On 22 November 2019, the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (CSG 12) began supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, which seeks the lasting defeat of Islamic State.Air assets of Carrier Air Wing 7 (CVW 7) provided close air support and defensive counter air support operations in the context of broader US CENTCOM counter-terror operations in the region, CENTCOM said.According to US Navy CAPT William R. Reed,Commander,CVW 7:
Today's operations are a testament to how carrier air power can project well beyond the shore.It has tremendous reach.The Carrier Strike Group as a whole provides a robust military capability in the region, and CVW 7 remains ready to deliver that capability at any time if called upon.*
Said USN CAPT Walt Slaughter, Commanding Officer of USS Abraham Lincoln:
As we navigate throughout the theatre,we will exercise our vast capabilities and interoperability with international partners,as a mobile and lethal force.We are the tip of the spear, and we will continue to work with our coalition allies to ensure regional security.*
The Abraham Lincoln is flagship of the deployed Strike Group assets, including the Sailors, Marines, ships and aircraft of CSG 12, Destroyer Squadron 2 (DESRON 2),guided-missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55) and CVW 7.The CSG was deployed to the Middle East on 5 May 2019.*
Showing posts with label Middle East. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Middle East. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
SecDef Outlines Success,Plans for Europe at Italian Air Base - at a critical time
US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter spoke to airmen of the US Air Force's 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano Air Base,Italy on 13 December 2016 as part of his holiday visit to the troops,his last before leaving office in January.Dr.Carter revealed a successful airstrike in the Middle East that directly impacts European security:
I wanted to tell you something that I have not said before.And,you know,we don't talk about these operations very much;but you're the first to know.I can confirm that today we took out three of ISIL's key leaders in the last couple of weeks.It was one strike.These are guys who were linked to plots right here in Europe.And I can't share all the details with you,but,for example,with the Paris attacks.And they were associates of al-Adnani,who was,if you'll recall,the chief external plotter for ISIL and its chief spokesman.*
Addressing members of the US Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team,who are based at Vicenza,Italy,Dr.Carter noted that:
We have,just to remind you,just two brigades stationed all the time here;another one that we'll be putting in on a persistent rotational basis;equipment for a fourth,so that will be an armoured division that troops can fall in on in a crisis;a battalion in the Baltics;and of course much,much more at sea,on land and in the air-a sad necessity of our time,but one that we need to do.
So whether it is in Europe;whether it is in the Middle East;whether it is in Africa,all the things you're doing here are necessary;they're extremely important.So you're right here,right now at a critical time in our strategic history,Dr.Carter concluded.
I wanted to tell you something that I have not said before.And,you know,we don't talk about these operations very much;but you're the first to know.I can confirm that today we took out three of ISIL's key leaders in the last couple of weeks.It was one strike.These are guys who were linked to plots right here in Europe.And I can't share all the details with you,but,for example,with the Paris attacks.And they were associates of al-Adnani,who was,if you'll recall,the chief external plotter for ISIL and its chief spokesman.*
Addressing members of the US Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team,who are based at Vicenza,Italy,Dr.Carter noted that:
We have,just to remind you,just two brigades stationed all the time here;another one that we'll be putting in on a persistent rotational basis;equipment for a fourth,so that will be an armoured division that troops can fall in on in a crisis;a battalion in the Baltics;and of course much,much more at sea,on land and in the air-a sad necessity of our time,but one that we need to do.
So whether it is in Europe;whether it is in the Middle East;whether it is in Africa,all the things you're doing here are necessary;they're extremely important.So you're right here,right now at a critical time in our strategic history,Dr.Carter concluded.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Oxford Grad Approved for Defense Secretary Post
Ashton B. Carter was unanimously approved to be the new Secretary of Defense with a bipartisan 25-0 vote by the Senate Armed Services Committee today on Capitol Hill.The nomination now goes to the full Senate for a vote.Dr.Carter was Deputy Secretary of Defense from 2011-13,and had held two other high level Pentagon posts before that.He is a physicist by training and was a Rhodes Scholar who received his doctorate from Oxford University.He never served in the military,yet commands a lot of respect for his longtime dedication to civil service,national security expertise and forthright manner.
At his confirmation hearing before the Committee last week,Dr.Carter provided a summary of his views on the global challenges he is certain to face.Not only is our civilian infrastructure subject to cyber attack right now,but we have to be concerned about our military.One problem is the defence of our networks in DOD.That is not where it should be,if our forces should be engaged with an enemy.We're not anywhere near where we should be as a country.If people would understand how vulnerable we are in cyber space,they would clamour for more.
I certainly hope that we defeat ISIL quickly,but that won't be a lasting defeat.This is a movement that changes and morphs as it moves around the world.I think we need to be thinking about terrorism generally as a continuing threat to national security.They may not be thinking in the ISIL way;they may have something else-or nothing-on their minds.As you know,there are aberrant people out there.
You have to be thinking about the quality,not just the quantity of ships.I certainly think we are the paramount Navy in the world.That's one of the things that makes us a global power.I have a strong interest of maintaining not just the quality,but the quantity of ships as well.
The campaign in Afghanistan has been close to my heart.I've been there a number of times.If I'm confirmed and I ascertain,as the years go by,that we need to change the plan,I will recommend those changes to the President.Our end with regard to ISIL needs to be their lasting defeat.It's important that we have those on the ground there that make sure that once they are defeated,they stay defeated.I very much incline in the direction of supplying defensive arms to Ukraine.
I think that we have two immediate dangers in the Middle East.One is ISIL;and the other is Iran.We're in the early stage of building the force that will keep ISIL defeated.The issue looming over this is the role of Iran in the whole region.
I think it's important to retake territory with local forces on the ground as soon as e can sustain ISIL's defeat.It's important to get that territory back soon,because we don't want them to settle in,or for the people to settle in under their terrible regime.
The issues in the Middle East and Ukraine have developed since we formulated the rebalance to the Asia-Pacific.It is,in my eyes,to continue the pivotal American stability role in that region that has allowed the South Korean miracle.While ISIL and Ukraine are terribly important in their own regard,we have to remember that one-half the population and half the economy of the world is in that region.We're adding ships,electronic warfare,a new bomber-we're buying new capabilities that aren't necessarily useful in Europe or the Middle East;but are in the Asia-Pacific.
I have a long history with the nuclear enterprise.Continuing quality and excellence in the nuclear enterprise is very important,and I am committed to that.
If I am confirmed,I will be confronting some of the most challenging national security problems in a very long time.I would say the world continues to pose challenges to the international order,and the US is indispensable to the solution of these challenges.I'm familiar with what we're doing in the Baltics.We are rotating forces in there to serve as a warning and a tripwire.If we are going to have the greatest military in the world.we can't move in 15-year increments.I think we are in a time where the number and severity of the risks is unlike anything I have ever seen in my life,Dr.Ashton B. Carter told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Chuck Hagel will remain in the post until the full Senate approves his successor.
Update:Dr.Carter was confirmed by the full Senate with a 95-3 vote on 12 February.
At his confirmation hearing before the Committee last week,Dr.Carter provided a summary of his views on the global challenges he is certain to face.Not only is our civilian infrastructure subject to cyber attack right now,but we have to be concerned about our military.One problem is the defence of our networks in DOD.That is not where it should be,if our forces should be engaged with an enemy.We're not anywhere near where we should be as a country.If people would understand how vulnerable we are in cyber space,they would clamour for more.
I certainly hope that we defeat ISIL quickly,but that won't be a lasting defeat.This is a movement that changes and morphs as it moves around the world.I think we need to be thinking about terrorism generally as a continuing threat to national security.They may not be thinking in the ISIL way;they may have something else-or nothing-on their minds.As you know,there are aberrant people out there.
You have to be thinking about the quality,not just the quantity of ships.I certainly think we are the paramount Navy in the world.That's one of the things that makes us a global power.I have a strong interest of maintaining not just the quality,but the quantity of ships as well.
The campaign in Afghanistan has been close to my heart.I've been there a number of times.If I'm confirmed and I ascertain,as the years go by,that we need to change the plan,I will recommend those changes to the President.Our end with regard to ISIL needs to be their lasting defeat.It's important that we have those on the ground there that make sure that once they are defeated,they stay defeated.I very much incline in the direction of supplying defensive arms to Ukraine.
I think that we have two immediate dangers in the Middle East.One is ISIL;and the other is Iran.We're in the early stage of building the force that will keep ISIL defeated.The issue looming over this is the role of Iran in the whole region.
I think it's important to retake territory with local forces on the ground as soon as e can sustain ISIL's defeat.It's important to get that territory back soon,because we don't want them to settle in,or for the people to settle in under their terrible regime.
The issues in the Middle East and Ukraine have developed since we formulated the rebalance to the Asia-Pacific.It is,in my eyes,to continue the pivotal American stability role in that region that has allowed the South Korean miracle.While ISIL and Ukraine are terribly important in their own regard,we have to remember that one-half the population and half the economy of the world is in that region.We're adding ships,electronic warfare,a new bomber-we're buying new capabilities that aren't necessarily useful in Europe or the Middle East;but are in the Asia-Pacific.
I have a long history with the nuclear enterprise.Continuing quality and excellence in the nuclear enterprise is very important,and I am committed to that.
If I am confirmed,I will be confronting some of the most challenging national security problems in a very long time.I would say the world continues to pose challenges to the international order,and the US is indispensable to the solution of these challenges.I'm familiar with what we're doing in the Baltics.We are rotating forces in there to serve as a warning and a tripwire.If we are going to have the greatest military in the world.we can't move in 15-year increments.I think we are in a time where the number and severity of the risks is unlike anything I have ever seen in my life,Dr.Ashton B. Carter told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Chuck Hagel will remain in the post until the full Senate approves his successor.
Update:Dr.Carter was confirmed by the full Senate with a 95-3 vote on 12 February.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Middle East:A Consolidation of Forces
Given recent trends,the next decade in the Middle East may see a consolidation of the current strategic reality in the region.Driven by a need to counterbalance Iran,Saudi Arabia has embarked on a significant defence buildup that will considerably solidify its pre-eminent military stature among the Gulf States.The new Saudi defence minister,Prince Salman bin Abdul-Aziz,is presiding over the project following the October death of his predecessor,Prince Sultan.
According to The Washington Post,the Saudis will basically double their military capabilities in both hardware and manpower.The army and national guard will grow by a combined 175,000 troops;the navy will buy more than 30 billion dollars of new ships and missiles;the air force will purchase another 450-500 aircraft;and the interior ministry will augment police and special forces by 60,000 personnel.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is calling for a dramatic intensification of sanctions against Iran.He considers Iran a grave and growing threat to international security.
In Southwest Asia,the Afghan government has been authorised by a special assembly to negotiate with the U.S. for a substantial U.S. military presence in the country beyond the current withdrawal date of 2014.The Afghans will seek an end to night raids by U.S. forces,however,which they see as unnecessarily risky.
This Afghan policy stands in stark contrast to that of Iraq,which couldn't muster enough support to keep U.S. troops beyond the end of this year.The U.S. is looking at its options for shifting some of the soldiers to Kuwait and other allied states in the region.
According to The Washington Post,the Saudis will basically double their military capabilities in both hardware and manpower.The army and national guard will grow by a combined 175,000 troops;the navy will buy more than 30 billion dollars of new ships and missiles;the air force will purchase another 450-500 aircraft;and the interior ministry will augment police and special forces by 60,000 personnel.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is calling for a dramatic intensification of sanctions against Iran.He considers Iran a grave and growing threat to international security.
In Southwest Asia,the Afghan government has been authorised by a special assembly to negotiate with the U.S. for a substantial U.S. military presence in the country beyond the current withdrawal date of 2014.The Afghans will seek an end to night raids by U.S. forces,however,which they see as unnecessarily risky.
This Afghan policy stands in stark contrast to that of Iraq,which couldn't muster enough support to keep U.S. troops beyond the end of this year.The U.S. is looking at its options for shifting some of the soldiers to Kuwait and other allied states in the region.
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