Truman Strike Group Deployment Delayed
Very interesting news on the Navy website:
The Secretary of Defense delayed the deployment of USS Harry S. Truman and USS Gettysburg Feb. 6. The deployment was originally scheduled for Friday, Feb. 8.Since no submarines were mentioned, I'm assuming the subs that were scheduled to deploy with the HST are still leaving as scheduled. Still, this is kind of a scary preview of what we might see as long as the budgetary uncertainty goes on.
The affected ships have begun formally notifying the men and women of the Harry S. Truman Strike Group (HST CSG) that they will not be deploying.
"Facing budget uncertainty -- including a Continuing Resolution and the looming potential for across-the-board sequestration cuts -- the U.S. Navy made this request to the Secretary and he approved," said Pentagon Press Secretary George Little in a released statement. "This prudent decision enables the U.S. Navy to maintain these ships to deploy on short notice in the event they are needed to respond to national security contingencies," said Pentagon Press Secretary George Little in a released statement.
In order to remain ready and capable to deploy, HST CSG will conduct underway evolutions and maintain proficiency until a future deployment date is announced.
"The United States will continue to maintain a robust military presence in the CENTCOM region, including the current carrier presence and a mix of other assets, to fulfill enduring commitments to our partners. The U.S. military continues to stand ready to respond to any contingency and to confront any threat in the region," said Little.
HST CSG consists of approximately 5,000 Sailors and Marines, including coalition Sailors. Deploying units include Commander, Carrier Strike Group (CCSG) 10; USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75); German frigate FGS Hamburg (F220); guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64), and 1st Combined Destroyer Squadron.
In the meantime, please enjoy these overhead pictures of North Korean submarines.
Update 1630 08 February: Now they're postponing the refueling overhaul for USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) indefinitely.
posted by Bubblehead at 5:21 PM
54 Comments:
Didn't Big Navy want to cut it down to one CVBG in 5th Fleet for almost a year now?
- LT L
2/06/2013 7:29 PM
This is just a game being played to influence enough idiots in Congress to vote to not cut military spending. Not real news.
2/06/2013 8:22 PM
^^^^^^^^^^
Exactly my read on it. They are gonna put holds in areas that punish the senator's back pockets in their home states. 2 can play that game.
2/06/2013 10:27 PM
Well, the idea of only having one carrier in the Centcom AOR-and telling them to stop demanding so much, is -in fact-a good one. The idea that the Navy is too lazy to work up a carrier to relieve the one on station, and to adhere to the 6 month rule; that , not so much.
The Navy is being stupid. It could make some vertical cuts that would help it to meet its spending targets. A good deal of which could be simply undoing the expansion of staffs that occurred under Uncle Vern.
Ask your self this: Why does CNIC exist? And why does it have 8 SES's when there were none 10 years ago?
That's the best example I can point to of cuts that need to be made.
2/07/2013 12:13 AM
What?!?! Cut down on flag level staff?!!?!? Reduce the number of senior positions??!? That's crazy talk.
2/07/2013 6:56 AM
speaking of FLAG.. any news on this years crop of one-stars?
2/07/2013 7:29 AM
Agree totally with the "posturing" going on here. Yes 10% cut is a goodsized number but the bloated size of Defense could absorb with little to no impact to the warfighter, if that was the objective. Look at the post cold war cuts of the early Clinton years. DOD got through that as did the economy.
2/07/2013 10:43 AM
Completely off-topic question: what are the white poles on top of the turtleback http://www.navy.mil/view_image.asp?id=143591 ? Radar reflectors?
2/07/2013 8:31 PM
Actually they are not radar reflectors but laser reflectors. They are part of a precision distance measuring system for use with the escort vessels.
2/07/2013 10:00 PM
That's a nice GU-11 escort along side, is that the one with the laser?
hagar
2/07/2013 10:59 PM
Here's a rumor heard about the sequester. If the sequester goes into effect the navy will need to park two CSG's to meet the cuts that will come its way. Any truth to that?
2/08/2013 9:09 AM
Here is what Sequestration/CR means to the Navy: http://www.cdrsalamander.blogspot.com/2013/01/operationalizing-sequestration.html
In a nutshell, $8.9B must be cut from OMN in Q3 and Q4. Read the CNO letter and then take a close look at the slide. No maintenance, park everything, cancel deployments...
2/08/2013 9:41 AM
Stupid question, but does it really cost that much more to send a carrier to sea in the gulf, than to send a carrier to sea doing local ops?
Underway was underway on my boat. The destination, as far as a nuclear reactor was concerned, wasn't really a concern.
2/08/2013 9:57 AM
It used to be - if you were out for more that (I think) 45 days, you got pussy pay. If you don't go for more than 45 days, no pussy pay.
At sea, they expect to pay for 3 meals a day for each person. (married or not) In port - not so much.
2/08/2013 10:44 AM
Dardar...you forgot "Mid-Rats" , or is that a forbidden topic?
2/08/2013 2:42 PM
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2/08/2013 6:03 PM
Where did that recent Navy Times piece go talking about the mad vacuum cleaner nearly destroying the submarine USS Miami and the rest of the Navy ships and subs smashing into each other to the tune of $1 to 2 billion dollars within the last year?
2/08/2013 6:04 PM
Elections have consequences.
Bubblehead’s guy won and here we are. What did he expect?
Smart people sure can be stupid and then we all get punished.
2/08/2013 9:41 PM
Add to the mix that the USS Lincoln's Refueling Overhaul is now delayed until the budget issues get resolved. This will roll in the future as the next CVN-REOH is delayed that much longer.
2/08/2013 10:33 PM
I don't know why anyone is pinning this on Obama. Boehner got 98% of what he wanted in the debt limit deal in 2011. Now he doesn't want to pass anything to avert it that the other two houses can make into law.
It's not Obama that insists on an austerity only approach, or refuses to find a balanced approach. If you think that 1) the deficit is the biggest threat to US security and 2) you can never raise taxes ever, then the sequester is basically good policy.
A lot of you conservatives have been banging that drum for the last 3 years. Now that it's about to hit you in the pocket book, suddenly it's a bad idea?
2/09/2013 5:42 AM
This is mostly political grand-standing, and perhaps a shift of strategic objectives at the top.
It's not like the sequestriation bill was a surprise -- it was signed into law years ago. Quite frankly, if I were the President and a bunch of Admirals cancelled deployments to make a political point, I'd clean house because they didn't plan to continue operations on a 2005 budget, which happens to also be higher than the cold war budget when adjusted for inflation.
2/09/2013 7:39 AM
Anonymous @2141 - I voted for Romney, so I'm not sure how "my guy" won. I just don't believe that President Obama is an evil anti-American Kenyan Marxist Atheist Socialist Muslim who wants to impose Sharia law (except for the anti-homosexual part) and has a secret plan to destroy America. I think he's a fairly standard-issue center-left politician who has some sincere beliefs that don't stand up in the real world.
2/09/2013 10:14 AM
"A lot of you conservatives have been banging that drum for the last 3 years. Now that it's about to hit you in the pocket book, suddenly it's a bad idea?"
It's a bad idea to use Sailors as a means to blackmail Congress to give more funding. The Navy can survive a 10% cut. This gloom and doom is akin to athletes claiming they can't feed their children on multi million dollar contracts whenever a CBA expires.
2/09/2013 10:38 AM
Former Soviet Navy, here we come. Ships and boats rotting dockside.
2/09/2013 12:11 PM
"I just don't believe that President Obama is an evil anti-American Kenyan Marxist Atheist Socialist Muslim who wants to impose Sharia law (except for the anti-homosexual part) and has a secret plan to destroy America."
I agree on one point, his plan is not secret.
2/09/2013 12:24 PM
Well CO and XO of J'ville have been relieved
2/10/2013 3:46 PM
The J'ville XO was a female? See below.??
Navy relieves CO, XO of attack sub Jacksonville
By Jacqueline Klimas - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Feb 10, 2013 17:02:25 EST
The commanding officer and executive officer of attack submarine Jacksonville were relieved of command Feb. 10, according to a Navy release.
Cmdr. Nathan Sukols was relieved due to loss of confidence in his ability to command. Lt. Cmdr. Lauren Allen was relieved due to loss of confidence in her ability to serve as XO. Both were awarded non-judicial punishment and reassigned to administrative duties at Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii.
The two reliefs come just one month after Jacksonville collided with a civilian vessel Jan. 10 in the Persian Gulf, damaging one of the sub’s two periscopes. Repairs have been completed, according to the release.
Cmdr. Richard Seif, previous CO of Los Angeles-class submarine Buffalo, is temporarily taking over as the commanding officer of Jacksonville. Lt. Cmdr. Todd Santala will temporarily serve as XO.
Attack submarine Jacksonville is currently deployed to the 5th Fleet.
2/10/2013 4:22 PM
"Quite frankly, if I were the President and a bunch of Admirals cancelled deployments to make a political point, I'd clean house because they didn't plan to continue operations on a 2005 budget, which happens to also be higher than the cold war budget when adjusted for inflation."
Either (1) every single Admiral failed to anticipate 2011 statutory law being enforced until the very last minute and they were ALL caught completely off guard, or (2) POTUS and both SECDEFs (Gates and Panetta) demanded behind closed doors that the Services not prepare for sequestration, in order to cause a political emergency if it happens.
So if you were President, you should pat yourself on the back for keeping your Admirals in line to help make the political point you chose to manufacture.
2/10/2013 5:06 PM
Nice try, anon at 4:22 p.m., but your quote is complete b.s.
The actual Navy release identifies LCDR Lauren Allen as male, as he would have to be at this point in the history of our Submarine Force.
2/10/2013 8:20 PM
Lauren Allen was my NAV on my JO tour, nice guy but I got the feeling he didn't really enjoy being a submarine officer (does anybody?).
So here is the final count of my JO tour leadership team: both XO's relieved from their Command tour, and one DH relieved from their XO tour. At least we got a Battle E... Twice!
2/10/2013 10:53 PM
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2/11/2013 4:12 AM
Other shoe dropped for Jax CO & XO today.
(I would swear that the original version of that story I saw earlier today had some unsourced speculation from the comments of this very site, but seems to have been (wisely) removed).
2/11/2013 6:28 PM
Political theater played out on the backs of sailors... i.e. business as usual.
2/13/2013 9:46 AM
2/08/2013 9:41 PM is speaking the truth. Correct me if I a wrong, but I am almost sure you voted for Obama.
With that said, over 11,000 American's are added DAILY to the food stamp roll. And add the xxx number of new Social Security disabled folks growing daily, that money needs to come from somewhere. Not political posturing, just raw reality/economics.
2/13/2013 7:06 PM
So EOOW Staff pickups are being selected right now in Charleston
2/13/2013 7:41 PM
^^^^^^
Since this dummy is so off-topic, who about those NY Yankees!!!!!!
2/13/2013 7:53 PM
Since we seem to be hinting around for a new topic, here's one... http://www.navytimes.com/news/2013/02/military-new-medal-for-drone-pilots-outranks-bronze-star-021313/
This is like getting a NAM or a JSAM for playing video games all damned day. What kills me is the order of precedence in which they've designated this damned thing. It's to be worn before the bronze star. But you didn't have to be shot, fucked, powder burned or snake bit in order to receive it. You didn't have to take the boat below crush depth to keep the bad guys from trying to take the boat home with them either.
This new medal is unbelievably stupid. Someone on the hill has political agenda which is clearly devoid of all reality.
2/13/2013 9:19 PM
Today's boomer Sailors get medals, right? Whats's the difference?
2/14/2013 12:50 AM
I have an idea on how to help the Defense Budget. Make service academy grads have to pay some of their education.
2/14/2013 9:23 AM
My understanding is it costs $1m a day for a carrier at sea.
2/14/2013 10:30 AM
>>Anonymous Anonymous said...
I have an idea on how to help the Defense Budget. Make service academy grads have to pay some of their education. 2/14/2013 9:23 AM
Better Idea: Stop funding ROTC/any education for idiots like anonymous above...obviously is a waste of money!
Signed,
Canoe U Grad
2/14/2013 12:59 PM
Since you guys bring it up, the NUPOC program IS a scam of the highest order....we could save a few bucks there.
2/14/2013 1:49 PM
Yes, now that I have my almost 27 plus years, that all started with NUPOC, we should cut back. NUPOC is a fantastic deal, almost too good to be true. We could save millions.
2/14/2013 3:15 PM
re: a_former_elt_2jv
Depends. In the med, maybe not so much, but the cost to get a DDG from one side of the Suez to the other costs the Navy about a million dollars for a one way trip once everything is tallied up (those security patrols that follow the ship in their trucks don't pay for themselves.)
Remember, the Suez canal is operated at a profit to the egyptian government.
I can only imagine what it costs to move a CVN, let alone an entire strike group through the canal.
2/14/2013 11:48 PM
Moonbat said:
"I just don't believe that President Obama is an evil anti-American Kenyan Marxist Atheist Socialist Muslim who wants to impose Sharia law (except for the anti-homosexual part) and has a secret plan to destroy America. I think he's a fairly standard-issue center-left politician who has some sincere beliefs that don't stand up in the real world."
"Joel" is so deep inside the liberal bowels of humanity that he forgets to shit himself.
I served with you little buddy, and I know your true take.
2/15/2013 2:10 AM
Hey 2/14/2013 12:59 PM,
I was enlisted and got the old GI bill which was a whopping $10,800 and had to ay $1200 to get it.
You got your BS degree for free and yet only had 5 years of obligation to a typical nukes 6.
Pretty easy to see that the cost of schooling for USNA should be reconsidered.
Go ahead, come back on here and show how entitled the USNA has made you.
FYI, in corporate America you'll call me sir;) Carry on.
2/15/2013 6:10 AM
Here's a great article on the cost of a USNA education to taxpayers. $400k each!!!
And they are far from the best and brightest when looking at the scores from their boards.
Even a UNSA prof things ROTC is better deal for taxpayers.
http://chronicle.com/article/The-Few-the-Proud-the/134830/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
But of course the entitled ones will refuse to admit the failings of what the academy is and is not.
2/15/2013 7:12 AM
Okay, the stupid has to stop.
Disclaimer: I did not graduate from a service academy.
First, the military budget is over $700 billion. That's Billion. If you were to cut all funding to service academies, NROTC scholarships, and NUPOC, you'd save Millions, or less than 1% of overall military funding. I'm glad we have people like you thinking about how to balance a budget! While we're at it, we should also cut BAH at every level and require JOs and all enlisted Sailors from E-1 to E-9 to live in the barracks or in base housing, just like pre-Zumwalt. That will save even more millions and have a large impact on individual servicemembers while not even beginning to solve the budget issues that we face.
Secondly, the service academies are not just college educations; they are military educations, too. In fact, before recent history they were the only way to comission into the regular armed forces in peacetime. In regards to the bill, the military gets its money back by producing officers who have had 4 years of military indoctrination and studies to go along with their college education. NROTC students who march around 1-2x a week and OCS students who get a 90 day crash-course don't get that. Most of our prominent Admirals through history (and the current Naval Reactors and CNO) are graduates of USNA. Convincing the government that it's not cost effective to spend less than 1% of defense budget produce leaders capable of winning wars and managing the organizations that defend our sovereignty is going to be a hard sell.
The military doesn't need to "save a few bucks." It needs to take a hard look at the capabilities it wants vs. the capabilities it needs, and cut a lot of fat out of our broken acquisition process. We can't maintain two CSGs everywhere in the world because we want to, and we can't keep affording broken sunk-cost programs like the F-22, the DDGX, and the Seawolf. That's were we can talk about saving the tens of billions we actually need to cut.
Once we do that, you can start talking about whether pay and benefits will have a significant impact on the budget. Doing so now just maximizes the suck for the individual servicemember while not actually solving any problems -- the worst of both worlds.
2/15/2013 12:11 PM
The biggest scam right now is that they don't scale BAH down to the place you rent. Single guys pocketing upwards of $1k of tax-free dollars by splitting apartments/houses with their buddies.
BAH should be an "authorized up to" amount and should be decreased to a couple hundred above your rental agreement to pay for utilities that are included in base housing. You'd save a lot more there than you would by cutting the service academies.
2/15/2013 12:16 PM
2/15/2013 12:11 PM
Your data must be anecdotal as the USNA does not generate a significantly higher number of admirals than does the ROTC ranks.
The service academies are a relic of days gone by. There's structural problems at the academies that create poor leaders, not great ones. The good leaders are despite the USNA, not because of it....
And you cut waste $1 at a time.
I suggest you read the article for which I posted the link.
As to base housing, I lived in the barracks until I was married at nearly the very end of my enlistment. At that time at my duty station there was NO base housing available so you had to live somewhere in town. Not sure how it's changed today but as I recall it just paid the bills with no extra going in my pocket.
Perhaps the Navy paid more via off base than on base but as a service member it was not a get rich scheme that's for sure.
Even in Charleston (was one of first classes through NPTU there) at the time there was NO on base housing at the time.
I would have preferred base housing if given the choice simply out of convienience.
2/15/2013 1:52 PM
I said prominent Admirals, not just Admirals. There are a lot of Flag jobs that have little to do with warfighting or the mission of the Navy, which is also somewhere the Navy could look to cut the fat.
Additionally, I said SINGLE people can pocket BAH when they split rent on apartments. A married person supporting a wife and children is not going to be able to scam the system, as you pointed out. But since single people have been complaining about married BAH being higher since it was invented, they've slowly been bringing the two values together which just allows single guys to pocket a lot of tax-free money.
The article you posted is flawed on many fronts, too much to get into here. But I will depart with this: Scholarships are a way for the Navy to lure talented college students into the military who otherwise would look the other way in a decent economy. USNA and NROTC produce a steady stream of tomorrow's leaders and you can't just turn that off without having a ton of 2nd and 3rd order effects down the road. Once there is a shortage of Officers in a yeargroup, there is no making up for it. You can't instantly recreate mid-grade and above officers.
As you were enlisted, I'm curious how you are judging the leadership qualities of people whom you've probably never met outside of a handshake or all-hands call and probably have never seen perform their daily jobs. I'm not saying that Flag Officers on the whole are doing fantastic, but I am saying that you and I lack the perspective to make any judgement on their performance of day-to-day duties and what inputs factor into their policy decisions. I find that most of the Sailors' angst on my boat are due to poor leadership at the DH, DIVO, and LCPO level rather than the Flag level, usually by poor maintenance planning and over-blowing minor details and policies that are far from the Flag's (or CO's) original vision (for example, the current brief-walkthrough-certify policy). It's those people who directly affect the enlisted Sailors QOL and liberty, not the Flags.
2/15/2013 2:54 PM
we had BAQ+VHA when I was an ensign
And you know what we did?
Pool 5 O-1 BAQ + VHA's together to get a nice house on the beach.
Because damn skippy every single landlord knew *exactly* what VHA rate was and knew exactly how much to charge in rent.
And there was no incentive to get less housing, because you got less money. Moreover, no incentives for landlords to compete on price.
*Now* there is. And BAH rates actually drop in some areas based on the period surveys of what people are really paying.
If you want to biggest scam in housing, it's the PPV(?) housing, where you pay exactly the BAH rate (whatever it is, for whatever your rank) for 'base' housing. Two people living next to each other in cookie cutter identical houses can pay different rates. And Forest City (et al) have *no* incentive to get better due to normal market competition because they get a guaranteed income stream. It's straight up corporate welfare.
2/15/2013 7:30 PM
Anon @ 2:54:
You really think it's all the JO/DH level and below's fault that the Navy sucks? "If only they would listen to the godly flags, who want everyone to go home at 3:30 and get day after duty!"
I can tell you from experience that the average JO does not give a shit whether you re-test that valve today, nor if you get out to sea on time. He too would rather go home at 5 and go to sea one day later. He is only doing it because the DH head is making him, and the CO is making him make the JO do that, etc. There is not nearly as much control at the DH or JO level as you might think, it is basically, "Make sure everybody does all of this stuff in these manuals, and everything the Captain says (who is mostly just parroting squadron guidance)". The only tricks to it are 1) making sure everything gets done and 2) trying to figure out how you can blow stuff off long enough so that your guys don't start to hate you. But even that is not always possible.
Even though the CO and Squadron and the Flags all seem like real cool guys when they come to the boat, they are the ones putting pressure on the boat that causes you to go port and starboard or do vulcan death watches to get ready for ORSE, etc.
COMSUBFOR a few years ago had a "vision" for the sub force with less paperwork and streamlined requirements, etc and talked about it in a few officer's calls. It never happened because of "institutional inertia", but you know whose fault that is...? Senior Leadership! If he wanted to make it happen he has all of the power to do it, and should make it happen. You can't then go blame it on the individual units. It's not like they enjoy blazing divisional training plans that add no value just for ORSE.
2/15/2013 10:19 PM
"Because damn skippy every single landlord knew *exactly* what VHA rate was and knew exactly how much to charge in rent."
-They still know what BAH is. I'm not sure where you're going with this. There are a lot of military trap apartments regardless, and they'll get their money because 2-3 single guys will pool their BAH together.
I'm not advocating going back to VAQ, but I am saying that the Navy's allowance for HOUSING should not be adjusted to pay for HOUSING. I agree that PPV is a scam and over-priced.
"I can tell you from experience that the average JO does not give a shit..."
-Hence my comment about poor JO leadership. An engaged LCPO and DIVO can do a lot more for enlisted QOL than what you think.
I've seen divisions work countless late days for not having all their ducks in a row to perform scheduled maintenance, or it gets pushed off because there's a conflict with another major maintenance that was scheduled for weeks that no one bothered to identify, and the LCPO/DIVO just shrugs and complains that his division is disorganized despite not saying a thing at the work meetings they attend regularly. So yea, when your work day starts at noon because the WAF/tagout/FWP wasn't ready or your Thurs maintenance gets pushed off to Sat bc OI-55 was scheduled to take down switchboards for those days 3 weeks ago, the E-4 to E-6s pay the price.
"He is only doing it because the DH head is making him, and the CO is making him make the JO do that, etc. There is not nearly as much control at the DH or JO level as you might think, it is basically, "Make sure everybody does all of this stuff in these manuals, and everything the Captain says (who is mostly just parroting squadron guidance)". The only tricks to it are 1) making sure everything gets done and 2) trying to figure out how you can blow stuff off long enough so that your guys don't start to hate you. But even that is not always possible."
-You underestimate how much control DHs have over their department's schedule, particularly the Eng. Yea, there is a lot of stuff to get done and the boat has to get underway to meet operational commitments. But if you put the jenga puzzle together properly, make sure everyone is prepared, and speak up early when timelines are too aggressive, you can minimize the suck a lot.
There is a lot of big picture planning the Eng does that would be transparent to an enlisted Sailor. If he sucks at it, or is unwilling to push back when job growth occurs from something being broken more than he expected, the department pays the price. It's not the Flags that are pushing that, it's a shitty Eng.
"You really think it's all the JO/DH level and below's fault that the Navy sucks? "If only they would listen to the godly flags, who want everyone to go home at 3:30 and get day after duty!" Umm, no. There are crappy Navy policies created by flags, like all-hands GMT on trafficking persons and 2200 cerfews in Japan. But working until 2000 everyday to get an availability done isn't the Flag's fault, it's much much lower than that. It's just that everyone passes the buck to their evil boss (Eng: CO wants this... or CO: ISIC wants this...) when they try to be over-agressive about meeting timelines.
2/16/2013 6:48 AM
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