Author: AW1Ed

Novorussia Today is reporting on NATO’s “provocations” incurred by Operation Sea Breeze, an annual multinational navel exercise held in the Black Sea. Hosted by the Ukraine, the exercise began Monday and will continue through 12 September.

This year’s Sea Breeze is the largest yet, with up to 2500 personnel from 17 countries participating. The US will contribute 1000 sailors and Marines, 5 warships, various aircraft and other vehicles.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry press service reported that the exercise is aimed at “drilling a multinational security operation in a crisis region.”

“The maneuvers are to enhance confidence and security in the region, improve interoperability between the naval force of Ukraine and NATO and partner countries,” the ministry said.”

In addition, other NATO member states will send troops and military equipment, 6 ships, 3 submarines, 6 aircraft and 10 wheeled vehicles.

US Naval Forces Europe-Africa, US 6th Fleet Command reported that “Maritime forces from 11 maritime nations will begin the US-Ukraine co-hosted multinational maritime exercise Sea Breeze 2015 in Odessa, Ukraine, and the Black Sea, Aug. 31. Sea Breeze, now in its 14th iteration, is an annual exercise held in the Black Sea which seeks to enhance interoperability and strengthen regional security.”

According to NATO sources, participating nations include Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Italy, Moldova, Romania, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The exercise will include maritime interdiction operations, antisubmarine warfare, and defense against swarm tactics. Other skills to be exercised include air defense, damage control, and C-SAR.

Swatting down Nork-like Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles (IRBMs) with Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems, and now the largest Sea Breeze exercise in history is being conducted in Russia’s pond. Messaging, anyone?

Reuters is reporting the United States shot down a simulated, incoming intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) similar to the ones being developed by countries like North Korea, in a test of the nation’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system.

The successful test over the Pacific Ocean is significant, considering North Korea’s recent launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on July 4.

“The successful demonstration of THAAD against an IRBM-range missile threat bolsters the country’s defensive capability against developing missile threats in North Korea and other countries,” spox from the Missile Defense Agency said.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office, a federal watchdog, noted in a May report that the Missile Defense Agency had not previously tested THAAD against an IRBM, despite having deployed the system to the island of Guam, a U.S. territory in the Pacific, in 2013 amid concerns about North Korea’s missile program.

In the latest test, a THAAD in Kodiak, Alaska, intercepted a ballistic missile target that was air-launched from a C-17 aircraft flying north of Hawaii. A defense official said the test took place early on Tuesday.

This test continues THAAD’s 100 percent success rate, with 14 intercepts of 14 attempts to its credit since flight testing began over a decade ago.

The United States has deployed THAAD to South Korea this year to guard against North Korea’s IRBMs. This has drawn criticism from Beijing and Moscow, who say the system’s powerful radar can probe deep into its territory.

Earlier this month Moscow and Beijing, in a joint statement, called on Washington to immediately halt deployment of THAAD in South Korea, stating Washington was using North Korea as a pretext to expand its military infrastructure in Asia and risked upsetting the strategic balance of power in the region.

Ummm, no. Does “No” work for you, Beijing and Moscow?

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It is now the month of July, and according to Wiki,

July is the seventh month of the year (between June and August) in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and the fourth month to have the length of 31 days. It was named by the Roman Senate in honor of the Roman general, Julius Cæsar, it being the month of his birth. Prior to that, it was called Quintilis.

It also is the month Jonn has to pay the rent on this place, ’cause y’all know good things are’t free. Now I’ve gave Jonn some extra love today to help with the cause, and I urge you to do the same. If I may, please direct your attention to the amber donation button in the upper right hand side of the home page, and follow the bouncing ball.

Jonn, the Army SFC who jumped out of airplanes for a living, is too shy to ask. I, a Navy PO1 who also jumped out of airplanes (sans parachute) am not. So please, don’t hurt yourself by any means, but send some love Jonn’s way today.

Thank you,

AW1Ed

Fox News is reporting North Korea has wasted no time criticizing the US’s recent practice bombing runs in South Korea. Rodong Sinmun, the ruling party’s newspaper, called the act “reckless military provocations” after US Air Force B-1B’s dropped inert shapes during a Saturday training mission. These comments were reported by the state Korean Central News Agency, saying the activity increased the threat of nuclear war.

The exercise was conducted days after North Korea successfully tested a ballistic missile reportedly able to strike Alaska and Hawaii.

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 Pilsung Range. 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.”

Additionally, the US and South Korea will test the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system later this month.

Task and Purpose is reporting Col. Jeffery Nance, the military judge in Sgt. Bergdahl’s court martial, has denied a defense motion to dismiss the misbehavior before the enemy charge. They argue the charge doesn’t state a specific offence and should be dropped.

Bergdahl was charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy by endangering the safety of his command by walking off a remote Afghanistan post in 2009, purportedly to alert higher ups with what he thought were serious leadership problems in his unit. He was captured and held by insurgents for five years before being exchanged.

“We’re continuing to prepare energetically for trial on both charges,” said Eugene Fidell, Bergdahl’s civilian lawyer. “Where things stand is, this will be an issue on appeal if Sgt. Bergdahl is convicted on the misbehavior charge.”

Prosecutors allege Bergdahl deserted his post without authority, causing search and recovery operations. In his ruling, Nance said the misbehavior charge does state an offense.

“The accused is on fair notice that he must defend himself for leaving Observation Post Mest alone and without authority, thereby wrongfully causing search and recovery operations,” according to the ruling. “Certainly this notifies him that he has to defend himself from the charge that he has intentionally committed a series of interrelated acts before the enemy, which, even if not particularly proscribed by some other criminal statute, are without authority and wrongful and, thus, criminal.”
“There is simply no way the accused could not reasonably have understand that his conduct was proscribed,” he wrote. “Furthermore, the alleged conduct cannot even be said to be ‘marginal’ misconduct. The government avers that the accused left his combat outpost intentionally, without authority and for the purpose of causing search and recovery operations, which he ultimately did cause. The specification alleges that all of this was done ‘before the enemy’. How could such alleged conduct be characterized as anything other than misconduct under any definition of the word?”

The court-martial is scheduled to begin Oct. 23 at Fort Bragg. Bergdahl could face life imprisonment if convicted of misbehavior before the enemy.