Posted on 05/15/2010 7:03:37 AM PDT by Tom the Redhunter
As our president continues to degrade American military capabilities, the troop supporters of Free Republic continue to show up every Friday evening at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in northwest Washington DC. We have done this since early 2005 and will continue our efforts for as long as people show up. Our objectives are twofold:
1) Show support for the troops by displaying the American flag and those of military units, as well as patriotic flags
2) Keep the hate-America crowd of Code Pinkos away from the main entrance of the hospital.
As with last week, the weather this Friday was beautiful. Not to hot, not to cold, just about right. There was a bit of a breeze, so we could not deploy the MOAB, but by the same token the flags looked good waving in the wind.
One of the reasons I like FReeping and participating on other conservative groups is that reading the national news can be all so very depressing. Associating with like-minded people lifts you up again.
Last week the Obama Administration revealed that we have 5,113 nuclear warheads in our arsenal. This was only the second time in U.S. history that the exact number has been released. While this number may sound impressive in a post-Cold War world, the truth is that only about half are usable, with the rest in various states of disrepair. Of the half that are ready to use, well, it gets complicated. John Noonan of the Weekly Standard explains:
And then there's the logistical and planning issues of the "ready to use" argument. Every launcher in our inventory would have to be alerted and fully armed with warheads, all 14 subs would have to be flushed out to launch boxes (we keep around 3-4 on alert), and all of our bombers would have to be fully swapped from conventional support roles, nuclear certified, and armed with a full complement of cruise missiles. Targeteers at U.S. Strategic Command would have to build an entire library of warplans to find aimpoints for the bombs, most of which haven't been operationally certified in years. Disposal plants and storage facilities would have to be emptied in the largest exodus of nuclear weapons in history, but not before thousands of warheads would need to be fitted with parts that no longer exist. Submarine and ground launched missiles would require new targeting data, additional fuel, and extra warheads. Thousands of pages of reference documents and target listings would have to be crafted, and all nuclear crews would have to be fully trained on the new procedures. And, if that string of miracles were to occur, we'd still come up short on launchers to actually deliver the bombs. That we have 5k nuclear warheads ready to be used, even in months, isn't just unlikely -- it's impossible.
Despite that our nuclear force has languished, in 2008 the Democrats in Congress cut funding for the Reliable Replacement Warhead and in 2009 President Obama canceled the program. The RRW had been started in 2004 by President Bush who saw and understood the need.
Mrs Trooprally was in her car listening to Mark Levin when the Walter Reed super- ambulance came in with some of our wounded warriors. How do I know who she was listing too? Because I was in there with her!
Mark Levin is one of my favorites. He is on WMAL 630AM here in Washington DC from 6 - 9pm, so I usually only catch some of him. But he tells it like it is.
It's not just our nuclear capabilities that are in danger, but our ability to project sea power may be in question as well. David Woods, writing in Politics Daily, explains that China and Iran are creating 'No-Go' zones to thwart U.S. military power:
The United States, Pentagon strategists say, is quickly losing its ability to barge in without permission. Potential target countries and even some lukewarm allies are figuring out ingenious ways to blunt American power without trying to meet it head-on, using a combination of high-tech and low-tech jujitsu..
Read the whole thing. We're down to 11 carrier battle groups, folks, and the F-35 Lightning II is still a few years away from deployment.
This super-ambulance is transporting our wounded warriors either from Andrews Air Force base, where they come in from Germany, or from Bethesda Naval Hospital.
And here I am, out and FReeping, alongside BufordP who is to my left.
And of course we're all aware that Obama canceled the missile shield for Europe, pulling the rug out from under our allies. The system Obama canceled would have put a powerful radar in the Czech Republic and interceptor missiles in Poland. In case you think it's no big deal, Thomas Joscelyn, writing in The Weekly Standard, begs to differ:
First, note that the Obama administration, in its fact sheet on missile defense, does not currently intend to deploy a missile defense system capable of intercepting Iran's long-range missiles until 2020. Phase Four of Obama's plan, which is "in the 2020 timeframe," reads (emphasis added): "After development and testing are complete, deploy the SM-3 Block IIB to help better cope with medium- and intermediate-range missiles and the potential future ICBM (Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile) threat to the United States." All three of the previous phases deal with short to intermediate-range interceptors.That is, Obama's plan does not envision the deployment of a missile defense capable of countering Iran's long-range missiles until the tail end of the current estimate of when the mullahs will have that capability. The current estimate is that Iran will have an ICBM capability between 2015 and 2020. Obama is therefore assuming the best-case scenario (for us) with respect to long-range missiles within that range. So, the current plan does not envision deploying long-range interceptors in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, or 2019, which are all possibilities in the current estimate. The Obama plan says things may change, of course, but for now they've assumed the best-case scenario from the West's perspective.
Sigh. Obama is Carter Part 2.
Adding to the misery, last July President Obama, aided by Senator John McCain, won their battle to halt production of the F-22 Raptor at 187 aircraft in a 58 - 40 vote in the Senate. 141 have been built so far. The Pentagon originally requested 750 F-22a, scaled that down to 442 in 1994, went down again to 339 in 1997, and in 2003 dropped it again to 223. We are told that the Pentagon opposed production of 187 aircraft, which will be used by opponents. Knowing people who have worked on this program, I don't believe for a second that's really true. A president can always find careerist officers who will promote whatever policy he chooses to implement.
The F-22 Raptor. Expensive but necessary
We have put all our eggs in the F-35 Lightning II basket, which is an airplane not yet in production, and until then we'll have to rely the fleet of 1970's vintage F-15s, F-16s, and F-18s.
In case you're not clear, the F-35 Lightning II is to the F-22 Raptor what the F-16 Falcon is to the F-15 Eagle; designed to be the back-up, less expensive, and second line fighter. Halting production of the F-22 and relying on the F-35 is like halting production of the F-15 in 1975 and deciding to rely on the F-16. The F-16 is good, but not having the F-15 would have severely hobbled our capabilities.
What It's All About
Here's the troopbus! Fortunately it came early again so we were able to leave not much after 9:00
Come join us every Friday night between the hours of 6:30pm to approx 9:30pm.
Directions to our Walter Reed freep location from the Takoma Metro station
* You can find all of Mrs Trooprally's photos for this FReep on her Photobucket site here
* Thank you to BufordP for maintaining the BIG LIST of all Walter Reed FReeps.
* Thank you to all FReepers who transport and store our many signs and banners every week.
* Tom the Redhunter blogs at The Redhunter
DC Chapter Ping
We don’t have to nuke all our enemies, just one. The rest will fall in line after that.
You guys are great - wish I knew abt your group when I lived in Springfield, outside of DC - God bless our troopers!
Thank you for what you do!
If I am ever in DC on a Friday eve...I will join you.
Ok, I'm not happy with that revelation, but there is this:
Everybody, from Putin to Chia Pet to the mullahs to me & you, KNOWS that Obama is a prolific liar. They (we) surely have as much doubt as belief in that number. Therefore, it reveals nothing.
If he is lying, there is no point in telling a small lie. If we had 100 more or less, why lie about it? No, the only lie worth telling in this instance is a BIG one.
The issue is not whether Obama is lying about the number of warheads, because he didn’t issue the figure. The number came from the DOD, and neither Secretary Gates nor the uniformed military are about to lie to cover up for the president.
The issue, rather, is what the number 5,113 means. How usable are they? Is the stockpile reliable? How reliable and usable will they be in 5, 10, and 15 years? What are our delivery platforms and do they address potential threats?
Maryland PING!
PING to AA report re: information on our current nuclear capabailities.
Heck, our enemies know more about our missiles than we do. So releasing any numbers doesn't matter.
US, we can't even find a sheepherder in a rock pile.
Thank you all that can make the Friday vigil.
I beg your pardon?
Hate to take issue on such an awesome thread, but...the F-16 and F-35 are not second line fighters. Second line fighters are fighters that are commonly used by reserve units or other “backups” as opposed to front line fighters. For example, the UK still uses the Tornado F.3 in a second line intercept role; their first line interceptor is the Typhoon. Similarly, Poland uses the Su-22 in second line, with the Mig-29 in first line, though those units are moving to second line to make room for the F-16. Once the F-35 comes in, it will be the first line and the F-16s will move to the second line.
There’s nothing about being multi-role that makes a fighter second class, nor is there anything about a pure air superiority fighter like the Eagle or Raptor that makes it inherently better than the multi-role bird. The 35 might be as great as the 16 or it might be a dog, but that will be a result of the design, not the role.
And I expect Gates & the military will say what they have been told to say in this regard, or resign, since I doubt they wanted to say ANYTHING AT ALL.
This revelation fits perfectly with Obama’s willingness to give something for nothing. OTOH, the military is classically closed mouth about nuclear capability.
Just now getting onto FR after a long end of the week schedule.
Great catchy title no matter how true it is. Thanks for the report. Missed you this past Friday but so long as you were writing the previous week’s AAR, no problem.
[Mr] T
As in “coming out to FReep with us”
I see your point and it is a fair one. Let me restate
The F-16 is not and was not meant as an equal to the F-15. The F-35 is not and was not meant as an equal to the F-22.
For example, the F-16 is less expensive than the F-15, and the F-35 less than the F-22.
The USAF would have been less capable if it had been denied the F-15 30 years ago, and it will be less capable today without sufficient numbers of F-22s
Agree completely with your last statement. Building the piddling number of F-22’s we’re building is insanity. There’s a 1936 feeling in the air...if you can find one still alive, ask the guys who served in the military in the mid-tp-late Thirties, back when they were doing exercises using eggs for simulated grenades, trucks with a “tank” sign on them to simulate enemy armor and General Patton was buying tank engine parts out of his own pocket. Of course, unlike that generation, we have to contend with morons who think dragging SEALs into court will be good for the war effort.
And not to be pedantic, but we also need to keep in mind (especially in the area of defense purchasing!) that cost is a poor indicator of superiority. For example, the KC-135’s I crewed were cheap compared to the EC and RC-135 versions, but fighting a modern air war without tankers is practically inconceiveable.
NoVA Freepers If anyone can show up and offer moral support,
Yankeemom and I would greatly apprciate it.
Crystal Mall Four
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Crystal Mall Four
1901 S. Bell St.
Arlington, VA
3 June, 0900 (That's 9am for us civilians)
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