|
|
От
|
Exeter
|
|
|
К
|
Гриша
|
|
|
Дата
|
25.07.2005 19:44:20
|
|
|
Рубрики
|
Флот;
|
|
Вот про это подробнее
Когда я это впервые прочитал - тоже смеялся.
JANE'S DEFENCE WEEKLY - JULY 20, 2005
US Navy plans to bolster counter-insurgency role
Joshua Kucera JDW Staff Reporter
Washington, DC
The US Navy has outlined an ambitious raft of new units and programmes that will better enable the service to fight low-intensity wars like those the US is facing.
The navy is planning to create an expeditionary sailor battalion, three riverine squadrons, a civil affairs battalion and additional intelligence units. The aim is to increase the navy's relevance in the US fight against Islamist extremism, while relieving the burden that the US Marine Corps ( USMC) and army are bearing in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"The maritime domain is our domain - if there's a maritime capability that this nation needs to fight the war on terrorism, we should own it," said a navy official, briefing reporters on the plan.
"Both the marine corps and the army are heavily engaged in Afghanistan and Iraq," the official added.
"We are looking at ways to take some of the burden off them."
The riverine squadrons would consist of about 220 sailors and 20 boats, though the precise numbers are still under consideration. The official said that Iraqi insurgents are using the rivers to transport supplies and people and that the navy needs a better means of patrolling those areas. The USMC has a riverine company, but it is being phased out this year.
The navy is looking at the Special Operations Craft - riverine boats in use now by US Navy SEAL commando teams, the USMC Riverine Assault Craft or possibly another boat. The service would like to stand up one active duty squadron by the middle of 2006 and two reserve squadrons in the two years after that.
The expeditionary battalion would restore the navy's ability to have its own dedicated ground force, the official said. "For the past few years, marine [expeditionary units] have been fully employed in Iraq and we deploy [amphibious assault vessels] without any marines on board. If we had this [battalion], we could possibly put these sailors in ... to do the direct action mission ashore.
"Our Navy SEALs used to deploy with carrier strike groups. They don't do that anymore. They deploy in support of [US Special Operations Command]. If we had navy combat sailors they could conceivably deploy with carrier strike groups and provide some capability there. We are looking at all these options and trying to determine what the right kind of sailor is to do these missions," he said. Forces in the battalion could also board hostile ships, he added.
According to a memo from Vice Admiral Albert T Church, the director of the navy staff, the battalion should be operational in Fiscal Year 2007.
The navy also wants to establish a Maritime Interdiction Operations Intelligence Exploitation Team pilot programme and an intelligence data mining capability at the National Maritime Intelligence Center. The official said he could not give further details on these issues.
Other changes proposed by the navy include:
* Establishing a reserve civil affairs battalion to help in post-war stability operations. A provisional unit should be established during the next year, with a full battalion a year after that;
* Procuring Automatic Identification Systems for all surface ships by the end of Fiscal Year 2006;
* Establishing a US Navy Foreign Area Officer corps.
С уважением, Exeter