Image provided by Steve Corcoran

A native of Cocoa, Florida, Rick attended the United States Naval Academy inAnnapolis, Maryland, and spent over thirty years in the Navy. His tours of dutyinclude four nuclear powered submarines, the Pentagon, and the UnderseaWeapons Program Office.

Upon retirement from the Navy, Rick was offered a two-book deal (which hasbeen extended to a six-book deal) by Macmillan / St. Martin's Press for hisnovel - The Trident Deception, which was hailed by Booklist as "The bestsubmarine novel since Tom Clancy's classic - The Hunt for Red October". Hisfirst three books were Barnes & Noble Top-20 bestsellers, and his fourth book—Blackmail—releases in June 2017. Rick lives with his family in the greaterWashington, D.C. area, and is working on the fifth and sixth books in thisseries, due out in early 2019 and 2020.

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Life Member Ltjg Joe Hanisko Transferred to New Constructkion DDG inBath, MainePosted July 20, 2017

Joe writes: Sorry that I've been out of touch for so long, it's been a busy couple of months moving back to the States.

I left Japan in early June and I am transferring to PCU THOMAS HUDNER (DDG 116) where I will bethe Strike Warfare Officer and will also be a part of the ASW team. Currently fitting out at Bath IronWorks in Maine, THOMAS HUDNER will be the 66th Arleigh Burke class destroyer. The ship is namedfor CAPT Thomas Hudner, an aviatorwho was awarded the Medal of Honor forhis actions in trying to save his wingman atthe Battle of Chosin Reservoir during theKorean War. The ship is scheduled tocommission in Boston next summer andwill then be homeported at Naval StationMayport in Florida. It's going to be a lotof hard work but I am looking forward tobeing a plank owner.

I've attached a picture of me with a few ofthe sailors who worked for me on thecruiser in Japan; there are some realwinners standing next to me in that picture(too bad they're all skimmers...)

Hope that all is well on your end. Pleasepass along my best to Steve and all theother guys at the base.

V/R,

Joe Hanisko

Exploration of USS Bugara (SS 331) Posted July 19, 2017

Welcome Aboard:Posted July 19, 2017

Jan Stiffey (Aspro, Thomas Jefferson, William H Bates, Michigan,Sam Houston and Whale), TomacheVargas (Alabama, Michigan & Nebraska) and Chuck Gibbs (xfer from Bowfin Base), (Seafox, Gurnard)

Bremerton Base July Monthly Meeting Summary Posted July 19, 2017 Base Commander Steve Corcoran opened meeting at 1900, Tuesday, July 18 with traditional openingceremony followed by the introduction of new members noted above. Attendance with larger thannormal. Steve introduced retired Senior Chief Commissary Mess Management Specialist Mick Hersey who gave usa slide show with his narration of the many military memorials and plaques in Kitsap County that he, withthe help of volunteer active duty aircraft carriers' personnel assisting in the work, have accomplished overthe past few years, After a break, the business meeting was conducted. Details will be noted in base minutes which will beavailable before the next meeting.

Dilbert (Humor)Posted July 12, 2017

About Ten Members Attended Rick Campbell Book SigningPosted July 10, 2017

Retired Navy Commander and author RickCampbell held a booksigning at Barnes &Noble book Store inSilverdale this pastSaturday presenting hislatest submarine thriller,"Blackmail". After thebook signing, about tenbase members attended areception at the Yacht Club Broiler.

"BLACKMAIL" A U.S. Navy aircraft carrier patrolling the Western Pacific Ocean is severely damagedby a surprise salvo of cruise missiles. Whilethe Russian government officially apologizes,claiming it was the result of a fire controlaccident during a training exercise, it wasinstead a calculated provocation. TheAmerican president accepts Russia'sexplanation, and with the U.S. Pacific fleet

already severely under strength following America's war with China, the Russian President decides thatthe American response is a clear indication of their weakness, militarily and politically, and initiates abold plan.

Political unrest is spreading through the Eastern European states. The Russian Northern Fleet movesswiftly into the Mediterranean Sea, the Russian army is moving west to the border, and Russian Pacificand Black Sea Fleets are mobilized. In one bold strike, the Russian army reoccupies a large number ofthe industrialized areas of the former USSR, while blockading the vital sea passages through which theworld’s oil and natural gas transit.

To make matters worse, Russia’s Special Forces have wired every major oil and natural gas pipelinewith explosives. If the U.S. makes one move to thwart Russia, they’ll destroy them all. The U.S. is riskingdisaster if it acts, but the alternative is quite possibly worse. Torn between the unthinkable and theimpossible, America's only possible move is ― launch an attack on all fronts, simultaneously.

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Ancient Times

Ancient history is the aggregate of past events from thebeginning of recorded human history and extending as far asthe Early Middle Ages or the Postclassical Era. The spanof recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginningwith Sumerian Cuneiform script, the oldest discovered formof coherent writing from the protoliterate period around the30th century BC.

The term classical antiquity is often used to refer to history inthe Old World from the beginning of recorded Greek historyin 776 BC (First Olympiad). This roughly coincides with thetraditional date of the founding of Rome in 753 BC, thebeginning of the history of ancient Rome, and the beginningof the Archaic period in Ancient Greece. Although theending date of ancient history is disputed, some Westernscholars use the fall of the Western Roman empire in 476

AD (the most used), the closure of the Platonic Academy in

529 AD, the death of the emperor Justinian I in 565 AD,thecoming of Islam or the rise of Charlemagne as the end ofancient and Classical European history.

In India, ancient history includes the early period of theMiddle Kingdoms, and, in China, the time up to the QinDynasty.

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Typhoon Sails All Way In Surface PositionNavy Announces NEC Code Overhaul and Updated Enlisted RatingCommunities and Career Fields

Trump to Commission Carrier after Criticizing New TechnologyNo More “Low-Priced Brains” in Defense PlanningKC-130 Plane Crash Kills 16 Troops Aboard, Marine Corps Says

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�Pyotr Velikiy� and �Dmitry Donskoy� sailing together outside the coast of Norway. Photo:K/V Sortland, Norwegian Coast Guard

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Typhoon Sails All Way In Surface PositionNavy Announces NEC Code Overhaul and Updated Enlisted RatingCommunities and Career Fields

Trump to Commission Carrier after Criticizing New TechnologyNo More �Low-Priced Brains� in Defense PlanningKC-130 Plane Crash Kills 16 Troops Aboard, Marine Corps Says

Typhoon Sails All Way In Surface PositionThomas Nilsen, The Barents Observer, July 19

Why is �Dmitry Donskoy� � the world�s largest nuclear-powered submarine - sailing on the surface all the way south along the coast of Norway?

The giant Typhoon-class sub left Severomorsk on the Kola Peninsula on Monday and is Wednesday still sailing in surface position.

Press spokeswoman with the Norwegian Joint Head Quarters, Major Elisabeth Eikeland says to the Barents Observer that the Typhoon submarine is currentlysailing south of Kristiansund in the Norwegian Sea.

�The vessels are sailing 75 kilometres west of the Norwegian sea baseline,� Major Eikeland tells.

�We don�t know why the submarine isn�t submerged,� she says.

The Russian navy has not said why the submarine sails in surface position all the way en route south. Naval parade with Putin

�Dmitry Donskoy� is sailing together with the Northern Fleet�s nuclear-powered battle cruiser �Pyotr Velikiy� towards St. Petersburg where bothvessels will participate in the Naval Day celebration on July 29.

In St. Petersburg, Russian President Vladimir Putin will overlook the naval parade taking place at Kronstadt.

Two other Northern fleet warships, the missile-cruiser �Marshall Ustinov� and the large anti-submarine vessel �Vice-Admiral Kulakov� are alreadyanchored at Kronstadt outside St. Petersburg.

But, according to Russian military commentator Aleksandr Khrolenko, the naval parade in St. Petersburg is not the only goal of the powerful voyage.

�Amid the growing military and political pressure from the United States and NATO a parade in St. Petersburg is not the only goal of this naval voyage. Ofcourse, this is also a show of force to Norway, Germany, Sweden, Poland and some other counties,� Aleksandr Khrolenko writes in an up-ed in RIANovosti.

A sobering effect on NATO

�The Baltic region has become a testing ground for NATO-maneuvers,� Khrolenko argues and says Moscow threatens nobody, �only responds to theinfinite expansion of NATO to the east.�Explaining Moscow�s reactions to NATO�s Baltic activities,Khrolenko says �if some of our partners do not understand words, thenmaybe the Russian Navy will send a more comprehensible signal tothem.�Listing the powerful armament on warships Aleksandr Khrolenko writesthat the Northern Fleet�s battleships will have �a sobering effect onNATO� showing that �Russia will not abandon its positions in theBaltics.�Russian, Chinese exercise

Starting this weekend, Russian and Chinese warships will carry out a jointmaritime exercise in the Baltic Sea.

The Chinese naval vessels were greeted by the Norwegian frigate�KNM Otto Sverdrup� in the North Sea on Tuesday. From the NorthSea, the Chinese navy vessels now sails into the Baltic Sea and theexercise will take place from July 21 till July 28.

�This exercise will be yet another reminder for the West about�multipolarity and the advantage of partnership and cooperation,�Khrolenko writes.

It is not known what role the Typhoon submarine and the nuclearpowered battle cruiser will have, if any, in the exercise.

It is the first time since the breakup of the Soviet Union that a Typhoonsubmarine sails out of Russian Arctic waters. It is also the first time inhistory that a Typhoon sub sails into the Baltic Sea.

The 172 meters long �Dmitry Donskoy� is the only remaining sub ofthe originally six in the class. Today, �Dmitry Donskoy� does notcarry nuclear weapons, but normally serves as a test-bed for thenavy�s new generation Bulava balltistic missiles. The nearly 40 yearsold submarine has Severodvinsk in the White Sea as homeport.

Powered by to 190 MW reactors, the Typhoon is the most powerfulsubmarine ever built.

Navy Announces NEC Code Overhaul and Updated Enlisted Rating Communities and Career Fields Story Number: NNS170713-13Release Date: 7/13/2017 3:42:00 PM A A A Email this story to a friend Print this story From Chief of Naval Personnel Public Affairs

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Navy announced July 13, in NAVADMIN 174/17 that as part of its Sailor 2025 efforts, the service will implement a newNavy Enlisted Classification (NEC) code construct this October and also realign enlisted rating communities and career fields.

"These efforts are about warfighting readiness and are absolutely critical to the development and implementation of the Navy's Ready Relevant Learning(RRL) and rating modernization initiatives," said Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Adm. Robert Burke. "Not only will these changes improve our personnel andbillet management processes to assign the right individual to the right job, but it will ultimately provide us the ability to train and repurpose elements of ourforce to meet a rapidly changing world."

Beginning in October 2017, NEC codes will have four alpha-numeric characters and be organized into 12 communities and 23 career fields as part of the newconstruct.

These revised communities and career fields, which can be viewed at www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/reference/nec/pages/default.aspx, were developedwithin the rating modernization working group and will replace the current occupational fields and associated ratings listed in the Navy Enlisted OccupationalStandards Manual (NAVPERS 18068F, Volume I). As new NEC codes are developed, they will be created using this new construct.

The new career fields and communities will not only aid the rating modernization effort, but they also more directly translate to civilian occupations and willhelp facilitate licensing and credentialing efforts.

Going forward, the first digit of the new NEC code will be based on a Sailor's community and identify the individual's respective career field. The second andthird digits will be unique alpha-numeric identifiers developed by the Navy Manpower Analysis Center. The fourth digit will represent how many blocks oftraining remain for a Sailor, or if the NEC code is not yet part of blocked training.

For example, the current NEC code for a Logistics Specialist Postal Basic (NEC 2800) would become S000 under the new construct.

- 1st Digit: S (supply career field)- 2nd Digit: 0 (part of unique identifier assigned by NAVMAC)- 3rd Digit: 0 (part of unique identifier assigned by NAVMAC)- 4th Digit: 0 (all blocks complete)1 (1 block remaining)2 (2 blocks remaining)3 (3 blocks remaining)4 (4 blocks remaining) Letters A-Z (NEC code is not associated with blocked training).

Another aspect of the revised NEC construct currently being developed is a two digit suffix to the NEC code which will contain additional information about aSailor's skillset. This is intended to better capture a Sailor's proficiency, experience and currency, which is a fundamental element of the Navy's ratingmodernization efforts.

Quarterly updates, released in NAVPERS 18068F, VOLUME II Navy Enlisted Classifications, will identify the Navy's 1,400 NEC codes that have completedtheir conversion to the revised construct.

No action is required on a Sailor's part - these changes will occur automatically.

NEC codes are used to track skills and training, distribute Sailors to appropriate billets, and ensure operational units have Sailors with the necessary skills tocarry out their missions.

RRL is a Sailor 2025 initiative focused on providing the right training at the right time in a way that Sailors will retain. Block Learning, an important part ofRRL, will divide enlisted Sailors' training into separate courses delivered at multiple points throughout a career to help improve their retention. This will alsohelp ensure that content is refreshed for changing platforms and technologies so Sailors are ready to perform on day one at their new units and help the Navytransform its industrial, conveyer-belt-training-model into a more modern one.

NAVADMIN 174/17 has complete information on these changes and can be found at www.npc.navy.mil.

For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy

For more news from Chief of Naval Personnel, visit www.navy.mil/local/cnp/. ^ Trump to Commission Carrier after Criticizing New Technology Associated Press | 12 Jul 2017 NORFOLK, Va. � President Donald Trump will preside over the commissioning of the nation's newest aircraft carrier. The U.S. Navy on Wednesday confirmed Trump's scheduled appearance at the July 22 ceremony at its base in Norfolk, Virginia. The president had previouslycriticized some of the new technology on the USS Gerald R. Ford because of cost overruns and delays. The ship is the first of the Navy's new and advanced Ford class of aircraft carrier. The president told Time magazine earlier this year that the Navy should goback to using steam catapults to launch fighter jets because the new system "costs hundreds of millions of dollars more money and it's no good." The USS Ford will go through various tests and workups at sea before becoming operational in the next few years. ^ No More �Low-Priced Brains� in Defense Planning

About ten years ago, a worrisome trend began in defenseacquisition.

It involved a procurement method referred to as �lowpriced technically acceptable,� or LPTA for short,invented for situations where a bare minimum standard ofquality was needed, but where the Department of Defense(DOD) was unwilling to pay for improvement beyond thatminimum. It was intended for simple commodity purchases,such as when DOD would want to procure acceptablequality toilet paper but felt there was no need to pay extrafor an exquisite product.

The problems began when some defense procurementofficials began hijacking these methods to make it easier forthem to contract out for knowledge-based services such ascombatant commander (COCOM) operational planning,cybersecurity, engineering analysis, and design of some of

the most sophisticated networks in the Department of Defense.

In so doing, they were treating brain-power as a commodity, procuring the �lowest-priced brains� to augment, for example, a COCOM staff planningoperations against the next Osama bin Laden, or a unit defending operational networks against the next cyber attack.

While we may not need anything more than a minimum standard for commodities, our adversaries will not be using their lowest-priced brains in missionplanning. So why would the U.S. Defense Department contract for some of the most intense knowledge-based services this way?

Simply put, LPTA makes life easier for the acquisition folks executing the procurement. Source selection becomes a test requiring no real analysis. To decidewho wins, all the procurement official needs to do is answer one simple question: does the individual a contractor is proposing for a certain assignment meet aminimum standard of qualification? Yes or no. Beyond that, the contractor who offers the lowest price is awarded the contract.

LPTA�s weakness is that it does not provide an option to measure quality. It relies on the least common denominator. One would presume that we need thebest people we can find for knowledge-based work. Unfortunately, the one thing LPTA can guarantee is that the best people will be pushed away to programswhere people are willing to pay for quality. I have never heard an operational commander say �Get me the lowest-priced minds you can find!� Still, whatinvariably ends up happening with an LPTA award is disappointment, often with reduced operational readiness resulting in early contract termination. If it isyour intent to get the lowest tier of experience that barely meets minimum standards, then LPTA is for you.

Senior DOD leaders have recognized that LPTA is causing readiness problems. There have been several initiatives to restrict its use to cases for which it wasintended. Former Undersecretary of Defense Frank Kendall made it one of his major initiatives. But instead of implementing firm prohibitions, his policyoutlined best practices to curtail LPTA�s use. Bureaucrats still found ways to easily circumvent these restrictions.

Recognizing DOD�s failure to implement effective restrictions, a few years ago Congress decided (correctly) that it needed to act. Since then, severalmeasures have been introduced in bills usually titled something like, �Promoting Value Based Procurement.� The problem is if you are a contractor withlittle or no experience in a certain area of government business that you want to break into, then you love LPTA because the barriers to entry into that line ofbusiness essentially are removed. Opposition has been sufficient to prevent any of these bills from being passed.

Nevertheless, the forces for good are at it again this year. Representatives Mark Meadows (R-NC) and Don Beyer (D-VA) have again introduced a�Promoting Value Based Procurement Act of 2017,� which attempts to restrict the use of LPTA procurement methods.

Unfortunately, this bill includes the following language:

To the maximum extent practicable , the use of Lowest Price Technically Acceptable source selection criteria shall be avoided when the procurement ispredominately for the acquisition of information technology services, systems engineering and technical assistance services, or other knowledge-basedprofessional services. (Emphasis added.)

The language bolded above provides a loophole through which one could drive a truck. Contractors and bureaucrats will use this exception with zeal andalacrity. This loophole ensures that, if passed, the bill will be no more effective than previous efforts to correct this dangerous practice.

It is time to close the loopholes and give LPTA the deep six for knowledge-based work. Congress should craft a better bill that allows DOD to bring thebrightest minds to bear on planning for the current and future fight.

Captain Toti is a frequent contributor to Proceedings and was the 2000 Proceedings Author of the Year. Read Comments ^

KC-130 Plane Crash Kills 16 Troops Aboard, Marine Corps SaysAssociated Press | 11 Jul 2017 ITTA BENA, Miss. -- A U.S. military plane used for refueling crashed into a field in rural Mississippi, killing 16 troops aboard and spreading debris for milesand creating a fiery wreckage, officials said. Leflore County Emergency Management Agency Director Frank Randle told reporters at a late Monday briefing that 16 bodies had been recovered after theKC-130T spiraled into the ground about 85 miles (135 kilometers) north of Jackson in the Mississippi Delta. Marine Corps spokeswoman Capt. Sarah Burns said in a statement that a KC-130 "experienced a mishap" Monday evening but provided no details. The KC-130 is used as a refueling tanker. The service in statement released Tuesday morning confirmed 16 service members died in the accident, which occurred around 4 p.m. local time, including15 Marines and one sailor. Their names are being withheld until their families are notified of the incident. ^

2 US Air Force B-1 bombers fly near North Korean border in show of force By Lucas Tomlinson Published July 08, 2017 | Fox News Two U.S. Air Force B-1 bombers on Saturday flew near the Korean Demilitarized Zone in a show of force just days after North Korea conducted the firstsuccessful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile that can hit Alaska.

The two B-1 bombers flew 2,000 miles from Anderson Air Force Base in Guam to conduct aprecision strike training exercise with South Korean fighter jets. The bombers were also joined byJapanese fighters during their flight.

The Air Force, in a statement, called the mission a "demonstration of the ironclad U.S.commitment to our allies."

The bombers, which can carry 84 500-pound bombs, fired releasing inert weapons at the PilsungRange. The mission took 10 hours, according to the statement.

"North Korea's actions are a threat to our allies, partners and homeland," Gen. Terrence O'Shaughnessy, the Pacific Air Forces commander, said. "Let me be clear, if called upon we are

trained, equipped and ready to unleash the full lethal capability of our allied air forces."

This is the second 'show of force' by the US military since the July 4 North Korea test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, a first for the rogue, communistregime.

On the night after the launch, the US and South Korean military conducted a joint missile test using short range missiles into waters off the peninsula.

A North Korean test of an ICBM is a momentous step forward for Pyongyang as it works to build an arsenal of long-range nuclear-armed missiles that can hitanywhere in the United States. The North isn�t there yet � some analysts suggest it will take several more years to perfect such an arsenal, and many more tests � but a successfullaunch of an ICBM has long been seen as a red line, after which it would only be a matter of time � if the country isn�t stopped.

President Trump said North Korea�s plan to develop an ICBM capable of hitting the U.S. �won�t happen� and has since made tough talk on the issuea signature.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Thursday that the U.S. was no closer to war with North Korea after the rogue nation successfully tested an intercontinentalballistic missile earlier this week. Read All comments ^

The Morning After Korea�s ICBM Test

North Korea has a history of saving provocative acts for theFourth of July weekend. This time, the fireworks are moreconcerning than ever. Kim Jong Un apparently has testedsuccessfully an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). So whatshould the United States do the morning after? North Korean engineers have worked a long time to master all thethings an ICBM must do, and they clearly were eager to conducta full-up test. Until recently, they had been using one-off launchesto incrementally test individual technical aspects of the capability,refraining from testing the full Monty. Now, after droppingmany hints that a full-up test was imminent, they finally pulled itoff. Is it time to panic? Decidedly not. The United States should notallow political pressure to do something to induce afoolhardy response that either yields to North Korean demands(and those of their patrons, Russia and China) or, worse, leads toout-of control escalation on the peninsula.

It is worth repeating what former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell and I have said previously: A policy based on getting North Korea to fully relinquish itsnuclear program is fatally flawed, because the regime never will give up what it views as the only insurance policy for its survival. However, the regime will usea nuclear weapon only if its survival is threatened externally. So we are trapped in a stasis of sorts: the North Koreans will never abandon their program, yet theywill never use it unless backed into a corner. Moreover, it is foolish to expect China to pressure North Korea enough to willingly end its program. Even if provided enormous inducements, China will onlyprovide lip service, and will not take actions that would destabilize the North and result in a flood of refugees and a democratic, U.S.-backed state on its border.Rather, China will pressure the United States to make its own concessions, such as ceasing exercises and reversing the deployment of the THAAD missilesystem, in exchange for a freeze on the North s program. These actions must be non-starters. Further, if past performance is precedent, negotiating a reversible freeze on the North s program in exchange for irreversible concessions is a fool s errand.Finally, using force to coerce the North probably would lead to the worst possible case: the use of a nuclear weapon on (or even off) the peninsula and possibleconflict with China. What Are U.S. Options? So, whether the United States likes it or not, the real goal should be to prevent use or proliferation of nuclear weapons by North Korea, and let that pariah nationstew in its own juice. This does not mean openly accepting North Korean nuclear capability. Indeed, the North s program should never be recognized overtly, and North Koreashould continue to pay a very heavy price for continuing it, if for no other reason than to discourage other nuclear aspirants, i.e.,You want to possess nuclear weapons instead of using good governance to ensure your regime survival? Well, here is what life will be like. To some, this policy is defeatist after all, how can the United States possibly live with a nuclear-armed North Korea potentially capable of targeting this countryand constraining its freedom of action? But recent history is littered with other administrations that,despite the best efforts of intelligent people, have failed tocome up with a policy that will verifiably and irreversibly eliminate the program. Regarding denying objectives, the United States needs to take the following steps: ...Improve its ability to build combat power on the Korean Peninsula in the event of a crisis to bolster conventional deterrence against North Korean aggression.Under existing, mostly U.S.-based force posture, the people and equipment needed to quickly defeat a North Korean attack may not deploy fast enough to blunt aDPRK attack. Stationing more forces inside the Republic of Korea, however, is not the answer for political reasons on both sides of the Pacific. The onlypractical answer is prepositioning more really ready equipment on the peninsula and ensuring U.S. forces can fall in on it rapidly. Absent a huge budget plus-up, this means trimming the Army s desired increase in troops numbers to resource this prepositioned equipment and mobility. This will be hard to sell, becauseit is contrary to the Army s identity metric, but it must be done. ...Continue to buttress its right of launch missile defense capability. The importance of the recent successful, fortuitously timed, first-ever real test of theground-based interceptor against a truly representative North Korean ICBM threat cannot be overstated. Despite the cynics continued inclusion ofdevelopmental failures in the system s overall success rate, this much-anticipated test should go a long way toward convincing the Kim regime that an ICBMattack will fail. Ongoing system improvements should be sustained, including those leading to fewer interceptors required per threat missile, better missiledefense of Hawaii, and continued work with partners to improve regional missile defense. ...Redouble its efforts to hold ballistic missiles at risk left of launch. This is a daunting task, partly because North Korea reportedly has made the problemharder by adopting solid-fuel ballistic missile technology, which does not rely on a complex and vulnerable fueling cycle. Speculation has emerged in the mediaabout using cyber methods to disrupt launches, which is certainly worth the effort if it is indeed being undertaken but the United States should leave no otherstone unturned. The imperatives of reliably and quickly finding a missile, making a decision rapidly, and destroying the missile before it can be launched arehard but not insurmountable problems. All it takes are creativity, resources, and practice to resolve. Fortunately, good people are working on concepts andtechnologies to address these problems. Regarding imposing costs, every administration confronting this problem has made it clear that use of a nuclear weapon would evoke a proportional responsethat would mean the end of the North Korean regime. Recent signaling has included flights by nuclear-capable bombers and U.S. ICBM tests, including asuccessful Minuteman III launch, which, although it was previously scheduled, could not have been better timed. The United States should continue suchsignaling, including reinforcing to our regional allies our commitment to extended deterrence. What Role Should the International Community Play? It is less clear how to deter North Korean proliferation of nuclear capability to another nation. The international community needs to employ better methods ofdetection in all areas including the flow of money, intellectual property, and end items and institute effective measures to interdict all three. The internationalcommunity should also speak with more clarity on the price of future proliferation, including additional economic and diplomatic suffocation for both theproliferators and the recipients of nuclear weapons capability. The time for finger-pointing over what several previous administrations have or have not done is past. This is a wicked hard problem . Calmly strengthening theU.S. posture as outlined above is the way to manage the aftermath of the next stage of North Korea s progress on its nuclear weapons program. It is far better toexecute these steps than allow appeasement or, worse, an out-of-control escalation, fueled by unwarranted fear and populist rhetoric, that could lead to a disaster.(Isn't this, in kind, like what the Clintons left for Bush? 9/11/ed)Read all ^

Why Chinese submarines could soon be quieter than US onesTop naval engineer says new propulsion system will put PLA Navy �way ahead� of USSouth China Morning Post | UPDATED : Tuesday, 04 July, 2017, 9:09pm | Minnie Chan

The US Navy�s Pacific fleet used to mock Chinese submarines for being too noisy and too easy to detect, but that has largely been remedied in recent yearsand China is now on the cusp of taking the lead in a cutting-edge propulsion technology. Naval experts said the new technology would help China build more elusive submarines, but might also prompt the United States to ramp up anti-submarinewarfare measures.

In a recent interview with China Central Television, Rear Admiral MaWeiming, a leading Chinese naval engineer, showed a component of a newIntegrated Electrical Propulsion System (IEPS) for naval warships in alaboratory. He said the system, which turns all the engine�s output intoelectricity, and a rim-driven pump-jet had been fitted to the People�sLiberation Army Navy�s newest nuclear submarines. �This is one of our work team�s first world-leading projects, which hasbeen used on [China�s] next-generation nuclear submarines,� Ma said inMay. �[Our technology] is now way ahead of the United States, which hasalso been developing similar technology.�Ma�s exalted status in the PLA Navy was highlighted by a photograph of thennavy commander Admiral Wu Shengli holding an umbrella for Ma during an

inspection of the PLA Naval University of Engineering in Wuhan, where Ma works, on a rainy day in June last year. The photo, posted on the social mediawebsite of the PLA�s Navy Magazine, sparked public curiosity about why the commander would give such �preferential treatment� to a rear admiral. Ma told CCTV �the ultimate goal� of developing the new propulsion system �was aimed at solving the problem of deploying high-energy radio-frequency(HERF) weapons on board�, hinting that China was close to emulating the US in that regard.

HERF, a form of directed-energy weapon, can fire highly focused energy at a target, damaging it accurately and quickly. Directed-energy weapons requirevast amount of electricity � something IEPS can deliver � and can counter the threats posed by fast missiles such as ballistic missiles, hypersonic cruisemissiles and hypersonic glide vehicles. Besides China, the US, Russia and India are also developing them.

The CCTV report did not say which types of Chinese submarines would use the pump-jet propulsion system, but mainland military websites said theybelieved Ma had hinted at the new-generation, nuclear-powered Type 095 attack submarines and Type 096 ballistic missile submarines.Read all. plus links to other Chinese developments ^ Jordan Soldier Says He Fired at US Troops in Fear of AttackAssociated Press | 5 Jul 2017 | by Reem Saad AMMAN, Jordan � A Jordanian soldier charged with killing three U.S. Army Green Berets told a military court on Tuesday that he opened fire because hethought fellow Jordanian troops had come under attack but that he felt no resentment toward Americans.

The defendant, 1st Sgt. Marik al-Tuwayha, took the stand for the first time in his murder trial. He spoke in a low voice from a cage in the courtroom, hishands gripping the bars.

Al-Tuwayha has pleaded "not guilty" to murder charges in the November shooting of the U.S. military trainers who had come under fire at the gate of an airbase in southern Jordan.

The judge has said the defendant has no apparent ties to terrorist groups.

Jordan is a U.S. ally in the region, including in the campaign against Islamic State extremists who control areas of neighboring Syria and Iraq.

The shooting at the al-Jafr air base appeared to strain those ties at one point.

Jordanian officials initially suggested the U.S. soldiers triggered the shooting by disobeying orders of Jordanian troops guarding the gate to the base.

Jordan later withdrew the claim.

The victims were 27-year-old Staff Sgt. Matthew C. Lewellen of Kirksville, Missouri; 30-year-old Staff Sgt. Kevin J. McEnroe of Tucson, Arizona; and 27-year-old Staff Sgt. James F. Moriarty of Kerrville, Texas.

In previous sessions, the court heard testimony from gate guards, a crime scene investigator and a forensics expert.

Al-Tuwayha said on Tuesday that he felt no resentment toward the Americans at the base, and that he had joked and chatted with them over tea in the past.His comments were barely audible, and the judge repeated them for the court.

Witnesses have said that a four-car convoy approached the entrance of the base sometime before noon on Nov. 4.

The first vehicle passed through an outer and an inner gate, entering the base safely. Three more vehicles carrying U.S. troops stood between the outer andinner gate when Jordanian gate guards said they heard a low sound, possibly a pistol shot, from the direction of the convoy.

Three of the gate guards said they held their fire after hearing the pistol because they couldn't identify the exact source of the sound.

At the time, the defendant was in the guard house, close to the inner barrier, to recharge the battery of his wireless device, witnesses have said.

Al-Tuwayha said Tuesday he heard a pistol shot coming from the direction of the American convoy. He said he could not determine the exact source of thesound because he couldn't see from inside the guard house.

He said he opened fire because he feared that his colleagues were coming under attack. He said he initially opened fire from inside the guard house, believinghe was complying with rules of engagement. He said he didn't aim at anything or anyone and had "no intention of killing anyone."

At some point, he emerged from the guard house and continued shooting, according to security camera video of the incident that was described previously bythe fathers of two of the slain American soldiers. The video has not been made public.

One of the bereaved fathers has said the shooting continued for several minutes. Lewellen and McEnroe were killed on the spot, while Moriarty and asurviving U.S. soldier escaped from their vehicles, returned fire and seriously wounded the Jordanian soldier.

A crime scene investigator previously told the court that multiple rounds were fired from two M-16 assault rifles issued to Jordanian troops, including frominside the guard house where cartridges were later found.

A total of 78 bullets were fired from the M-16 rifles and 19 bullets were fired from pistols used by U.S. troops. The investigator said each of the threevehicles carrying Americans was hit by gunfire.

The military court prosecutor said Tuesday that al-Tuwayha fired 63 bullets from his rifle.

The prosecutor did not say who fired from the second M-16, but a witness had previously said that shots had also been fired in the air.

The next hearing is set for Wednesday.

If convicted, al-Tuwayha faces life in prison. ^ US Destroyer Sails Near Disputed Island in South China SeaFox News | 2 Jul 2017 | by Lucas Tomlinson For the second time since President Trump took office, the Pentagon dispatched a U.S. Navy warship to sail near a disputed island claimed by China in theSouth China Sea, two U.S. defense officials told Fox News.

The USS Stethem, a guided-missile destroyer based in Japan, sailedwithin 12 nautical miles of Triton Island, which is part of the ParacelIslands located in the South China Sea between China and Vietnam.

The destroyer was trailed by a Chinese warship during its Sundayvoyage.

While occupied by China, Vietnam and Taiwan also lay claim to theisland. A defense official said the operation challenged Vietnam andTaiwan's claims to Triton Island in addition to China.

Twelve nautical miles is the territorial boundary that extends beyond theshores of all nations, sailing inside that distance sends a signal theUnited States does not recognize the claim.

The move comes as the Trump administration appears to be losingpatience with Beijing over its continued military build-up in the SouthChina Sea. The U.S. has been frustrated with Beijing's failure to reignin North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.

Triton Island is not one of China's seven artificial islands in the region. It has been constructed in the past few years. The U.S. Navy last sailed a warship offthe coast of Triton Island in October. The Obama administration conducted similar operations.

The Pentagon wants to conduct what it calls "freedom of navigation" operations, or FONOPS, to challenge China's claims with enough frequency in thehopes they become more routine and not as newsworthy, according to an official with knowledge of the discussions.

Lt. Cmdr. Matt Knight, a spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Fleet, would not confirm the operation but said in a statement to Fox News, "We conduct routineand regular FONOPs, as we have done in the past and will continue to do in the future."

In late May, another guided-missile destroyer, USS Dewey, sailed approximately six miles from one of China's man-made islands in the South China Sea, afirst for the Pentagon since Trump assumed office. The American warship conducted a "man-overboard" drill off the coast of Mischief Reef sending a signalto Beijing that the United States does not honor its claim to the reef--one of seven former reefs China has turned into artificial islands. Three contain runwaysand other military fortifications.

"Fake islands should not be believed by real people," said the head of the U.S. Pacific Command, Admiral Harry Harris, in a speech Wednesday in Brisbane,where the United States is participating in the largest ever joint military exercise with Australia, aimed in part to send a message to Beijing.

"China is using its military and economic power to erode the rules-based international order," Harris added.

Friday, new satellite imagery published by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) part of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, aWashington think-tank showed new military facilities including radar systems being installed on Mischief, Fiery Cross and Subi Reefs in the Spratly Islandslocated south of the Parcel Islands in the South China Sea.

While U.S. officials had seen the build-up for months, they are more concerned about the potential for China to place advanced surface-to-air missiles on theartificial islands, which could challenge U.S. military flights in the region. Fox News first reported in December that China moved SA-21 missile batteries witha 250-mile range to the island province of Hainan for training, which could be sent to the artificial islands at a later date. For the time being, they remain insideChina.

The last time the U.S. Navy challenged China's claims in the South China Sea, the Trump administration pushed back on accusations it was turning a blindeye to China's military build-up on its artificial islands, while looking for Beijing to help with negotiations to halt North Korea's nuclear weapons and missileprograms.

"While I greatly appreciate the efforts of President Xi & China to help with North Korea, it has not worked out. At least I know China tried!" Trump said in atweet last month.

On Friday, the Trump administration unveiled new sanctions against a Chinese bank linked to North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programs, a dayafter announcing a new $1.4 billion arms sale to Taiwan.

Announcing the sanctions, Treasury Secretary Steve Munchin said the move was not in retribution for Beijing failing to rein in North Korea. "This is notdirected at China, this is directed at a bank, as well as individuals and entities in China," he said.

China is sending messages of its own.

As Beijing marked the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover from British rule this weekend, President Xi Jinping presided over the largest militaryparade ever held in the territory. Standing in the back of a jeep, Xi was driven past more than 3,000 assembled troops in formation in a show of strength.

On Wednesday, China launched the first of its newest class of destroyer called the Type 055, which many analysts say resembles the size and capability ofthe U.S. Navy's Arleigh-Burke class of guided-missile destroyers, like the one which conducted the operation near the contested Chinese island this weekend.

According to the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), China has 183 cruisers, destroyers, coastal ships and submarines compared wth 188 for theU.S. Navy. CNAS projected in a March report that China will surpass the United States Navy in these types of warships by the end of the next decade, oneof the reasons the U.S. Navy has requested a buildup to a 350-ship fleet, a view shared by many in Congress.

China claims most of the South China Sea where more than $5 trillion of commerce passes through each year.

Last week, the U.S. State Department called out China for being one of the worst human trafficking offenders--dropping Beijing to its lowest designationjoining Iran, North Korea and Russia. The report said China had done little to stop what has amounted to modern slavery and sex trafficking affectingmillions. ^

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