Navy
Sexual Assault Awareness Month…Revisited
Last week I wrote about the Navy’s plan for a stand-down to “communicate the service’s policy of zero tolerance for sexual assault while encouraging sailors to work harder to prevent attacks.” I had indicated a bit of skepticism about the leadership’s buy-in of the program…
The day after my blog was published I was invited …
“They'll go dead about the time that we wake up.”
Military Services’ `Wish Lists’ Get the Heave Ho
For years, the military services had an unnerving tendency to declare to their funders on Capitol Hill just what their old mean defense secretary wouldn’t let them have. It has always struck Battleland as a little too close to kids crying over what Santa failed to bring them. We noted three years ago that then-defense secretary Robert …
Navy Looking Skyward to Tame Pirates
Pirates are funny when they’re portrayed by a rum-soaked Johnny Depp. In real life, however, they pose a serious problem, with around 160 ships and 4,000 sailors affected by pirates in the last decade. Last year, three American tourists were killed by Somali pirates after an unsuccessful raid by Navy SEALS.
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F-18 Accident Aftermath: Vacancies
Collateral Damage: F-18 Crash Could Hurt Base’s Future
The crash of a Navy F-18D Hornet into an apartment complex in Virginia Beach, Virginia, could seal the fate of the Oceana Naval Air Station there. The Navy has been trying for more than a decade to build a practice jet airfield in North Carolina or Virginia to practice simulated carrier landings with Oceana-based aircraft. But local …
Apparently, the F-35 Isn’t Everyone’s Cup of Airpower
…including Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J., who terms the tri-service, $400 billion fighter program “the biggest example of corporate welfare in history” (although, as a member of the House’s education and natural-resources committees, he’s not going to be able to do much about it…but he does have a doctorate in physics from NYU, …
Another F-35 First
Desert Aircraft Carrier
The Nanny Navy (cont.)
We wrote the other day about the new Navy effort to get sailors and Marines to imbibe alcohol more responsibly with a new effort that will subject them to Breathalyzer tests as a normal part of showing up for work. We quoted some sailors who were not pleased with the change.
Wait ‘til you hear from the Marines.
This is not a blow
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“There is no known design issue that cannot be overcome by effective engineering.”
Alcohol In The Ranks
There are reports that alcohol illicitly consumed by Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales in Afghanistan a week ago may have been the final link in a chain of stressors that caused him to “snap” and slaughter 16 …