Littoral War

Littoral Zones Transformation Of The US Navy's Surface Combatant Fleet The Littoral Combat Ship is among the first highly capable, multi-mission Destroyers & advanced Cruisers. Each is a new breed of focused mission ships. LCS 1's core crew is 15 - 50. Mission crew is up to 75. LCS 1, Freedom, at her christening, September 23, 2006. Characteristics: Displacement = 2500 tons, Length = 379 ft (115.5 m), Beam = 43 ft (13.1 m), Draft = 12.1 ft (3.7 m) The United States' First Littoral Combat Ship Freedom was christened at Marinette, Wisconsin on September 23, 2006. Freedom, LCS 1, is the inaugural ship in an entirely new class of U.S. Navy surface warships. She made a side launch (photo right) during her christening. This agile 377-foot ship was designed and built by a team led by Lockheed Martin. She will help the U.S. Navy defeat growing littoral, or close-to-shore, threats and provide access and dominance in coastal water battle-space. Freedom displaces 3,000 metric tons and has a capability of reaching speeds well over 40 knots. Freedom is a fast, maneuverable and networked surface combatant with operational flexibility to execute focused missions. Those missions will include mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare and humanitarian relief.    Photo courtesy Lockheed Martin. Planning For Prospects The War Against Terrorism is being waged on fronts across the globe. WWIII will be waged on the inland and coastal waterways of several Western nations. Detection & Prevention Of A Repeat Successful Mission The in-harbor attack in 2000 on the USS Cole was a successful military mission. A blue water United States Navy vessel was damaged and several of her crew were killed and injured. All enemy combatants died -- fitting their suicide scheme. Similar attacks upon civilian, military and merchant shipping are realizable on our domestic waterways. These waterways include the Great Lakes and most rivers and ports. They may be executed with small rubber boats and one or more fanatics as was the attack on the USS Cole. Similar attacks may be executed from any waterway upon shore and inland targets including factories, offices, and residential areas. The enemy's planning is considerably simplified since he is fanatical and often prefers to die rather than survive his mission. Also, his planning is simplified since he cares nothing about complicated getaway equipment and plans. Freedom and each LCS class ship mission includes detecting and preventing these types of littoral attacks. World War III Survey 1.  Imagine that the Bush administration, CIA & FBI teams had prevented the attacks on September 11.  The media would be talking about 20 Middle Eastern men, "Mostly Saudi citizens, potential terrorists who had planned multiple attacks against civilian and government buildings on the U.S. mainland."  If the attacks had been thwarted, what would be happening today? Lawyers & Rights groups would be screaming about the Saudi 20, their rights and illegal detentions. The administration, CIA & FBI would be hailed as heroes. The administration, CIA & FBI would be attacked as right-wing nuts abusing everyone's rights. Most people would have forgotten about it by now. 2. Should nations of the civilized world join to declare a new level & type of war that crosses national borders in order to fight terrorism? Yes No 3. Do you think people realize that the billions of dollars to be spent building and activating the military and rebuilding and repairing destroyed structures and infrastructures will purchase new products (building materials, vehicles, office furniture, cement, telecommunications equipment, etc.), purchase services (architects, designers, waitresses, etc.) and, therefore pay salaries (construction workers, computer programmers, engineers, truck drivers, etc.)? Yes No Yes, and I understand that it supplements the economy. 4. Do you consider the terrorist attack on 9/11/2001 against America an act of war? Yes  No Yes, thousands have been killed -- more than died in some declared wars. If not an act of war, what would you call it? 5. About the events of September 11, 2001: Several words accurately describe our feelings, emotions, pain and the many other aspects of the day. Listed to the right are some of the words used by print and TV media. Each word is followed by its definition from the American Heritage Dictionary. Please read the list & select the one word (based on its definition) that you believe is appropriate as an overall description of the event. Disaster:  An occurrence causing widespread destruction and distress. Tragedy:  A drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, a moral weakness or an inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances. Attack:  To set upon with violent force. Catastrophe:  A great, often sudden calamity. None of these. Instead, I call it: I don't want to think about it. 6. Throughout history there have been several times when millions of ordinary people have followed demagogues like Hitler, Stalin and bin Laden who are driven by hatred, ignorance, use violence, and demand killing masses of people that are different from them. Do you find this historical perspective comforting in light of current events? Yes No Yes, I hadn't thought of that. Thank you . . .

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