My
understanding is that the Army conducts this type of no-notice mobilization on
occasion although I don’t know the frequency, scope, or results.
The
Navy used to conduct a few no-notice exercises for the pre-positioning
ships. I don’t know if they still do or
not.
Wouldn’t
it be incredibly informative to order a squadron of destroyers to sail on a
moment’s notice and conduct a live
fire missile exercise? What do
you think the result would be?
We
need to start behaving as if we’re just a moment away from war and start
realistically preparing for it.
Some
of you will roll your eyes and say that’s overdoing it. Aside from the fact that that’s exactly what
the Navy is supposed to do, life at sea is always just a moment away from
combat and disaster. I’ll bet the Cole,
McCain, Fitzgerald, Antietam, and Port Royal all wish they had treated day to
day life a little more like combat and as if their lives depended on it – because
they did and they were all unprepared.
Now
is the time to try these exercises. Now
is when we can afford to make mistakes, as long as we learn from them and
correct the errors. Now is our golden
opportunity to prepare for war so that fewer people will die while we relearn
war when it actually comes – and it always does.
Right
now, CNO Richardson – no notice - order the fleet to sea and see what happens.
Great ideal. It should happen. Not going to happen. Live fire a bunch of expensive missiles for stocks that are terrifyingly small? Risk exposing the systemic flaws of the MBA school of cutting crew levels? I mean really the navy can not reliably get in and out of port how many accidents do think would occur? Like said its a fine I deal I suspect there are captain/commander level officers and people at the Navy war college as well who would agree... In the top part of the Pentagon looking forward to retiring to that consulting job with Industry - doubtful.
ReplyDeleteedited for grammar and re-posted
Sigh. I'd fear a re-enactment of the Battle of May Island. The USAF used to conduct these kinds of exercises. Inspection team would fly in unannounced, tell the wing commander, "You've got XX minutes to get all your bird in the air." This was for TAC and MAC, not SAC which did those kinds of exercises pretty often.
Delete" Cole, McCain, Fitzgerald, Antietam, and Port Royal"
ReplyDeleteI would add the Stark and the not US but joined the hip INS Hanit to your list. Why are the commanders of US and its friends ships afraid to have their active defenses on in times and places where they should be on.
Great idea! Even if live fire is probably pie in the sky thinking, just getting all the crew onboard with no notice, leaving port and doing a simulated firing in under 24 hours would be quite revealing....maybe that's the reason USN leaders dont do it. Just imagine PR disaster if USN tried this on 5 Burkes and not 1 of them could manage the whole 24 hours?
ReplyDeleteSeveral years ago, a group (all?) of the Avenger MCM vessels were tested (might have been through an INSURV inspection - I can't remember) and most (all?) were unable to get underway. Then, some Burkes and other ships failed INSURV and the subsequent inspections and reports were classified and, eventually, INSURV inspections were changed from a pass/fail to advisory only.
DeleteDelightful. I think I will spare myself the pain of digging that up to read first hand.
DeleteWhen the Japanese hit Pearl Harbor, the destroyer USS Aylwin with less than half her crew aboard and only four officers (none more senior than an ensign) managed to get underway in a matter of minutes and engage the Japanese aircraft to the point of claiming three kills. That's the standard we should be training towards.
DeleteThe sad thing is that was likely because the crew were on leave. The navy has lately decided under crewed ships should be the norm.
Delete"Just imagine PR disaster if USN tried this on 5 Burkes and not 1 of them could manage the whole 24 hours?"
ReplyDeleteIt would be great because than Congress would have act and not just listen to drivel.
+10. A wake-up call is desperately needed. I fear the USN is a bit like the Habsburg military sleep-walking to disaster in the years leading up to 1914.
DeleteI know talking to some folks I know at the 142nd Fighter Wing (Portland, OR) their very mission is sitting alert all day, every day, waiting to scramble at a moment's notice to intercept everything from airliners having emergencies, to enemy cruise missiles attacking from the sea, to even more 'exotic' aerial targets.
ReplyDeleteI recall last year, around this time actually, reading that at Army posts across the United States, 1,000’s of reserve soldiers practiced rapid setup of mobilization centers (that could move military forces overseas).
But yeah – don’t recall hearing any Navy activities in this regard. Not that they are not happening but I’ve never heard of any.
If it’s any consolation (and it shouldn’t be) there is concern in China that their military brass is getting lazy (are they ALWAYS following the US!?)!
“The newspaper also lashed out in an opinion piece at personnel who were neglecting combat readiness, urging them to train harder.
‘Some officers and soldiers … think they can enjoy all of their service years in peace, and some units have forgotten their mission to fight. They have neglected their responsibility to prepare for war, resulting in incompetence,’ the commentary said.”
Source: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/2181248/ready-aim-chinas-military-tipped-ramp-combat-drills-after-18000
On a semi-related note....Do any of your sources reflect what happened when that false alarm in Hawaii last year, set off about 40 minutes of panic after a state emergency response employee mistakenly sent out a text alert warning of an incoming ballistic missile attack? Were our forces gearing up to respond?
"Were our forces gearing up to respond?"
DeleteTo the best of my knowledge, no military reaction occurred. To be fair, I think it was recognized very quickly that it was a mistake so no action was needed or requested.
@Anonymous
ReplyDeleteI doubt it since it was a botched alarm based on a Hawaii test if I recall correctly, not any word from the National Command. Nothing for the Pentagon to do but say hey we don't see anything.
On China I also read they have real problem with officers buying their advancement if they are connected to industry or government money. I had a link but I can find it I poke a round.
"China I also read they have real problem"
ReplyDeleteReading this blog, it's easy to get the impression that the US is in terrible readiness condition (we are!) and that everyone else is great. That's not true. I have not the slightest doubt that every other country, friend or enemy, is in varying degrees of the same poor state of readiness that we are. In fact, it's quite possible that we are not as bad as many others. Germany, for example, is widely reported to be very, very bad - far worse than the US. Russia is known to have many ships and subs that cannot sail. France failed badly during the combined Syria strike not too long ago. And so on.
My point is to keep a level perspective when reading this blog. I focus on problems so that the military can discuss, acknowledge, and fix them but recognize that we are not alone.
I would gladly discuss Chinese (or anyone else) readiness problems but reliable information is hard to come by.
Carry on!
The PLAN do seem to agree with your exercise idea though. If the reporting is accurate, it seems like they just finished wrapping up a long one (34 day) with an FFG, DDG, LPD, and a replenishment ship and inter-service participation.
Deletehttps://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/2187013/china-puts-wartime-command-system-test-south-china-sea-drills
I just read the Pro-publica articles on the Fitzgerald tragedy, and besides the points you have harped on--the relentless fatiguing slogs instead of short effective missions and decent training--the fact combat equipment was barely operative was shocking. I wonder how many other Burkes are out there that would be able to do anything but fire their gun or tomahawks if given an on the spot surge as you suggest.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Chinese, I think you are right that they too have readiness problems. I think that may be one reason why they are using their Coast Guard and naval militia to be bullies in disputed territories. It gives them a chance to build and train their navy separately while still intimidating South China Sea nations.
" It gives them a chance to build and train their navy separately while still intimidating South China Sea nations."
DeleteIt also gives them political cover. "We aren't using military intimidation. We're just using our coast guard."
Some kind of Navy-wide suprise War Warning surge order ought to be at least a quarterly exercise! Insurv ought to be returned to the much-feared evolution that made and broke careers. With a surge and/or empowered Insurv, there will be painful deficiencies found but thats whats needed!! Combat efficiency and training have to be more than a duty section fire drill every night.
ReplyDeleteThe Navy should really take a page out of the Air Force playbook when it comes to Red Flag. For participating units, Red Flag isn't just the two weeks of combat excercises at Nellis, it's also the deployment planning and the logistics of moving combat squadrons and their personnel and spares and their necessaries from base to the combat zone. Red Flag is practice, not just for fighting a war, but for getting to that war and making sure you brought enough of what you need to fight that war.
ReplyDeleteGood Point about Red Flag. But I would go one further: the Army's Exercise Reforger. Deploying to Germany (including with allies) to where the battle would actually happen.
DeleteImagine the CNO ordering a full exercise in the sea of japan and inviting not only the Japanese fleet but Australia, Malaysia, and the Philippines also sending ships. It would not only have the benefits ComNavOps posted but also encourage the other nations China is stealing sea territory from.
Not to mention Team Spirit in South Korea where mobilization units in the Philippines deployed to Korea, or live-fire exercises in Thailand as part of Cobra Gold.
Delete