U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report, 8 June to 6 July 2022

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

On Midrats 17 July 2022 - Episode 628: Mid Summer Melee

Please join us at 5pm (EDT) on 17 July 2022 for Midrats Episode 628: Mid Summer Melee:

From Snake Island to the San Diego waterfront, from DC to the Baltic Sea - if there's a maritime issue worth considering, we'll try to pack it in for the hour this Sunday.

As with the normal Melee format, we have open topic, open chat, and open phones - so if there is an issue you'd like covered, now's your time.

If you do 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 - "The Thing from the Sea" (1941)Dark Fantasy

Friday Film: "Red Chinese Battle Plan" (1967)

On Midrats 10 July 2022 - Episode 627: America's Maritime Disinterest, with Jimmy Drennan

Please join us at 5pm EDT 10 July 2022 for Midrats Episode 627: America's Maritime Disinterest, with Jimmy Drennan

Few navalists can look around them and feel content that their peers, government, and the American people understand - or for that matter seem to care - that our nation's wealth, health, and security is all based on the fact that we are a maritime and aerospace republic. Without excellence, mastery, and control of these two areas in the face of the challenge from China, all else is in danger.

Inside and outside government, what needs to be done to create the conditions so we can provide for those generations who follow us the place and the world previous generations earned for us?

Making a return to visit, our guest for the full hour to discuss this broad ranging topic will be Lieutenant Commander Jimmy Drennan, U.S. Navy, former president of the Center for International Maritime Security.

If you do 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: "Talos Missile Handling"

I suggest to you that an underway replenishment with a Talos ship was a huge pain in the posterior.

UPDATE: Good discussion of underway replenishment of these things at USS Oklahoma City website, from which I "borrowed" the adjacent photo

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report, 1 to 29 June 2022

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

Breaking foreign flagged ships seized by pro-Russian forces in Ukrainian port reported here

Russian-backed separatists have seized two foreign-flagged ships in the eastern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, saying they are now "state property", in the first such moves against commercial shipping, letters seen by Reuters showed.

***

The self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, via its foreign ministry, informed two shipping companies that their vessels were the subject of "forcible appropriation of movable property with forced conversion into state property”, without any compensation to the owners, according to two separate letters.

"Signing of the Declaration" from You Are There

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report, 25 May to 22 June 2022

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

On Midrats 26 June 2022 - Episode 626: Turning the Tables on China with Brent Sadler

Please join us at 5pm EDT on 26 June 2022 for Midrats Episode 626: Turning the Tables on China with Brent Sadler

While everyone is distracted by the Russo-Ukrainian War, the People’s Republic of China continues to work to solidify her ability to control the South China Sea and to bring more nations in to her orbit.

Though not a cold war, it is a struggle for presence, influence, and setting the conditions for advantage should conflict come.

The United States and her Navy are not required to be in a passive posture, allowing China to shape the environment without pushback.

This episode of Midrats will focus on American options and actions we can take to blunt Chinese influence and to prevent her from setting up the Western Pacific to her advantage relative to the United States and her friends and allies.

Our guest for the full hour to discuss this and more will be Brent Sadler, a senior fellow for maritime security and advanced naval technology at The Heritage Foundation.

If you do 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- TV version "Victory at Sea - The Battle for Leyte Gulf"

The discovery of the resting place of the USS Samuel B. Robert (DE-413) prompts a special look at the series of fights that constitute the Battle for Leyte Gulf. Background here.

Friday Film: "Midway and Wake" (1948)

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report, 18 May to 15 June 2022

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

On Fathers Day

Saturday Is Old Radio Day - "You Can't Take It with You" (1939) Lux Radio Theater

"How to Cure Inflation" - Milton Friedman (1980)

Friday Film on Saturday- Making Gasoline

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report, 11 May to 8 June 2022

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

Saturday Is Old Radio Day - Suspense "Murder Aboard the Alphabet" (1947)

Friday Film: Submarine History "No Deck to Strut Upon" (1971)

Midrats Episode 625: Combined Amphibious Operations in the Pacific

Please join us for Midrats Episode 625: Combined Amphibious Operations in the Indo-Pacific. We  recorded the show due to our guest's schedule.

Along the spectrum from peacetime exercises to wartime combined operations, successfully integrating multinational forces is not a pick-up game. To do it right requires leaders and institutions years of practice, trust, and demonstrated ability.

This is true of all military operations, but especially true when moving forces ashore during amphibious operations.

In our constellation of allies, partners and friends along the shores of the Indo-Pacific theater, since 2015 the United States Marine Forces Pacific has led the multi-national Pacific Amphibious Leaders Symposium.

We dive into not just the symposium itself to the broader topic of combined amphibious operations in the Indo-Pacific with our guest, Major Evan “Zach” Ota, USMC from the International Affairs Branch, U. S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific.

You can listen to the show on Spreaker or Spotify or Apple Podcasts or your favorite source.

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report, 4 May to 1 June 2022

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

Battle of Midway Begins - 80 Years Ago - One of the Greatest Sea Battles

Yes, the sound quality is a little rough, but the images in this version are the clearest I have seen.

Update - less clear, but smoother:

Saturday Is Old Radio Day - D-Day June 6, 1944 - Initial Reports

Friday Film: "Communication Instructions for Reporting Enemy Sightings" (1944)

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report, 27 April to 25 May 2022

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

Friday Film - Memorial Weekend Edition: "The Fighting Sullivans" (1944)

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report, 20 April to 18 May 2022

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

On Midrats 22 May 2022 - Episode 624: Larter, Returning ... You Never Get the Sea out of Your Blood

Please join us at 5pm EDT on 22 May 2022 for Midrats Episode 624: Larter, Returning ... You Never Get the Sea out of Your Blood

If you've missed having David Larter on the Navy beat, well you're in for a treat.

Though everyone's favorite former OS2 is no longer a defense journalist, like most Sailors, he doesn't leave his love of the sea or affection for his Navy behind.

Returning to Midrats, but this time with a little California sunshine kissing his cheeks, David will be with us for the full hour and we will cover the board from Ukraine, fleet size, how we treat our Sailors, global food security, China, and the things navalists should be thinking about, but aren't.

Don't miss it!

If you do 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 - Dragnet " "Eric Kelby - Body Buried In Nursery" (1949)

Friday Films: Fighting Shipboard Fires - Old School (WWII and 1960) and New School - Navy and Civilian

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report, 13 April to 11 May 2022

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

On Midrats 15 May 2022 - Episode 623: the USN's Port Arthur Problem - with Matthew Hipple

Please join us at 5pm on 15 May 2022 for Midrats Episode 623: the USN's Port Arthur Problem - with Matthew Hipple

What do the numbers tell us about the USN's expected fleet during the rest of what we call the Terrible 20s?

We are going to spend an hour digging in to that with returning guest Matthew Hipple, active duty Surface Warfare Officer & former president of the Center for International Maritime Security.

As a starting point for our conversation we will reference his May 9th article over at CIMSEC, "20 Years of Naval Trends Guarantee a FY23 Shipbuilding Plan Failure."

"The FY23 Shipbuilding Plan proposes a 10-year drop in fleet numbers that deviates in spirit from every shipbuilding plan since 2012. During this dangerous decade, the FY23 Shipbuilding Plan returns the fleet to a size that precipitated the period of panic that inspired Congress to enshrine the 355-ship goal into law (Figure 2). The FY23 Long Range Shipbuilding Plan will miss the defunct, minimum goal of 300 ships by another decade, and is less likely to meet the Navy’s legal and operational 355-ship requirement."

Don't miss it!

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: "Skills of the Sea - Use of Simulation for Training (1970)"

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report, 6 April to 4 May 2022

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

Saturday Is Old Radio Day: Suspense "Out of Control" (1946)

Friday Film (on Saturday): U.S. Navy "Living and Working Spaces" (1958)

Posted this video before, but in light of the recent events of the carrier crew being taken off their ship in the yards, this seems appropriate. On every ship, large or small, there are a number of people who should regularly looking at the berthing, sanitary facilities, and working compartments which make up the "home" for any sailor on board. Corpsmen, leading Petty Officers, Division Chief Petty Officers, Division Officers, Department Heads, the XO, and the CO should all be making visits to the these spaces, with the most junior being there daily and the most senior inspecting as schedules permit. It is by this system of routine inspections that every sailor should be provided a clean, well-maintained living and working space. When this system breaks down, living conditions can quickly become appallingly bad.

Upon finding that condition are unsatisfactory, the reasons for those conditions need to be taken up the chain of command promptly. "Take care of your people" is a mantra driven into leaderhip from the first days of service. Sometimes it is too easy to forget this concept when things get hectic, but the systematic inspection and discussion with your sailors ought to drive the effort to keep up the high standards required for a clean and healthy ship.

There is no doubt that extended yard periods eat in every aspect of morale and readiness and every effort must be made to use these periods for getting sailors off the ship - to ahsore training, to temporary duty on other ships for OJT, to moving the crew off the ship. This is not a new problem, reading the history of the mannning of ships 200 years ago (or longer) reveals the very same problems. Perhaps it's time to change how we do things.

Always see Ref A.

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Reports, 16 March to 27 April 2022

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

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

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

Friday Films*- "Replenishment at Sea" (1965) and "Refueling at Sea"

Logistics. logistics, logistics:

If it was easy, anyone could do it. Doing the hard things safely as possible? The U.S. Navy way.

*Friday is loose concept on this site.

Saturday Is Old Radio Day - CBS Radio Mystery Theater "The Bullet" (1974)

On Midrats 24 April 2022 - Episode 622: China’s Assassin’s Mace in WESTPAC w/Gerry Doyle & Blake Herzinger

Please join us at 5pm EDT on 24 April 2022 for Midrats Episode 622: China’s Assassin’s Mace in WESTPAC w/Gerry Doyle & Blake Herzinger

Since the March 1996 humiliation in the waters around Taiwan handed to the People’s Republic of China by the US Navy’s world-dominating Carrier Battle Groups – as they were then known – China and her armed forces started a long-term, disciplined effort to ensure that a point in the not so distant future, their part of The Pacific west of Wake would no longer be considered and American lake.

With a little over a quarter century passed, has China successfully closed the gap?

Come join us for the full hour this Sunday for a deep dive in to the subject with our guests Gerry Doyle and Blake Herzinger as we discuss their recent book, Carrier Killer: China's Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles and Theater of Operations in the early 21st Century (Asia@War).

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: WWII Navy Primary Flight Training "Before You Fly" (1945)

Happy Easter!

Saturday Is Old Radio Day - "Our Miss Brooks" Easter (1950)

Friday Film- ""The Rise of the Soviet Navy" (1969)

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)