• Post Date

Looking Back at Operation Tomadachi: The Key Role for the Japanese Self Defense Force

02/19/2013
2013-02-19 When the brutal Tsunami hit Japan in 2011, the devastation was significant.  The threat from leakage of the nuclear plants was ever-present.  The challenge of restoring Japan in the face of significant damage was a daunting one. Earlier we have looked at the challenge of shaping resilient organizations and the…

31st MEU Maritime Raid Force Exercise

02/18/2013
02/18/2013: The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit's Maritime Raid Force conducted its annual Realistic Urban Training Exercise on an empty facility on Guam. The purpose for conducting such an exercise in a different country is to evaluate the MRF's long-range raid capabilities, executing operations in a foreign environment.  Credit:31st Marine Expeditionary…

31st MEU, Thai Marines Complete Helicopter Raid

02/18/2013
02/18/2013: Marines and Sailors of Company C., Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, execute a helicopter raid alongside their Thai counterparts as part of exercise Cobra Gold 2013. The U.S. and Thai Marines inserted together via CH-53E Super Stallion and CH-46E Sea Knight helicopters…

First F-35C Production Model Takes Flight

02/16/2013
According to a Lockheed Martin Press release: FORT WORTH, Texas, Feb. 15, 2013 [caption id="attachment_50938" align="alignnone" width="300"] CF-6 First Flight Photo by Angel DelCueto Carroll Credit: Lockheed Martin[/caption] The first Lockheed Martin production model F-35C carrier variant, known as CF-6, flew its first sortie Thursday. Upon delivery later this year,…

31st MEU Arrives for Cobra Gold 2013

02/15/2013
02/15/2013: Approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit offloaded from three ships of the Navy's Amphibious Squadron 11 to begin the multinational exercise Cobra Gold 2013 in the Kingdom of Thailand. The unit was brought ashore using the Navy's landing craft utility, landing craft air cushions,…

The Long Reach of Aegis: One Step at a Time

02/14/2013
With the North Korean nuclear weapons test a keen reminder of the challenges of the 2nd nuclear age, the need to get missile defense right is increasingly pressing. https://sldinfo.com/the-challenge-of-deterrence-in-the-second-nuclear-age-a-discussion-with-paul-bracken/ [caption id="attachment_50869" align="alignnone" width="200"] PACIFIC OCEAN (Feb. 13, 2013) A Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block 1A interceptor is launched from the guided-missile…