves and their families -- but as far as I know, the poachers in Russian Far East don't eat leopard, they kill them to sell their hides to unethical rich people (and maybe the organs for traditional Chinese medicines).

It is past time that we humans assume try to become responsible stewards of our world (and yes, I know it seems like a contradiction when considering my insistence that we start colonizing the solar system and the galaxy -- but my main reasons for that belief is to ensure humanity's survival and to to be true to our nature as explorers). There need to be to tough worldwide laws instituted to protect endangered species (animal, plant, bacteria, fungus, etc.) not for whatever purpose that they may serve us but for the simple reason that they have as much a "right" to exist and that their habitats must be conserved and protected. People need to be educated and informed of the laws and if coexistence isn't possible, the people, unless they are aboriginal, should be relocated. If native people's are in danger of starving, food and the method to grow or produce more food, should be provided and in poor countries, rich countries and pro-wildlife NGOs must do the providing). Finally, well-armed wardens must be posted (best if they are from the local population and they would be paid for by the government, sponsor governments or NGOs) If, after the laws are made known, poachers continue to kill/harvest the endangered species, the offenders should be killed. Yes, I know it is a draconian measure but people need to get the message that poaching can not and will not be tolerated (and if the damage and species degradation happens to be done by companies, there needs to be tough international laws enacted to severely punish (if not economically destroy) said corporations.
We have to change the way we do business and how we live (as a species) as the destruction of the environment and decimation of endangered species is accelerating. We cannot continue to view the world in purely economic terms. For today we lament the nearly certain demise of the Amur Leopard and yet we do nothing then I have no doubt that that soon the human race will face the same sad fate.

A sight not long for this world -- a female Amur Leopard prowls her native Taiga.

At last evening's annual Alaska Press Club 2006 awards banquet, I took home third place in the "Best Use of Story and Photos by a Journalist" for:

“Raptors in Alaska,” by Mark Farmer, The Associated Press. Comments: Photos do a good, straight-forward, yet artful job of physically describing the fighter jets discussed in the story, the F22A Raptor and the F-15C Eagle.  Sources in the story seemed pretty enthusiastic about the Raptor, so we found ourselves wondering if photos of pilots in or around the planes on the flight line, or some other (documentary) situation might not add a human touch to the piece. Obviously, that may, or may not have been possible." (Too bad the judge didn't see the in-air F-15D cockpit shot of moi wearing the Joint Helmet Mounted Cuing System while chasing the Raptors -- check out my "Raptor" page for more.)

I appreciate the win and I thank everyone at the 3rd Wing (especially chief of external public affairs Captain Kelly Jeter and 3rd Wing Commander Brig. Gen. Hawk Carlisle), Alaskan Command Commander Lt. Gen. Douglas Fraser and his public affairs staff and the men and women of the 12th, 19th and 27th Fighter Squadrons. I also thank my bosses at the Anchorage Bureau of The Associated Press, Larry Campbell and Mark Theissen, for giving me the assignment.

Onward and upward.

Lt .Commander Kevin Davis, an aviator from the Navy's Blue Angels flight demonstration team died this afternoon at the end of a exhibition flight when his F/A-18A Hornet crashed in a residential area near Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina. At least eight people on the ground were injured. Davis's family was in the airshow crowd when his #6 Hornet went down.

Flying fast jets is a dangerous business and the Blue Angles are among the best in the business. Flight demo teams like the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds let taxpayers and observers enjoy the beauty of flight and the power of modern military aircraft while performing a vital (and I would say positive) public affairs function for their respective services. There will no doubt be those who question the need for such expenditures and the risks taken (and they have the right to make such statements and ask such questions). Given my position of being a solid supporter of military aviation in general and flight demo teams in particular, I say nuts to that. I'm sure the Navy will find out what went wrong and ensure it doesn't happen again.

Having worked and flown with the Blue Angels, I pass along my condolences to Davis's family and to rest of the team. I wish a quick recovery to those on the ground who were hurt.

President Bush today stepped up his rhetoric against Sudan and threatened them with going to the UN and emplacing new sanctions against the rogue country if they don't stop the genocide in Darfur.

Sudan's President Umar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir must be getting a chuckle out of the threat as he knows that it won't stop him, his cadres and the Janjaweed from brutalizing those in Darfur (and the victims streaming out of the area) and from destabilizing Chad. The rest of the world, and especially the bad guys, see us as being impotent and mired down in Iraq. Sadly, and thanks to Bush's incompetence and pigheadedness, our enemies are loosing whatever respect they have for our military.

That we have done nothing while millions have died in Africa (and about 400,000 in Darfur) during Bush's watch (and Clinton wasn't much better I may add) shames us all.

What will make Sudan change it's course of action?

I see there is only one answer: the Sudan's leadership and military need to feel some pain. As I've posted before, we (and the UK and French are welcome to join us) need to suddenly and swiftly destroy Sudan's air force while sitting on the ground (especially in light it has been bombing Darfurians with cargo aircraft painted white and with UN markings), it's army in their barracks, the intel forces/secret police installations/command and control facilities along with any ports that are used by military. The job could be done with airpower alone. 2000 sorties spread over a week should bring the country to it's knees. Build in a couple time-out periods to give al-Bashir a chance to recall his forces and any support of the Janaweed. If he doesn't stop the killing, then we hit their oil fields. If that doesn't work, then we target him and his followers.

At this time, I feel thay employing military force is the only action that will make the Sudanese government allow a large joint UN/African Union force into Darfur. The West in general and us in particular have neglected Africa far too long and it is going to take years to even right a few of the wrongs that afflict the cradle of mankind. Using our armed forces to stop the genocide in Darfur would be a good first step.

(This post isn't about me jumping on the bitch-about-the-media bandwagon. Being a journalist, I feel I might actually have something to contribute to the argument at hand.)

That NBC rushed to air mass murderer Cho Seung-hui's self-produced video footage, still photographs and written rants shows how callous and coldly-calculating mass media can be. That CNN and the most other news outlets then repeatedly ran the material, only reinforces the public perception that the media cares about ratings and advertising revenue more that they do journalistic ethics. Cho's images and words victimize the victims and survivors and enshrine him as some sort of antihero (in the minds of other misfits and the criminally mentally ill).

I would have made the call to show a small amount of the video and used some of Cho's own words in order to let people have a glimpse into his mind, I would have also warned viewers and readers as to how disturbing the multimedia manifesto is and I would not have continued to re-show show it all ad nauseam (note that we don't often see the results of suicide bombers in Iraq nor much of the deeply bent raving of our enemies -- I guess those are not so good for ratings). I'm sure that many producers and editors agonized over airing the material but once NBC released it, the race was on between outlets to show the most lurid and twisted parts possible in some sort of escalating battle to grab the most viewers.

Tough call, I know (and of course hindsight is 20/20). That doesn't excuse the mistakes that were made nor does help us as a society to deal with the problems that help create the likes of Cho. By airing and publishing way too much of his self-absorbed and pathetic bullshit and images, the media did what Cho wanted and it just might prompt a cult following of Cho and prod copycats over-their-own-edges and to embark on their own murderous rampages. Now if we as a country would spend half as much money on mental health as we do on advertising...

The shooting deaths of 32 people at Virginia Tech are horrific, needless and maddening.

I part company with many fellow liberals (many are again calling for new and highly restrictive firearm regulations) in that the cause of the massacre in connected to what was wrong and sick in the shooter's head and not with the guns themselves. I do believe that there are way too many guns (especially illegal ones) around and that too many owners are not responsible with their weapons (and we all know that someone bent on committing murderous acts will find a way to obtain non-traceable weapons). However, I don't feel that curtailing access to legal guns and the constitutional right to still bear them and to protect ourselves and our loved ones is the right course of action. In the spirit of disclosure, I do support background criminal and mental illness checks and the concealed and automatic weapons licensing process (though there needs to be a nation-wide standards to replace the current piecemeal state-by-state laws).

The problem, it seems, is in our culture and society. Far too many popular entertainment outlets (TV, music, Internet, etc.) glorify indiscriminate violence and make it seem like violent action and retaliation are the only answers to whatever problem confronts us. I'm no fan of censorship but way too many kids and adults lack the education and ability to critically discriminate between deeply toxic cultural crap and entertainment. I'm making a sweeping generality but I also believe that something has gone astray in the way boys and young men (in particular) are raised. Our families, our schools and our nation as a whole have failed to instruct and convey proper manners, respect, discipline (and I don't mean corporal punishment) and responsibility.

I have no quick-fix but I do know we need to change the way we live, the ways we raise our children and how we get along each other.

p.s. While we are all rightly disgusted and appalled by the Virginia Tech killings, lets remember that a similar average number of people in Iraq are shot, blown-up and tortured to death on a daily basis and that at least twice that number of American warriors are killed every month.

Abdicate: to fail to fulfill or undertake a duty or responsibility...

As of late, I've bitten my tongue when it comes to the utter and total ineptitude of our idiot manchild of a president. However, I cannot remain silent when it comes to President Bush's decision to recruit a "war czar" to oversee our efforts in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

To let new readers know, I support our troops and allies. I'm all for the war in Afghanistan (we should have two or three times the amount of forces there) and our hunting down and killing terrorist forces in Southwest Asia, Africa, The Philippines and elsewhere. I wish we were doing more to win the hearts and minds of Islamic and other peoples around the world. Though I initially supported the invasion of Iraq, the war there has been so badly executed (politically) I have been an aggressive opponent of the occupation of Iraq for nearly three years (add to that, my well-placed sources, many of them senior military leaders, were sold a load bogus/cooked-up intelligence assessments and I bought into the scheme because I trusted them in that they were not being lied to).

Now, "The Decider-in-Chief," the same guy who came up with the grand surge strategy (which in the short term is working in some ways though it won't in the long haul as just because you chase away and kill some of the bad guys and clear some areas doesn't mean that they will stay clear after we move our insufficiently-numbered forces out of those areas) and declared that he was tuned-in and in-charge, is abdicating all responsibility for the conduct the Iraq war. Adding another layer of bureaucracy won't win the war as the situation is militarily non-winnable. As I've posted before, Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Perle, etc. lost the war right after Baghdad fell because our forces were 250,000 warriors shy and the genius-brains failed to use overwhelming force to secure a population that only understood strict (and in the case of Saddam, brutal) control.

Bush has set our military up to fail. He is responsible for the daily carnage, the dead and wounded American warriors and all the dead, maimed and mentally/emotionally twisted Iraqis. Whoever takes the "war czar" job (and numerous retired generals have already turned him down) is also being set up to fail. While I wanted the Democrats to win the House and Senate, I am severely disappointed in their conduct since taking power (namely in their lack of guts to take Bush and Cheney on and to begin impeachment proceedings for both of them). I love my country. I am proud that we (at least used to be) a nation of just laws. I thank the founding fathers for our constitution and our republic. However, our government is badly broken and their is no workable political solution in sight (at least until the 2008 election). Once again, I am back to musing that maybe the best thing for America, our armed forces and the world is for some sort of soft and bloodless political-military rebellion to happen. I am saying that maybe a handful of enlightened senior politicians from both parties and a few generals and admirals have to stand up to Bush and Cheney and tell them that things have to change -- not to take over the government, but to make it clear we need to start a withdrawal from the Iraqi civil war (and to produce an as-stable-and nonviolent-as possible-partion of the country), begin rebuilding our ground forces, enlarging the Army and Marines, taking care of the wounded and to re-engage the world with a rational and workable workable long term strategy to vanquish terrorist forces and to help our fellow human beings live free and sustainable lives (not to mention serving notice on the Bush-empaced corporate oligarchs and to reverse the flow of public money from their pockets and off-shore bank accounts and back into the open economy and to embark on fixing our decrepit national infrastructure, education system, disaster preparedness/repair agencies, research and development efforts and to provide universal medical coverage).

Unless things get even worse and Bush makes even stupider decisions, I am going to try to not be a one-note Johnny (as intellectually beating-up Bush is something a fifth grader could do). I want for America to be safe and for to regain our rightful place in the world community. Given the damage Bush and his bunch have caused, both at home and abroad, we have years, if not decades, of work ahead of us.

Scarred and beautiful, irreverent and profane: as much as Orwell, Bukowski and Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. shaped my adolescence and hence, my worldview. I was fortunate to see him speak in Indianapolis in 1985 and while I haven't read any of his work in years, I can say his words and ideas are never far away (would somebody please pass the Ice-9?).

People's Republic of China Premier Wen Jiabao is in Japan for a summit meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (the first summit in seven years).

This is good news.

I consider Japan to be our best ally after our "special relationship" with Great Britain. Considering all the problems in the world, that Japan and the PRC are talking again is great news.

The PRC often harps on Japan for the acts (rightfully so at times and some acts were most certainly brutal) committed by an aggressive early 20th Century Imperial Japan and it is true that Japan needs to accept it's past (and I believe it is making good faith efforts to do so). However, the PRC doesn't focus at all on the many great and positive efforts Japan has made since the end of WW II. China too, needs to be honest of it's past mistakes (especially those made by Mao and his cronies).

Both Japan and China are global economic and regional military superpowers and they have both made claims on some of the same hydrocarbon-rich deposits in the China Sea. The more Japan and the PRC talk and make government-to-government contacts, the better. That they are economic competitors is fine and I suspect that if both countries can learn to coexist may lead to them even becoming friends (of sorts).

If things in East Asia ever turn sour, Japan is a great power and great American ally (and our treaties with Japan ensure the protection that comes from the American nuclear "umbrella") and I am sure that we will stand beside them no matter what (word to China).

As a defense writer and photojournalist I often feature and focus-upon the newest and most lethal weapons on the planet. While I admit to enjoying using, testing and watching the employment and use of said weapons and though I have never had to kill or maim anyone, I never loose touch of what weapons are for: destroying things and killing other humans. When I take pictures of aircraft and warships, I try to convey the aesthetic of the weapon system and to place the people and machine in their operational environment.

Sometimes the images are pretty damn cool and now and then, even beautiful.

There is something happening in popular culture that bothers me. For lack of a better term it is weaponsporn.

I use a popular show as an example: the Discovery Channel's Futureweapons hosted by Richard Machowicz. It is a slick show that spotlightlights the newest weapons and defensetech. I don't know Machowicz but I respect him for his service in the US Navy (Seal Team One & Two) and he is a talented warrior, crack-shot (sniper) and kindred spirit/bald-guy. I don't fault him as I have no doubt that he intimately understands the nature of warfare (namely that it is a nasty, dirty and deadly enterprise) but I have a problem with the people who are in charge of the show and with the Discovery Channel.

My beef is that I think the show (and others like it) shouldn't shy away from showing what war is... maimed, burned and dead people amidst wholesale destruction. I feel it is dangerous if we as viewers if we become removed from the stink of death, injured warriors and civilians. We need to never forget those who jumped from the Twin Towers to free themselves from the fire as well as the rotting corpses of our enemies on the battlefields of Iraq, Afghanistan and all the other lands our forces and allies fight day in and day out.

I feel we should respect the amazing scientific and technical achievements of our defense industry. We must honor the sacrifice of our warriors and their families. We have to remember those who are deservedly killed in our names as well as the innocent who get in the way. If we only glorify the mechanisms of destruction, we become a little less human every time we delight in clinical sterility and distance of what is safely (if not inanely) served up to us on TV.

I make the best of every chance I get to debrief our warriors upon their return from combat in Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa and other hotspots around the globe. When I hear common complaints, regardless of the theater of operations and the service each person belongs to, I listen up.

The most often repeated gripes and bitches:

- Current uniforms and camo patterns are crap
- Body armor and helmets don't provide proper protection, are ill-fitting and too heavy
- The HUMVEE (up-armored) is an rough-riding overweight IED vulnerable pig that heat-stresses everyone inside
- MREs still don't satisfy or offer enough quality calories
- Most importantly: The M-4 rifle doesn't deliver enough target penetration and jams despite constant cleaning and care

The Colt M4 is based upon the 40 year-old M-16 and fires a 5.56mm round (.223 cal).

Don't get me wrong, the M4 and latest M-16 variants are good guns (I loved my often finicky H-BAR/M-16A2) for LE/SWAT and civilian uses, but they suffer from common and serious design vulnerabilities (a gas-return tube that clogs up, a bolt that gets way hot and ammo feed problems). Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld are criminally negligent for sending our troops into battle without satisfactory body armor, armored HUMVEEs and rifles that can't be relied upon when it counts. The M4 will work if you treat it with kid gloves and obsess over stripping and cleaning it -- but that is something that takes constant attention and consumes time. Ask any Marine or soldier what matters most about a weapon and the first reply will almost always be the gun needs to fire everytime the trigger is pulled. The problem is bad enough that some of our forces are carrying AK-47s because the weapon works in a pinch despite any combination of environmental conditions.

Upon doing the research, new main battle rifles could be supplied to 300,000 American soldiers and Marines for between one and two billion dollars (don't forget Halliburton "lost" nine billion dollars and the war in Iraq is approaching the $600 billion dollar mark).

OK, if I am such a smart guy, then what is the answer?

First, whatever weapon is to be fielded needs to be a proven and and off-the-shelf design (though that doesn't mean it can't be throughly modern and advanced). Second, the rifle needs to be available in large numbers and rapidly produceable. Third, the chosen gun should be chambered in an existing caliber/calibers -- that means 5.56mm and 7.62 x 51 NATO (.308 cal). Personally, I feel the weapon should be a 7.62 x 51NATO round as I've lost faith in the 5.56mm round as it doesn't have the penetration power to go through body armor and walls to produce a single round kill. I've talked to quite a few people who have almost been killed due to thinking they put a man down with a couple 5.56mm rounds only to have the bad guy to still be alive enough to squeeze off a couple rounds before dying (some warriors have told me the jihadis and insurgents are no longer afraid of the M4/M16 and the only thing that gets their attention is the Benelli M1014 shotgun or the elderly M14).

Until recently (2005) the US military was well on the way to fielding the Heckler & Koch XM8 (from all reports a great weapon though chambered in 5.56mm).

The final version of the HK XM8 as it was when the program was suspended in 2005.

If the powers that be want a 5.56mm chambered main battle rifle, there are several good weapons that are available immediately. As I see it, they are (in descending order of desirability):

The Heckler & Koch 416. The weapon combines the best of the M4/M16 and the XM8 and is already fielded by US Delta Force and other special operations units.


The HK G36 rifle -- tough, dependable and well respected.


The FN Herstal F2000.


The Steyr-AugA3.


And the Israeli Tavor.


All these 5.56mm rifles are excellent and immediately available in large numbers. If the Pentagon wants to split the mix between 5.56mm and 7.62x51NATO, then there are only two choices: H & K makes the model 417 -- which is a 416 chambered in 7.62X51 NATO.

The HK417 during test firing.

Finally, the other combo is the FN Herstal SCAR-L(light)/SCAR-H (heavy -- in 7.62X51 NATO).

The SCAR-H... one mean piece of kit.

If I had to chose one weapon (actually two), it would be FN's SCAR system. Given the high numbers of weapons needed to be fielded in a short period of time, it may make sense to split the acquisition contracts between the HK416/417 and the SCAR-L/SCAR-H. I have no problem with the weapons being made by allied countries as I believe our warriors deserve the best gear no matter who makes it (and it is not like out allies don't buy enough of our weapons). The politicians and senior pentagon officials need to act now -- the is no time for extended competitions, down-selects, re-competitions and all the other bullshit that can happen when buying a weapon system. Both the HK and FN systems are already in use by American forces and both systems are well respected. Now Uncle Sam needs to sign the checks.

Japanese Prime Minister seems to have corrected his course. His initial acts upon being elected to the PM post were misguided -- especially when it came to denying that the Imperial Japanese military forces used Korean females as "comfort women" during WW II.

So, Abe realized his misstep and issued an apology to South Korea (it doesn't solve the problem but at least it is step in the right direction).

Another smart move on his part was to authorize the deployment of Patriot PAC-3 anti-missile missiles to positions near Tokyo. North Korea is the primary threat that Japan faces and it would benefit both Japan and South Korea to work together to form a missile defense network that encompasses both nation's territory.

Now, all that Abe has to do is to get Japan to admit to it's Imperial 20th century past. Young Japanese deserve to understand what happened as to prevent such blunders from ever happening again. For the sake of regional peace, China and other Southeast Asian nations need Japan to apologize for it's past actions (and I think Japan would likely get a permanent seat in the UN Security Council if did fess-up to past atrocities).

Seems like every time I write about space research and exploration, I get a steady trickle of e-mail from people who feel that such efforts amount to little and that the money should be spent here on Earth to tackle the myriad problems that confront us.

I'd say that those readers are both right and misguided.

Huh?

The right in that we should be spending whatever it takes to make our place on the planet more sustainable and fair for all. However, the amount spent on space science and exploration is trivial when compared to the expenditures our nation alone makes for weapons (never mind the politically-bungled war in Iraq, shortsighted tax breaks given to megacorporations and the obscene profits made by big oil and other pampered industries). Look it up for yourselves and you will be amazed.

But for me, space exploration means much more than the cool tech and mind-bending results...

To me it all comes down to ensuring the survival of human race.

First, I make the assumption that humanity is worth saving. Beyond our inhumanity we visit upon each other, past the selfish and ignorant carnage we inflict upon other animals and the damage we do daily against our home (Earth), we as a species are capable of great acts of love and compassion as well as producing stunning and enduring works of art and engineering. So despite my generally cynical and misanthropic demeanor, I do believe that we are likely to become much more than we are now (and, another assumption I make is that "more" will mean becoming increasingly enlightened). I do feel we are worth saving.

In the past 30 years we have become aware that the Earth itself cares not for a species (though life is very tough to completely erase) and can be a violent place and has, at many times in the past, been a planet that us humans would be hard pressed to survive upon. While the planet is probably safe for another few billion years, space is full of danger for life on Earth -- the killers can come as a nearby gamma-ray burst, unknown solar phenomena, supernovae, hostile aliens, comets and asteroids (hell, I suspect we don't yet know all the life-extinguishing dangers that confront us, let alone see a specific threat headed our way).

The only act that can ensure humanity's survival is for us to first colonize the solar system and to then distribute ourselves among the stars of the galaxy and the universe. Establishing outposts in near-Earth space, on the moon and Mars is doable within 20 years and I think that human-manned starships (capable of high sub-luminal speeds) could be reaching the nearest stars in less than 50 years.

So, is it our destiny to look inward and to kill each other with nuclear weapons and deadly pathogens over what amount to ancient (and ignorant) tribal, ethnic and religious? Shall we dedicate vast portions of our economies on obsolete and ecologically-damaging power generation and transportation technologies? Do we continue to sentence the vast majority of our race to squalor, disease, hunger and poverty (never mind not allowing everyone access to birth control techniques and technology)?

As it stands now, I'd say we are on-the-way-to-being-pretty-much-fucked. If business as usual continues to be business as usual, the human race is destined to experience an early extinction.

If that is what you want, keep electing people like we keep electing (myopic, racist, greedy, selfish and stupid). If extinction is what you want, why wait? Lets do it now and I want a seat with a view.

Our situation is not without hope, it is without focus, goals and inspired leadership (I see no reason why we can't remain loyal to enlightened nation-states while at the same time accepting we are all are members of the family of man). We must abandon our petty desires to become better off at the expense of others and the environment. Our world is finite and dangerous and it is imperative that we now look outward and to accept that our future lies not here on this tiny blue-green ball but in the stars.

It is time, before it is too late, that we take the first steps in taking an enduring place in the cosmos.

I've received heat for past pieces I've written and tv appearances in which I have called for reorganizing to disbanding NASA. Once again, I say the agency has lost it's way and it is past time to get rid of what is a misguided bureaucracy that now hold hostage and hold back some of the vest best, brightest and bravest of our fellow citizens and human beings.

What pushed me over the edge today was the confirmation that NASA's "leaders" are ending the existence of NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (saving a whopping 4 million bucks a years and stifling some of the agency's most interesting and potentially important studies).

I have nothing but profound respect and admiration for the scientists, engineers, pilots, astronauts and technicians who work for NASA. However, many of the politically-appointed administrators are killing our space exploration, aero/astronautics programs. Those folks have left us tied to the faltering albatross that is the Space Shuttle (STS -- an amazing vehicle to be sure but one that is an obsolete proven killer and never was the system it should have been) and the orbital bus station to nowhere called the International Space Station (ISS). The people at NASA's helm have squandered tens of billions of dollars on the ISS/STS combo while cutting back robotic solar system exploration, advanced space and ground based telescopes, aviation research and design efforts and, most curiously, the relatively low-cost efforts to produce quantum-leaps in exotic physics, propulsion concepts and other pursuits that could protect the planet (my next post), prove if we are not alone in the universe and take us to the stars (in my lifetime). Oh, and they are leaving us without a way to take our astronauts into space for at least five years starting in 2010 (don't worry, the trusty and friendly Russian government will be our taxi service to the 100 billion buck ISS -- I'm not dissing the Russian people, just their government).


Some people bitch that all money spent on space is a waste. I say those people are welcome to their opinion but they are ignorant and misguided. The entire US annual civilian space budget is less than $20 billion dollars (remember, the stated cost of the war in Iraq is nearing $600 billion dollars) and the educational, medical, technical and cultural spinoffs of space/aeronautical exploration is incalculable.
What is my answer to the problem?

My ego isn't big enough, nor am I smart enough to profess knowing how to solve the situation in all of it's complexity but I do have have some ideas:

- Combine US civilian and military man-rated and unmanned launch vehicle development as much as possible (and level the playing field to allow upstart private companies to compete in development/procurement competitions to include manned space vehicles).
- Cancel the ISS or move it to a higher orbit or earth/moon libration point. If that isn't possible, disassemble it and cannibalize the parts and have robots move and then reassemble them to form the basis of the proposed south lunar base.
- Give greater support to aeronautical research and flight testing efforts (pure science, atmospheric research and advanced air transport concepts, propulsion/electronics/avionics/flight control/aerostructures, etc.).
- Elevate robotic exploration of solar system to the same status of manned spaceflight. The primary near-term goals should be refocused to the search for existing/fossil life (on Mars and the ice moons of Jupiter and Saturn that have subsurface oceans/free water) and the establishment of off-world human colonies.
- Quadruple the budget for space sciences (space and ground-based telescopes of all wavelengths). A robotically-constructed and operated optical/infrared/radio observatory should be built on the backside of the moon. The main near-term goal should be finding earth-like planets and moons orbiting nearby stars.
- Establish and fully fund a new organization to test and produce a series of advanced nuclear-powered engines for high speed transportation and exploration within the solar system.
- Reestablish and fund/man at a much greater level an internal institute/skunkworks for breakthrough/radical science and exploration of the universe. There is no reason why we should not be able to develop new energy sources (for terrestrial and other use) and propulsion concepts that would allow us to begin sending probes to the nearest stars within 20 years (probes capable at traveling at a significant fraction of the speed of light -- say 20%).
- Fund at a much great level, an earth and solar monitoring system to surveil earth and solar changes that directly affect humanity (environmental, resource, pollution, weather, global warming, etc.).
- Establish a joint military/civilian (and eventually, international) planetary defense command (the subject of my next post).

There, that should provide a good start. Figure if we spend $17 to $20 billion dollars a year on the existing NASA, the reorganized NASA should receive at least $40 billion dollars annually (a relatively diminutive drop in the nearly $2.7 trillion dollar bucket).

Why do I think that all this is so important?

You will have to read my next post (if you care).

Since Lex posted one of last week's shots of the Groom Lake flight test facility on the Coast to Coast Web site, I'd like to welcome C2C listeners to topcover.

The question I am most often asked (by lay-people, aviation and ufo enthusiasts and military members alike) is: What is going on at The Ranch?

I don't claim to have all the answers, but I can say that I know more about the base than most folks do. First, I have no evidence that aliens have visited us or that they are operating out of the facility (nor about us operating their vehicles). I have seen a couple UFOs while keeping an eye on Dreamland (buts lets all remember that the U in UFO means unidentified).

Back in early 1994 I watched and photographed this aerial anomaly in the airspace south of the Groom Lake flight test facility. This is an approximate 10 second-long exposure of the "object" moving around the sky (shot through a 1250mm lens with 1600 ASA film). The multicolored orb is at the right of the image and the trail is an effect from the long exposure time. I think the object is a byproduct of high-powered radar testing or from firing a charged particle beam into the atmosphere.

As for other projects being currently tested at the base, I can not say specifically by codeword or program name as to what they are. I do feel we have had an operational sub-orbital spaceplane (jet and rocket powered) since the early 90's. Other programs deal with advanced stealth (optical, acoustic, infrared and ultra-wide band radar), super high maneuverability, unmanned aerial combat craft, super-high altitude reconnaissance systems, long range hypersonic strike missiles, high performance manned attack aircraft, vertical take and landing special operations airplanes and helicopters, stealth dirigibles and all sorts of electronic counter and electronic counter-counter measures.

I'll save more for later (and I deal with this subject on the upcoming Travel Channel show). Who knows, maybe sometime George or Art will have me on Coast to Coast. No matter what everyone, keep your eyes to the sky.

Goodnight.

Just returned from a Travel Channel gig in Nevada. I led the crew up to the summit of Tikaboo Peak (nearly 8,000 feet) to catch a midday view of my favorite secret facility (Watertown Federal Airfield, a.k.a. area 51, Dreamland, etc.). Living at sea level and getting 3 hours of sleep in the two days before the climb kicked my 44 year-old ass (and I got a wicked case of altitude sickness and I have to say that there is nothing like hurling between interview takes).

The westward view from the false summit of Tikaboo Peak that overlooks the Tikaboo Valley. Watertown Federal Airfield is in the distance.

The flight test facility seen from 26 miles away.

A close-up of the Watertown Federal Airfield. The Lockheed-Martin hangars are at the left of the image. Hangar 18 is the largest structure visible. Note the new large tower at the north end of the base (the right end of the image).

The show is called Mysterious Journeys and my segment deals with the Nevada Test Site, The Nevada Test & Training Range and Dreamland. I scored some great access to the NTS but I was unfortunately unable to visit as the crew needed a second day to finish my interviews (thank you to all the folks at the NTS Public Affairs office for taking the production crew on the tour). I dealt openly and honestly about what I know and don't know about what goes on in the Government's south-central Nevada playground. I talked about the possibility of alien life and through the crew tries hard to get me to say that ET is here and hanging out in Nevada, all I could say is that I don't think that is the case and their is no evidence to indicate that any of the Dreamland alien stories are true (but of course, the Government does know more about the possibility of offworld life than they say). I refuted all the moronic allegations that Det. 3 of the AFFTC has moved (Watertown is run by Edwards so leave Nellis alone). Those stories started 10 years ago when Popular Mechanics editor Jim Wilson went down the wrong road in the Tikaboo Valley and came to an old locked gate. Looking around he saw no base and being the genius brain that he is, he proclaimed Dreamland had moved to Utah. Either the guy is a tool or an idiot as Watertown isn't going anywhere (and there has been new construction at the base since my previous trip). The Government has spent tens of billions of dollars at Groom Lake making the finest secure testing facility around. Since Freedom Ridge and Whitesides Mountain were incorporated into the restricted range (they are only 11 miles away from the installation and gave optically well-endowed observers an intimate view of operations), the facility now has enough breathing room to conduct business as usual. Despite all evidence to the contrary, Wilson's story still echoes and not a month goes by that someone doesn't contact me/jack me up about a past story or TV appearance of mine in which I say the base is at Groom Lake.


Your reporter being interviewed.

I feel the show should be pretty good. I've been on TV so many times now that I generally turn-down most requests. This production house (Authentic TV) was honest with me about what they wanted and, for the most part, I enjoyed working with them (of course not everything is perfect and my interests are never those of the TV execs). I'll let everyone know when the show is scheduled to air.

x lurking about E.G. & G.'s Special Projects "Janet" terminal in Las Vegas. From the secure facility nondiscript Air Force-owned T-43s (Boeing 737) shuttle workers daily to Watertown, Tonopah Test Range and other facilities.

The Las Vegas strip as seen from 864-feet up in the Stratosphere Tower. Vegas is fun to visit for a day or two but it is a greedy, grubby, impersonal, resource-wasting and violent city.

Finally, we are openly talking with Syria and Iran. Not that things went well today, but Bush and his crew might actually have recently realized that being consistently being bellicose and aloof is a bogus and unproductive national strategy (and does little to convince other countries to work with us).

The current governments and leaders of Iran and Syria are, for the most part, unsavory and vile. That said, we are deeply embroiled in their neighborhood and it is always best to know and understand your enemies and opponents. While I'm an unapologetic hawk, I believe that it is in our best interest to keep the number of wars we are currently involved in to a minimum -- after all, we need to rebuild our ground forces and replenish our stocks of precision guided aerial munitions (and during that time, why not try to work a deal to end Iran's nuclear weapons programs as well as limiting their influence with Hezbollah and Hamas).

I'm also cautiously pleased we are involved in sporadic bilateral talks with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). I'd be the last guy to say to blindly trust Kim Jong Il, but we need to sign a peace treaty to end the Korean War. It makes sense that we support the six-party negotiations but they will never be a substitute for direct one-on-one discussions. We need to figure out a way to insure that our food and energy aid actually makes it to the suffering DPRK citizens (and not redirected and sold for more Hennessy cognac and DVDs for the Dear Leader).

Conversely, W's trip south of the border comes too late and offers far too little. When it comes to dealing with Central and South American, our government has been on autopilot for the past six years. By focusing on Iraq and ignoring Latin America, Bush has essentially allowed Venezuela's Hugo Chavez to take the driver's seat and let him characterize the nature of North/South relations. Sure, Chavez is a repressive blowhard socialist demagogue, but he also often right about the growing rich/poor divide and how we often take the side of corporations and repressive right-wing leaders and governments. By not taking him head on and challenging him in the court of public opinion, we have allowed him to take the communist/socialist leadership mantle from Castro and to plant the seeds that have become a growing China/Iran/Venezula alliance.

I'll let you all chew on that a while.

Made it back to Anchorage. While in Juneau I met with Coast Guard Admiral Brooks (Commander, 17th Coast Guard District), visited friends, hung out and raised hell with some of my closest buddies.

While I miss Juneau and my friends, my main mission was a dental appointment with the Coast Guard dental clinic. As usual, they were exceptionally helpful and professional.

Why did I fly 500 miles for a dental exam?

Here is why.

When I was fully retired in 1991 with 80% service connection (for cancer, surgery-caused internal organ problems, and back damage/chronic pain), I was told that the VA would cover my dental needs in addition to my other medical support. However, the VA decided to throw that deal out the window and only those vets with 100% service-connected disability now receive dental care (despite the known connection of failing dental health causing heart disease and other serious ailments).

Other than to gripe and bitch, why do I feel have to share my cavities with the world?

For no less a reason that to hope to further the current discussion of the state of medical support of active military members and veterans. I have generally positive feelings when it comes to military medicine as two great Army surgeons saved my life and flight docs keep me flying and run blood tests to check my tumor markers. Here in Alaska, the Air Force has a great hospital at Elmendorf -- unfortunately due to deployments, the facility is kept extra-busy and often has to do more with less people (I try to use it as infrequently as possible as I hate the though of adding waiting stress to active duty folks and their families). Within the Department of Veteran's Affairs, I receive both good and bad service from overworked and sometimes burned-out doctors and nurses and everyone must contend with a bureaucracy that is Byzantine at best.

The current shitstorm at Walter Reed Army Medical system exposed both failing (and increasingly privatized) secondary care organizations, an awkward and dehumanizing medical retirement/disability rating system and resulted in the canning of (so far) the Army Secretary and the two-star general that ran Walter Reed (fallguy). I know that money is being siphoned off from everywhere within DOD and the VA in order to support operations primarily in Iraq. The total cost of the medical care of OIF/OEF soldiers will undoubtedly run into the hundreds of billions of dollars. Many injured warriors will receive excellent in-theater care, outstanding primary care when they return to the states but will probably get fucked bigtime once they return back to their home communities which are not located close to a large military or VA facility. The move to privatize secondary care ensures a steady stream of non competitive cash to the plutocratic/oligarchic buddies of our idiot-manchild president and Big Dick Cheney (the guy in charge of the private care company in charge of Building 18 and the rest of the shitty circumstances at Walter Reed is an ex-Halliburton bigwig). While our fellow citizens who step up and serve are often guided by lofty and admirable principals and the at the same time, the whole rotten mess is really an gigantic exercise in the redistribution of our societal wealth to the top 1/10th of one percent of the population.

W and his cronies are adept at wringing forgiveness from their supporters by playing the patriotic card and thumping their chests (with the seemingly sole exception of SECDEF Gates -- he is alright in my book). It is all a big fucking lie folks. The war in Iraq is all about the Big Lie. The war against Al Qaeda is a mess due to the inattention paid to it during the past four years. The Patriot Act and having us all gladly hand over our remaining civil liberties is brought to reality via the Big Lie. Many of our warriors are cynically used for window dressing, political speeches and/or IED/sniper fodder and when their usefulness is reached, the powers at be could give a shit (both sides as I am by no means impressed with the Democrat's gotcha-driven response and their lack of meaningful ideas and long term conviction).

What I'd like from all of you is to send off a quick e-mail to your US Senators and Representatives (as writing or calling Bush/Cheney will accomplish nothing) and your local newspapers/TV news (letter to the editors) and tell them you are mad as hell and you are not going to take it anymore. Tell them of how you want our country to remain free and honest to the founding principles of our Republic and that you want our leaders to become responsible to the real (human and societal) costs of our state of permanent war. I want you to find your own words but don't mince them when it comes to how war-profiteering is unacceptable and criminal. I want you to make sure those in charge know you are holding them personally responsible in that our combat veterans and their families receive proper care (for as long as it takes and not just the two years after being in Iraq or Afghanistan. All I really want you to do is to help those who serve and have served... please.

Thank you.

Many our ground forces are increasingly bogged-down and worn-out in Iraq (40% of all of our military equipment is in Iraq and Afghanistan) and the battle for Afghanistan is undermanned and underfunded.

A leader with a brain would concentrate on the military matters at hand but it increasingly evident that our idiot-manchild of a president is itching for a fight with Iran (beyond the SOF/CIA forces we have had operating inside Iran for several years). Given my contacts within the US military and defense industry, I've been able to piece-together enough data and off-the-record insights to confidently say that an open conflict with Iran is more likely to happen than not.

A nicely informative ethno-religious map of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Since our troops are garrisoned in large fixed bases in both Iraq and Afghanistan, it is imperative that we be able to destroy a major portion of Iran's air base, cruise and ballistic missile forces. From there we will go after the paramilitary Pasdaran and Qods units and whatever Iranian military units that support them (remember that Iran has two governments and two armed forces -- all of which are commanded by the supreme religious leader Ali Khamani and not the (hothead-populist-douchebag) President Ahmadinejad. We have two nuclear aircraft battlegroups in the Arabian Sea with approximately 85 combat aircraft each carrier and numerous Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles aboard the surface combatants and submarines.

An excellent graphic from the UK's Telegraph based on GlobalSecurity.org info.

From multiple sources (including Seymour Hersh's latest ass-kicking New Yorker piece) it is becoming clear that Bush's plan is to predicate our impending attack on Iran as a case of hot pursuit of Iranian forces supplying Iraqi insurgents with weapons (including EFP tech) that will then morph into an all-out air and missile attack against Iranian WMD and missile production facilities.


The Iranian military command structure (courtesy of GlobalSecurity.org)

Are you ready for an pan-Shiite war ranging from Lebanon to Afghanistan?

Our ground forces are not but I'm sure our air and naval forces can do the job if the word is given. So rather than doing what is right (like destroying Sudan's military, the Janjaweed, Somali Islamists and tracking down the Al Qaeda ratbastards that caused 9/11 and who keep killing our warriors), I get that sinking feeling that Bush is going to blow his wad on a hail-Mary attack/war with to salvage his "legacy." I have nothing against the Iranian people and I'd like nothing more than for them to overthrow their own government and to rejoin the world community. The leaders of Iran deserve to be taken to task and there is no doubt that they are building nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic and cruise missiles. Iran is a real threat folks, but thanks to Bush's crying wolf too many time, the rest of the world is going to sit out the coming war with Iran (though I would think that the UK will join us in some fashion). I'm really afraid that Iran will target our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan with chemical/radiological/germ weapons and that the whole fucking mess is going to spin out of control (some would say that it already has). Oh yeah, I almost forget to mention that it seems that Bush and Cheney are secretly funding Sunni Arab groups to counter the growing power of Shiite groups and Iran (yes, that means that they are giving money to people who are linked ideologically and concretely to Al Qaeda -- if that isn't grounds for impeachment, I don't know what is. My country that I love and served is being run by a bunch of crazed assholes. I can only hope that the senior military leadership just say no/quasi-mutiny, which I have previously addressed, comes to pass).

Stand by everyone and tighten your seat belts as the ride is going to get bumpy.

What I'm (re)reading: "The Samson Option" by Seymour Hersh (a chronicle of the Israeli nuclear weapons program)

An 1810 image of the mythical kraken during a purported attack on a French vessel off the coast of Angola.

I, for one, would like to welcome our new squid overlords.

The crew of a fishing boat working in the Ross Sea off Antarctica recently (date unknown) snagged and landed a nearly 1000 pound, 39 foot-long Colossal Squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni). While the reclusive Giant Squid (Architeutis dux) gets most of the press, the Colossal Squid is truly what nightmares are made of.

The Colossal Squid alongside the fishing boat.

Since I was young, I have searched for all the scientific information and folklore I could find on the subject of sea monsters. With 70% of the planet covered with water, it makes sense that we have an incomplete understanding of what lurks beneath the waves.

One of the crewmen with the captured Colossal Squid. The structure with the hole in it protects the animal's wickedly sharp and strong beak.
The beak of an immature Colossal Squid -- there have only been seven (counting the most recent one) examples caught/found since 1925.

Being an amateur cryptozoologist, I can say honestly that there are sea monsters. Im sure that upon finding weird critters washed up on shore gave prehistoric man ample material for tales of fantastic creatures. In the millennia that humans have gone to sea, the massive squids, giant octopi and other denizens of the deep sea must have simply scared the shit out of everyone. That twice and thrice told tales are often exaggerated made reality more terrifying.

The gracile Giant Squid (left) might reach a length approaching 70 feet (from the head fin to the end of the two hook-equipped prey-grabbing arms -- some examples have exceeded 55 feet in length), the Colossal Squid is far larger and substantial and some experts postulate that the length of Colossal Squid could be 25% longer.

Is that it?

Nope.

In other recent monster squid-related news, a Japanese team videotaped Dana Squid (Taningia danae) for the first time. This deep-water animal is the size of a human and uses high-powered flashes of bioluminescent light to stun it's victims and to communicate with others of it's kinds (many squids communicate using complex patterns and flashes of light).

Hot squid-on-squid action: the Dana squid caught on video as it busts a move to grab a meal of a smaller squid.

I've a fair amount of open ocean swimming and I've always felt particularly vulnerable to a squid attack. You call bullshit, but there are reliable first-person accounts of big squids attacking and eating people during WWII (sailors in life rafts in the Indian Ocean and off Newfoundland). Researchers have postulated that the Giant and Colossal Squids are attracted to the color orange -- something that crosses my mind every time I'm floating around the ocean in a survival suit or dry suit. I have had large unidentified animals brush against me while I was paddling about in the drink. Most recently, I had my wits scared out of me when I was doing night rescue swimmer ops with Coast Guard rescue swimmers from AIRSTA Sitka. It was a cold December evening almost four years ago. I had just jumped out of a HH-60J Jayhawk and then hooked up with the two rescue swimmers waiting for me. I took some shots and then they were hoisted into the helo and I was left bobbing about (waiting for them to again deploy out of the Jayhawk). I was treading water and enjoying the spectacle of man and machine when something big brushed against my backside. It left me with the impression that whatever it was, it was as big or bigger than a car. I slightly freaked-out and turned around to see if anything was visible. As I turned around towards the hovering helicopter, whatever it was slowly slid up next to me and brushed my side -- it took several seconds for it to pass by me. I took a deep breath and grabbed my survival knife -- an unnecessary act as it didn't touch me again. Needless to say, I was happy to see a 41' rescue boat heading my way and I felt better once the crew hauled me aboard.


The delightfully creepy Canadian Kraken stamp. Kraken is a Scandinavian word for the Giant/Colossal Squid and gargantuan super octopus (yet to be captured or seen in the wild).


The washed-up remains of the 1896 St. Augustine mega-octopus. Some folks noodle that the animal maybe as large as a Colossal Squid.

Without any doubt there is much more weirdness to come as humanity extends the exploration of the deep ocean.

Calamari anyone?

When people ask me about my bout with cancer I often say that I was a lucky fellow to have good surgeons who got the tumors before they moved further through my body and that I had excellent nurses who helped me recover and learn to understand my post-cancer self. I also add that it is nothing less than wonderful that women can now talk openly about cervical, uterine and ovarian cancer but dudes keep dying from testicular cancer (what I had) as you don't hear guys talking about their testicles at the dinner table.

So, yo men: check your nuts at least once a month and if you find a lump go to your doctor immediately. Had I not told my Admiral and doctors about my problem, I would not have made it to Madigan Military Medical Hospital near Tacoma in time as my original tumor had moved rapidly into my abdominal lymph nodes.

Now for the shot. I'm not going to attack people's religious beliefs but if I had a daughter I would definitely make sure she received the new HPV (Human Papillomavirus) vaccine. I'd also talk to her and educate her what HPV is and that the vaccine would protect her when she is old and mature enough to have an intimate relationship. I feel if it is dealt with honestly and openly, getting the HPV vaccine isn't about to make 6th grade girls turn into nymphomaniacs. This isn't about morality and religion -- it is about protecting the girls and young women in our lives. In my mind, anything that protects people from the cellular evil that is cancer is a good thing.

I'll say it again: you girls get the shot and men, check your junk regularly and stand by for further info from the experts as the vaccine may work for males too.

And one more thing, all you parents on the HPV vaccine sideline need to get over the embarrassment and past the religious mumbo-jumbo and protect your daughters (how you would feel if your daughter was raped and wound-up with a preventable HPV infection addition to the assault?).

Sometimes I shut up.

I run dark, switch to passive intelligence collection mode, in time ask discrete questions from the right people, connect the unrelated (to the vast majority of my sisters and brothers) dots and wait and ruminate until I'm able to offer something (possibly) constructive (opposed to blowing words and hot air out my ass).

It would be unnecessarily predictable for me to again rail against crazy stubborn President Bush's ramped-up combat deployment to Baghdad and Sunni Triangle (please, please, please Mr. P, don't use the military for paramilitary/LE work) and the his mismanagement of our participation in the increasingly violent Afghan de-evolution but I've got to give him and his crew the nod for what might be/could be positive movement in the nuclear standoff with North Korea (DPRK). The deal is propped-up and all wobbly but I'd love to see a peaceful shut down the DPRK's only (acknowledged) nuclear reactor. However, (and you knew this was coming), I've got a gut feeling the two-stage-reactor-shutdown-for-heavy-fuel-oil-deal brokered through the Six Party Talks is destined to fail (though we must at least honestly try).

That the People's Republic of China was able to (seemingly)exert the required coercion/persuasion upon the DPRK shows the PRC flexing it's muscles (and to be seen and treated as an geopolitical/military/economic equal of Japan, the Russian Federation and, particularly, the United States) and sending a nicely-delivered up-yours to the current American administration -- who everyone on this planet within ear/eyeshot of a crank-powered radio or bootleg satellite TV setup perceives as being less-than-credible.

Nearly all the pundits and talking heads missed the real nature of the problem (though I suspect many recently retired generals, now consultants, are sitting on their hands, fidgeting and biting their tongues as to not break the secrecy agreements they signed upon retirement):

- The DPRK has produced enough plutonium (and U-235, see below) to fuel eight to twenty atomic weapons. As I have written before, I don't dismiss the small yield (approximately 400 tons of TNT equivalent) of the DPRK's test blast as a technical failure or design shortcoming. Think of it: if you know you are going to purposely raise a global shitstorm going nuke, the first weapon should be designed to reach the maximum weapon design & technological validation goals while expending the smallest amount of precious Pu-239 possible (and keep people guessing -- a great weapon in itself). The weapon design is most likely one using proven concepts (i.e. old Soviet and PRC designs with old US, UK and French tech and a large helping of Pakistani know-how courtesy of A.Q. Khan).
- There is one known reactor at Yongbong. After months of reading and surveilling the entire country (via Google Earth Plus) I conclude there is a high likelihood of another (or more) small secret underground plutonium producing reactor (s).d
- The DPRK has a secret uranium-235 (the best uranium isotope for atomic weapon fuel) production/enrichment capability. North Korea's geography affords perfect land-forms (steep mountains made of dense metamorphic rock) ) for covert underground bunkers, research facilities, weapon production lines, ballistic missile, large mortar, artillery and unguided rocket firing positions. Co-location of the reactors to power the gaseous diffusion and/or centrifuge cascades makes sense.
- If the two stages of the Yongbong reactor shut down goes down as agreed upon, the DPRK must then account and declare how much weapons grade plutonium and uranium it has and how many weapons were produced. I can't see any way that the DPRK can be forced to accurately account for the materials and weapons. Since some of the nukes will have been made by the secret reactors/weapons production facilities, those completely off-the-book-weapons could be sold to non-nuclear nation states or sub-national/terrorist organizations -- each live nuke being worth several hundred million dollars each (we wouldn't be able to isotopically ID where a atomic weapon's fuel came from as we would not have testing access to any of the Pu or U produced in the secret reactors -- untraceable weapons are highly desired by terrorist and sub-national groups and would be commensurately much more expensive)
- Low-yield atomic weapons, depending on the nature and sophistication of the design, are generally small enough for inconspicuous delivery methods such as in a car or tuck while others could be fabricated at the desired ground zero and some in a backpack, briefcase or baby stroller.

Why would the DPRK try to get away with keeping extra-extra-secret nukes after getting all the goodies for dismantling their secret atomic arsenal? Because they are wily, self-reliant and ruthless enough to squeeze everything they can out of the situation and to take every chance to make us look like fools. Take the time and get to know and understand the North Korean state religion: Juche

I've more thinking to do.

p.s. No matter what happens in this dance of deals with the DPRK, we need to pursue bilateral talks with the North Koreans if not only to finally end the state of war that has existed since 1950.

What I'm reading: Scientific American, February 2007

Given the current chaos is Iraq, of course elements of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran are aiding Shiite insurgent groups in their fight against us and the Sunni minority. Think of things from the Iranian perspective: you have the sole military superpower fighting wars on both the eastern and western borders (remember Afghanistan?) -- of course you are going to do whatever can be done to gather intelligence and to kill Americans via proxy forces.

The Iranians have given Hezbollah explosively forged projectile technology and that knowhow has found it's way into Iraq. We use EFP in the Sensor Fuzed Weapon -- which is a simply devastating weapon. Through the rebel groups, the Iranians are testing our tactics and strategies as we have had special forces teams in Iran for at least a couple years (to draw-up target lists if we strike Iranian WMD and military installations (Israel may be doing the same as well). I don't mean to sound flippant, but this is the way the game is played. It is the nature of opposing forces to test each other in all manner of ways.

Do I think that open military conflict with Iran is inevitable?

No.

The current administration has no credibility at home and abroad. The debacle that is our war in Iraq has left us vulnerable politically and militarily. We have given the Iranians the greatest opportunity to learn our way of land warfare as well as our electronic order of battle. We are right to target any Iranian provocateurs working with our enemies in Iraq and Afghanistan (for both capture or killing). We must gather irrefutable evidence of Iranian participation and complicity and then share the data with the world. We must reign ourselves in from openly attacking Iran as that will only embolden radical religious and military leaders and drive the generally pro-western population into the wide-open arms of the hard-liners. Special military and psychological operations in Iran will and should continue and we must swallow our false pride and deal politically and diplomatically with the Iran (if not only to say that we tried).

We need to focus on withdrawing from Iraq in the least-worst way (there are no good options anymore). We need to repair and re-equip our land forces and to induct more folks into the military (see my previous post on bringing back the draft). We need to send more warriors to Afghanistan and finish the work there (it is going to take at least another 5 years). While we do all that, I am sure that Israel will destroy Iran's nuclear weapons establishment if the Iranians decide to continue towards producing atomic weapons.

It would be sweet if everyone could just get along. Sadly, that isn't the planet we live on; but that doesn't mean we should stop trying to make the world a better place.

I'm honored I that get a regular flow e-mail from around the globe -- from senior military commanders, dirty boots grunts, regular folk and defense & political leaders. I feel that everyone has a right to tell me I'm full of shit as much as I have the right to write what I want.

It's odd that I get feedback calling me both a nationalistic chest-thumper as well as a commie-loving sell-out. It simply shows how I have the great gift to piss-off all of the people at least some of the time.

I respect China, it's long history and positive contributions to humanity. My belief that the People's Republic of China should be politically engaged and that military-to-military ties must be strengthened is pragmatic. China is building a blue-water navy though it doesn't mean that they have the know-how and capability to stand toe to toe with our armada. That China is rapidly replacing old aircraft with new combat jets and precision guided weapons doesn't mean that they can best our air force and naval/marine air fleets. That China is building new ballistic missiles, nuclear weapons, directed energy weapons and unconventional warfare forces doesn't mean that they can beat us in a fight.

The truth is obvious: China is an economic and political powerhouse. It's growing rapidly military is quickly gaining the ability to operate as an information-driven combined-arms force bent on becoming a regional hegemon and global power player. China is becoming a great power and there is little we can do to prevent it.

Why?

Well, it is because our president and most political leaders have no spine -- and they have been co-opted by their business bed partners into being hooked by the ever increasing flow of money that comes from doing business with the PRC. Our words and actions mean little to the PRC leaders due to our huge trade deficits and inconsistant/wishy-washy responses to their actions and technological advancements. Our leaders have basically sold us out and while Bush postures and talks tough, his idiotic, half-assed and non consistent actions/reactions enables the PRC to play us as chumps. While we grow increasingly isolated and self-absorbed, China is conducting an aggressive world-wide program of establishing new economic/technological/natural resource trading partners, military client states and alliances.

Though my true nature is that of a pacifist I am a realist as well and I intimately understand that conflict is the hallmark of our species at this point in our evolution. I can't emphasize enough my disappointment in our idiot manchild of a president is that he and his peeps have given war a bad name. He has show the world that we have our shorts around our ankles and has only emphasized our military and political vulnerabilities. I'm not one who advocates picking a fight with China but they need to know that our desire to mutually coexist with China is as every bit as real as our ability to stand up and fight them should things start circling the bowel.

We have to be fair and consistent in our political dealings with the PRC (and to treat them as the great power they have become). We have to stand by our East Asian allies and friends. It is imperative that we be ready to back up our words and deeds with lightning-fast and overwhelming military force should the need present itself. It is mandatory that we reduce the current trade imbalance and to mitigate the influence of the PRC having nearly a trillion US dollars in it's banks. If we don't do all this and more the Chinese will become more adventurous, demanding and threatening (i.e. invading Taiwan and sinking US aircraft carriers, attacking our information and electrical power generation/distribution systems and banking/stock markets, paying Japan back for it's 20th Century aggression and brutal treatment and making a grab for Southeastern Siberia, etc.).

I do see the Chinese as stiff and provocative competition and possibly our most wily enemy if we do not change our modus operandi. It is vital that we show the PRC that we mean business and that we will back up words with force should they press the point -- in doing so we will only increase the mutual respect we have for each other as equals. That is right, I said equals. This is not going to be easy and we must be ready to make concessions at times while standing hard for our true beliefs and values. There need not be a WW IV (remember, I consider the Cold World War as WW III). We need to begin to correctly begin to end our major military participation (in such a way to say yes we fucked up but we have learned from it and we are not afraid to stand tall and, if need be, fight against any enemy in the festering shitpot we created in Iraq) and embark on the rebuilding of our Marines, Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard. Concurrently, we have to tell and show the world what we truly believe in and what we will go to war for (other than for oil and to show our Mommy we are big boys now).

Our relationship (good and bad) with China is perhaps the most important long-term economic, political and military competition we must have to deal with. As a country, we need to get out shit together and look at our interaction with China with a longterm view. If not, all that is rotten now shall become unimaginably nasty and catrastophic...

I'm rightly proud of my service in the Coast Guard and I'm quite defensive when I see my service getting screwed.

The Coast Guard has always been the redheaded stepchild of the US armed forces and the service does the best it can with whatever it has to do it with. Since most of the cutters, boats, helicopters and fixed wing aircraft are simply worn-out (my cutter, the USCGC Storis is finally being decommissioned next month after 65 years of service), the Coast Guard has embarked on a long term project of replacing and/or upgrading the gear it operates under the Deepwater project.

While Deepwater seems to be a good thing (and some aspects of it is -- like C-130J procurement, the HH-65C and MH-60T upgrades) the new boats and cutters seem to be rife with problems. New patrol boats and the National Security Cutter are full of cracks and fractures and will be unable to operate in the murderous conditions the Coast Guard often operates in. Deepwater looks greats in political and Homeland Security powerpoint presentations though I think the Coast Guard is getting the fid (look it up).

What the USCG needs to do is to put the brakes on Deepwater, then reevaluate it's current cutters, boats and planes and then re-embark on Deepwater II. Considering the service is so over-tasked (homeland security, search and rescue, military deployments, environmental protection, fisheries patrols, anti-drug and immigrant efforts, aids to navigation and icebreaking to name just a few)needs to not settle for evolutionary upgrades but should aim at employing revolutionary and highly automated technologies (especially since there are more New York City cops than Coasties).

In addition to the armed helicopters, small and patrol boats and UAVs, the Coast Guard should capitalize on the Navy's Sea Fighter X-Craft SWATH ship, WIG (Wing in ground-effect craft)and submarines.

Yes, submarines.

A small force of 14 or so (that would, at any given time, allow three or four subs on each coast conducting 45 day patrols, with two or three homeported in Alaskan waters and two in the Gulf of Mexico with the remainder in training or refit) submarines would give the Coast Guard a stealthy and nearly undetectable and highly persistent capability (one we need given how vulnerable we are to attack from nuke-armed ballistic missiles launched from cargo and fishing vessels and detonated at high altitude-- causing wide-ranging EMP destruction of communication, command and control networks along with civilian TV, radio, telephone and financial networks.)

Conventionally powered USCG subs with Air Independent Propulsion capabilities (which uses liquid oxygen to replace a detectable air snorkle) are ultra quiet and able to slowly and silently cruise for weeks at a time. Armament and systems should include an advanced 30 mm chainguns, off the shelf torpedoes, Harpoon antiship missiles, Hellfire short range laser and millimeter-wave guided short range surface to surface missiles, rapidly-deployable RHIB (rigid hull inflatable small boats for boarding and SAR use), covert swimmer deployment hatches, a minimal air defense capabilities using existing small surface to air missiles like Stingers or Starstreaks, specialized digital imaging, targeting sensors, imaging sonars, passive intelligence-gathering systems, small unmanned underwater autonomous sensor and tracking drones and satcom systems to push the data around. There is no need to re-invent the wheel as Germany makes the perfect subs for USCG use (we need to acquire more allied weapon systems to promote interoperability and to simply treat our friends better): the type 212/214 boats (er, submersible cutters). Think about it -- Coast Guard subs could easily shadow fishing boats, illegal pollution dumping, smugglers and the like and would be able to avoid rotten weather by going underneath it.

Most people take the Coast Guard for granted -- yet the organization has served our country well for the last 217 years. If the service is to be able to rise to the tasks being given it, the government needs to wake up, rethink Deepwater and then act correctly for the sake of our Coast Guardsmen/women and our country. The Coast Guard knows where to find me.

Semper Paratus!

An artist's conception of CVN-78 underway.

The new CVN-78 USS Gerald Ford (CVN-21 class) nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is at the beginning of it's fabrication. It is an evolutionary (not revolutionary) upgrade of existing Nimitz-class nuclear-powered carriers. Considering that not that much steel has been cut, it is now the time to scrap the program.

While I am a staunch supporter of naval airpower, the construction of the CVN-21 class is a waste of tens of billions of dollars that will produce a carrier that is every bit as vulnerable to ballistic missile, supersonic cruise missile and subsurface attack as current US carriers.

A schematic illustrating CVN-21 systems.

So what should be done?

There should be a rapid effort to retrofit existing carriers with some of the technology produced for CVN-21 (electromagnetic catapults, upgraded self defense systems, new landing arrestors, radars and communication systems and landing and approach system). The Nimitz-class carriers would be upgraded during the current planned maintenace availabilities.

Right now we need to devote more time and money to research and develop a new class of carrier that would ensure American naval supremacy for the next 50 years. The radical revolutionary carrier (RRCVN) as I call it should be smaller, faster, stealthier and considerably more lethal than existing carriers. The RRCVN's reactors should be several orders of magnitude more powerful in order to equip the ship with directed-energy weapons and hypervelocity railguns for offensive and defensive use (both above and below the waterline) and to propel the vessel at speeds approaching 60 knots while on the surface. The RCCVN would have to be able to defend itself without the benefit of a costly battlegroup and to be able to defend itself against massed salvo attacks of antiship missiles (both cruise and ballistic. Lessons learned from the "Arsenal Ship" project would be incorporated (namely arming the RRCVN with several hundred land and ship attack missiles preferably hypersonic stealth cruise missiles for attacking time-critical high value targets.

On the surface you ask? Yes, while on the surface as my idea of an RRCVN is a ship around 800 feet in length and displacing 25,000 to 50,000 tons that can operate as a submarine. Our carriers are becoming increasingly vulnerable as our adversaries (both current and potential) acquire highly accurate cruise and ballistic missiles with terminal homing abilities and rocket-powered supercavitating torpedos that travel at several hundred miles per hour (perhaps in time even at supersonic speeds). It is no secret that both The People's Republic of China and Iran are both cooking up ways to sink an American carrier as such an act would have huge propaganda value (greater than the military value). To continue to steam 1100 foot-long 40 knot carriers in places like the Persian Gulf and the Straight of Taiwan is simply asking for trouble.

A smaller submersible carrier would carry maybe 20 to 30 aircraft versus the 80-90 aboard current carriers. That versions of the F-35 Lightning IIis capable of short take off and vertical landing (STOVL) makes it's employment easier if it was to be on a submersible carrier with a ski-jump ramp. New STOVL "son of A-12" bombers, early warning/antisubmarine and aerial tanker aircraft would need to be produced (currently the new airframe to conduct those missions is to be conventionally launched and recovered). The RRCVN would not need to be able to go that deep underwater (say a couple hundred feet max) and it would work as a semi-submersible on on the surface when operating in lower threat environments. While underwater it would need to be able to make at least 20 to 30 knots and it's surface speed would be about double (to rapidly deploy itself across vast distances). I suspect an RRC would be about as expensive as a current carrier but it's increased survivability would offset the cost. That current and upcoming combat aircraft are becoming increasingly capable would make the RRC as powerful than current carriers (if not more so). With increased automation, the RRCVN might get by with a crew of 1000 versus 5,000 to 6,000 on today's carriers. The RRCVN could also launch and support UAVs and small unmanned and manned submarines for special operations.

If we are to protect ourselves and to be able to project power anywhere it is needed, we need to start thinking differently. That means that all of our naval ships should eventually be submersible in one way or another (and future aircraft should be able to operate underwater as well). For the foreseeable future, the oceans will remain opaque to our enemies and we should focus our efforts to take advantage of that (and do whatever it takes to ensure our foes don't figure a way to make the sea transparent to sensors and weapons). We need to free ourselves from conventional thinking if we are to survive as a nation.

The time is now to shake things up and that mean, among other things, that we should cancel the CVN-21 program and embark on the production of an RRCVN.

The Navy knows where to find me.

Since my last post, the PRC confirmed it did down one an old PRC satellite with a kinetic kill vehicle (KKV) launched by a medium range ballistic missile (MRBM). I would imagine that they will probably conduct another two or three such tests before they can feel confident that they would be able to count on a kill should they ever want to use the nascent ASAT system in anger. I am no means dismissive when it comes to Chinese technical achievements as hitting a satellite with a KKV is in many ways more difficult than producing an atomic weapon.

When I referred to American ground-based directed energy systems in my last post I am talking about HELSTF in New Mexico as well as other Black programs (also in NM) that I have been told about (though I have been unable to confirm).

In my military mind, I believe that our best near-term ASAT capability lies with the YAL-1A Airborne Laser. I've been covering the YAL-1A for years and while the program has had some delays and setbacks, it is an amazing technological achievement. The YAl-1A is to shoot down ballistic missiles during their boost phase of flight as well as attacking ground targets (radars, optics and surface to air missile launchers and the missiles themselves) from a distance possibly exceeding 200 miles. The YAL-1A will be able to use it's gargantuan optics and communication systems to conduct surveillance, reconnaissance and battle command and management missions as well.

The one thing that those in the program have not wanted to discuss is the YAL-1As inherent ability to down satellites. Think about it, if the plane can destroy missiles from a couple hundred miles away through a turbulent atmosphere, it should not be a problem to engage and kill overhead satellites -- and the reduced atmosphere at high altitude along with predictable satellite flight paths make it easier than shooting boost phase missiles. Since the YAL-1A is carried by a long range 747 that is able to aerially refuel, the anti satellite mission could be conducted in remote airspace locations that a foe would be unable to monitor (say over Antarctica or from the South Pacific or South Indian Ocean).

Pretty cool, eh?

Once again I will say that we need not freak-out over China's growing military prowess or it's increasingly bellicose chest thumping. We must keep an eye on them and constantly engage them peacefully and build greater military to military ties with them. While we do that, we must also ensure our own national security and to increase our abilities to prevent their acquisition of our technological and military technology all the while protecting and hardening our C3ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) systems.

Your reporter with the YAL-1A at the Boeing Wichita plant.