Crosshairs - Military Matters in Review by Fred Edwards

Crosshairs
Military Matters in Review

by Fred Edwards

The mission of Crosshairs - Military Matters in Review is to enhance the military defense of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. This ambitious goal covers every aspect of U.S. and foreign military matters. It has filled my agenda with more than two dozen topics from which I draw to write my columns, such as:

* U.S. Armed Forces

* Iraq, Afghanistan, and Iran

* Pakistan

* China

* Russia

* Western Pacific

* Latin America

* Cyberwar

* Energy

* Space

* Special operations

* WMD

* Radical Islam

* Problem regimes such as Syria, North Korea, Hamas, Hezbollah, Al Qaeda, and the Taliban

The latest Crosshairs column is to the right. To see previous columns click here for the online archives.

My book: The Bridges of Vietnam: from the Journals of a U.S. Marine Intelligence Officer

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For a special softcover copy of The Bridges of Vietnam autographed by the author. $18.95 plus $2.00 shipping and handling. Click here.

My book: The Buffie Brigade. Big Ugly Fragile Elephants, glazed, crazed and grazed in Vietnam.

Buy from Amazon.com $10.95

For a special copy of The Buffie Brigade autographed by the author. $10.95 plus $2.00 shipping and handling. Click here.

My book: Sailors are Reasonable (SAR): The Saga of Foredeck Fred

Buy from Amazon.com $9.95

SAR cover Click here to order a special copy of Sailors are Reasonable (SAR) autographed by the author. $9.95 plus $2.00 shipping and handling.

Special from the publisher of Armed Forces News

"Fred Edwards has proved himself on the battlefield as an effective military leader and in the newsroom as a talented writer, superb reporter and keen-eyed columnist. As our Senior Associate Editor, retired Marine Lt. Col. Fred Edwards is an insightful observer of the military, whose global perspective provides readers with a deeper understanding of the issues that both divide and separate us in today's world."
Don Mace
Publisher
Armed Forces News

Armed Forces News provides military personnel with the latest news to inform them about their pay and benefits, as well as to alert them to developments in their military careers.

Letters to the Editor
From M.C. in California: "Fred: I am in continued admiration of your efforts to bring perspective, depth and balance to the complex world that is swirling around us but so poorly reported and badly understood. Our public is woefully uninformed and complacent, in part because we have done such a good job defending the nation. Two oceans don't hurt either -- and where we don't have an ocean, problems intensify -- Mexico pertains. But, that said, not a column goes by that I do not learn something new, gain a new insight, or better appreciate a problem that you have selflessly reported on.

From C.G. in Virginia: "Fred: I have to tell you that your reporting is way better than anything I can read in such rags as the NYT or WP. Great explanation."

From J.X.L. in Arizona: "Thank you for your great Crosshairs. I read and appreciate them with relish. Please keep me on your list.

From W.F.G., a retired U.S. Air Force colonel living in California: "Fred, Your columns are always topical and right on target."

From M.C., a retired U.S. Air Force general living in California:
"It is nothing short of astounding that you find time to do so much for our country . . .a towering contributor. You have a grand touch in helping us all tell our public about the commitment and sacrifice of our current generation in defending the national security interests of this nation. Warmest regards"

Letters regarding the Dec. 19, 2008 issue, "Purging the Pirates."

From D. M. in Virginia. "In a word, Fred: Brilliant. I have followed this issue in detail for many weeks and I think your idea is spot on. It is a very difficult problem and all these armchair Rambos don't have a grasp of how really tough the problem is. I think it will take first the international political will and then land attacks and indefinite occupation in the Somali lands and harbors to bring things under reasonable control. But even then it might be too late. Militant Muslims are about to grab Somalia for themselves. But we have to do something."

From A.T. in Florida. "Fred. I'm glad that you put in print what so many may be thinking. My first thought when I first heard about the most recent spike of piracy in that area was "Blackhawk Down" . I only hope that no one lets a fiasco like that happen again. Perhaps some of the other powers that aren't involved in our current wars can be made to take the lead."

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LORAN-C Shutdown: Penny wise and pound foolish

by Fred Edwards

Feb. 5, 2010 -- When considering the rationale for dumping the F-22 in favor of the Joint Strike Fighter, the F-35, it's easy to skew the reasoning with dollar tradeoffs. By some estimates a single F-22 costs $350 million including developmental and other costs. One F-35, on the other hand, might cost only $200 million. The $150 million savings per aircraft gets attention. I am not agreeing with those in the Department of Defense who opted to dump the F-22. I'm using it only as an example of cost comparison. But think of this: For the savings on one aircraft, we could operate the entire LORAN-C system for more than four years. But the Department of Homeland Security has ordered the Coast Guard to shut down all LORAN stations February 8.

So what? Doesn't the Global Positioning System (GPS) do the same thing and better? It guides unmanned aerial vehicles, tells troops and their supporting arms exactly where they are, synchronizes time and cell-phone antenna, navigates ships, and helps us drive to the nearest McDonalds. Sure it does, unless it fails, or an enemy disables it. Then what would we do? A good answer is to keep a backup LORAN system, and even upgrade it to the enhanced version, eLORAN, which had been planned.

Some might say that disabling the satellite system that empowers the GPS is unlikely because even terrorists won't be blowing a satellite out of the sky. Might be, but it's relatively easy to cripple the GPS without shooting down a satellite because a space system has two other vital segments -- the up-and-down links and the ground station. The links can be neutralized by electronic assault, and the ground station is vulnerable to a variety of stoppages, including mundane factors like power outages and even simple human error. The solution of course is to have a backup system in order to prevent the chaos of a disabled GPS -- a chaos that could cause a crash of the financial system -- a chaos that would make the annual $36 million cost of operating LORAN look like peanuts.

Another dollar comparison is in order. The estimated cost to upgrade LORAN-C to eLORAN, which should operate for at least 20 years, is $150 million. The projected cost of eight new GPS satellites is $1.8 billion, in addition to launch and operational costs.

If this minor cost of continuing the LORAN system seems to be a no-brainer, then what's going on? Lawrence A. Husick explains. In an essay of February 2, Husick, a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy Research Institute's Center on Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism, wrote that the LORAN system "lacks powerful contractors who profit from its operation and congressional sponsors, to whom a remote radio installation that brings few, if any jobs, merits no support." In short, he says, "Loran is an orphan." He adds that February 8 marks the day the Department of Homeland Security put the nation at risk.

His conclusion: "It is easy to see how a small system like Loran just got lost in the shuffle of bean-counters trying to cut corners." My conclusion: We're being penny wise and pound foolish. Let's spend a few pennies for some vital pounds.

This article may be forwarded or republished on your website with attribution to Crosshairs - Military Matters in Review at www.milmat.net by Fred Edwards.

Other content of Crosshairs - Military Matters in Review may be copied or retransmitted for information purposes, but may not be used for any commercial purpose without my written permission. Please credit the source as "Crosshairs - Military Matters in Review" at www.milmat.net by Fred Edwards.

To receive future columns by e-mail click here.

Fred Edwards is a military columnist and journalist. He has contributed articles to more than two dozen periodicals and has written seven books, including The Bridges of Vietnam: From the Journals of a U.S. Marine Intelligence Officer, The Buffie Brigade, and Sailors are Reasonable (SAR): The Saga of Foredeck Fred.

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