The Stan R. Mitchell report for 2/1/22.
Discover more from The View from the Front. By Stan R. Mitchell.
The Stan R. Mitchell report for 2/1/22.
Happy Tuesday, everyone! Hope your week is off to a great start!
I’m going to again skip over ruminating on the Ukraine/Russia situation this week. Things haven’t changed. Putin will either invade or he won’t. No huge news has broken on the matter as of publication time.
Moving along, I thought I’d start with the tweet below from the Air Force.
The innocuous photos were probably posted as simply a majestic set of photos, illustrating the alliance and interoperability of American and Japanese forces. Possibly also a subtle reminder to China: we can drop 500 Japanese on any uninhabited islands at a moment’s notice. (Say, for instance, the Senkaku Islands. Here’s more about the tension there.)
Clearly, the very real point of that training operation is that if a conflict kicked off, these Japanese troops could either reinforce American forces rushed into the region or hold ground until additional American forces arrive in theater.
And it was this idea that got my mind racing. China is obviously the big giant in the area, but many of the smaller countries that feel threatened by China lack the naval and air assets to deploy their troops to aid their allies if a conflict occurred say a thousand miles away.
But what if the United States provides the transportation?
What if America were to transport a battalion of Vietnamese troops to some hot spot outside their comfortable reach? And bring along some South Korean forces, as well. And then some troops from Thailand and the Philippines, to top it all off?
As history has proven: removing dug-in infantry is never an easy task. Like, ever.
And what REALLY got my mind racing is depending on how you play out these scenarios, the United States wouldn’t even have to be at war with China to do some of these things I’ve state above. America could simply be an ally moving troops around. And that would put the weight on China’s shoulders as to whether it would respond aggressively to this shifting of forces, enabled by the United States?
Lots to really think on when you begin to consider all the possibilities. And of course, the U.S. CAN quickly deploy loads of air power to the area. Such as when we deployed dozens of F-22 fighter jets to the Pacific.
Love to hear some of your all’s thoughts on this in the comments section or on Twitter.
Moving on to some tech news, Defense News reported recently that the U.S. Navy might pump the brakes a tad on unmanned ships.
While the Navy might be slowing down the transition, the theory behind the vessels is a sound one. Namely, that large unmanned craft could not only reduce costs and the need for sailors, but also extend the reach of naval forces. After all, why send a manned destroyer near an enenemy’s coast (or fleet) when you can send an armed drone ship?
Already, the U.S. Navy has accomplished a lot already with unmanned ships. They’ve completed long “autonomous transits” of nearly 5,000 miles. Yes, 5,000 miles!
And the U.S. Navy made history by having an unmanned ship cross the Panama Canal – the first time any unmanned ship had crossed the locks of the canal.
All very interesting stuff. And if you really want to geek out and get into the weeds, you can read much more about the Navy’s strategy here: US Navy adopts new strategy prioritizing ‘the building blocks’ of unmanned tech.
Sticking with the U.S. Navy a moment longer, the Navy still hasn’t recovered the crashed F-35 that I mentioned in the last edition. (Who knows how deep of waters that thing is sitting in…)
But, the Japan Coast Guard is apparently going to be helping with the recovery.
Also, CNN provided a few more details and this amazing picture since the last edition. Though I’m confident the military wasn’t too happy about it, since the image was posted on social media and almost certainly taken by a sailor. (What is Op Sec again?)
My final topic today isn’t a pleasant one. As many of you know, I posted a passionate video during Christmas begging folks to reach out to struggling veterans.
And I know I harp on this a lot, but PLEASE actually reach out to veterans. This is no joke and it IS a crisis.
The video series below illustrates why the need remains as important as ever, as we lose more and more of some of the greatest young men and women in our country.
You all get the point: reach out to your fellow service members (or friends/family members).
Okay, I know that was a dark topic above, so let’s end with something lighter. Some motivation and wisdom to wrap up your day.
That’s it for this edition. And as a reminder, please be kind and endeavor to love and support your fellow Americans. We need to pull this country together, and that starts with all of us.
As always, please share this post if you enjoyed it! And I welcome any and all respectful comments below.
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Semper Fidelis,
Stan R. Mitchell
P.S. Don’t forget to check out my books. I’ve written 10 military and police thrillers, as well as a self-help, motivational book about Obama, which completely avoids politics or liberal vs conservative positions. To date, I’ve been fortunate to have sold 70,000-plus copies, to thank you to who have supported me on this journey! You can find all eleven books here: amazon.com.
P.P.S. You can also find out more about me, with lots of FAQs about my military background, at my website: stanrmitchell.com.