Admiral Harvey on Midrats Sunday

PHILIPPINE SEA (Nov. 16, 2007) American and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces (JMSDF) ships transit in formation at the end of ANNUALEX 19G, the maritime component of the U.S.-Japan exercise Keen Sword 08. The exercise is designed to increase interoperability between the United States and JMSDF and increase their ability to effectively and mutually respond to a regional crisis situation. Kitty Hawk operates from Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Stephen W. Rowe (Released)

This Sunday retired Admiral John Harvey will be on Midrats. This follows the recent appearance by Bob Work on Midrats. If you folks aren't listening to Midrats, you should probably figure out how to listen to the podcast once a week, because it is worth it. The following is my open letter to the hosts of Midrats regarding a question that has been on my mind lately, hoping perhaps Admiral Harvey has some insight on the topic.

Dear CDR Salamander and Eagle One,

Based on what I have read and/or discussed with Harvey over the last year, the following set of issues seems to be the topics he thinks about and writes about very frequently since his retirement. I'd encourage you to get him chatting up this topic for insights, and I'm sure you already had plans to do exactly that.

My question is simple, what does ADM Harvey make of Ronald O'Rourke telling the House Armed Services Committee that NOW is the time to start paying attention to the Force Structure debate? See his October 23, 2024 testimony to the Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces regarding the 30-Year shipbuilding plan.

I look at the following examples as context, although it is unlikely this is an fully accurate representation of Ronald O'Rourke's thinking on the subject.

I have observed the Harvey/Wayne and the Rubel articles in Proceedings discussing small missile corvettes in "flotilla" style squadrons for adding diversity in distribution of precision missiles at sea. In essence, this looks to be an argument to use small flotilla warships in a battle fleet strike role.

I have observed two different responses from the Surface Warfare community to that specific discussion, We Need a Balanced Fleet for Naval Supremacy by CDR Phillip E. Pournelle and Naval Supremacy Cannot be "Piggybacked" on Small Ships by Lazarus.

I have observed the discussion of Influence Squadrons by Hendrix in Proceedings which also discusses small ships organized in squadrons centered around a mothership for sustained regional presence.

I have observed another article by Hendrix published by CNAS that describes the large deck aircraft carrier as an asset with a declining value at higher cost when looking into the future.

I have observed a recent report by RAND that concludes "the United States should pursue a strategy of making its sea power less vulnerable by relying more on submarines, drones, and smaller, elusive, widely distributed strike platforms" which also looks at the declining value of aircraft carriers in it's primary role in the Pacific. I am specifically talking about the report "Sea Power and American Interests in the Western Pacific" by David C. Gompert.

I have observed the NPS developed, ONA sponsored New Navy Fighting Machine that calls for a Fleet Constitution that has a greater variety of smaller vessels for multiple roles both high and low end, but essentially the NNFM looks to rebalance the fleet in favor of quantity over quality.

I have observed the LCS, intended to be a one-size fits all roles and missions modular design criticized for being too big for some roles, too small for others, lacking too few sailors to be a peacemaker, and lacking enough firepower to be a warfighter.

I have observed the US Marine Corps, consolidated into a declining number of three ship Amphibious Ready Groups, but still consuming the vast majority of shipbuilding funding of all ships not part of the main battle fleet (CVNs, CGs, DDGs, SSBNs, and SSNs). And the design of the Marine Corps 3-ship flotilla is still primarily focused around the single role of Joint Forcible Entry Operations, which presumably Bold Alligator 2012 informed about although no changes since are observable.

Are these discussions actually meaningful, as Ronald O'Rourke suggests to the House Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces? Are these discussions connected, or simply related? Is the community talking about the Battle Fleet roles of small ships in places like the Pacific, or is the community talking about the global naval roles generally of small ships not in the Battle Fleet? Is there a common thread with low intensity conflict squadrons like Influence Squadrons and the wartime squadrons like the ones Adm Harvey and Captain Hughes are discussing? The Battle Force is organized for what the Battle Fleet needs to be able to do for the nation, but can the Navy say the same is true for the rest of the ships in the fleet, including the Marine Corps?

The US Navy spends a great deal of time organizing in meticulous detail every aspect of the Battle Fleet - Carrier Strike Groups, Carrier Air Wings, Attack Submarines, and Ballistic Missile Submarines and every detail regarding design and construction and maintenance and basing and training and doctrine and tactics and organization and function and role and mission and strategy...

What should the Navy's intellectual focus be when it comes to thinking about the 'rest of the fleet' that isn't specifically part of the main Battle Fleet? Should the rest of the fleet be organized together, as is happening with the MCM Influence Squadron in the Persian Gulf with AFSB Ponce, MCMs, and PCs, or should the focus remain on highly specialized ships specifically instead of collectively, or is the modular approach of LCS the right approach for the entire small vessel portion of the Navy? Is it time to rethink the way Marines are fielded at sea, or is the 3-ship ARG how things should be? Can the LCS ever be the whole solution as it is intended to be today, or is LCS just one piece of a larger set of necessary capabilities that need to be present within lower tier of the surface force?

These are just a few of the things I have been thinking about, and in my opinion listening to Admiral Harvey discuss these topics on Midrats is well worth an hour of my time.

Respectfully,

Galrahn

An Hour on the Russians

Dr. Dmitry Gorenburg, Senior Analyst, CNA Strategic Studies, an Associate at Harvard’s Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, and author and host of the Russian Military Reform blog is going to be the guest on Midrats this week.

Just giving folks a heads up. That is sure to be a good hour.

Information Dissemination Authors Invade Midrats

This Sunday evening, 5pm - 7pm, Information Dissemination will be well represented on Midrats as Bryan and I take on the topics for Midrats one year anniversary.

Join "Sal" from the blog "CDR Salamander" & "EagleOne" from the blog "EagleSpeak" for the one year anniversary special of Midrats. Mark your calendars; we are going to have a live expanded panel discussion you will not want to miss. In addition to EagleOne and me, we'll have some of your favorite guest hosts and regulars; Galrahn from "InformationDissemination," along with Bryan McGrath, Jerry Hendrix, and Claude Berube. Global security, maritime strategy, the future of the defense budget, and the general direction of the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine and all things maritime.

You should see the notes I have already prepared. It's been awhile since I have been able to just 'talk' about the issues I write about.

EMP Talk

I don't do the Midrats show with Eagle1 and CDR Salamander anymore, but listening to the podcast of previous weeks show has become something I like to do early in my work week while banging out stuff on the desk. This week though, I may have to tune in live if time allows.

When you mention the possibility of an Electro Magnetic Pulse attack (EMP) - people have a reaction of, "What?" - either that or they get all fidgety or roll their eyes. Is the EMP threat trick or treat? Join bloggers Sal from "CDR Salamander" and EagleOne from "EagleSpeak" this Halloween to discuss the issue with their guests Jason Sigger, defense policy analyst, opinion writer and blogg'r for the first half of the hour. For the second half of the hour, James Carafano, Ph.D., Deputy Director, The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies and Director, Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation.

Jason Sigger's blog is one of the longest running links on Information Dissemination. Back in the early days of the blog I used a slogan "Observations of an Armchair Admiral" as kind of a branding technique for my alias. This was before folks started calling me Ray. I admit it; I borrowed the idea from Jason's blog name.

I am yet to meet James Carafano, but our schedules never seem to work out when I'm in DC. I never actually had a reason to meet him until I learned about his current book project - a history of the modern military. He is editing a new book series, The Changing Face of War, which examines how emerging political, social, economic and cultural trends will affect the nature of armed conflict. Modern history of war that studies modern trends? Sounds like my kind of book.

Midrats DADT Preview

I hate to preview, but I just have to take this on from URR:

Those who hold religious or moral objections to homosexuality because of their faith are being swept aside and their views marginalized. Worse, such is being done (again) with taxpayers’ dollars. Those who hold that system of faith and values are having their government undermine that system. No longer is it proper to believe that a system of behaviors does not equate to race or gender.

As opposed to right now, when taxpayer dollars are being used to enforce the preferences of those who hold particular religious and moral beliefs? URR insists that DADT is, in fact, Don't Know, Don't Care, but that's not quite right; DADT is a system that ensures that URR won't have to think about serving with people he doesn't like. This, sadly, is not a right that is protected by the Constitution, and ought not be policy in the US military.

Midrats Tonight - Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Tonight at 5:00pm EST Midrats will take on the always interesting discussion of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Robert Farley will represent Information Dissemination in the discussion with EagleOne and CDR Salamander. The show can be heard live here or downloaded later from the same link. Summary of the show:

All that is left until the death of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is the signing ceremony. When the U.S. military moves towards an European model that allows homosexuals to serve openly, what official, cultural, and attitude changes need to be made? What are the gains, and what is the downside of changing the policy? Will Commanders get the right direction and guidance for proper integration - or will they be ordered to sail into a minefield of unknown depth or density? Joining EagleOne, Robert Farley, and me will be Elaine Donnelly from the Center for Military Readiness, Marcus from the milblog SoldiersPerspective, and Claude Berube. As usual, after our guests, our panel will discuss the events of the week and take your calls as time permits.

The show will end at 6:00pm before the Super Bowl starts, and will be available for download via iTunes here afterward.

Today's Daily Dish

Looking for materials on the FY 2011 budget? Here is your magic link. Plenty of news folks discussing it, but I'm going to here what Bob Work says today before jumping into it myself.

A few other notes. Tonight is a special edition of Midrats from San Diego. This is the show detail:

Coming to you live from the USNI & AFCEA sponsored 2010 West Conference & Exposition in San Diego. Join Galrahn, EagleOne and me as we review the highlights of the conference so far, and then roll in to our topic - the Navy Media Ecosystem; from blogs to the traditional media, how we discuss our Navy. Special guests will be William M. Miller, III - Publisher at the United States Naval Institute, and Philip Ewing from Navy Times.

Should be good, although I am a little concerned about bandwidth. Lets just say this hotel and your typical pre upgrade Whidbey Island class are about neck and neck in download speed from the internet. It would be a close race... that's all I'm saying.

Midrats Episode 3 - Preparing for the multi-polar world

Join the Navy blogosphere for Midrats Episode 3 - Preparing for the multi-polar world on Sunday at 5:00pm. Joining CDR Salamander and EagleOne, Bryan McGrath will be contributing from the Information Dissemination chair as they discuss the events of the week and interview Commander Henry J. Hendrix, Jr., USN discussing Influence Squadrons, Naval Diplomacy, and if I was a betting man - Haiti.

Also, we are preparing for special Midrats episodes to air live from the AFCEA/USNI West 2010 Conference. Still working out the guest list and details for show times, but we hope to bring the view from San Diego the first week of February.

On a personal note, since I have not been very proud of my contribution to date (still learning to talk in this format, give me a podium please) I really haven't discussed Midrats much on the blog. The feedback to my comments however suggests maybe I am my worst critic (which will not change).

The first and second episodes of Midrats can be downloaded and listened to anytime, and we appreciate the surprising number of listeners who apparently believe this is worth their time and has the potential to be a valuable service to the Navy conversation. We hope so too, that is why we are seeking out this new territory together.