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Supplemental Inquiry USS Fitzgerald by Arthur Barie on Scribd

HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. —
On Nov. 2, 2016, fourteen AC-130U Gunship crewmembers provided close air support to a U.S. Special Forces team and 43 Afghan soldiers, near Kunduz, Afghanistan. As the ground force advanced on a compound, they were caught in a deadly ambush. Surrounded by a large enemy force armed with small arms, heavy machine guns and grenades fighting from multiple defensive fighting positions, friendly forces sustained 16 casualties in the opening moments of battle.

As the enemy rapidly converged on the crippled friendly forces, the combat controller urgently cleared the gunship crew to engage within ten meters of injured friendly forces, attacking massing insurgents and structures. As a result, U.S. Special Forces were able to clear their wounded from the immediate kill zone. The ambush persisted as friendly forces attempted withdrawal. The aircrew conducted 19 danger close attacks, consistently placing lethal fires to within ten meters of the severely wounded and outgunned friendly force. The firepower necessary to deter the enemy required the crew to exceed cooling requirements on the 105 mm Howitzer cannon, risking potential detonation inside the aircraft. The crew managed the temperature of the Howitzer while continuing the firefight with the 40 mm cannon, despite multiple weapon malfunctions. Expert coordination enabled the crew to manually fire rounds to defeat the enemy.

The AC-130U expended all point-detonate fused 105-mm rounds, and only eight airburst fused rounds remained. This munition is designed to be employed on personnel in open areas, hundreds of meters from friendly forces. With an enemy element closing fast, the crew stabilized the aircraft and fired the airburst round an unprecedented 12 meters from friendly forces, annihilating the insurgents with a solitary shot. During the battle, the aircrew facilitated additional fire support from AH-64 Apache helicopters, prepared medical helicopters to evacuate casualties, and launched a Quick Reaction Force to help evacuate the ground force from the city. Then, with minimal ammunition and fuel, the team led a dissimilar formation engagement between AC-130U and AH-64 assets to amplify damage on the enemy.

The AC-130U gunship crew’s persistent fire support, presence of mind, and courage during two hours of intense combat ultimately saved 50 lives. The crew was awarded the MacKay Trophy for the most meritorious flight of the year by an Air Force aircrew. In addition, five crewmembers were nominated for a Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor while the remaining crewmembers were submitted for Air Medals with Valor.

via www.afsoc.af.mil

Via USNI News. 

The Navy will re-designate its first Expeditionary Landing Base ship a warship this week, converting the Military Sealift Command ship USNS Lewis B. Puller (T-ESB-3) into USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB-3) so it can better meet operational needs abroad, USNI News has learned.

Chesty Puller has already departed Naval Station Norfolk for its maiden deployment and will have a commissioning ceremony in U.S. 5th Fleet tomorrow to formally bring the ship into the Navy’s warship fleet.

“Converting ESB-3 to a commissioned warship (USS) will allow U.S. Central Command and 5th Fleet the flexibility needed to meet challenges in the region,” Navy spokesman Lt. Seth Clarke told USNI News.
“Potential missions, such as mine-countermeasure operations and special operations forces staging, must be conducted by a warship under the law of armed conflict. In order to provide combatant commanders the maximum amount of flexibility, the Navy decided to commission ESB-3 as a U.S. warship once she arrived in [Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command]/U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations.”

Even though she will be commissioned into the fleet, she, like a handful of other ships, will retain a mixed crew of active duty US Navy Sailors and Civilian Mariners. It is an unusual arrangement. 

For the most part, Puller, like her predecessor Ponce, will support counter-mine efforts and special operations. But as the Navy grows more familiar with the ship, one hopes they figure out further possible uses for the type. 

WASHINGTON (NNS) — The Navy announced Wednesday that the seven Sailors who died aboard USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62), were posthumously advanced to their next rank.

– Gunner's Mate Seaman Dakota Kyle Rigsby, 19, from Palmyra, Virginia, was posthumously advanced to Petty Officer 3rd class.

– Yeoman 3rd Class Shingo Alexander Douglass, 25, from San Diego, California, was posthumously advanced to Petty Officer 2nd class.

– Sonar Technician 3rd Class Ngoc T Truong Huynh, 25, from Oakville, Connecticut, was posthumously advanced to Petty Officer 2nd class.

– Gunner's Mate 2nd Class Noe Hernandez, 26, from Weslaco, Texas, was posthumously advanced to Petty Officer 1st class.

– Fire Controlman 2nd Class Carlos Victor Ganzon Sibayan, 23, from Chula Vista, California, was posthumously advanced to Petty Officer 1st class.

– Personnel Specialist 1st Class Xavier Alec Martin, 24, from Halethorpe, Maryland, was posthumously advanced to Chief Petty Officer.

– Fire Controlman 1st Class Gary Leo Rehm Jr., 37, from Elyria, Ohio, was posthumously advanced to Chief Petty Officer.

The remains of these seven Sailors were located June 18, in flooded berthing compartments, after divers gained access to the spaces that were damaged when the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald was involved in a collision with the Philippine-flagged merchant vessel ACX Crystal.

via www.navy.mil

We've lately noticed an alarming pattern in the violence that erupts during marches and protests in municipalities with elected Democratic officials. 

Any time conservative, right wing, or Alt-Right groups gather, the so-called "Anti-Fa," self-styled anti-fascist groups gather, in much greater numbers. 

Let us look at the Nazi group that marched this weekend in Charlottesville, VA.  It is a fundamental that the 1st Amendment right to peaceably assemble is promised to all of us, even those, indeed, especially those we despise. The group went through the appropriate procedures to secure a permit for their intended rally.* The permit process constitutionally must be viewpoint neutral. That is, the city cannot pick and chose who they will grant a permit to based on that group's viewpoint. 

The City of Charlottesville initially sought to  deny a permit, but after the ACLU intervened, a permit was granted. 

Here's where we come to the new tactic of the Left in denying free speech rights.

Democratic cities know these protests will attract counterprotests. And so, they order the police to not intervene, knowing full well that violence will ensue. 

As an added bonus, as soon as violence breaks out, no matter who initiates contact, the police then can declare it an unlawful assembly.  And in Charlottesville, this had the effect of dispersing 200 or so wanna-be Nazis into the much larger crowd of Anti-Fa, ensuring an escalation of violence. 

This is a planned pattern of action used in Berkeley, Sacramento, Portland, Chicago and other cities, a consistent pattern since the election of Trump. It is a deliberate attempt by government to deny the civil rights of those that Democrats do not favor. 

It is shameful, almost certainly lead to death in Charlottesville this weekend, and should be the focus of a civil rights investigation by the Department of Justice. 

*The right to peacefully  assemble is absolute, but the time place and manner may allow the imposition  of the permit process as such an assembly impacts the rights of others, namely the citizens of Charlottesville. 

LT Rusty and I were just chatting, and the subject of the F-35 came up. I've got a lot of problems with how the program was run, and consider it a poster child for acquisition reform. But the end result is an extremely capable (if also very expensive) piece of  hardware that we're just learning how to exploit. 

Pierre Sprey, of course, doesn't like it. 

A couple weeks ago, Aviation Week's Lara Seligman hosted Sprey and Marine LTC David Berke in two half hour debates about the F-35. "Chip" Berke is a test pilot. Sprey, of course, is not. Guess who comes out ahead in the debate?

The French Ration Individual Exercise, Menu #6, Ham Salad
This was a surprisingly tasty ration.

By this time, the decision had already been made to cancel the F-111B variant. Note that the F-111B is so big that the Jet Blast Deflectors can't be raised.