Tag Archives: U S Coast Guard

Strengthening The Military Industrial Complex

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On Monday, The Daily Update posted an article about the purchase of a used icebreaker.

The article reports:

Russia has 40 icebreakers, and China is bolstering its fleet to fulfill President Xi Jinping’s hopes of becoming a “polar great power.” With only two ships – the heavy Polar Star and the medium Healy, both of which are nearly half a century old and 10 years past their prime – the US is playing catch up. The States are building more ships but need something in the interim, so the Coast Guard is on the verge of acquiring a vessel from private energy company Edison Chouest Offshore for roughly $125 to $150 million:  

• The Coast Guard needs colossal icebreakers because they’re the only way to approach foreign crafts in frozen waters, conduct search-and-rescue operations or launch pollution-control efforts. The Department of Defense also said there are plenty of opportunities for establishing commercial fishing and oil campaigns in the Arctic.
• Last month, the White House released a 10-year strategic plan to strengthen its homeland defense and deter Russian and Chinese activity in the region. Vladimir Putin’s war with Ukraine has also inflamed tensions, making “government-to-government cooperation with Russia in the Arctic virtually impossible,” the report says.

The article notes the following:

From 2011 to 2020, the number of small and large businesses receiving DoD contracts plummeted 43% and 7.3%, respectively. As opposed to having a wide pool to shop from, the US military now begrudgingly relies on a few “Walmarts of war” as University of California Professor Daniel Wirls put it. Don’t expect any blue light specials on Javelin anti-tank missiles. 

The government has created a monopoly of a few companies that are supplying weapons and other goods to the Department of Defense. This is not a good situation. Eisenhower warned us about the military-industrial complex, and the Biden administration is strengthening that same military-industrial complex. Unfortunately, that is the same military-industrial complex that profits from endless wars that never seem to be over or won.

When America Has A Weak President, Bad Things Happen

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On Tuesday (updated Wednesday), The Epoch Times reported that the Solomon Islands have suspended all visits by American naval ships.

The article reports:

The Solomon Islands has informed U.S. authorities that all naval visits have been suspended until further notice following an earlier incident on Aug. 23 when a U.S. Coast Guard vessel, the Oliver Henry, was denied permission for a scheduled port call.

The incident comes amid mounting concerns about Beijing’s influence in the region and Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare’s moves to deepen ties with the Chinese regime while solidifying his hold on power.

According to the U.S. Embassy in Canberra: “On Aug. 29, the United States received formal notification from the Government of the Solomon Islands regarding a moratorium on all naval visits, pending updates in protocol procedures.”

“We will continue to closely monitor the situation,” a spokesperson told The Epoch Times.

The freeze on naval visits comes after the Oliver Henry wrapped up its part in Operation Island Chief to monitor and prevent illegal fishing activity in the region—an ongoing issue with Chinese fishing fleets. Operation Island Chief was conducted in conjunction with members of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), including Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji.

Oliver Henry was supposed to stop in Honiara, Solomon Islands, on Aug. 23 for refuelling and re-provisioning but received no response from Solomons authorities. Subsequently, the crew were diverted to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

The article concludes:

The Solomons was the site of extensive fighting during World War II in the decisive Battle for Guadalcanal that resulted in six months of fighting and 1,600 Allied casualties.

Prime Minister Sogavare did not make an appearance at the 80th anniversary of the Battle despite attendance from Japan’s Defence Minister Makoto Oniki, U.S. Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy, and Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.

We are losing (or have lost) our influence in the Pacific Rim. Hopefully, Americans will elect a President in 2024 that can undo the damage.

This Might Be A Place Where We Need To Increase Spending

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CNS News posted an article today about the role of the Coast Guard in fighting drug trafficking.

These are a few highlights from the article;

On Feb. 16, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Napier, assisted by the coast guards of Trinidad and Tobago, seized 4.2 tons of cocaine with an estimated value of $125 million from a fishing boat off the coast of Suriname.

This is the largest single seizure of cocaine by the Coast Guard in nearly 20 years.

More recently, the crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Spencer worked with the Costa Rican coast guard to successfully intercept 2,900 pounds of marijuana. Both interdictions were made possible through persistent U.S. Coast Guard presence and broad international cooperation.

…In the last 25 years, the task force’s efforts have led to the arrest of over 4,600 traffickers, the capture of over 1,100 vessels, and deprived drug cartels of hundreds of billions of dollars in profits.

However, the Coast Guard does not currently have the budget to do its job effectively:

Despite the Coast Guard’s increased interdictions in recent years, the size of its fleet and extent of its resources remain insufficient to meet the even higher rate of cocaine shipments.

Commandant of the Coast Guard Paul Zukunft stated that while the Coast Guard has “80 percent awareness” of all illegal operations, “we can only act on about 20 percent of that because of the resource constraints we have. We’re giving 60 percent of what we know, literally, a free pass.”

Programs such as the Offshore Patrol Cutter and unmanned aerial vehicle programs would be wise investments in the fight against drug trafficking.

The Coast Guard, in cooperation with other federal agencies and international partners, plays a critical role in mitigating the flow of illegal drugs from Latin America to the United States.

American leadership in both the White House and Congress should ensure the Coast Guard and other entities receive the resources they need to meet the growing demands of maritime security, while also facilitating strong relationships that mutually benefit the security of the U.S. and its partner nations.

There are many places where Congress can cut wasteful government spending if they are willing. At the same time, Congress needs to increase the money going to the Coast Guard to fight the drug war. Drugs are killing our children and ruining their future. It is in our best interests to do everything we can to stop illegal drugs from coming into America.

The United States Coast Guard Comes To The Rescue

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One of the dramas that we ended last year with was the group of scientists and tourists that went to the Antarctica to document the shrinking ice caps that were the result of global warming. Someone should have mentioned to them that when you travel thousands of miles to document the consequences of a theory, it is a good idea to make sure the theory was valid in the first place.

The ship they were traveling on to research and document the shrinking Antarctic ice got stuck in the ice,

On Thursday, Ed Morrissey at Hot Air reported:

The team attempted to recreate the 1911-13 Antarctic journey of Douglas Mawson, only to get stuck in a surprisingly expanded polar ice sheet. A video report leading CNN’s World page claims that they have been rescued and boarded onto an Australian ship that will leave shortly.

…The nine-day crisis unfolded a bit like a Monty Python sketch. A Chinese ship attempted to rescue the MV Akademik Shokalskiy, only to get stopped by the ice as well. A third ship arrived, but could not reach the stranded researchers, either. The rescuers finally used a helicopter when researchers were able to build a crude heliport on the ice that surrounded them, but a barge brought in to move them outside the ice couldn’t reach the Chinese vessel intended for their transport — so the helicopter landed on another ice floe near an Australian ship that arrived.

Somehow, most of the media that reported that story left out the fact that the people on the ship were there to document global warming.

The website wattsupwiththat posted a press release from the Australian government that stated the following:

US Coast Guard ice breaker to assist ships beset in ice in Antarctica

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC Australia) has requested the US Coast Guard’s Polar Star icebreaker to assist the vessels MV Akademik Shokalskiy and Xue Long which are beset by ice in Commonwealth Bay.

 The US Coast Guard has accepted this request and will make Polar Star available to assist. The Polar Star has been en route to Antarctica since 3 December, 2013 – weeks prior to the MV Akademik Shokalskiy being beset by ice in Commonwealth Bay. The intended mission of the Polar Star is to clear a navigable shipping channel in McMurdo Sound to the National Science Foundation’s Scientific Research Station. Resupply ships use the channel to bring food, fuel and other goods to the station. The Polar Star will go on to undertake its mission once the search and rescue incident is resolved.

I just wonder who is paying for the research and the continuing folly.

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