The Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Alexandria (SSN 757) prepares to depart Apra Harbor as part of regularly scheduled operations in the Indo-Pacific, May 5, 2020. (U.S. Navy photo/Derek Harkins) 19 May 2020 The Honolulu Star-Advertiser | By William Cole The Pacific Fleet Submarine Force took the unusual step this month of announcing that all of its forward-deployed subs were simultaneously conducting "contingency response operations " at sea in the Western Pacific--downplaying the notion that Navy forces have been hampered by COVID-19. The sub force said the missions were mounted in support of the Pentagon's "free and open Indo-Pacific " policy aimed at countering China's expansionism in the South China Sea. At least seven submarines, and likely more--including all four Guam-based attack submarines, the San Diego-based USS Alexandria and multiple Hawaii-based vessels--are part of the effort. The action also highlights the Pentagon's desire to be flexible and unpredictable in "great power " competition with China and Russia. "Our operations are a demonstration of our willingness to defend our interests and freedoms under international law, " Rear Adm. Blake Converse, Pacific sub force commander, who is based at Pearl Harbor, said in a May 8 release. Attack submarines maintain an outsize stealth capability to sink ships with torpedoes, fire Tomahawk cruise missiles and conduct covert surveillance while keeping adversaries guessing their location. The Navy recently has maintained a flotilla of warships in the Western Pacific as a show of force and proof that COVID-19 hasn't significantly degraded its capabilities, with the United States and China long trading barbs over military activities in the South China Sea and increasingly so over each other's pandemic response. China has been accused of intensifying its occupation of man-made islands and bullying other nations in the region while much of the world has been focused on the pandemic. Geopolitical intelligence platform Stratfor said that the U.S. and China have maintained a "robust operational pace in the South China Sea " amid heightening tensions and COVID-19--signs that point to continued escalation after the virus wanes. When the Navy advertises the presence of its usually unseen submarines, it's often to make a point with an adversary. The Navy released a photo of the Los Angeles-class sub Alexandria transiting Apra Harbor in Guam on May 5. As the U.S. military addresses COVID-19 at home, "we remain focused on our national security missions around the world, " Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the same day. "Many countries have turned inward to recover from the pandemic, and in the meantime our strategic competitors are attempting to exploit this crisis to their benefit at the expense of others, " Esper said. He accused the Chinese Communist Party of ramping up a "disinformation campaign " to shift blame for the virus and burnish its image. All the while, "we continue to see aggressive behavior by the PLA (People's Liberation Army ) in the South China Sea, from threatening a Philippine navy ship to sinking a Vietnamese fishing boat and intimidating other nations from engaging in offshore oil and gas development." Esper said two Navy ships conducted freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea the week before "to send a clear message to Beijing that we continue to protect freedom of navigation and commerce for all nations large and small." The guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill conducted a "FONOP " in the Spratly Islands, and the destroyer USS Barry sailed twice through the Taiwan Strait and through the Paracel Islands in disputed territory that China claims as its own. "These provocative acts by the U.S. side ... have seriously violated China's sovereignty and security interests, deliberately increased regional security risks and could easily trigger an unexpected incident, " the South China Morning Post quoted a Chinese military command saying after the Barry's Paracel passage. The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt has been sidelined in Guam since late March after experiencing an outbreak of the new coronavirus among its 4, 800-member crew. U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor has been quick to note the ongoing deployment of other assets in the region, including transits of the South China Sea by the littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords, the destroyer USS Rafael Peralta sailing in the East China Sea and the destroyer USS McCampbell passing through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday.
The Pacific Fleet Submarine Force took the unusual step this month of announcing that all of its forward-deployed subs were simultaneously conducting "contingency response operations " at sea in the Western Pacific. Contingency operation - definition of contingency operation ... (11) Contingency operation is defined as a military operation "designated by the Secretary of Defense as an operation in which members of the armed forces are or may become involved in military actions, operations or hostilities against an enemy of the U.S. contingency operation (13) The term “contingency operation” means a military operation that— (A) is designated by the Secretary of Defense as an operation in which members of the armed forces are or may become involved in military actions, operations, or hostilities against an enemy of the United States or against an opposing military force; or (B) results in the call or order to, or retention on, active duty of members of the uniformed services under section 688 , 12301(a) , 12302 , 12304 , 12304a , 12305 , or 12406 of this title , chapter 13 of this title , section 712 of title 14, or any other provision of law during a war or during a national emergency declared by the President or Congress. Source 10 USC § 101(a)(13) It is also a key in getting all needed repairs, supplies and manpower onboard and rigged for sea. This can mean transfer of people from a overhaul in progress to another Sub and departing with a mixed crew as all are qualified in their assigned billet. SINGLE UP #1 Line Much the same way SAC Bombers were sent out to do their work.
On occasion we did come in at night and have the Sail Bra on before Dawn. Get the work done and leave at dark. No liberty and no phone calls. 60 day CCP Virus lock down aint nothin' but a thing.
Maybe a Cold War with the Chinese would be a good thing in the long run...I dunno, but yeah, maybe...
I think having 11 super carriers and 10 or 11 jump carrier to china's 2 jump carriers is more than enough message.
Well we always gave the Bar Girls our next stop. That being what ever port we liked best, whether we ended up at that Port is another thing!
The more I think about a Cold War with China the more I like the idea. Manufacturing would return to the stateside, costs of products would rise but so would quality, China would be thrown into chaos especially if we can get Europe to play, US employment figures would rise, We would finally partner with the Russians which is not a bad thing in the long run... Whether Russia played along (and I think they would) is a big deal... Downside is they would probably call in their loans, unload their bonds, compete with us on manufacturing on the world market but it wouldn't affect us for a while as we saturate the US market... Yeah, I think it would work! Hell, it would probably cause a realm change!
Not at all sure that the entire fleet at sea is quite a regularly scheduled thing. Waddoeyeno ennyway?
