Defense Tech: Hugo Chavez is Gonna Love This One


	Subscribe via RSS


	Archives by Date
		April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 See all Archives


	Archives by Category
		'Canes Afghan Update Ammo and Munitions Armor Around the Globe Av Week Extra Axe in Iraq (and Elsewhere) Bizarro Blimps Blog Bidness Body Armor Blues Bomb Squad Brownshoes in Action Bubbleheads, etc. Cammo Green Chem-Bio Civilian Apps Cloak and Dagger Commandos Comms Contingency Ops Cops and Robbers Cyber-warfare Data Diving Defense Tech Poll Dissent Tech Drones DT Administrivia Eat DT's Dust Extra! Extra! Eye on China Fast Movers FCS Watch FOS Files Friday Funnies Gadgets and Gear Going Green Grand 'Ol Osprey Grand Ole Osprey Ground Vehicles Guns Homeland Security In the Weeds with Eric Info War Iraq Diary Jarhead Jazz JSF Watch Just War Theories Lasers and Ray Guns Less-lethal Logistics Los Alamos and Labs Medic! Mercs Missiles Money Money Money Most Wanted Net-Centric Nukes Old Skool Our Shrinking Planet Planes, Copters, Blimps Politricks Polmar's Perspective Popular Mechanics Rapid Fire Raptor Watch Red Team Retro-Futuro Robots Roll Your Own Sabra Tech Ships and Subs Snipertech Space Special Ops Star Wars Strategery Stray Trons Tactical Development Terror Tech The Deadlies The Defense Biz The Peoples' Site The Sunday Paper The Tanker Tango The View from Av Week Those Nutty Norks Training and Sims Trimble on the Case War Update Ward'z Wonderz You can run... See all Archives


	Newsletters


Edited by Christian Lowe \| Contact

Hugo Chavez is Gonna Love This One

Think we're going to hear a speech about this from our boy in Venezuela? Can you smell the sulfer here?

From Military.com:

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead announced today the re-establishment of the U.S. Fourth Fleet and assigned Rear Adm. Joseph D. Kernan, currently serving as commander, Naval Special Warfare Command, as its new commander. Fourth Fleet will be responsible for U.S. Navy ships, aircraft and submarines operating in the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

U.S. Fourth Fleet will be dual-hatted with the existing commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command (NAVSO), currently located in Mayport, Fla. U.S. Fourth Fleet has been re-established to address the increased role of maritime forces in the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) area of operations, and to demonstrate U.S. commitment to regional partners.

"Re-establishing the Fourth Fleet recognizes the immense importance of maritime security in the southern part of the Western Hemisphere, and signals our support and interest in the civil and military maritime services in Central and South America," said Roughead. "Our maritime strategy raises the importance of working with international partners as the basis for global maritime security. This change increases our emphasis in the region on employing naval forces to build confidence and trust among nations through collective maritime security efforts that focus on common threats and mutual interests. "

Effective July 1, the command will have operational responsibility for U.S. Navy assets assigned from east and west coast fleets to operate in the SOUTHCOM area. As a result, U.S. Fourth Fleet will not involve an increase in forces assigned in Mayport, Fla. These assets will conduct varying missions including a range of contingency operations, counter narcoterrorism, and theater security cooperation (TSC) activities. TSC includes military-to-military interaction and bilateral training opportunities as well as humanitarian assistance and in-country partnerships.

U.S. Fourth Fleet will retain responsibility as NAVSO, the Navy component command for SOUTHCOM. Its mission is to direct U.S. naval forces operating in the Caribbean, and Central and South American regions and interact with partner nation navies to shape the maritime environment.

Kernan will be the first Navy SEAL to serve as a numbered fleet commander.

And it's being honchoed by a SEAL?! Look out Citgo, we're coming to get you...

-- Christian

Comments

HooYahh Chief B!! Love the first section you wrote, many others of us are awake, aware of this and we never flunk lunch either. Thanks for the post, and F(%$ Hugo if he can't take a joke: It's only small rockets incoming to his house, right?

Bronk

Posted by: Bronk at April 30, 2008 03:16 PM

"If you rotate a division or battlegroup to Iraq, do you really want to change over every uniform..."

Uh, yes. When I was in the Marine Corps we'd be issued desert gear, and then we'd switch out whenever we entered Middle Eastern areas, 7th Fleet I believe. It's not that hard.

Posted by: mattrmsf at April 30, 2008 06:24 AM

I really shouldn't try to write in the afternoon... especially before a bit of mental lubrication (D1R on the MRC).

GTFU vice STFU.

Cheers,
Chief B.

Oh, and since I didn't write it yesterday: I think you're doing a fine job, Christian. Message received re Chavez. He's a chowderhead who'll likely have an "accident" before too long. Concentrating that much power in so few hands in South America has had a tendency to concentrate envy and greed among upwardly mobile lieutenants. Being a pompous dickhead generates a few spiteful enemies, too.

If I were Chavez I'd have the willies over flying, driving around in cars, eating, drinking, appearing in public, being around people I don't know, being around people I do know, sleeping in the same place twice, and many other things that provide opportunities to get shot, stabbed, poisoned, blown straight to hell.

Given that Venezuela is pretty much a lit fuze of indeterminite length, I think it's a prudent move to stand up 4th Fleet. Which, contrary to the machinations of some minds here, is more an administrative move than anything else. Adm. Kernan and his staff will be able to keep a closer watch on Hugo and the other knuckleheads.

If the Middle East oil fields are nearing peak production, the South American reserves will become very important to a great many people. China's and India's ravenous and growing appetites for POL top that list. Does anyone believe that its not in our vital interest to ensure that South American oil flows freely and safely to the U.S. market?

Cheers again,
Chief B.

Posted by: Old Crusty Chief at April 27, 2008 06:57 AM

Re: STFU

Come out of the paint locker, son. You'll need a few of those neurons to unbutton your pants and pick your nose.

------------

A short lesson in manners:

A long time ago, when most of you weren't even in commission yet, a old shipmate (Tom) was stationed on a minesweeper out of Zeebrugge dragging the wire for NATO. He and a buddy were just about to begin an inspection tour of e-club when they met four Australians who'd obviously just finished their own close inspection of the establishment.

"Hey, you're Americans, right?", says one of the fellas from Oz.

"Well...., yeah."

"Oh, great! I've always wanted to fight a Yank!"

Tom was always been more the lover than fighter (and drinker better than both). "Now hold on just a minute, boys. There's four of you and only two of us...."

The Australian lit up with a huge smile and pointed to the biggest one of the bunch and proudly declared "No worries, mate! Mick here is gonna fight on your side!"

Long story short, Tom's blarney got the Aussies back into the club for a few more pints and the donnybrook was put off for another day.

The moral of this bit of genuine Naval History is that one can show a bit of respect and civility even in a fistfight. Telling someone to "shut the fuck up" is rather a bit far from respectful and civil.

And Mick might decide that he'd just rather not fight on your side.

Stow the STFU crap or shove off.

Cheers,
Chief B.

Posted by: Old Crusty Chief at April 26, 2008 05:33 PM

Well, is he as much of a pirate as Jonas Ingram, who led the Fourth Fleet from from '43 to '44?

Posted by: M. Thompson at April 25, 2008 09:28 PM

You guys don't understand sarcasm do you?

Keep up the good work Christian.

DC2

Posted by: DC2 Jennings at April 25, 2008 03:42 PM

Pathetic article - just shows who pays the bills here - time to delete this websites link as biased propaganada that it is.

wonder is sorcha faal works here now

Posted by: Harlequin at April 25, 2008 02:03 PM

I stand corrected. To sglover, glass houses, chief.

When your mom picks you up from the playground, maybe we can talk about maturity.

Posted by: Brad at April 25, 2008 11:08 AM

Fleets are numbered based on the geographic location. As an example the Sixth Fleet is the Med. Ships rotate in and out of these fleets based on their deployments with only flag staff usually staying (unless their is a flag ship such as the LaSalle in the 6th Fleet). I can guarantee you nothing is comparable between how the Army and Navy organizes their military power.

To me this really isn't a change in how we do things down south. SOUTHCOM was in Rossy Roads Puerto Rico until we closed it down. The Navy has conducted UNITAS and drug ops missions in this area for decades.

The one big issue Christian brought up and no one the posts looked at is the fact that the flag officer in charge is a SEAL. That means more black ops down there above and beyond what we currently do.

DC2

Posted by: DC2 Jennings at April 25, 2008 09:57 AM

Does this have anything to do with the massive oil discovery in Brazil? Someday soon, 4th Fleet will become more important to U.S. interests than 5th Fleet is today.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/11/08/brazil.oil.ap/

Posted by: Kevin at April 25, 2008 09:42 AM

"If you rotate a division or battlegroup to Iraq, do you really want to change over every uniform..."

I think most sailors have patches indicating what ship they belong to, rather than fleet.

As for the Army, isn't the division now a fixed command, with rotations at the brigade-level?

Posted by: G at April 25, 2008 07:38 AM

What is "sulfer"?

Posted by: Mac at April 25, 2008 06:50 AM

"Christian, grow the fuck up."

This x10

Posted by: Jimbo Jones at April 25, 2008 06:33 AM

Christian, grow the fuck up.

Posted by: sglover at April 25, 2008 12:33 AM

Divisions (and presumably fleets) are numbered sequentially when they are created: the 1st Division was created 1st, the 3rd was created 3rd. And it makes more sense to do that as well. If you rotate a division or battlegroup to Iraq, do you really want to change over every uniform, restamp everyone's paperwork, change over every letterhead?

It's a good administrative practice dating back 2000 years to the Romans.

Posted by: Brad at April 25, 2008 12:29 AM

4th fleet, 12th air force, 1st army... why can't they keep it simple? like "navy command at SOUTHCOM", "army command at CENTCOM", etc...

Posted by: G at April 24, 2008 11:34 PM

While we are at it,why don't we reactivate the 194th Infantry Brigade & place it in the Honduras?
All of the units we deactivated & pulled out of Panama could have easily been placed in the Honduras.So now we are reinventing the wheel,just great.

Posted by: Roy Smith at April 24, 2008 10:34 PM

Wasnt the 4th Fleet estd to counter German U boats in WW2- see movie THE ENEMY BELOW?
Now we need the 4th Fleet to deter drugs etc from So America- My response.
Bomb the drug fields alone.
No drugs=No Income.

Posted by: stephen russell at April 24, 2008 10:08 PM

Posted by: stephen russell at April 24, 2008 10:07 PM

We have more fleets and less ships. More tail and less teeth. Nimitz would roll over in his grave.

Posted by: Rix at April 24, 2008 08:52 PM

Chavez is the laughing stock of the spanish speaking world. Everyone knows that.

Posted by: jack at April 24, 2008 07:26 PM

I remember, prior to the Spanish-American war (or maybe the Mexican War, in that fifty year time frame), Venezuela actually had a bigger navy than the US. Good times.

Posted by: Brad at April 24, 2008 06:28 PM

Hugo Chavez is Gonna Love This One

Comments

Post a comment