The future is not bright for the U.S. military. Yesterday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta gave America a glimpse of the half-trillion dollars in defense spending cuts requested by the Obama Administration and detailed how the U.S. military’s capabilities would be affected in practical terms. The result is a slashed and burned military that woefully lacks the forces it needs to meet America’s security challenges on a global scale. On the ground, in the sea, and in the air, American forces will shrink drastically — the Army will shrink by 72,000 …
The Turkish government understands what the Obama Administration does not: Acquiring the American-made F-35 fighter jet is the most effective way to claim supremacy of the skies. Yesterday, Turkey’s Defense Industry Implementation Committee announced the purchase of two Lockheed Martin F-35s. Turkey had put its F-35 order on hold in March over concerns of technology sharing and cost. However, the recent announcement suggests that Turkey is preparing itself for the increasing challenges that its neighborhood poses. It’s unfortunate that the Obama Administration has failed to register the message. In addition …
A California company has been hired to provide 450,000 gallons of advanced biofuels to the U.S. Navy – the “single largest purchase of biofuel in government history,” according to the Navy – at $15 per gallon, or about four times the market price of conventional jet fuel. The Institute for Energy Research unearthed the purchase in a recent post on its website: Last week, the Navy signed a contract with two biofuel companies to purchase 450,000 gallons of advanced biofuels at $12 million to assist in President Obama’s goal to …
The U.S. Navy has approved contracts to finish building the hulls of the second and third ships of the Zumwalt class of guided-missile destroyers being constructed at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Maine. The $1.8 billion contract will also fund systems integration of the DDG-1001 Michael Monsoor and DDG-1002. The second ship of the class is named after the late Navy SEAL Michael A. Monsoor, who received the Medal of Honor for sacrificing his life for his fellow SEAL team members in Iraq. Despite the fact that the military …
Today, upon inspecting the Philippine navy’s newest flagship, the 115-meter Gregario del Pilar, Philippine President Benigno Aquino declared that the ship “symbolises our newly acquired ability to guard, protect, and if necessary, fight for the interests of our country.” Vice Admiral Alexander Pama of the Philippine navy went further in expressing that the new flagship “symbolises the revival of the Philippine navy.” It is hard to believe then, after hearing such lofty praise, that this new flagship is actually a refurbished former U.S. Coast Guard vessel that was built in …
Forget “One if by land; two if by sea.” An Amphibious Ready Group can come at America’s enemies by land or sea—and in numbers much greater than ones and twos. These Navy–Marine task forces are deployed around the world to do everything from humanitarian assistance and refugee evacuation to combat operations. Amphibious Ready Groups are like a Swiss Army knife. A typical group carries about 2,000 ground troops and a couple of boatloads of attack and support aircraft. It’s a mean machine. In a recent interview, the commanding officer of …
In 1794, President George Washington requested and Congress authorized the building of six frigates, a type of warship widely used at the time. The presence of a standing U.S. Navy was deemed necessary in order to defend American citizens and commerce from European wars and the Barbary Coast pirates. By 1794, it had become clear that the ongoing wars between Revolutionary France and England would continue to place American ships in harm’s way. The United States needed to protect American commerce and enforce its neutrality in the European wars. But …
The decision by the U.S. Navy to rescind new guidelines that would have permitted same-sex marriages to be performed in navy chapels in certain states is a simple recognition of the law of the land. The fact that the rescission came only after pressure from Members of Congress who wrote to the Defense Department on May 6 requesting the enforcement of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is a sober reminder that the Obama Administration continues to play fast and loose with this area of public policy. A quick review …
Today, the 235th birthday of the U.S. Navy, Heritage thanks all of America’s sailors and their families, retirees, and veterans. On October 13, 1775, Congress enacted legislation providing for the outfitting of America’s first two warships. While Navy missions have evolved significantly from searching for munitions ships supplying the British, the essential role America’s maritime forces play in securing our nation and allowing prosperity to flourish is unchanged. The U.S. has the finest men and women in uniform on, above, and below the high seas safeguarding our national interests at …
Washington’s latest over-used phrase—“rethinking the defense budget”—has, for many policymakers, come to mean “what can we cut next?” On Tuesday, the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs convened to identify solutions to tame the growing defense budget. The thinly veiled premise behind the hearing was to identify what the Administration can cut and which cuts politicians can get behind while trying to appear not to compromise national security. Congress’s continual evaluation of government spending is vital; it can help identify efficiencies as well as …
