Naval history and politics. Nothing complicated here, just straight, simple, facts with some opinions. Take what you wish, leave the rest.
Anywhere but New York City
Joined February 2021
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John Bulkeley retweeted
xitter.gq/BillGertz/status/21159… It's about time to start a debate in Congress on whether or not the US should risk WW3 and the possibility of a nuclear war with China if China invades Taiwan. Fighting China over Taiwan could have catastrophic repercussions around the world. Is it worth all that, not to mention the loss of probably thousands of US military personnel, to defend Taiwan, a nation we don't even have a formal defense treaty with? And if we are going to defend Taiwan to the limit simply because they make a lot of semiconductors, that is not a good reason to go to war. So, the President, Congress, and the Pentagon are going to have to make a damn good case on why we should risk everything for Taiwan.
The Army's top commander in the Pacific says a Chinese invasion of Taiwan by April remains a real threat. The four-star's blunt warning contrasts sharply with an earlier DNI annual threat assessment that played down the danger of an imminent PLA amphibious assault across the Taiwan Strait washingtontimes.com/news/202…
As the CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier transits back to its homeport of Victoria, #BritishColumbia, the ship is supporting science monitoring programs in the Beaufort Sea. Watch as it effortlessly cuts through ice in one of earth’s most remote regions!
John Bulkeley retweeted
Tell me, how well would Mahatma Gandhi have done with nonviolent protest while asking for a peaceful dialogue if he was in Auschwitz? You sometimes have to stand up and fight against evil, because that's the only way to stop it. Sometimes loving your enemies will only get you assaulted or, worse, you could end up like Charlie Kirk. There is no such thing as peaceful persuasion with people who want you dead. You need to fight them.
xitter.gq/IrvingShipbuild/status… Will make a fine OPV for the Canadian Coast Guard. It's a shame they can't crank out frigates as fast as they can these OPVs, both for the Navy and now the Coast Guard.
xitter.gq/japan_nobunaga/status/… America could use a lot more shipyards like this one in the US, especially on the West coast. But access to Japanese shipyards is a huge bonus for the US Navy, one that will become critical if there ever is a war with China, especially when it comes to repairing battle damaged warships.
If you ask any U.S. Navy captain in the Seventh Fleet why America's most powerful warships never want to leave Yokosuka, Japan, they will not point to a treaty. They will point to two thousand Japanese master craftsmen in hard hats waiting inside a 150-year-old stone dry dock.
Keeping the U.S. Seventh Fleet ready to deter conflict across the Indo-Pacific requires constant, grueling hull and combat-system repairs.
Why does the United States Navy not simply sail its damaged or aging warships back to Pearl Harbor or San Diego for maintenance? Because steaming five thousand miles back across the Pacific pulls a frontline warship off patrol for months when every day counts.
Inside Fleet Activities Yokosuka sits Dry Dock Number 1, built out of hand-cut granite stone blocks by Japanese stonemasons in 1871. More than a century and a half later, those ancient stone walls still hold the weight of billion-dollar American Aegis destroyers without cracking an inch.
Working inside those six dry docks is the U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility and Japan Regional Maintenance Center, powered by over two thousand Japanese master welders, pipefitters, shipwrights, and electrical engineers.
Many of these Japanese artisans are second- and third-generation craftsmen whose fathers and grandfathers repaired American warships in the exact same docks.
When the U.S. Seventh Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge, the oldest operational warship in the U.S. Navy, or an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer comes in from rough seas, Japanese shipwrights and American sailors climb under the massive steel hull shoulder to shoulder.
Through freezing winter nights and sweltering summers, Japanese welders lay down flawless steel seams that U.S. Navy inspectors call the gold standard of the Pacific.
Warships are made of steel. Alliances are kept afloat by the men with welding torches in the bottom of the dock.
John Bulkeley retweeted
Another reason to be prepared has nothing to do with war or terrorists attacks. The US suffers numerous natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and snowstorms that can knock out power and leave your home isolated before any help can make it to you. Being well prepared at home can literally be the difference between life and death in a natural disaster emergency. So, being prepared is wise for a multitude of reasons and once you are prepared you don't have to worry about it again. Do it.
xitter.gq/WarshipCam/status/2115… Appropriately symbolic on how the sun is setting on the Royal Navy. So sad.
John Bulkeley retweeted
xitter.gq/HormuzLetter/status/21… Perhaps all these warnings in the Western World regarding emergency preparedness has something to do with what's about to happen to Iran. Massive bombings don't seem effective right now, when the blockade and the strict sanctions are devastating Iran's economy. Maintain the blockade and strict financial pressure and the IRGC will go broke and eventually fall.
BREAKING: Australia urges all its citizens to stockpile canned food and bottled water to prepare for emergencies, per Yahoo News Australia.
It comes after the UK urged the public to stock up on three days' worth of supplies amid the growing threat of war last week.
Japan, Germany, Sweden and Norway have also told its citizens to prepare for emergencies.
John Bulkeley retweeted
Well, after the attempted Iranian attack on an RAF base in the UK, nothing would surprise me anymore. There were rumors that the Iranian terrorists were planning on using a drone or drones on the attack on the air base. So, it's not inconceivable that they wouldn't try something just as crazy at Mar-a-Lago. If you want to know why we are fighting Iran, it's to end the regime that forces us to do things like this.
More Than 100 Lawmakers Push to Include SHIPS for America Act in Defense Bill
gcaptain.com/more-than-100-l…
xitter.gq/InsiderGeo/status/2115… Russia is playing a dangerous game here. If they are looking to start WW3, they are going about it in the right way, and that's dangerous.
BREAKING: The container ship CONTSHIP JET (IMO 9348625) struck by three maritime drones in the Black Sea off Bulgaria’s coast, sank around midnight, Bulgarian authorities have confirmed.
All 18 crew members were rescued. The vessel was carrying 421 containers, including fuel and other hazardous materials.
🇧🇬 This morning, Bulgarian authorities will collect seawater samples at five coastal locations to check for possible marine pollution following the sinking and assess the environmental risks posed by the ship’s cargo.
xitter.gq/SgmNaval/status/211589… Those battleships looked old even then, but by the time WW2 started they were only really good as moving artillery for shore bombardments. But they still looked powerful.
xitter.gq/SurfaceWarriors/status… Looks good.
Sustaining the Fleet. Prepared to Fight ⚓️⚔️💪
Sailors aboard USS Boxer (LHD 4) and USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) are working day in and day out to feed Sailors while deployed to the @US5thFleet area of operations.
#SurfaceWarriors | #ReadyOnArrival | #USSBoxer | #USSJohnPaulJones
xitter.gq/clashreport/status/211… Hope nobody was hurt.
John Bulkeley retweeted
Everything hinges on election day next week. If the Democrats take over Congress, an attack will happen the next day. But if the Republicans stay in power, President Trump may continue pursuing the blockade and economic sanctions until the IRGC just goes bankrupt and collapses.
John Bulkeley retweeted
Why not bring back traditional government-run "Civil Defense" agencies as they existed during the Cold War? Organizing people is the best way to prevent wide-scale panic. Also, it is a way for local communities to at least maintain some semblance of order in any type of emergency, whether a natural disaster or a military attack on the nation. FEMA hasn't been covered with glory lately, and it could take days for them to arrive on the scene of a disaster. But with a local Civil Defense organization, at least steps can be taken to take care of a community until help finally does arrive.
xitter.gq/WarshipCam/status/2115… We need to build more ESBs and find crews for them as well. They are one of the most versatile ships in the fleet, and they will be critical in a Pacific war for escorting convoys, amphibious operations, reinforcing island bases, and blockade duty. Whatever we can do to obtain crews for these ships, do it. @mercoglianos @johnkonrad
John Bulkeley retweeted
Tell me, how well would Mahatma Gandhi have done with nonviolent protest while asking for a peaceful dialogue if he was in Auschwitz? You sometimes have to stand up and fight against evil, because that's the only way to stop it. There is no such thing as peaceful persuasion with people who want you dead.
xitter.gq/HiddenHistoryYT/status… You couldn't pay me enough to be on an oiler during WW2. They were always prime targets and usually when hit they went down in a major blaze. Perhaps the two most famous oilers during WW2 were the USS Neosho, which was sunk after a heroic battle against Japanese aircraft during the Coral Sea battle and the SS Ohio that, although badly damaged, made it to Malta with its vital cargo of oil. The men on both ships deserve all the praise in the world for how they tried to defend their ships. @mercoglianos @johnkonrad
