The landmark meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in October brought a respite to the trade war and led to some reciprocal deals. But it did not suggest any breakthrough in addressing the problems that have fueled tensions between the two countries in recent years. Instead, the meeting confirmed the curious direction of U.S. China policy in Trump’s second term. The president has not only broken with the policy of the Biden administration but also seems to have forsaken the strategic direction of his own first term.
Continue reading “America’s Self-Defeating China Strategy – A Policy That Confuses Strength and Weakness”
The Fujian and its strike group represent a strategic game changer that will bring Beijing closer to its goal of eroding U.S. maritime primacy in its backyard.
China’s efforts to blunt American maritime power in the Pacific, a region the United States has long considered its domain, received a major boost this month with the official launch of its third — and most advanced by far — aircraft carrier, the Fujian.
Continue reading “China’s new aircraft supercarrier challenges U.S. dominance in Pacific”
Featured image: “The Spooks” of the USS Fox (DLG–33/CG-33) – Positive Identification Radar Advisory Zone, PIRAZ, Gulf of Tonkin, 1971. Special thanks to Bill Scholz for allowing his picture to be used on this post.
During the Vietnam War and other major conflicts, the U.S. Navy operated a select group of ships known as PIRAZ stations, short for Positive Identification Radar Advisory Zone. These vessels, often referred to by their radio callsign “Red Crown,” formed the backbone of radar coverage and command coordination for friendly aircraft in designated combat zones.
Continue reading “The Navy’s “Red Crown”: Guardians of the Skies – The Role of PIRAZ Stations”
Most Marines had never seen combat when Peter Ortiz joined the Corps in June 1942. However, he had already survived five years in the French Foreign Legion and fought in Africa, faced the Nazis in France, spent 15 months as a prisoner of war, and escaped occupied Europe to get back into the fight.
Continue reading “The U.S. Marine Who Forced Nazi Officers to Toast FDR at Gunpoint — and Became the Most Decorated OSS Operative”
This post has been updated with a statement from U.S. Pacific Fleet.
American and Philippine defense secretaries unveiled a task force designed to deter Chinese coercion in the South China Sea and enhance alliance defense cooperation.
Continue reading “U.S. Unveils Philippine Task Force to Deter Chinese Coercion”
Key Points and Summary – The U.S. Navy’s ambitious Cruiser Modernization Program for its aging Ticonderoga-class ships was a high-profile failure.
-A damning GAO report revealed the Navy wasted $1.84 billion modernizing four cruisers that were ultimately divested before ever deploying.
-The program was plagued by soaring costs (over $500 million per ship), poor contractor performance, and the extreme technical difficulty of integrating modern systems onto 1980s-era hulls.
-The Navy ultimately concluded it was no longer cost-effective, canceling the program in favor of the new DDG(X) destroyer.
Continue reading “The U.S. Navy’s Big Ticonderoga-Class Mistake Still Stings”
Station HYPO 