US Marines – Based upon their recent successes in Afghanistan, the Marines and Special Operations Command will strive to collaborate more closely in the future.

• Washington Post: Marines, Special Operations Command Increase Ties

US Marines – An overview of current Marine procurement programs including the Osprey, Advance Amphibious Assault Vehicle, Landing Craft Air Cushion, Joint Strike Fighter, Lightweight Howitzer, and others.

• Sea Power: An Eclectic Overview of Selected Marine Corps Programs

Background – Operations Other Than War – The US Secretary of Defense has stated he is against using US military forces for operations other than war. This is quite a change from the prior administration.

• Washington Times: Rumsfeld takes dim view of U.S. peacekeeping role

Background – Saudi Arabia – Thomas Friedman on two potential futures for the Saudis.

• New York Times: 1 Country, 2 Futures

US Navy – An overview of several US Navy shipbuilding and conversion programs.

• Sea Power: An Eclectic Overview of Selected Navy Programs
  

US Coast Guard – How the number one job of the US Coast Guard has shifted from search and rescue to homeland defense.

• Armed Forces Journal International: Preparing For The New War

Background – Collateral Damage – William Arkin on how little we currently know about collateral damage and civilian casualties from airstrikes in Afghanistan.

• Washington Post: Not Good Enough, Mr. Rumsfeld

Please keep those Comment Forms coming folks! I’ve received over 20 in the last 2 days, which is more than I’ve received in the last 2 years. I have already received many excellent suggestions for improvements. In a week or two I will summarize the feedback I have obtained, and address many of your questions. Thanks again!

Irish Navy – The Irish Navy is playing a bigger role in search and rescue operations.

• Associated Press:
  Irish Navy Aids Search for Family
  

Swedish Navy – The corvette Visby is undergoing sea trials.

• Jane’s: Sweden’s Visby begins sea trials

US Coast Guard – Aboard several USCG cutters, patroling at sea.

• Sea Power: Homeland Defense Begins at the Water’s Edge

Background – Donald Rumsfield – An in depth interview with the US Secretary of Defense. Amongst the interviewers is the military historian Sir John Keegan.

• Daily Telegraph: ‘You can only defend by finding terrorists and rooting them out’

Background – War gaming – A preview of the war game “Millennium Challenge 2002.”

• Virginian Pilot: Experiment in Norfolk could change pace of war

US Navy – One reason the US cannot attack Iraq today – a shortage of smart munitions.

• Washington Post: Anti-Iraq Rhetoric Outpaces Reality

Russian Navy – The view from Moscow – A lack of discipline caused the loss of the Kursk.

• Moscow Times: Military Unfit for New Toys
  

US Navy – A review of naval and marine operations of coalition forces in Afghanistan, to late January.

• Sea Power: Navy and Marine Corps Units
  Continue Hunt for Terrorists
  

US Coast Guard – The Coast Guard Auxillary is forming air units.

• Northwest Florida Daily News : Panhandle Coast Guard flotilla to
  begin air patrols over Gulf Coast

US Navy – How port security is evolving in the Hampton Roads area.

• Virginian Pilot: Navy, Coast Guard lock arms to protect the port
  

Special Request – Send Comments Please – This week marks NOSI’s 2 year anniversary. I know that hundreds of you read NOSI every day, but unfortunately I receive feedback about NOSI from very few of you. Could I therefore ask you to take a minute to fill out our brief Comments Form to give us some feedback so that we may further improve NOSI. I thank you in advance for your time.

US Navy – The USS Theodore Roosevelt achieves the 10,000 trap of its deployment.

• Virginian Pilot: TR marks 10,000th arrested landing in record time
  

US Marines – Marines are training with the latest chemical and biological warfare protection gear.

• North County Times: Marines train with protective suits

US Marines – What life was really like in the early days at Camp Rhino.

• Soldier of Fortune: SOF at FOB Rhino

Background – Pakistani Nucs – Do a significant number of Pakistani’s believe the only hope they have for the future is an apocalyptic nuclear exchange with India?

• Atlantic Monthly: A modest proposal from the Brigadier

US Navy – The USS Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard, deploys to relieve the USS Bataan Amphibious Ready Group.

• Virginian Pilot: 4,500 sailors and Marines deploy with Wasp amphibious group

US Navy – CINCPAC on how important US allies are in the war on terrorism.

• Washington Post: Allies Called Essential As Terror Hunt Widens

Iranian Navy and Taiwanese Navy – Iran’s navy has received Crotale-compatible surface to air missiles from China; meanwhile the US still cannot figure out how to supply Taiwan with diesel submarines.

• Washington Times: Inside the Ring

Background – Hunt for Bin Laden – Has the hunt, now being run by the SAS and Delta, moved to Indian Kashmir?

• Daily Telegraph: SAS joins Kashmir hunt for bin Laden

Background – Iraq – Has an attack on Iraq by summer become a foregone conclusion?

• Washington Times: Uniting mission and coalition

Background – Paul Wolfowitz – James Fallows on deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, how he is influencing the pursuit of the war against terrorism, and his future view of the world.

• The Atlantic: The Unilateralist

US Navy – US Navy P-3 Orions are flying intelligence missions over rebel strongholds in the Phillipines.

• Washington Post: Spy Planes Seek Out Philippine Guerrillas

US Marines – US Marines have been helping to provide radar coverage at the Olympics.

• San Diego Union Tribune: Marines stand cold watch in icy mountains above Olympic venues
  

Russian Navy – Another twist to the case of a former Russian naval officer being tried for treason over his revealing of how nuclear waste is being disposed of illegally by the Russian Navy.

• Associated Press: Russia’s Top Court Overturns Soviet-Era Order in Victory for Jailed Journalist
  

US Navy – Preliminary lessons learned on network-centric warfare from the US Navy War College’s Global 2000 war game.

• Naval War College Review: GLOBAL 2000
  

US Navy – Difficulties faced between target designators on the ground and pilots at high altitude and how US forces are trying to resolve them.

• Washington Post: In War, Mud Huts And Hard Calls

US Navy – The USS Theodore Roosevelt sets a record for most continuous days at sea.

• Virginian Pilot: Roosevelt becomes Navy’s new Iron Man
  

US Navy – How reservists are helping port security.

• San Diego Union Tribune: Naval reservists on patrol
  

Canadian Navy – The supply ship HMCS Preserver rescued two sailors stranded at sea in the Arabian Sea.

• Halifax Herald: Preserver crew saves starving sailors

Background – US defense budget – How the proposed US defense budget fails to transform.

• Economist: Transformation postponed
  

Canadian Navy – A new Canadian task force is deploying to relieve the one already in the Arabian Sea.

• Daily News: Porn-surfing commodore to head navy in Arabian Sea
  

• CBC: Sailors leave Victoria as HMCS Ottawa departs for Gulf
• Halifax Herald: Charlottetown will return March 4
• Victoria Times Colonist: HMCS Ottawa heads out on sea of tears

US Navy – The USS John F. Kennedy battlegroup sets sail for the Arabian Sea.

• Virginian Pilot: Carrier Kennedy moves out to relieve Roosevelt
  

Russian Navy -The Russian Navy has officially stated that the evidence continues to point towards a torpedo explosion as the cause of the Kursk’s sinking, a collision with another submarine has now been officially eliminated as a cause.

• Washington Post: Admiral: Kursk Had Unstable Torpedoes

Royal New Zealand Navy – Without any fast jets left in its own air force to train against, the Royal New Zealand Navy is training against warbirds.

• Daily Telegraph:
  Navy under attack by planes from past

Royal Marines – The Royal Marines accidentally invaded Spain instead of Gibraltar in a training exercise.

• Daily Telegraph: Marines storm ashore – in the wrong country

NOSI has been difficult to reach for the last few days due to problems at our Web hosting provider. These problems appear to have resolved, and we will be publishing again on Wednesday.

US Marines – The life of a Marine recruit at Parris Island.

• Washington Post: Sent by Crisis, Called by Duty

US Marines – None of the Marine KC-130’s in Afghanistan are outfitted with night vision gear – while the KC-130’s stateside do have night vision gear. Why?

• Washington Post: Marine KC-130 That Hit Mountain Had No Night Vision

Royal New Zealand Navy – New Zealand’s navy has been assisting in the salvage of a grounded vessel leaking oil off its shore.

• Reuters: NZ Workers Race Clock to Salvage Stricken Vessel
  

US Navy – An essay on the challenges of wargaming network centric warfare.

• US Navy War College Review: Wargaming network-centric warfare

US Navy – The USS John F. Kennedy continues to work up with her air wing.

• Virginian Pilot: Kennedy, air wing shake off

Canadian Navy – The Canadian Navy intercepted and sunk a vessel in the Arabian Sea that was smuggling drugs.

• Canadian Press: Canadian warship blasts, sinks drug-laden vessel in Arabian Sea
  

US Coast Guard – A 10 part series on the difficulties in attempting to enforce homeland security.

• Washington Times: Homeland security: Parts 1 through 5
• Washington Times: Homeland security: Parts 6 through 10

US Navy – An essay on what is wrong with wargaming in the US Navy today – an over reliance on technology, rather than human analysis, in the games.

• Naval War College Review: Wargaming in the Information Age – Theory and Purpose

US Navy – The Streetfighter concept – for a Littoral Combat Ship – is moving ahead.

• Virginian Pilot: Navy moves to develop a novel type of warship
  

Russian Navy – The Russian Navy is moving ahead with the design of 4th generation nuclear attack submarines.

• Sea Power: Russian Navy Moves Forward With “Fourth-Generation” SSNs
  

US Coast Guard – Flying search and rescue missions with the US Coast Guard in Alaska.

• Outside: Chopper Queen
  

US Navy – William Arkin on the latest numbers on who did what in the air war in Afghanistan.

• Los Angeles Times: Old-Timers Prove Invaluable in Afghanistan Air Campaign
  

US Marines – The role played by the US Marines Chemical and Biological Incident Response Team in the Anthrax attack on the US Capitol.

• Sea Power: “We Were Ready”

Background – Terrorism – Why tracking down terrorists in Europe is so difficult???using Germany as an example.

• New Yorker:Private Lives

Royal Navy – HMS Vanguard, part of the UK’s nuclear deterrent, begins her first major refit.

• BBC: Seven held over Trident sub protest
  

US Marines – The status of the US Marine Corps reserve.

• Sea Power: A Tremendous Pool of Talent
  MFR Is “Ready, Willing, and Able”

Background – Smart Weapons – James F. Dunnigan on why the US continues to have such a shortage of smart weapons.

• Strategy Page: Where Have All the Smart Bombs Gone?
  

Background – Open Source Intelligence – The history of open source intelligence in the US military.

• The Atlantic: Councils of War

US Navy – The USS Theodore Roosevelt may set a record for consecutive days at sea.

• Virginian Pilot: Roosevelt could be home for Easter
  

Canadian Navy – HMCS Halifax has returned from the Arabian Sea.

• Canadian Press: HMCS Halifax returns
  

Background – Budget – William Arkin on how the new defense budget discourages transformation.

• Washington Post: An Indefensible Budget

US Coast Guard – Aboard the USCGC Albacore, being pushed beyond its limits.

• Virginian Pilot: Coast Guard is pushed to the limit
  

US Navy – P-3C and EP-3 Orion aircraft continue their surveillance of Somalia and Yemen.

• The Times: US turns to Yemen and Somalia in war on terrorism
  

Canadian Navy – HMCS Victoria, Canada’s first Upholder-class submarine, remains in drydock undergoing refitting, which is running significantly longer than expected. It has been over a year since it arrived in Canada.

• Daily News: New sub stuck in Halifax port

US Navy – The MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter is slowly entering service.

• Associated Press: Navy Debuts New Transport Helicopter
  

US Navy – The Chief of Naval Operations on why funding readiness is more important than funding new ships.

• San Diego Union Tribune: Chief of naval operations offers pep talk to sailors headed to war
  

Background – Transformation – Transformation *is* occuring, just more slowly than hoped for???

• Washington Post: 1’s and 0’s Replacing Bullets in U.S. Arsenal

Background – Saudi Arabia and Egypt – How to help choke off terrorism – tell the governments of Egypt and Saudi Arabia to stop their anti-American diatribe. Thomas Friedman agrees and says these countries need to see the truth for their own good.

• The Atlantic: The Real Roots of Terror
• New York Times: Blunt Question, Blunt Answer

US Navy – A description of the sorts of special operations that US Navy SEALs have been performing in Afghanistan.

• USA Today: Commandos’ fight abroad also a hit at home
  

US Navy – Lessons learned for the submarine community, one year after the accidental sinking of the Ehime Maru.

• Reuters: One year later, sub crash on minds of Navy

Canadian Navy – HMCS Vancouver has seized a tanker suspected of smuggling oil out of Iraq, in violation of UN sanctions.

• Canadian Press: Canadian frigate seizes ship in Arabian Sea
  

US Navy – An EA-6B Prowler squadron’s members return from Afghanistan.

• The Herald: ‘I’d do it again in a heartbeat’

Russian Navy – The presence of ice on the Kursk is hindering its scrapping.

• Agence France-Presse: Ice in sunken Kursk slows retrieval of bodies

Royal Navy – An interview with First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Nigel Essenhigh.

• SeaPower: Ready to Fight and Win

US Navy – The USS Mount Whitney will participate in Exercise Strong Resolve 2002, an operation other than war exercise, in the Baltic.

• Virginian Pilot: Local ships, 2,500 personnel will head to Europe
  

US Navy – The top Pakistani general visited the USS Theodore Roosevelt.

• Associated Press: Pakistani Official Visits U.S. Ship

US Navy – An overview of the capabilities of the upcoming LPD-17 class.

• SeaPower: A Renewed Commitment to Core Capabilities
  LPD 17: A Ship Built for Warfighters
  

Background – Military Internet Use – James F. Dunnigan on why the Internet gives officers tasked with guarding operational security ulcers.

• Strategy Page: The Dark Side of Military Web Use
  

Background – Terrorism – A former CIA agent argues the only way to fight terrorism is with overwhelming force.

• The Atlantic: The Necessity of Fear

German Navy – The German Navy’s largest deployment since World War II is taking place off the Horn of Africa in support of the war against terrorism.

• News24: German navy ships patrol Horn
  

US Navy – The US Navy has elected to purchase other things than new ships in its next budget.

• Virginian Pilot: Navy, not president, cut shipbuilding
  

• San Diego Union Tribune: Defense plan sends Navy into some rough budgetary seas
  

Background – Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) – William Arkin on the threats faced by UAV’s from both friends and foes.

• Los Angeles Times: Unmanned Planes Face Threats From Near, Far

Background – Weapons of mass destruction (WMD) – Just exactly who does have WMD?

• Economist: Know thine enemy
  

Indian Navy – India hopes to sign a lease with Russia for two nuclear submarines.

• The Tribune: India, Russia to sign submarine deal
  

US Navy – The USS John F. Kennedy nearly collied with the oiler USS Leroy Grumman during underway replenishment operations.

• Virginian Pilot: Eight aboard carrier JFK injured in refueling accident
  

• Virginian Pilot: Kennedy helmsman may have been at fault
  

US Marines – US Marines are helping to guard the Newport News ship yard.

• Associated Press: Marines Patrol Norfolk Shipyard
  

Chinese Navy – The Chinese are about to test again their new sea-launched ballistic missile, the JL-2.

• Washington Times: Inside the Ring

US Navy – The airfield on Midway Island, currently run by a private company, may close.

• Associated Press: Pacific Refueling Base Threatened
  

US Marines – The US Marines helicopter fleet is rapidly reaching block obsolescence.

• San Diego Union Tribune: Crashes highlight potential danger in Marines’ aging airfleet
  

US Navy – The USS John F Kennedy will begin sea trials this week.

• Virginian Pilot: USS Kennedy to begin sea trials next week
  

Background – Targeting – The ultimate goal – decrease the time from sensor to shooter to minutes, if not seconds???

• Air Force Magazine: From Sensor to Shooter
  

Background – Turkey – How important is Turkey as an ally? Very important.

• Air Force Magazine: Turkey Stands Forward

US Marines – US Marines are participating in Exercise Edged Mallet in Kenya.

• News24: US, Kenyan troops in joint training
  

• The Nation: US Troops Arrive
  

Royal Air Force – RAF Rescue helicopters rescued crewman from a number of sinking vessels during some fierce storms off of England.

• BBC: Crews rescued as storms batter UK
  

• Associated Press: British Fliers Rescue Fishing Crew

Background – Enduring Freedom – A summary of Operation Enduring Freedom to date, from the US Air Force’s perspective. To read this article, you’d never know the US Navy was even involved. Always interesting to read the other service’s point of view!

• Air Force: Enduring Freedom

Background – NATO – Thomas Friedman on how our NATO allies are becoming irrelevant to the US due to their antiquated military technology.

• New York Times: The End of NATO?

Here is some leisurely Sunday reading material???

Background – Special Operations / Black Hawk Down – I have recently seen the movie “Black Hawk Down,” and I commend it to anyone who is interested in special operations. I suspect that this highly realistic movie is as close as one can come to experiencing a special operation short of actually being on one.

The situation in Somalia in 1993 is somewhat similar to the situation in Afghanistan today. The original mission in Somalia was humanitarian relief, that was changed to nation building which was opposed by hostile warlords. In Afghanistan the original mission was war, and it is now evolving into nation building, which is also being opposed by hostile warlords.

What lessons were learned in Somalia that can be applied to Afghanistan? Here are some articles on Somalia that supply the necessary background.

• PBS Frontline documentary: Ambush in Mogadishu – The interviews with the key players in this documentary are fascinating reading for deriving lessons learned.

• Philadelphia Inquirer: Black Hawk Down – This is the original newspaper series.

• US Army: History of the Rangers