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
Sometimes it Sucks to be a Swabbie
Umm, how would you like the be the guy who's got to secure the lines on these decks?
CUTLINE:ATLANTIC OCEAN (Nov. 6, 2007) - Rough seas pound the hull of Military Sealift Command fast combat support ship USNS Arctic (T-AOE 8) as she sails alongside Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) while preparing for a replenishment at sea. Truman is a part of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 10 and is en route to the Central Command area of responsibility as part of the ongoing rotation to support maritime security operations in the region. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Joshua A. Moore
(Gouge: NC)
-- Christian
Jet Noise Can Make You Rich!
Market Watch is reporting the following: "The Justice Department and the U.S. Navy have reached a settlement agreement with approximately 3,400 property owners in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, Va., regarding litigation relating to jet noise at a naval air base. Under the terms of the agreement, the participating plaintiffs agree to dismiss their claims and acknowledge that the settlement does not constitute an admission of liability by the United States.
"'We are pleased that the federal government and residents near the Naval Air Station Oceana and Naval Auxiliary Landing Field, Fentress have been able to reach an amicable resolution in this matter and avoid further litigation,' said Matthew J. McKeown, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. 'This resolution signals an end to six years of litigation and provides positive results for the citizens as well as the government.'
"The class-action lawsuit stems from the relocation of 156 Navy F/A-18 C/D Hornet fighter jets from Cecil Field, Fla., to Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Va., between December 1998 and July 1999. Plaintiffs own approximately 2,100 properties and alleged in a group of nine lawsuits filed between April 2001 and June 2005 that the introduction of the Hornets resulted in a substantial increase in overflights and jet noise. Under the settlement, the federal government will pay the plaintiffs an amount not to exceed $34.4 million."
As one who flew out of NAS Oceana for more than 15 years (and who also owned property under the landing pattern) all I can say is "are you kidding me?" The base has been in place since 1943. This is nothing but an elaborate drug deal, the result of home builders in collusion with the Virginia Beach city council wantonly ignoring the existence of a "master jet base" in their midst. This is the same sort of activity that landed NAS Oceana back on the BRAC list for the next go 'round -- a wreckless disregard for existing jet traffic (and known future requirements) in the face of money-making opportunities.
In the meantime pilot training has been affected by "noise abatement" rules that grow more restrictive with each rewrite until fighter pilots might as well be driving Boeing 777s. And now the tax payer takes it on the chin on the order of $34 million because of underhanded civic dealings and stupid homebuyers?
The "Fighter Mafia" boys at the Center for Defense Information say the Raptor is a pig. According to the DID article "F-16 program analyst Pierre Sprey and author James Stevenson argued that the F-22's fuel:weight ratio, wing loading, and acceleration are inferior to existing fighters. They contend that numbers, acceleration, fast changes in energy state, and a 360 degree cockpit view count for more in [dogfights]."
But Raptor driver Lt. Col. Wade Tolliver basically says concerns regarding maneuverability are moot when one considers the capabilities of a Fifth Generation fighter like the F-22: "It's amazing the information you have at your fingertips." He claims that in no-holds-barred mock battles with F-15s, F-16s and the Navy's F/A-18 Hornets, he and other Raptor pilots generally "destroy" their adversaries before those foes even realize they're around.
So who's right? Are the days of "gettin' in the phone booth" over? Or will aerodynamic performance and pilot skill still matter when all the high-techery goes kaput in the heat of battle?
I was lucky enough to spend a large portion of my adult (if you can call it that) life in the rear cockpit of the F-14 Tomcat. As the DT audience knows, the Tomcat was retired once and for all last fall. Eleven former F-14 squadrons are now Super Hornet squadrons (8 F/A-18F squadrons and 3 F/A-18E squadrons).
Of all the "homemade" Tomcat retrospectives I've seen, I consider this one the best. It really captures the essence of life in a carrier-based fighter squadron: Great shipmates, hot wives, strong families, and one hell of a kick-ass airplane.
