NATO Secretary General with the President of Finland 🇫🇮 Alexander Stubb,06 JUN 2024 - YouTube

Two thousand US troops visited Finland last week and stayed longer than previously;but there are no plans for a US brigade in Finland.Finland has 50 officers in Norfolk,Virginia.Finland joining NATO means the Alliance's border with Russia has doubled.Finnish military instructors will not operate inside Ukraine.Finland has developed contingency plans to repulse Russian incursions,but there is currently no credible threat to NATO Allies.

Rocket Lab Completes Final Rehearsal Ahead of First Virginia Launch

Rocket Lab Completes Final Rehearsal Ahead of First Virginia Launch: Rocket Lab has completed the final launch rehearsal before its first mission from the U.S. set for December. It will be the inaugural launch from Rocket Lab (RKLB)

Building The Unsinkable | USS John F. Kennedy CVN 79 | Aircraft Carrier

Navy's USS Gerald R. Ford leaves on 1st deployment,heading for the North Atlantic - 13 News Hampton Roads,Virginia

Raytheon Technologies Moving Global Headquarters To Northern Virginia - Aviation Today

Raytheon Technologies Moving Global Headquarters To Northern Virginia - Aviation Today: Raytheon Technologies on Tuesday said it will establish its global headquarters in Northern Virginia, close to many of its government customers in the Washington, D.C., area, a move that follows Boeing’s decision a month ago to relocate its corporate headquarters to the region. Raytheon said it will be moving to Rosslyn, an area of Arlington Virginia …

DHS Briefing Warns of Potential Violence at DC Rally

A Depratment of Homeland Security briefing to state and local law enforcement agencies stressed the possibility of violence at the "Justice for J6" protest rally based on its intelligence assessment.Officers from Montgomery County,Maryland;Arlington County,Virginia;and Fairfax County,Virginia have been deputised to assist the US Capitol Police at the event on 18 September 2021.As well,the Pentagon has put the D.C. National Guard on standby for a quick response,if needed.* Capitol fencing was put up by construction crews overnight from Wednesday to Thursday.They also added temporary surveillance cameras to the setup.The fencing is buttressed by concrete jersey barriers to make it sturdier and deter ramming by motor vehicles.* The DHS briefing noted that online chatter indicated possible violence not only on the eighteenth,but the seventeenth as well.There was talk of storming the Capitol and the kidnapping of a specific member of Congress.Lone wolves and small groups can mobilise quickly and without warning,the briefing cautioned.* The DHS Transportation Security Administration will bulk up security at Washington area airports this weekend by deploying canine teams.In addition,the Capitol Police and the TSA are upgrading protection of members of Congress.* Several state capitals across the country are also possible targets for extremist activity over the weekend.*

Building Undersea Warfare Capacity:Sub Group 2 Re-established

On 30 September 2019,in response to re-emergent great power competition, the US Navy re-established Commander,Sub Group 2 in Norfolk, Virginia.It had been dis-established in August 2014.According to the Navy,SUBGRU 2 is aimed at:
Enhancing the Navy's capacity to command and control its Undersea Warfare forces seamlessly across the entire Atlantic area, from the Eastern Seaboard of the United States to the Barents Sea, and even into the South Atlantic,if the need arises.*
VADM Charles Richard, Commander of Submarine Forces, said that:
The security environment continues to grow more challenging and complex in the North Atlantic.To maintain America's undersea superiority, we must increase naval power and our readiness for high-end blue water warfare.How we're organized to command that employment will be a driving factor in our success-that's why we're re-establishing Sub Group 2 today.*
Commander, SUBGRU 2 RADM James Waters:
We will prepare forces to control the undersea domain through rigorous competitive training, and a thorough understanding of our adversaries and the environment where we both operate.Further, we will innovate and advance the art of theater anti-submarine warfare through complex fleet exercises and war games.*
SUBGRU 2 is capable of operating as an embedded Commander ,Task Force within Commander ,U.S. 2nd Fleet when it is activated as a Maritime Command Element.*
ADM Christopher Grady, Commander,U.S. Fleet Forces Command,told SUBGRU 2 that:
You must understand that winning decisively in a potential "Fourth Battle of the Atlantic" should be your guiding vision.The best way to prevent a fight is to be prepared to win decisively should anyone threaten us.We believe in power for peace.*

Norfolk and the History of NATO

New NATO Command Activated in Virginia

On 26 July 2019,the North Atlantic Council,NATO's executive body in Brussels,Belgium,formally activated Joint Force Command Norfolk in Virginia as a NATO military body.The JFCNF has the following missions and tasks:
1.To deliver multinational and NATO effects;
2.maintain readiness,protect the North Atlantic strategic lines of communication;
3.deter aggression;
4.contribute to NATO responsiveness;
5.secure reinforcements and resupply;
6.and,if necessary,project power to defend its Allies and Partners.*
According to VADM Andrew Lewis,Commander of JFCNF and the US Navy 2nd Fleet:
This is a significant milestone in the short history of this unique NATO command.As we forge ahead,we are continuing to press ahead and look forward to receiving the full complement of international personnel so we can meet Initial Operational Capability (IOC) by December 2019.*
The JFCNF was created out of concern for NATO's capacity to rapidly reinforce Europe in the event of a crisis.

CIA Paramilitary Officers Acknowledged in Death - some of the nation's most secret,heroic and highly trained warriors

Following their long-delayed burial this summer at Arlington National Cemetery,the identities and partial biographies of two CIA Paramilitary Officers,members of the Agency's Directorate of Operations,specifically the Special Activities Division/Special Operations Group,or SAD/SOG,were revealed by The New York Times on 6 September 2017.Any substantive information about the unit is a very rare find,so those who die in this form of heroism do so largely in obscurity-part of the deal they signed onto.
Even the medals these commandos receive are themselves classified and may not be taken home.*
They were Brian Ray Hoke (1974-2016) and Nathaniel Patrick Delemarre (1968-2016).The paramilitaries were killed in a firefight while mounting an assault  in Jalalabad,Afghanistan on a compound of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant - Khorasan militants on 21 October 2016.Mr.Hoke was a US Naval Academy graduate and former Navy SEAL;Mr.Delemarre was a veteran of the US Marine Corps Reserves,in which he was a radio operator,and a commissioned officer in the US Naval Reserves at the time of his death.Both men were married and had children.In May 2017,they received stars on the memorial wall at CIA Headquarters in Langley,Virginia,bringing the total number of CIA Afghan War deaths to 18.Another star added at that time was in memory of George A. Whitney,38,also killed in Jalalabad-but in December 2016.Mr.Whitney had served in the Third Marine Reconnaissance Battalion in Anbar Province,Iraq.*
The SAD/SOG is thought to number in the low hundreds.It is used for highly dangerous paramilitary or covert operations the US Government wants deniability for.These operatives have been awarded most of the stars on the CIA memorial wall,as well as a large number of the Distinguished Intelligence Crosses and Intelligence Star medals for distinguished valour and excellence in the national service.
Besides paramilitary operations,the tactical personnel may carry out covert political action in hostile and austere environments.Unlike the Pentagon's Special Operations Forces,the SAD/SOG is tasked directly by the President or National Security Council on his behalf.It is highly regarded by the combatant commanders and often linked with the US military's Special Operations Forces and indigenous commandos on sensitive missions.
Another unique characteristic of the SAD/SOG members is that they combine unconventional warfare expertise with clandestine intelligence operations skills,being fully qualified to recruit and run foreign agents as well as conduct direct action raids and sabotage,counterterrorism and hostage rescue missions in any environment,with little to no support.*
Indeed,the SAD/SOG is a self-contained,combined arms paramilitary service within the CIA.It has four branches,including an Air Branch;Maritime Branch;Ground Branch;and Armor and Special Projects Branch for heavier and more esoteric equipment.Training is centered at the nearly 9,000 acres of the US Navy's Camp Peary near the historic enclave of Williamsburg,Virginia.Most of the tract is a natural area famed for its hunting;but,besides academic buildings,it additionally includes an air strip and a boat facility.
One surreptitious photo shows that a cargo drop practice went wrong and the cargo got stuck in a tree.*
The Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency trains its agents at Camp Peary as well.

President Ford's Daughter Christens Aircraft Carrier

The Pre-Commissioning Unit Gerald R Ford,first of a new class of nuclear aircraft carrier,was christened on Saturday,November 9 at Huntington Ingalls Industries' shipyard in Newport News,Virginia.The late President Gerald R Ford's daughter and Ship's Sponsor,Susan Ford Bales,broke a bottle of champagne on the bow of the ship and named it in honour of her father,the nation's 38th president and a US Navy veteran of World War II.Mr.Ford was aware of plans for the carrier at the time of his death in December,2006 at age 93,and expressed both pride and humility that it would be named for him.
The new warship is expected to enter service in 2016.It will be followed by PCU John F Kennedy,already under construction.Carriers are intended to serve for 50 years.The Ford class features a new and repositioned island,or control tower,;a redesigned and more efficient flight deck;and three flight deck elevators instead of four.These improvements will allow a 25% increase in sorties,or missions.
The new class also has two advanced nuclear reactors and 250% more electrical capacity,as well as dual-band radar and electronic catapults for launching aircraft.The cumulative effect of the latest engineering will save the Navy a projected 4 billion dollars over the carrier's lifespan,according to Newport News Shipbuilding,the HII unit that designs and builds the Ford class.The number of valves has been reduced by over a third,for example.The greater electrical capacity ensures the ship can handle new weapons systems that come along over the next several decades.
Gerald R Ford was president from 1974-77,following his 9 months as Richard Nixon's Vice President and a long career in the House of Representatives from 1949-73,where he became known for his integrity and bipartisanship.A football player during his student days at the University of Michigan,Mr.Ford was a gunnery and training officer in the Navy from 1942-46,seeing extensive action in the Pacific theatre aboard the light carrier USS Monterey(CVL 26) and rising to the rank of Lieutenant Commander.He was decorated with the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 9 Battle Stars;the Phillipine Liberation Medal with 2 Bronze Stars;the American Campaign and World War II Victory Medals.After the war,he was a member of the American Legion;AMVETS;and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Susan Ford Bales,born in 1957,is the youngest of Mr.Ford's 4 children and has been deeply involved in preserving her father's legacy as a Trustee of the Gerald R Ford Presidential Foundation.As Ship's Sponsor,she participates in all the ship's milestone events.
Huntington Ingalls Industries(HII)

Northrop Drone Makes Naval Aviation History

It was a smooth engineering event.There was no drama at all.The deck crew,some of them taking cell phone photos,almost seemed irrelevant as Northrop Grumman's X-47B was launched from the deck of the USS George H.W. Bush(CVN 47) off the coast of Virginia Tuesday.It wasn't Top Gun,yet it was an historic flight nonetheless as the first drone to be launched from a US aircraft carrier signaled the dawn of a new era in naval aviation.
This drone landed at nearby Naval Air Station Patuxent River Maryland-again without incident;but the next step for the Unmanned Combat Air System-Demonstrator,or UCAS-D, program will be to land one on the deck of a moving aircraft carrier later in the year.Eventually,the Navy will arm drones and be able to fly them anywhere in the world without the need for an air base in a distant land:a new degree of independence for unmanned air combat operations.
What is more,the X47-B doesn't need human controllers with a joystick.Its flight is totally computerised.
The Top Gun era is by no means over,however.The Navy's manned F-35 Lightning IIC Joint Strike Fighter program is barely off the ground and will be the standard of aircraft carrier combat operations for many decades into the future.Drones will be a valuable tool,but just one of a range of options for theater commanders.Land-based drones haven't replaced land-based US Air Force fighter or bomber aircraft in the Iraq and Afghan Wars.
Combat air drones are slated for deployment aboard carriers by 2020.
Northrop Grumman(NOC)

US Navy Ship Status Report

On December 1,2012,the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise(CVN 65) was inactivated at a ceremony in Norfolk,Virginia.The name of a new ship,which is to be a Gerald Ford class carrier,was announced the same day:Enterprise(CVN 80).
January 20,2012,the submarine USS Memphis(SSN 691) was decommissioned and stricken.The USS Chicago(SSN 721) shifted its homeport from Pear Harbor,Hawaii to Guam on April 19,2012.The USS Mississippi(SSN 782) was delivered from General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton,Connecticut on May 2,2012 and commissioned on June 2 in Pascagoula,Mississippi.It is homeported at Groton.
The USS Minnesota(SSN 783) was christened October 27 at Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding  in Newport News,Virginia,and launched on November 9.
The following names of submarines were announced April 13,2012:Illinois(SSN 786);Washington(SSN 787);Colorado(SSN 788);Indiana(SSN 789);and South Dakota(SSN 790).Delaware(SSN 791) was announced November 19.
The USS Maine(SSN 691) was damaged in an arson fire on May 23 while in drydock at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery,Maine.She is being repaired for around 450 million dollars.
The Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Michael Murphy(DDG 112) was commissioned October 6 in New York and is homeported at Pearl Harbor.The name of  destroyer John Finn(DDG 113) was announced February 15.Fabrication started September 3 at Huntington Ingalls Industries Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula,Mississippi.
Two other destroyer names were announced February 15,2012:Ralph Johnson(DDG 114) and Rafael Peralta(DDG 115).A construction contract for Thomas Hudner(DDG 116) was awarded February 28,2012 to Bath Iron Works,Maine.The name of Lyndon Johnson(DDG 1002) was announced April 16 and construction was started April 4,also at Bath Iron Works.
The sequestration budget crisis is not expected to halt construction of ships already under contract,according to Mike Petters,President and CEO of Huntington Ingalls Industries.The real question is new contracts such as that for carrier Enterprise(CVN 80).
General Dynamics(GD),Huntington Ingalls Industries(HII)

EFV Prototype Rolled Out

A prototype of the U.S. Marine Corps' Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle was rolled out on 4 May at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico,Virginia.General Dynamics is building the amphibious vehicles.The Marines need 573 of them,including the standard personnel carriers,as well as 67 command and control vehicles to support battalion and regimental commanders.A colonel explained that the vehicles create a lot of uncertainty for an enemy force.They create places an enemy can't defend against,so the Marines don't have to relive an Iwo Jima,a Tarawa or a Normandy.
The vehicle is fast,leaving quite a dust trail in its wake.It is armed with a substantial turret gun,giving it the look of a tank.An enlisted man said it was the most fun he's ever had with an armored vehicle.The EFV makes a seamless transition from the water to the beach,and is totally at home either afloat or on shore.It really is a remarkable achievement for the contractor.It can carry 17 Marines-a rifle company- and three crew.Initial operating capability is expected in 2015.

Defense Contractor Achieves Gain

General Dynamics,one of the largest U.S. defense contractors,has delivered a good report for Q4.GD's net income rose 18.7%,to 2.46 billion dollars from 2.07 year over year.Its order backlog rose by 13.6 billion.Higher gains in its Gulfstream business jet unit,as well as its shipbuilding division,bumped its profit up about 6% to 612 million.On the minus side,its combat systems unit,which builds armored vehicles for the Army and Marine Corps,saw a drop in sales as its contract for the Iraq war wound down with the war itself.GD's overall sales rose 4.5% to 7.85 billion.It is headquartered in Falls Church,Virginia.

Honors:Afghan War Toll

As of Sunday,634 U.S. personnel had died serving in Operation Enduring Freedom.One of them was a Department of Defense civilian.Among the military deaths recently were two Marines.Lance Cpl.Alberto Francesconi of the Bronx,New York was killed in action on 1 January in Helmand Province.He was 21.On 11 January,Lance Cpl.Daniel R. Bennett of Clifton,Virginia also died in Helmand Province,but of non-combat causes at age 23.Both Marines were members of 3rd Battalion,8th Marine Regiment,2nd Marine Division,2nd Marine Expeditionary Force,out of Camp Lejeune,North Carolina.Besides Afghanistan itself,Operation Enduring Freedom is supported from Ethiopia,Jordan,Yemen and at least 12 other countries,where some of the deaths have occurred.

Honors

Two Navy SEALs have died in combat in Afghanistan.Senior Chief Petty Officer John Marcum of Flushing,Michigan and Petty Officer First Class Jason Freiwald of Utica,Michigan were killed in an engagement with heavily armed militants.CPO Marcum had received four Bronze Stars for heroic or meritorious service in combat,while PO Freiwald had received a Bronze Star and Joint Service Commendation Medal for his previous performance.The SEALs were part of Naval Special Warfare Development Group,Virginia Beach,Virginia.

Memorial Ship Christened

The USS New York(LPD 21),a vessel forged in tragedy,was christened on 1 March in Avondale,Louisiana.The ship's bow stem,or front edge,contains 7.5 tons of steel from the World Trade Center rubble,and she stood up to Hurricane Katrina.An amphibious transport dock,the New York carries 699 Marines and their equipment,including the MV22 Osprey,a vertical take-off and landing aircraft.Her sister ship,the Arlington(LPD 24),is under construction,and evokes the 9-11 attack on the Pentagon in Arlington,Virginia,as well as Arlington National Cemetery.The USS New York's home port will be in Norfolk,Virginia.