2nd Fleet Focus: USS Bataan Responds to Gustav

Navy Times is reporting the USS Bataan (LHD 5) will be putting to sea Monday for potential response for Hurricane Gustav.

The amphibious assault ship Bataan will get underway Monday for what officials are calling a “readiness at sea event”

The ship’s initial mission will be to prepare for disaster response, according to Vice Adm. Mel Williams, the 2nd Fleet commander.

There is some irony, for those who may not remember, the USS Bataan (LHD 5) was in the Gulf of Mexico 3 years ago during Hurricane Katrina, and one of the lessons learned noted how the ship was never well utilized, mostly due to communication problems and agency coordination issues.

As we look observe much of the analysis of this storm, it does appear we can expect to see considerably more damage to Louisiana from Gustav than we saw from Katrina, and an even larger set of problems. Katrina hit Mississippi very hard, but Gustav will end up hitting Baton Rogue and Lafayette with wind damage harder than what we expect to see in New Orleans. With much of the state command and control networks built into Baton Rogue and Lafayette, but with heavy flooding expected in New Orleans, command and control will immediately be tested.

From our point of view, the USS Bataan (LHD 5) deployment is coming a day late, and it is particularly noteworthy the Navy will have difficulty deploying more ships from the east coast if necessary. Hurricane Hanna will soon be influencing the lines of communication at sea off the east coast of Florida, meaning after Monday any other ships will be forced to take the long route through heavy seas around Hanna to help in the Gulf Coast. It will be interesting to see how this develops, but if major damage hits Baton Rogue, Lafayette, and New Orleans, we might end up wishing we had more ships at sea.

2nd Fleet Focus: More Delays for Iwo Jima ESG

This is a very good article from WAVY, informative and interesting.

Navy officials tell WAVY.com the USS Ramage and USS Vella Gulf deployments are delayed again, citing the loading of weapons as a main problem. They say a recent rainy mist covered the ships at the Naval Station, not to mention the possibility of lightning nearby. That weather makes loading weapons, like rockets, too dangerous.

Officials say the Vella Gulf departure is re-scheduled for Saturday while the Ramage is scheduled to set sail Friday evening.

The Ramage is one of only two ships of it's kind on the East Coast It now has a brand new Ballistic Missile Defense system on board.

"We can detect a missile when it launches and then we can track it and figure out where it's going to hit and then if necessary, we can intercept and destroy it mid-flight before it attacks a civilian population," says Commander Peter Galluch, USS Ramage.

LPD-17 was delayed, now two more warships delayed albeit for different reasons. Anyone else heard the phrase bad things come in the threes. Hopefully this means good news from here for the deployment. All ships should be underway by tomorrow.

Note the last paragraph, sounds like we have a SM-3 sighting.

JTFEX 08-4 Order of Battle

JTFEX 08-4 "Operation Brimstone" Order of Battle

Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group

USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71)
USS Monterey (CG 61)
USS Mason (DDG 87)
USS Nitze (DDG 94)
USS The Sullivans (DDG 68)
USS Springfield (SSN 761)

Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group

USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7)
San Antonio (LPD 17)
USS Carter Hall (LSD 50)
USS Vella Gulf (CG 72)
USS Roosevelt (DDG 80)
USS Ramage (DDG 61)
USS Hartford (SSN 768)
BNS Greenhalgh (F-46)

Other Participating Forces

HMS Ark Royal (RO 7)
USS San Jacinto (CG 56)
USS Anzio (CG 68)
USS Normandy (CG 60)
USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81)
USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79)
USS Carney (DDG 64)
USS Carr (FFG 52)
FS Amethyste (S 605)
ITS Salvatore Todaro (S-526)


Several notes.

We believe this list is incomplete, and will update as information is available. USS Underwood (FFG 36) is one example.

There are French Rafale's and Hawkeye's on the Theodore Roosevelt.

This exercise includes the first tactical use of the Inter-American Naval Telecommunications Network's (IANTN) Combined Enterprise Regional Information Exchange System (CENTRIXS) which is being utilized with BNS Greenhalgh (F-46) within the Iwo Jima ESG. CENTRIXS-IANTN is a high speed network that works for the IANTN's 16 member countries include Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, México, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Perú, United States and Uruguay.

2nd Fleet Focus: The GW Shifts East

The next aircraft carrier to deploy will leave on April 7th. This will be interesting to observe.

The USS George Washington aircraft carrier and its 3,200 sailors will pull away from Naval Station Norfolk for the last time Monday.

After more than a decade of calling Hampton Roads home, the 15-year-old aircraft carrier is heading to Yokosuka, Japan to replace the aging USS Kitty Hawk as the only permanently forward-deployed aircraft carrier.

The Washington is scheduled to arrive at its new Pacific post by August, following brief detours near South America where it will participate in training exercises.

The Kitty Hawk will be decommissioned later this year.

The USS George Washington (CVN 73) will be rounding South America on its way to Japan, and will do some exercises along the way. It will be escorted by the USS Farragut (DDG 99) and USS Kauffman (FFG 59). I encourage everyone to check out those links. There is a really nice pattern emerging, it seems lately whenever we observe a ship get deployment orders, this really snazzy new website pops up for the ship. BRAVO ZULU.

One final thought. All this talk about the Kitty Hawk being decommissioned later this year is hogwash. I don't see it being decommissioned until next year at the earlist. The Navy cannot decommission her under the law until the USS George H W Bush (CVN 77) is commissioned, and that won't happen until next fiscal year. This USS Enterprise (CVN 65) retirement notice to Congress is starting to get attention, and the Navy will not retire the Kitty Hawk early. If the Bush commissioning is delayed for any reason, the Kitty Hawk decommissioning will be too. We have heard talk the Kitty Hawk decommissioning is already being pushed back until summer of 2009.

2nd Fleet Focus: Venezuela Mobilizes Military

This is hardly surprising, Chavez never skips a beat in grabbing a headline. If we didn't import so much of our oil from Venezuela, this wouldn't be worth close observation.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ordered his country's embassy in neighboring Colombia to close and told his military to move tank battalions to the border after a Colombian air strike into Ecuador, an ally of Venezuela.

``This could be the beginning of a war,'' Chavez said in comments broadcast today by state television. ``We are on alert, and we'll support Ecuador in any circumstance.''

Colombia launched an air strike yesterday on an Ecuador camp of Colombia's biggest guerrilla group to kill one of its leaders, Raul Reyes. Diplomatic relations between Chavez and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe have unraveled since Uribe withdrew his support for Chavez's negotiations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia to secure the release of hostages.

Right before Hurricane Katrina, Chavez called the training of the USS Bataan (LHD 5) with Mexico the potential invasion of Venezuela by the United States, so anytime I read a comment by Chavez that says "beginning of a war" I think of the boy who cried wolf.

CNN is also reporting 10 tank battalions have been ordered to moved to the border. The rush to react by American citizen observers is hard to watch. I've even read people try to call into action the Rio Treaty, also known as the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance which is a defense treaty between several nations of this hemisphere. It is suggested if Venezuela invades Columbia, the US is obligated under treaty to respond. Ironically, Chavez is invoking the same treaty on behalf of Ecuador. If there is ever a treaty that defines the futility of defense treaties in the modern era, the Rio Treaty is the posterchild.

Isn't it interesting, several days ago the US took out a terrorist inside Pakistan, and even though Pakistan was pissed we attacked a terrorist target in their territory, Americans thought it was the right thing. Further to the irony, this is exactly the position of the Obama campaign to deal with Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.

In this case we have a case where Columbia attacks a FARC leader, recognized as a terrorist by the US government. This is basically the same position of the US against Al Qaeda. We should not be surprised there are some unhappy a nation hit a target in a neighbor though, so the outrage was all but mute.

Israel hit Gaza today, killing as many as 80. We are seeing predictable patterns. We are actually seeing consistency. Clearly despite 9/11, no one really does all it can to 3rd world countries, including in Africa, South America, the Middle East, and SE Asia, to stop supporting non-state military actors, what we generally term terrorists even though they represent insurgencies. Anyone who claims the US is being consistent on that front needs to explain the PKK. The advocacy that takes up for either side in this issue highlights the lack of strategy by the US government. Who is ready to defend Columbia, and watch the price of gasoline go up? Who is ready to watch Chavez topple the government in Columbia? Would America really watch Germany invade Poland again 70 some off years later?

We expect the Navy to be dispatched to quietly, it is unlikely we will see a headline from the Navy, rather we'll learn from a Pentagon leak as the media rushes to give away intelligence regarding US troop movements. The news will play directly into the Chavez propaganda campaign once the leak occurs.

From solely a Navy perspective, this will be very interesting to observe. We believe, as many do, the next CNO will either be Adm. James Stavridis or Admiral William "Fox" Fallon.

Adm. Fallon was seen as a peacemaker in his time in the Pacific, and is now seen as the premier warfighter in his role for CENTCOM. Adm. Stavridis has a reputation solely of that as a peacemaker. If this situation develops into something, or is prevented from doing so in some way, this strikes us as one of the those tests the rest of Adm. Stavridis career may be judged by.

2nd Fleet Focus: Responding to Hurricane Felix

It looks like the damage to Nicaragua caused by Hurricane Felix is more extensive than has been reported, calls for help have been sent out, and the US Navy is responding.

The Pentagon's Southern Command is sending a U.S. Navy ship to the waters off Nicaragua to help in the relief efforts from Hurricane Felix, which struck central America this week.

The Category 5 Felix slammed Nicaragua and Honduras Tuesday, killing at least 40 people in Honduras and Nicaragua -- and injuring many more.

In Miami, the head of the U.S. Southern Command, Navy Adm. James Stavridis, ordered a survey team to help the U.S. Agency for International Development, a State Department affiliate agency, evaluate what kind of relief the United States might give to those areas affected by the storm.

Then late Wednesday, Southcom announced that Stavridis had dispatched the USS Wasp from a huge multi-national naval exercise around the Panama Canal to help in any rescue and recovery efforts.

2nd Fleet Focus: Observations of Operation Bold Step

Operation Bold Step, the recent exercise involving the Truman CSG, Eisenhower CSG, and HMS Illustrious produced quite a few headlines. The three most interesting stories I have read so far all come from the Navy Times; ‘Lusty’ is a refined carrier, U.S. pilots say, Training for deployment piles on the pressure, and International Integration, Bold Step Helps U.S., U.K., Other Navies Sort Out Communications Concerns.

The first article goes into detail regarding some of the philosophical differences between the Royal Navy and the US Navy. I wasn't really interested in that, the US Navy is unlikely to ever adopt some of these Royal Navy philosophical differences, but what did catch my eye were some of the comments regarding the 12 degree ramp and the discussions regarding the difference in landing on the ~20,000 ton HMS Illustrious compared to the ~40,000 ton Wasp class.

While I wouldn't advocate putting a 12 degree ramp on LHDs or the new LHARs to be built for ESGs, it does raise the question whether the 12 degree ramp should be evaluated for the future F-35B. Specifically, the major criticism, that I tend to agree with btw, with the future Sea Base concept is how it doesn't adequately address aviation support for the Marine Corp. One of the hallmarks of the US Pacific campaign in WWII was the dedication of carriers, specifically CVEs, for Marine Corp combat air support aviation. It has been suggested that the Marines need to take Marine Aviation back to see on dedicated platforms designed for the new, larger F-35B and MV-22. If platforms are ever designed to accomplish this, evaluating the 12 degree ramp should be part of the process.

In Training for deployment piles on the pressure I found one particular story very interesting.

The mystery frigate has decided to act.

“She’s coming right at us,” he says. “They’re coming at us at 21 knots.”

Within minutes, the ships are passing one another at a distance of 3,000 yards. Carney gets its positive ID. The opposing force ship is the Mayport-based frigate McInerney.

“He’s allowed to be here with us, too, and that’s OK,” Kuffel says. “Now we’ll just trail her. We get to look forward and he’s got to look back.”

Easier said than done. What follows is the naval equivalent of martial arts sparring, as both ships maneuver for advantage. McInerney can make tighter turns and tries to cut inside Carney’s loop. Standing on the port bridge wing, Kuffel keeps ordering turns and power adjustments. The ships end up tracking each other into a large circle and into overlapping turns.

McInerney still won’t talk.

“No response to query, sir,” Derges tells the captain.

Kuffel keeps the pressure on.

“He wants to be in a certain position, and I am not going to let him. He’s not talking with us, either,” he says. “I am happy to ride his beam or his stern.”

Finally, after several thrusts and parries, the frigate stops and backs off. Its navigation lights come on and Carney reciprocates as a subtle gesture of peaceful intent.

Such exercises train to simulate worst-case scenarios. The posturing of two ships could have easily escalated. In places such as the Persian Gulf, tactical maneuvering can quickly become a strategic problem, and the sailors know it.

“I don’t think I’d be doing this in the real world,” Kuffel said.

I'm not sure I agree with USS Carney’s captain, Cmdr. Glenn Kuffel. Historically speaking, this type of chess match at sea was a common theme in the Persian Gulf in 1987-1988 as told in several stories in the book Inside the Danger Zone: The U.S. Military in the Persian Gulf, 1987-1988, by Harold Lee Wise, not to mention commonplace in the cold war. The book tells multiple stories where ships in the Persian Gulf would compete for position with ships of the Iranian Navy. I am not really sure why Cmdr. Kuffel would dismiss the potential for another similar encounter in the future.

If anything, I expect such encounters to become more commonplace worldwide as nations continue to build larger Navies to compete regionally for dominance of the seas. The expectation that future naval wars will be fought over the horizon and that the US Navy will be given the green light to fire cruise missiles at enemy warships over the horizon in areas of heavy commercial traffic seems a bit like wishful thinking to me. Positive identification will be required, and insuring a safe flight path for any weapon system will be important in naval warfare for the US Navy in heavily trafficked maritime locals.

Jocking for tactical position goes back to the ships of sail, but the same tactics played an important role in both the cold war and in the Persian Gulf as a means of deterrence to hostilities. I see no compelling evidence that technology has changed the rules of naval warfare during peacetime enough that these tactics won't continue to be utilized in the future. If anything, with more potential rivals, the ability of the US Navy to maintain a positional advantage over a 'potential' rival during peacetime will be more critical in the future in deterring a potential confrontation.

Finally, in perhaps one of the most detailed and interesting stories, International Integration, Bold Step Helps U.S., U.K., Other Navies Sort Out Communications Concerns, a subscription article reproduced in Monday's CHINFO News Clips, details are released regarding the integration of allies in information sharing.

This blog has previously covered some of the Navy initiatives to streamline the integration of allies into Strike Groups. As the CHINFO article points out, the US Navy has integrated warships from other nations into its CSGs and ESGs, but one of the problems in the past has been the information sharing network behind the strike group has been unavailable to embedded foreign naval vessels. The Navy, as well as international partners, are trying to fix this.

Some will no doubt remember that Argentina, Spain, Canada, and others have integrated warships into Strike Groups over the past few years, but without the full integration required by information access, foreigners have complained that they have been assigned roles well below their capability. The communication problems behind that are being addressed with new, high speed information sharing technologies that integrate data sharing. Operation Bold Step tested these communication sharing tools, not only with the HMS Manchester (D95), but also with HMCS Charlottetown (FFH 339), which is currently preparing for a Gulf deployment this fall.

It is unclear if the submarines from Peru and Chile, or if the 3 French naval vessels that took part of Operation Bold Step were similarly integrated.

When put into perspective of the upcoming fall deployments, including the deployment of the USS Wasp (LHD 1), one can speculate how the rotation will change the naval presence in the 5th fleet region.

The composition of the Truman Strike Group still hasn't been officially announced, but it does appear the Strike Group escorts will consist of the USS Hue City (CG 66), USS San Jacinto (CG 56), USS Carney (DDG 64), USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79), USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81), HMS Manchester (D95), and the USS Montpelier (SSN 765). In addition Canada is deploying the HMCS Charlottetown (FFH 339), and to replace the USS Carter Hall (LSD 50) the US appears to be deploying the USS Wasp (LHD 1). This represents a massive increase of firepower even over the forces we saw this summer with the 2 carrier surge in the region.

When combined with the USS Bonhomme Richard ESG, USS Kearsarge ESG, and the USS Bainbridge (DDG 96) deployment to replace the USS Normandy (CG 60) in SNMG1 off the African coast, the US is increasing not only its mine warfare capability, its littoral AEGIS war fighting capability, its aviation capabilities, but more importantly its communications integration capabilities (think CEC) not only within the US forces, but also with allies. All of this doesn't even include the upcoming Royal Navy deployment of the HMS Illustrious which is expected to make a visit to the region later this year as well.

Get ready for the alarmist blogging, there are several deployments upcoming that will no doubt send the paranoid into a tizzy.

2nd Fleet Focus: Notes and Events

John J. Kruzel has an interesting article on the integration and preparation taking place on HMS Illustrious as the ship and crew gets ready for JTFX 07-2. I found the comments of both the Marines and the Royal Navy sailors interesting.

The USS James E. Williams returned to sea yesterday to catch up to the USS Enterprise. It would not appear the mishap during the TOWEX last week caused much, if any, damage. The Enterprise CSG is currently in the Med.

The USS John F. Kennedy will be towed to Norfolk instead of Philadelphia as was originally expected.

However, the Kennedy’s ultimate destination for mothball storage is now in doubt as well. Navy officials confirmed to Navy Times on Monday that the 38-year-old ship may not be mothballed in Philadelphia as initially planned, and instead could end up in the Hampton Roads, Va., area. That’s because, sources said, harbor pilots have told the Navy they are now not sure the aircraft carrier will safely make it to a berth at the shipyard without possibly going aground in the channel.

The ship is now expected to be diverted to somewhere in the Hampton Roads area until the issues with depth of the Delaware River channel in Philadelphia can be resolved.

Interesting, considering the USS America, which had a deeper draft, was able to transverse the same channel with no problem in 2005. I noticed Springboard caught that detail too.

JTFX-07-2 Order of Battle

There appears to be a lot of interest in JTFX-07-2 across the pond with HMS Illustrious (R06) deploying US Marine aircraft, so I figured what people are looking for is the JTFX-07-2 Order of Battle.

JTFX-07-2 aka "Operation Bold Step" off the US East Coast in the waters from Virginia to Florida is scheduled to for July 26th through July 31st. The exercise includes US Navy and Royal Navy warships, USAF aircraft, and additional aircraft from NATO (not certain yet which countries that includes).

JTFEX 07-2 serves as the forward-certifying event for the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (JTFEX certification) and sustainment training for units from the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group.


Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group

USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75)
Commander Carrier Strike Group 10 (CSSG 10)
Carrier Air Wing 3 (CVW 3)
Commander Destroyer Squadron 26 (CDesRon 26)
USS Hue City (CG 66)
USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79)
USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81)
HMS Manchester (D95)
USS Montpelier (SSN 765)


Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group

USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69)
Commander Carrier Strike Group 8 (CSSG 8)
Carrier Air Wing 7 (CVW 7)
Commander Destroyer Squadron 28 (CDesRon 28)
USS Anzio (CG 68)
USS Ramage (DDG 61)
USS Cole (DDG 67)
USS Kaufmann (FFG 69)
USS Boise (SSN 764)


Illustrious Strike Group

HMS Illustrious (R06)
Marine Aircraft Group 14 (MAG 14)
RN Air Squadrons 857 and 771
USS Monterey (CG 61)
USS San Jacinto (CG 56)
USS Carney (DDG 64)
USS Nicholas (FFG 47)
USS Simpson (FFG 56).


Other ships involved in JTFEX 07-2 include:

USS Farragut (DDG 99)
USS Bainbridge (DDG 96)
USS McFaul (DDG 74)
USS Stephen W, Groves (FFG 29)
USS John L. Hall (FFG 32)
USS McInerney (FFG 8)
USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG 49)


While there is still no official listing of ships that will deploy with the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group around September, it would appear the USS San Jacinto (CG 56) and USS Carney (DDG 64) will join the ships participating in the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group in this exercise as the strike group for the upcoming deployment. We probably won't know "officially" for another month or so.

2nd Fleet Focus: Soft Power in South America

If this report is accurate, the impact of the USNS Comfort (A-TH 20) is much larger than anyone originally estimated, and absolutely justifies the continued investment of hospital ships in the US Navy.

USNS Comfort has accommodated 55,465 patient treatments in just the first of a four-month deployment to the Caribbean, Central and South America, and is on track to exceed the estimated 85,000 patients expected originally.

To date, Comfort’s medical and veterinarian staff has conducted 182 surgeries, 5,717 dental procedures, dispensed 16,999 pharmaceuticals, issued 3,868 eyeglasses and treated 862 animals.

The ship’s medical staff has also partnered with Project Hope - an nternational, nongovernmental heath organization - to conduct 423 training sessions for 10,240 students, including preventive medicine training for patients and health procedures training for medical providers.

I find that pretty incredible. The USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) mission isn't without its share of naysayers, including those inside the Navy who believe it is a waste of funds to send a hospital ship to South America on a mission that costs about as much as a SAG deployment, but I would be firmly on the side of those who disagree with that point of view. The US Navy with its global reach provides a unique vehicle for the United States to exercise soft power projection to places and in ways that warships simply cannot or would not be given access to. From a strategic perspective, the USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) mission is shaping up to be at least as critical to reversing US political attention to South America as the Global Fleet Station mission of HSV Swift.

I noticed earlier today that Cuba's Castro was being critical of the USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) mission, which for me was a sign that he must be getting information the mission is being successful. Otherwise why mention it at all?

Other USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) News:

• Comfort Arrives in Panama, Continues Mission (7/6/2024)
• Panamanian Doctors Operate Aboard Comfort (7/11/2024)
• Comfort Treats Thousands During Four-day Visit to Panama (7/11/2024)
• Comfort Traverses Panama Canal (7/11/2024)
• Advance Coordination Team Smooths Way for Comfort Mission (7/12/2024)

Given the lessons of the USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) last year and after seeing the statistics early on from the USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) mission this year, it seems to me a hospital ship rotation, or a USS Peleliu (LHA 5) type medical exercise rotation to a persistent Global Fleet Station is something that should be considered as part of the GFS concept. Nothing projects the American Soft Power needed in the GWOT like the US Navy medical capabilities to a region in need.

2nd Fleet Focus: Venezuela's Growing Navy

The US 2nd Fleet's Area of Responsibility is steadily becoming a focus of US policy. The two areas getting attention include the western coastof Africa, specifically the Gulf of Guinea, but also the Caribbean region with the problematic Hugo Chavez. A January 22nd, 2007 CRS report on "Latin America: Terrorism Issues" summed up the concern for the new Congress regarding Venezuela:

According to the State Department’s April 2006 terrorism report, Venezuela has virtually ceased its cooperation in the global war on terror, tolerated terrorist in its territory, and sought close relations with Cuba and Iran, both state sponsors of terrorism. As noted above, Colombian terrorist groups use Venezuela territory for safehaven, although it is unclear whether and to what extent the government of President Hugo Chávez provides material support to these terrorist groups and at what level. According to the State Department report, Venezuelan citizenship, identity, and travel documents are easy to obtain, making the country a potentially attractive way-station for terrorists. In mid-May 2006, the Department of State, pursuant to Section 40A of the Arms Export Control Act, prohibited the sale or license of defense article and services to Venezuela because of its lack of cooperation on antiterrorism efforts. Other countries on the Section 40A list include Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria, not to be confused with the “state sponsors of terrorism” list under Section 6(j) of the Export Administration Act of 1979. (For further information, see CRS Report RL32488, Venezuela: Political Conditions and U.S. Policy.)

In late May, Chavez declared war on the media within Venezuela. As a follow up, Venezuela is making headlines this week with reports out of Russia that President Hugo Chavez is looking to buy submarines from Russia. This isn't actually new news, it is just details of old news, this time in English. Back in January Mer et Marine ran a story that a Venezuelan admiral was looking to buy 9 SSKs. As the story went, they originally approached DCN regarding the Scorpene, but France wasn't interested. Venezuela then went looking for other options, including the Russian Amur and German U212, but also found Mer et Marine was interested and would sell Venezuela the S-80. Since the S-80 has US equipment in it, the Scorpene is a more likely sell (they are co-owner of the Scorpene project with DCN).

The story faded and there wasn't much news about Venezuelan submarines until now. There are some details that Mer et Marine released back in January regarding the Venezuela purchase, among them 50 days autonomy and an AIP requirement. From the details released in the Russian media, it would appear the Russians would sell Venezuela 5 Kilo class and 4 Amus class. It will be interesting to see what happens, not only to see if the Germans get involved in the competition (unlikely) but if Venezuela actually follows through.

Submarines isn't the only naval equipment Venezuela is buying though, they are in the market for small boats too.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez authorized the Navy Commander Vice-admiral Benigno Remigio Calvo to enter into a USD 261 million "trade agreement" with Spanish firm Rodman Polyships for joint construction of 66 boats and purchase of construction material for other 40 units to be manufactured in Venezuela.

It would appear Iranian Maritime Strategy has made its way to Venezuela. The story of the buy from Rodman Polyships SAU isn't specific regarding the type or weapons, however Rodman offers types in sizes from 10m to 44m with speeds from 30 to 50 knots.

Whenever any country puts 9 new SSKs in your backyard, the 2nd Fleet should be concerned. A 2007 Comparative Atlas of Defense and Security in Latin America, prepared by the Network of Security and Defense of Latin America (Resdal), sums up the growing Venezuala military.

The Venezuelan Armed Force comprises 92,350 officers, excluding the National Guard -which is described in the study as an "administrative police corps"- and the complementary "bodies" such as the Military Reserve and the
Territorial Guard.

Including the four branches of the Armed Force (Army, Aviation, Navy and National Guard) the number raises to 129,150 people. Almost half of them (49 percent) are in the Army (63,350 officers); 28.5 percent in the National Guard (36,800 people); 13.6 percent in the Navy (17,500 officers) and 8.9 percent in the Aviation (11,500 people), said Rocío San Miguel, one of the Venezuelan representatives to the network founded in 2001.

The "National Guard" and "Administrative Police Corps" are not what the names imply. These are political military organizations, not law enforcement, that are more akin to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard than the Alabama National Guard. Last December the Federation of American Scientists blog weighed in on the concern of an arms build up in South America, and the problems with Venezuela's current policy. The money quote:

While Chavez’s colorful insults steal the headlines, the issue of greatest importance—the influx of thousands of rifles and millions of rounds of ammunition into a region rife with black market arms trafficking—has received scant meaningful attention.

What does the arms buildup mean? A Second Falklands? Probably not, but a review of ASW capabilities in the Caribbean followed by a number of high profile exercises wouldn't be a bad response.

(Bottom Picture Caption) An army sniper takes part in a military exercise in La Guaira, about 30 km (20 miles) outside Caracas June 6, 2006. The exercise for unconventional warfare and resistance is meant to repel a foreign invasion and defend Venezuela's territory and sovereignty, officials said. (VENEZUELA) 06 Jun 2024 REUTERS/Jorge Silva