U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report, 9 March to 6 April 2022

U.S. Navy Office of Naval I... by lawofsea

On Midrats 10 April 2022 - Episode 621: Russian Military SITREP with Dr. Dmitry Gorenburg

Please join us at 5pm EDT on 10 April 2022 for Midrats Episode 621: Russian Military SITREP with Dr. Dmitry Gorenburg

For over 11-years, once a year or so our guest has joined us on Midrats to discuss the latest military and national security developments with Russia.

With the war waging in Ukraine and in the processing to transitioning to a new phase, there couldn’t be a better time to hear from Dr. Dmitry Gorenburg who will be with us for the full hour in a wide ranging discussion about the buildup to war, and the important takeaways so far.

Dmitry is an expert on security issues in the former Soviet Union, Russian military reform, Russian foreign policy, and ethnic politics and identity. His recent research topics include decision-making processes in the senior Russian leadership, Russian naval strategy in the Pacific and the Black Sea, and Russian maritime defense doctrine.

He is author of "Nationalism for the Masses: Minority Ethnic Mobilization in the Russian Federation" (Cambridge University Press, 2003), and has been published in journals such as World Politics and Post-Soviet Affairs. In addition to his role at CNA, he currently serves as editor of Problems of Post-Communism and is an Associate of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University. From 2009 to 2016, he edited the journal Russian Politics and Law.

He previously served as Executive Director of the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES). He received a B.A. in international relations from Princeton University and a Ph.D. in political science from Harvard University. He blogs on issues related to the Russian military at Russian Military Reform. He is a native Russian speaker.

If you miss the show live, you can pick up this episode and others and add Midrats to your podcast list simply by going to you use Apple Podcasts here. Or on Spreaker. Or on Spotify.

Friday Films Design and Testing of SD-3 "Snooper" Drone (1959)

Silent films about the development of a Republic Aviation twin boom drone in the late 1950's.

About this aircraft.

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report, 2 to 30 March 2022

U.S. Navy Office of Naval I... by lawofsea

On Midrats 3 April 2022 - Episode 620: War, Pestilence, and Famine - the World's Logistics Falters (note special time 2-3pm EDT)

Please join us on 3 April 2022 at the special time of 2pm -3pm EDT for Midrats Episode 620: War, Pestilence, and Famine - the World's Logistics Falters

If it's April, it's time for a return visit by Ross Kennedy to Midrats!

A little under a year ago, we had Ross on to discuss the impact of COVID and related structural issues to the global supply chain. A year later, we find conditions have not just remained, but with war in Ukraine and a new COVID variant working its way through coastal China, in many ways the global trade in essential items has turned for the worst.

If you are worried about the cost and availability of fuel, food, and everyday items you've spent the last decade assuming were always going to be there at a price you're happy with, then you need to join us from 2-3pm Eastern this Sunday.

Ross is a U.S.-based logistics and supply chain expert with more than fifteen years in international transportation, procurement, and analysis. His unique blend of operations, sales, and strategic planning allows him to provide creative, agile solutions for his public- and private-sector clientele.

If you miss the show live, you can pick up this episode and others and add Midrats to your podcast list simply by going to you use Apple Podcasts here. Or on Spreaker. Or on Spotify.

Saturday Is Old Radio Day - James Stewart The Six Shooter "Sheriff Billy" (1953)

Friday Films: Essential Fuels - Oil and Gas Basics

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report, 23 February to 23 March 2022

U.S. Navy Office of Naval I... by lawofsea

Friday Film: "The Caspian Sea Monster"

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report, 16 February to 16 March 2022

U.S. Navy Office of Naval I... by lawofsea

Saturday Is Old Radio Day: CBS Radio Mystery Theater "Lost Dog" (1974)

Friday Films: "Red Dawn- Beginning of the Invasion" Clip (1984), German Blitzkrieg of Poland (1939), Russian Invasion of Poland (1939)

Warfare doesn't change all that much. Better weapons, but encirclement and creating panic in the invaded people remain goals pf the invaders.

One variation is the willingness and the ability of the invaded to fight back. To be willing to die to resist the invaders.

Don't trust the Russian government - meaning Putin. Plus ça change

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report, 9 February to 9 March 2022

U.S. Navy Office of Naval I... by lawofsea

On Midrats 13 March 2022 - Episode 619: Mid -March Midrats Melee

Please join us on 13 March 2022 at 5pm EDT (you did change your clocks -right?) for Midrats Episode 619: Mid -March Midrats Melee

With the Russo-Ukrainian War in its 3rd week, everyone is starting to see a new normal emerging in Europe, our alliances, and global posture. What are the assumptions time has left behind, what concepts are playing out well, and what surprises at sea and ashore have been a surprise?

What will the next phase look like?

This Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern EagleOne and Sal are bringing back the melee format with an eye on Ukraine.

Open topic, open phones, green range ... bearings free.

If you miss the show live, you can pick up this episode and others and add Midrats to your podcast list simply by going to you use Apple Podcasts here. Or on Spreaker. Or on Spotify.

Saturday Is Old Radio Day: Suspense "The Burning Court" (1942)

Friday Film: Radar "Conquest of the Night" (1945)

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report, 2 February to 2 March 2022

U.S. Navy Office of Naval I... by lawofsea

On Midrats 6 March 2022 - Episode 618: China's 2022 with Dean Cheng

Please join us at 5pm EST on 6 March 2022 for Midrats Episode 618: China's 2022 with Dean Cheng

While the world's eyes are focused on Russia and Ukraine - and probably will for the foreseeable future - the People's Republic of China is not standing still.

How can China use this moment to her advantage? What possible lessons can China take away from the Ukraine conflict so far, and perhaps more importantly, how should it impact how we and our allies look at China?

Returning to Midrats to discuss these and related questions this Sunday will be our guest Dean Cheng.

Dean is the Senior Research Fellow for Chinese political and security affairs at the Asia Studies Center of The Heritage Foundation. He specializes in Chinese military and foreign policy, and has written extensively on Chinese military doctrine, technological implications of its space program, and “dual use” issues associated with China’s industrial and scientific infrastructure. He is the author of “Cyber Dragon: Inside China's Information Warfare and Cyber Operations.”

Before joining The Heritage Foundation, he was a senior analyst with the Center for Naval Analyses, a federally funded research and development center, and a senior analyst with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC, now Leidos), the Fortune 500 specialist in defense and homeland security. He has testified before Congress, spoken at the (American) National Defense University, US Air Force Academy, and the National Space Symposium, and been published in the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post.

If you miss the show live, you can pick up this episode and others and add Midrats to your podcast list simply by going to you use Apple Podcasts here. Or on Spreaker. Or on Spotify.

Saturday is Old Radio Day: Gunsmoke "Never Pester Chester" (1952)

Cold War Film: "Soviet Sea Power Today" (1970)

Friday Film: Flight Training "Disorientation Crashes" (1940's)

Dear Vlad: Nice goat rope you've got going

Well, I'm sure your closest friend - if you had one - wouldn't be telling you about the absolute goat rope you've got going - but since I am not your friend, let me say a couple of things about the mess you've made.

Oh, a "goat rope" is commonly used in the U.S. military to describe a disaster in the making - usually a self-made disaster. Like the one you've got going right now.

I mean you probably were thinking that your "topnotch" Russian army would roll up Ukraine in a hour or so, because you felt in yuor bones that the Ukranians were tired of what freedom they had and would love to get back into the embrace of Mother Russia. That was a bad premise on which to try a snappy invasion.

You probably also thought that the Russian army was a powerful tool. News flash, that was another bad premise. It's a blunt instrument at best, and the world is watching it try to bludgeon its way to victory. Any hope of a clean sweep of the adjoining country - like say the alllied forces did in Kuwait/Iraq back in Guf War I - was screwed from the start. Boy Scout troops have had more impressive beginnings to long hikes, even when little Jimmy Smith forgot to bring a canteen and decided his Sunday going to church shoes were better than hiking shoes.

So now what, have you got enough stuff to turn your invasion into a multi-week smashing of a country the size of Texas? You think threatening the rest of the world with "severe sanctions" will stop the flow of equipment to the Ukranians? You've already played the nuclear weapon card - and pushed more countries into looking to join NATO. Frankly, you look a little desperate there, Vlad.

Of course, given the FUBAR logistics that you've got going, maybe that's a way of buying time to regroup. Of course, when this thing becomes even more of a "crime against humanity" and your slaughter of people whose country you invaded - and don't hand me that guff about giving "plenty of warning" - do you honestly think the rest of the world will sit on their hands? We already see folks wanting to take a whack at you ridiculously long road march convoys. One A-10 or Tornado could stop that gaggle in a heart beat.

By the way, how's troop morale? Anxious are they to spend years trying to subdue a restive population? Share your vision of "putting the empire back together," do they?

Have to be curious about the message you are sending to your erstwhile "ally" the PRC - are they seeing the great Russian army like the rest of us? I wonder if someone sitting in a command cell in Beijing isn't thinking about how quickly they could liberate some of those territories in the eastern part of Russia that used to be Chinese and which are full of oil, gas, and other riches. I'm pretty sure they're not quaking in their boots in dread of the Russian army driving its way eastward to stop them, should they choose to move that way.

So now what? Going to bring in your mercenaries to assassinate the Ukrainian leadership? You must have missed that Star Wars episode about making someone more powerful by striking him down. Legends and martyrs, Vlad, very powerful stuff.

What next? Going after Elon Musk because his little satellites are working to defeat Russian information dominance? Sad, Vlad, sad.

Oh, and thanks for uniting Europe against you. Several America presidents have been warning them not to get too comfortable about Russia, but it was you who finally got their attention. Nice job.

Not having crystal ball I don't know what will happent next. But I have pretty good idea that at some point you are going to have to pay the piper. If you win against Ukraine, you might as well rename yourself "Pyrrhus."

Now, like some Ukrainian warriors, let me sign off with this: GFY!

On Midrats 27 February 2022 - Episode 617: Russo-Ukrainian War Black Sea SITREP

Listen here

From the Sea of Azov to the Danube Delta, the maritime component of the Russian invasion of Ukraine's is bringing to the front universal constants; treaties, neutral shipping, amphibious operations, blockades, choke points, sea lines of communication, and an expanded environment where conflict can expand in unexpected ways.

While much of the focus has been ashore, significant developments - and lessons - can be found in the developments in the Black Sea. That will be the focus on today's Midrats with a panel discussion with Claude Berube, Chris Cavas, and Sal Mercogliano.

Dr Claude Berube has taught at the US Naval Academy since 2005 and has worked for two US Senators. He is a Commander in the Navy Reserve. His latest book is “On Wide Seas: The US Navy in the Jacksonian Era” and his third novel, “The Philippine Pact” will be released this fall.

Chris Cavas is a long-time naval journalist who has reported on navies and maritime issues in the United States and around the world. He’s also the co-host of the weekly CavasShips podcast focusing on naval matters.

Dr. Sal Mercogliano is a Maritime Historian at Campbell University. A former merchant mariner and Host of the What's Going On With Shipping YouTube Channel.

If you missed the show live, you can pick up this episode and others and add Midrats to your podcast list simply by going to you use Apple Podcasts here. Or on Spreaker. Or on Spotify.

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report, 26 January to 23 February 2022

U.S. Navy Office of Naval I... by lawofsea

Attacks of ships in the Black Sea as part of the Russian invasion of the rest of Ukraine (remember they already grabbed Crimea) reflected here:

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought turmoil to commodities markets as the conflict ensnares merchant shipping.

At least three merchant ships have been reportedly hit since Russian forces began the attack on its neighbor this week. Insurers are either not offering to cover vessels sailing into the Black Sea, or they’re demanding huge premiums to do so.

A discussion of the situation in the Black Sea form Midrats on 27 Feb 27 (I was flying home from a family visit and was unable to join the conversation):

Saturday Is Old Radio Day: "The Merry Murder Case" Philo Vance (1948)

Friday Film: Royal Navy WWII Catapult Ships (1940)

Ukraine and CDR Salamander's Comments

Better that you read this than any of my meanderings Second Russo-Ukraine War D+0 Quicklook

Remember, the Russians hold the Presidency of the UN Security Council. The UN is a joke. OSCE is a joke. The EU is little more than a nest of rent-seeking, clock-watching grift-fest. NATO is, well, dysfunctional but better than nothing. Nations must take ownership of their own security. Yes, Taiwan and Japan I am talking to you. Study history. Be ready.

***

Is everyone clear what Russia is now? She has a small GDP and apocalyptic demographics, but she is taking what she has and is invading her neighbors, killing people, and taking land. If your nation, company, or neighbor is buying anything from them – they are paying for this military adventurism. If the press wants to do its job, start pulling that string.

The U.S. needs to restart its energy independence efforts and reverse the course of what the current administration has done so that we can offer Europe energy security and cut the flow of energy dollors and Euros to the thugs in Moscowland.

As Mao said, "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun." Putin is seeking political power, not only over Ukraine, but over Western Europe. His approach is not subtle diplomacy.

Cooperative Technology - PROTEUS

"U.S. forges maritime technology collaborations to improve domain awareness" from Indo-Pacific Defense Forum

To safeguard maritime borders, the United States military is promoting cooperative technology efforts to provide near-real time global maritime situational awareness to combat everything from illegal fishing and human trafficking to sovereignty threats.

Recent successes include the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s (NRL’s) new program, called Proteus, to identify, query and filter maritime vessels based on user-defined criteria and the Defense Innovation Unit’s (DIU’s) international competition, known as xView3, to create machine learning models to locate and distinguish maritime vessels with synthetic aperture radar.

The U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard, in particular, are also pushing for broader collaborations among allies and partners to apply advanced military technologies, including surveillance satellites, high-resolution radar and data-sharing software, to maritime security challenges, experts said.

Advanced maritime capabilities are in high demand as security threats such as illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing continue to worsen worldwide and contribute to broader stability issues.

The People’s Republic of China is “obviously high on the list … when talking about state-sponsored IUU and the way that they use it as both a tool for … economic purposes, but also increasingly for the purposes of influencing bilateral relationships,” Whitley Saumweber, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Stephenson Ocean Security Project, said in December 2021, according to National Defense magazine.

More about Proteus here:

“PROTEUS is an exciting new U.S. government Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) system providing a powerful array of MDA information and analysis tools,” said Cameron Naron, Director of Maritime Security, US Maritime Administration. “This system enables MDA stakeholders to collaboratively discover and investigate suspicious and illegal maritime activity throughout the world in ways never before possible.”

Additional actions supported by PROTEUS include:

 

• Counter Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing (IUUF)

 

• Maritime Protected Areas (MPAs)

 

• Search and Rescue (SAR)

 

• Critical Infrastructure Protection

 

• Environmental Protection & Response

 

• Maritime Law Enforcement

 

• Counter smuggling (drugs, weapons, money, people)

USNI West 2022 -Sea Service Chiefs Town Hall 18 Feb 2022

The meat of this Town Hall begins about 47:52

Saturday Is Old Radio Day: "Pirates of San Francisco Bay" - Michael Shayne

Friday Film: "Skills for the Sea" (1970)

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report, 12 January to 9 February 2022

U.S. Navy Office of Naval I... by lawofsea

On Midrats 13 February 2022 at 1130am EST- Episode 616: First Casualty: The Untold Story of the CIA Mission to Avenge 9/11 with Toby Harnden

Note the special time - please join us at 1130AM (EST)on 13 Feb 2022 for MidratsEpisode 616: First Casualty: The Untold Story of the CIA Mission to Avenge 9/11 with Toby Harnden

As described on Amazon, "Eight CIA officers are dropped into the mountains of northern Afghanistan on October 17, 2001. They are Team Alpha, an eclectic band of linguists, tribal experts, and elite warriors: the first Americans to operate inside Taliban territory. Their covert mission is to track down Al- Qaeda and stop the terrorists from infiltrating the United States again."

Most may be familiar with one member of that team, Mike Spann. This Sunday we will spend the hour talking about that Team, the first few months of the Afghanistan conflict, and what the war and its future looked like early on as described in the recent book, First Casualty: The Untold Story of the CIA Mission to Avenge 9/11.

The author Toby Harnden will be with us for the full hour to discuss the book and the story it tells.

Toby is an author, journalist, and a winner of the Orwell Prize for Books. A former foreign correspondent for the Sunday Times of London and the Daily Telegraph who reported from thirty-three countries, he specializes in terrorism and war. Born in Portsmouth, England, Harnden was imprisoned in Zimbabwe, prosecuted in Britain for protecting confidential sources, and vindicated by a $23 million public inquiry in Ireland. A dual British and US citizen, he spent a decade as a Royal Navy officer before becoming a journalist. He holds a First Class degree in modern history from Oxford and is the author of Bandit Country: The IRA & South Armagh and Dead Men Risen: An Epic Story of War and Heroism in Afghanistan. Previously based in London, Belfast, Jerusalem, Baghdad, and Washington, DC, he lives in Virginia.

If you miss the show live, you can pick up this episode and others and add Midrats to your podcast list simply by going to you use Apple Podcasts here. Or on Spreaker. Or on Spotify.

Saturday Is Old Radio Day: "Conan the Barbarian"

Friday Film: "Bomb Squad USN" Navy EOD Teams

On Punitive Expeditions

As some of you might have gathered over the years, I am a fan of the punitive expedition. More particularly, the form of punitive expedition as so well defined by Kevin Benson, Col (ret) in his short 2019 essay Bringing Back the Punitive Expedition

A punitive expedition results in a measured, relatively swift, focused response. It can be of some duration but only long enough to achieve the policy ends of punishing the group that threatened US interests or caused US casualties. There is no regime change, no re-ordering of the existing power structure in a region. A punitive expedition demonstrates the will and ability of the US government to act with violence. Especially when striking into ungoverned areas there is no Phase V (enable civil authority) as there is no civil authority to reestablish. The purpose of the punitive expedition is to act with violence and return to home station. The linkage to policy is straightforward. In ungoverned or poorly governed spaces, a punitive expedition is measured, focused, and not open-ended. A punitive expedition acts with diplomatic and informational efforts, each reinforcing the other. Indeed strategists and planners must bear in mind the political object irrespective of the development of use of force options. Again we return to Clausewitz: “The political object—the original motive for the war—will thus determine both the military objective to be reached and the amount of effort it requires.”

I commend the rest of his essay to your reading.

We have a lot of units in our military that would be excellent at carrying out such missions. The problem is keeping our focus in applying what can be an effective deterrent to actions that would harm our country.

Cartoon shows General John J. Pershing stamping out a nest of rattlesnakes (labeled "Villista," "Bandit," and "Cutthroat"). In 1916, President Wilson sent a Punitive Expedition commanded by Pershing into Mexico to capture the rebel and bandit leader Francisco "Pancho" Villa, who had been raiding American towns. Villa and his band eluded the American force. Contributor Names Pease, Lute, 1869-1963, artist

Saturday Is Old Radio Day - Exploring Tomorrow: "First Men on the Moon" (1958)

Exploring Tomorrow: First Men on the Moon from The Radio Ghost on Vimeo.

On Midrats 6 February 2022 - Episode 615: Gaming Out WWIII with Michael Cee

Please join us at 5pm EST on 6 February 2022 for Midrats Episode 615: Gaming Out WWIII with Michael Cee:

Decades of peace and relative stability in Europe is suddenly shattered as armies start to mobilize on a scale not seen since WWII.

No, not 2022...but 1987.

What is there to learn for today from what could have happened at the end of the Cold War?

In addition to the above teaser questions, this Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern with our guest Michael Cee we will dive into the research, tools, wargaming, and art of creating alternative historical fiction about what may have happened with the wrong people in the wrong positions of power at the wrong time in the late 1980s.

Michael is the creator and author of World War III 1987, a blog that takes a detailed look at a hypothetical Third World War set in 1987, as well as several topics related to the NATO-Warsaw Pact military balance in the later years of the Cold War. He is also the author of a second blog, Today’s Defense and International Relations Topics that’s centered on contemporary geopolitical and defense issues and news. He is a 44-year-old former Air Force officer who has also spent time in government service and as a senior member of a research institute. He has earned an MSFS from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, as well as an MPA and PhD in Politics from Princeton University. Over the summer of 2019, Michael signed a two-book deal with a New York City publishing house. At present he is making final edits on his first novel, which is also based on a hypothetical global conflict set in 1987.

If you miss the show live, you can pick up this episode and others and add Midrats to your podcast list simply by going to you use Apple Podcasts here. Or on Spreaker. Or on Spotify.

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report, 5 January to 2 February 2022

U.S. Navy Office of Naval I... by lawofsea

Friday Film: "A Time to Speak, A Time to Listen" (1970's)

Weekend Old Radio Show: Bottom of the World “ CBS Mystery Theater

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report, 12 December 2021 - 19 January 2022

U.S. Navy Office of Naval I... by lawofsea

The Real Top Gun - Professionals Teaching Professionals

Hey, lots of those guys look familiar . . .and one especially so.

Piracy, Sea Robbery, and Threats to Shipping in 2021

As always, the International Chamber of Commerce's Commercial Crime Service International Maritime Bureau Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) does a great job of carrying out its mission:

PRC acts as a single point of contact for shipmasters anywhere in the world whose vessels have been attacked or robbed by pirates. All information received is immediately relayed to the local law enforcement agencies requesting assistance. Information is also immediately broadcast to all vessels in the Ocean region, providing vital intelligence and increasing awareness.

We share information with the IMO, governmental, inter-governmental and law enforcement agencies including industry bodies to understand the nature of piracy and reduce its effects on crew, vessel and cargo.

Not the least of these functions is its Live Piracy Map service including an annual look at where such event took place, the images that follow are screen captures of the 2021 map:

All oceans:

Africa and Gulf of Guinea

North Arabian Sea/Indian Ocean

Southeast Asia/Singapore Strait

Americas

2020 World

Not like the heyday of the piracy off Somalia, but it's a steady problem for shipping.

From 2011 - off Somalia

Saturday Is Old Radio Day - Orson Welles in The Shadow "The Hospital Murders" (1938)

On Midrats 23 January 2022 - Episode 614: Big Navy vs. Reconnaissance & Strike-Capable Drones

Please join us at 5pm EST, 23 January 2022 for Midrats Episode 614: Big Navy vs. Reconnaissance & Strike-Capable Drones

We live in an era where in the blink of an eye we've gone from flip-phones to smartphones with the capabilities of both supercomputers a generation ago and entire movie studios in your back pocket. In that same time frame, what happened to the promised integration and operational utilization of aircraft carrier based drones - or Unmanned Aircraft Systems, or whatever we are calling them this week?

This Sunday we are going to dive deep in to the topic and problem with our guests Trevor Phillips-Levine, Noah Spataro, and Andrew Tenbusch.

We will use as the starting point for our conversation their recent article in War on the Rocks, "Winged Luddites: Aviators are the Biggest Threat to Carrier Aviation."

If you miss the show live, you can pick up this episode and others and add Midrats to your podcast list simply by going to you use Apple Podcasts here. Or on Spreaker. Or on Spotify.

Oh, that lower photo? Why that's the Drone Anti-Submarine Helicopter (DASH). A drone that was first operated by the fleet in 1963 and used for a myriad of purposes until it left the U.S. fleet in 1970. See here. Just in case it might be discussed during the show.

Friday Film: "The Navy Frogmen" (1957)

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report, 15 December 2021 - 12 January 2022

U.S. Navy Office of Naval I... by lawofsea

On Midrats 16 January 2022 - Episode 613: The Afghanistan Papers, with Craig Whitlock

Please join us at 5pm EST on 16 January 2022 for Midrats Episode 613: The Afghanistan Papers, with Craig Whitlock

Five presidents from both political parties oversaw the two decade debacle in Afghanistan that ended in the national humiliation at the end of August 2021 at the airport in Kabul where we retreated under fire following a negotiated surrender - leaving up to a thousand Americans behind and untold thousands of Afghan nationals who fought with us to their fate as the Taliban returned to the power we took from them in 2001.

People in the executive branch, Department of Defense, Department of State, Congress, media, and the well credentialed chatterati said they were "shocked," "surprised," and otherwise unprepared for what unfolded. Should they have been, or was this the inevitable outcome warned of in official government lessons learned and historical interviews dating from the beginning of the conflict?

Our guest for the full hour this Sunday will be Craig Whitlock, and we will be using his book “The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War” (Simon & Schuster, 2021) as a starting point for our conversation.

Craig has been a staff writer for The Washington Post since 1998. He is assigned to the Investigative Desk, where he specializes in national security.

At The Post, he's covered the Pentagon beat for the National Desk from 2010 until 2016. Before that, he was a foreign correspondent and served as the Berlin bureau chief for six years. While overseas, his primary assignment was investigative reporting into terrorism networks and counterterrorism policy in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. He has reported from more than 60 countries.

If you miss the show live, you can pick up this episode and others and add Midrats to your podcast list simply by going to you use Apple Podcasts here. Or on Spreaker. Or on Spotify.

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report, 8 December 2021 - 5 January 2022

U.S. Navy Office of Naval I... by lawofsea

Saturday Is Old Radio Day - Sam Spade Detective "Sam and Psyche" (1946)

On Midrats 9 January 2022 - Episode 612: Jackson's Navy, with Claude Berube

Please join us at 5 pm EST on 9 January 2022 for Midrats Episode 612: Jackson's Navy, with Claude Berube:

We're going to kick off Midrats' 13th year with someone who has been with us from the start, best friend to the show Dr. Claude Berube!

If you care about American history in general, and US Navy history in particular, you won't want to miss a minute of this Sunday's show.

Claude will be with us for the full hour to discuss his latest and 4th non-fiction book, On Wide Seas: The US Navy in the Jacksonian Era, just released by University of Alabama Press.

Claude earned his PhD in Military History from the King's College, London and holds two master's from Northeastern and the Naval War College. In his 30-year career, he has worked as a defense contractor for Naval Sea Systems Command and the Office of Naval Research, as a staffer on Capitol Hill for two U.S. Senators and a member of Congress, and teaching at the U.S. Naval Academy in the Political Science and History Departments. A Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, he has served at the Office of Naval Intelligence, CNO's Deep Red, at Joint Task Force Guantanamo Bay, Joint Analysis Center Molesworth England, and deployed on USS Bunker Hill to the Middle East.

In addition to his four non-fiction books, he is the author of more than 60 articles, and this third novel in the Connor Stark series will be published this fall.

If you miss the show live, you can pick up this episode and others and add Midrats to your podcast list simply by going to you use Apple Podcasts here. Or on Spreaker. Or on Spotify.

Friday Films: "Basic Steam Cycle" (1955) and "Boilers and Their Operation" (1956)

Ah, nothing says "Old Navy" like the basic steam cycle and oil fired boilers.

Ship Naming

Lincoln M. Cushing who wrote a piece on World War II Kaiser ships named for labor leaders from which I quoted extensively here, pointed me to an effort to have a Navy ship named after Joe Rosenthal.

If you can't recall who exactly Mr. Rosenthal was, let me point you to his most memorable work:

You can support this effort here at part of the site of the "Fellowship of the Lens" which has as its purpose "To promote the understanding and awareness of the role of the First Amendment in American society." If you are so inclined, pay them a visit and perhaps support their efforts.

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report, 1 - 29 December 2021

U.S. Navy Office of Naval I... by lawofsea

Saturday Is Old Radio Day - Jack Benny TV Show "New Years Day" (1956)

New Year's Prayer and a Hope for a Happy New Year!

After the fireworks and the champagne, we are left to ponder what 2022 may bring. For some of us, this calls for a simple prayer:

A prayer for the New Year:

Most gracious and merciful God, you have reconciled us to yourself through Jesus Christ your son, and called us to new life in him. Grant that we, who begin this new year in his Name, may complete it to his honor and glory; who lives and reigns, now and for ever. Amen.

For those of you who do not share in this belief, may this year be as good as your best hopes!

In either case, there is always this sound advice:

Friday Film" "Star Identification" (1942)

Celestial navigation depnds on knowing which stars you are looking at through the sextant . . .

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report, 24 November - 22 December 2021

U.S. Navy Office of Naval I... by lawofsea

Saturday Is Old Radio Day (Even if it's Sunday and not a radio show): Victor Borge (1990)

Merry Christmas!

Friday Film- Help for Santa "Celestial Navigation"

Denial

I deny that this is an accurate portrait of me.

I don't have such nice boots.

Sunday Ship History: U.S. Army Vietnam Riverine Operations 1966-1969

Interesting U.S. Army discussion of river operations at When a River Runs Through It: Riverine Operations in Contemporary Conflict:

The purpose of riverine operations may be to facilitate or prevent river traffic, or the river may be ancillary to the main purpose which is on the banks, not the river itself. Missions may include: naval combat; fire support; landing assault; mine and obstacle removal; reconnaissance; line of communication security; logistics support; ground force movement; line of communication interdiction; raids; patrolling; presence; piracy suppression; smuggling and contraband suppression; suppression of human trafficking (prostitution, slavery, illegal immigration); police support; fishing support; host nation training; vessel recovery; medical support/evacuation; humanitarian aid; and liaison with naval/ground units and local civilians. Trans-axial riverine operations may be categorized by the situations above and include most of the above missions. Historically, the U.S. Army has devoted more thought to crossing rivers than controlling them until confronted with the opportunity to exploit terrain for maneuver, advantage, and supply.

***

Waterways and population centers will be factors in future war. Frequently they will be collocated and will become operational key terrain. They won’t be just the Navy’s, Army’s, Air Force’s, or Marine Corps’ problem. They will affect all services and other departments, bureaus, and agencies of government. Riverine operations will be a part of future military actions and will be an Army problem. The best way to prepare for a future problem is through study, training, and equipment design and development.

Technology will not readily resolve the difficulties of future riverine operations. A major challenge will be developing the leadership that can function effectively in a joint or combined environment and understands the language, culture, employment, capabilities, and limitations of the sister services or international forces involved in riverine actions. Success in future riverine operations begins in the school house of today.(emphasis added)

As is noted in the article, the U.S. has a long history of riverine operations dating back to the Revolutionary War. In places where virtually the only means of access to the interior of a contested land mass is via a river system, knowing that history and learning from it are vital for success of a necessary missions that cannot be accomplished by other means.

While the above- referenced article looks at such operations in the Iraq conflict, an earlier document looked at such operations during the Vietnam War, the most recent large scale such operations undertaken by the U.S. military.  That monograph is below, but can also be found at the Army History site. Other discussions of riverine  and inshore operations have been part of the Sunday Ship History series, see Operation Game Warden and Operation Market Time.

A reminder of how large rivers can carry fairly large ship is "With the Yangtze Patrol" (1938)

U.S. Army Study "River... by lawofsea

Saturday Is Old Radio Day: Sherlock Holmes "The Night Before Christmas" (1945)

Wherever Christmas Eve may find you, have a very Merry Christmas!

Friday Film: Royal Navy - "Duties of Lookouts" (1943)

Sunday Ship History: U.S. Navy Salvage Operations

The following document ties in with a previous look at the salvage operation that followed the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 Sunday Ship History: After Pearl Harbor - Down but not out. The importance of recovering ships and equipment in the early days of U.S. involvement in WWII is noted there:

On October 25, 1944, at the seminal battle of Surigao Strait, the battleships USS Mississippi, USS Maryland, USS West Virginia, USS Tennessee, USS California and USS Pennsylvania "crossed the T" of a Japanese fleet in the last great surface ship engagement.

Of the six battleships of the U.S. Navy involved in the action, five had been either sunk or damaged during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Salvage operations deserve a much longer look, and happily, the U.S. Navy's History and Heritage Command published a such a treatment in 2009, Mud, Muscle, and Miracles: Marine Salvage in the United States Navy by Captain Charles A. Bartholomew, USN and Commander William I. Milwee, Jr., USN (Ret.).

U.S. Navy Salvage History a... by lawofsea

You can also find this publication at the Internet Archive here.

Saturday Is Old Radio Day - "The Virginia Beach Matter" from Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar - Edmond O'Brien (1950)

On Midrats 12 December 202 - Episode 611: Making the Case for Maritime Power with ADM Jamie Foggo, USN (Ret.)

Please join us at 5pm (EST) on 12 December 2021 for Midrats Episode 611: Making the Case for Maritime Power with ADM Jamie Foggo, USN (Ret.)

Just a cursory glance at any map will tell you the United States of America is a maritime nation whose economic power and national security is intimately linked to the sea.

This simple reality is not as well understood as one would expect. Command of the sea and access to the world’s oceans has never been easy or an entitlement for any nation. It is something that each generation must understand, resource, and be a steward of for the next.

With domestic distractions and competing priorities combined with the accelerating challenge by the People’s Republic of China, bringing the topic of maritime power above the natsec ambient noise has never been more important.

This fall a new voice joined the conversation, the Navy League of the United States’ Center for Maritime Strategy.

Our guest for the full hour to discuss the message it will bring to the conversation will be its inaugural Dean, Admiral Jamie Foggo, USN (Ret.).

Admiral Foggo is a 1981 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. He is also an Olmsted Scholar and Moreau Scholar, earning a Master of Public Administration at Harvard University and a Diplome d’Etudes Approfondies in defense and strategic studies from the University of Strasbourg, France.

If you miss the show live, you can pick up this episode and others and add Midrats to your podcast list simply by going to you use Apple Podcasts here. Or on Spreaker. Or on Spotify.

Friday Film: "Floating Fortress" (1952) USS New Jersey Off Korea