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On April 14, 1988, USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) Hit a Mine

In April 1988, the ship participated in Operation Earnest Will in the Arabian Gulf. The United States launched the operation to protect reflagged Kuwaiti tankers during the “Tanker War” phase of the Iran-Iraq war.

On 14 April 1988, Samuel B. Roberts was on her way to meet with San Jose (AFS-7) to replenish stores when a lookout spotted mines in the area. Once the commanding officer, Cmdr. Paul Rinn, confirmed the ship had entered a minefield, he sent the crew to battle stations. He also ordered the men below to come topside—in the event of mine damage below the waterline. Rinn reversed engines and backed out of the minefield but hit an Iranian moored contact mine.

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14 April 2026 0

America’s Self-Defeating China Strategy – A Policy That Confuses Strength and Weakness

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.

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16 November 2025 1

Opinion | Where the Arctic meets the Pacific: America’s overlooked frontline

While the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska underscored the Arctic’s decisive importance, there was another signal coming from just offshore: Russian and Chinese naval forces conducting a joint exercise near the Aleutians.

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22 August 2025 3

Would Donald Trump Save Taiwan from China?

If China invaded or even merely blockaded Taiwan, would President Donald Trump deploy the U.S. military to defend the island democracy?

Given his “America First” rhetoric and a foreign policy outlook often caricatured as isolationist, many assume the answer would be no. However, such assumptions misunderstand the strategic logic underlying his approach to Taiwan and the wider Indo-Pacific.

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12 March 2025 0