{"id":101464,"date":"2024-04-19T10:08:38","date_gmt":"2024-04-19T15:08:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=101464"},"modified":"2024-04-19T10:08:38","modified_gmt":"2024-04-19T15:08:38","slug":"101464","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=101464","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

In a nutshell, the military is going to have real<\/em><\/strong> problems trying to pull this off.<\/p>\n

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Might Turn Out That POTATUS\u2019 Gonzo Gaza Pier Plan Was a Blessing in Disguise.<\/a><\/p>\n

No, no, no – I haven’t lost my cotton-pickin’ mind. Hear me out on this one.<\/p>\n

Let’s recap what the plan was for those in the backseats.<\/p>\n

POTATUS used the time he spent shrieking during what was billed as a “State of the Union” to\u00a0drop the little bombshell<\/a>\u00a0that he was directing United States assets – read that as our military – to build a “floating pier” off of Gaza for humanitarian relief. That declaration was immediately followed by a blatant lie about “no US boots” would be “on the ground” as part of this evolution. Anyone with half a brain hearing this – which, in fairness, automatically excludes POTATUS – knew it was an impossibility to build such a thing\u00a0WITHOUT<\/em>\u00a0“boots on the ground.”<\/p>\n

US forces will build a temporary dock on the\u00a0Gaza<\/a>\u00a0shoreline to allow delivery of humanitarian aid on a large scale, Joe Biden announced in his\u00a0State of the Union speech<\/a>, amid warnings of a widespread famine among the territory\u2019s 2.3 million Palestinians.<\/span><\/p>\n

…\u201cTonight,\u00a0I\u2019m directing the US military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean on the\u00a0Gaza<\/a>\u00a0coast<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0that can receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters,\u201d the president said.<\/span><\/p>\n

He promised\u00a0\u201cno US boots will be on the ground\u201d<\/strong>,<\/em>\u00a0and said: \u201cThis temporary pier would enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Those same rational types also realized that it would put any American personnel on or offshore directly in harm’s way, like rubber ducks in a carnival tub for the taking.<\/p>\n

That was my main problem with potentially yet another administration-orchestrated snafu where only our military paid the price for their supreme incompetence and indifference to risk. I will admit to voicing boisterous and vociferous objections at every opportunity.<\/p>\n

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The same objections were raised in quarters where one didn’t normally read such things,\u00a0like the Washington Post<\/a>. Concerns were raised repeatedly that this plan was too fundamentally unsound and deliberately cavalier with the military’s safety. Abbey Gate will always remain fresh in so many minds.<\/p>\n

What about ROE (Rules of Engagement)? Would our troops be allowed to defend themselves? So many questions, so little confidence in competent – or truthful – answers.<\/p>\n

The Biden administration\u2019s plan to install a floating pier off the Gaza coast as part of a broad international initiative to feed starving Palestinians will endanger the U.S. service members who must build, operate and defend the structure from attack, military experts say, a risk with enormous political consequences for the president should calamity strike.<\/span><\/p>\n

…Gen. Michael \u201cErik\u201d Kurilla, Centcom\u2019s top commander, also sought to reassure lawmakers in congressional hearings earlier in March. But \u201cstrong reservations\u201d remain, said Sen. Roger Wicker (Miss.), the Senate Armed Services Committee\u2019s ranking Republican, and other GOP senators in a\u00a0letter to Biden last week<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are gravely concerned,\u201d they wrote to the White House, \u201cthat the Defense Department has given too little consideration to the likelihood that Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and other U.S.-designated terrorist organizations operating in Gaza would attempt to attack the U.S. personnel that will be deployed to this mission.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

…Jerry Hendrix, a retired naval officer and senior fellow at the Sagamore Institute, asserted that no matter what security is put in place, the causeway will be \u201chighly vulnerable.\u201d He called the plan \u201cstupid.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cThere\u2019s so much downside risk on this for what I think is relatively small upside in terms of potential to relieve the supply shortage and food shortage in the area,\u201d Hendrix said, arguing that the delivery of more food over land routes is \u201cthe only method that brings a noticeable change to the Palestinian condition.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

…Kennedy, the retired Marine general, recalled the aftermath of a typhoon that hit the Philippines in 2013. As U.S. forces deployed there to assist, he was concerned that Abu Sayyaf, a militant group there, would launch attacks on the Americans.<\/span><\/p>\n

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U.S. forces were not allowed to bring weapons on the deployment, he said, so he asked the Philippine government to position snipers nearby and had U.S. Marines work alongside them as observers.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cYou\u2019ve been entrusted with the lives of fellow citizens, and the children of fellow citizens, so your first obligation is force protection,\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cYou have to ensure that your troops are safeguarded.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Each day that U.S. forces remain involved is a day that they could come under attack, he assessed.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a point of diminishing returns, right?\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cThey need to build that thing as quickly as possible, turn it over to any competent civilian authority \u2014 and get the hell out of there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Undaunted by any sense of concern, they set the plan in motion, and the specialized ships needed to perform this miracle at sea got underway.<\/p>\n

As my good friend CDR Salamander\u00a0explained in his post on this<\/a>, the surprise to many was that it wasn’t going to be a Navy operation at all.<\/p>\n

This would be an Army show (great ship graphic at his link, too).<\/em><\/p>\n

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...Ships are already\u00a0underway<\/a>;<\/span><\/p>\n

The U.S. Army has dispatched a ship to send humanitarian aid to Gaza, Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Sunday, days after President Joe Biden vowed to build a temporary pier to supply the besieged enclave.<\/span><\/p>\n

The General Frank S. Besson left Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia “less than 36 hours after President Biden announced the U.S. would provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza by sea,” CENTCOM said in a statement.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It will take a few weeks to make the transit from Virginia to the eastern Mediterranean. The 37-year old Besson can\u2019t even break 12-knots fully loaded.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026and yes my friends – the Army has its own navy. Let\u2019s take a quick look at the\u00a0Besson<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yep\u2019r, that 243 foot, 4,200 ton ship is commanded by \u2026 a Warrant Officer. Discuss amongst yourselves.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Salamander’s worries over the plan’s particulars were a mirror of my own, only, thanks to his extensive naval background, tempered with knowledge I had no inkling of. Namely, the condition of those aging vessels and some recent contractions pointing to trouble on the horizon for Biden’s big beach plans.<\/p>\n

…This will take about\u00a01,000 personnel<\/a>\u00a0to accomplish. I don\u2019t know a single maritime professional who thinks this is a good idea given the location and conditions ashore, but orders are orders. Make the best attempt you can.<\/span><\/p>\n

An interesting note; this is not a Navy operation, but an Army operation. Remember what I told you about the fate of the East Coast Amphibious Construction Battalion TWO (ACB2)\u00a0last summer<\/a>? This story aligns well with the Anglosphere\u2019s problem with seablindness we discussed on\u00a0yesterday\u2019s Midrats<\/a>\u00a0with\u00a0James Smith<\/a>.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Navy’s East Coast Amphibious Construction Battalion (you’d probably recognize them as SEABEES) Salamander references stood down on March 2. It’s gone. There’s only ACB1 left, and where?<\/p>\n

The West Coast.<\/p>\n

Starting to see a problem yet?<\/p>\n

The Navy said\u00a0it would be sending ACB1<\/a>\u00a0along with its own group of logistics ships to the Mediterranean to assist the Army vessels and personnel.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Navy<\/a>\u00a0will deploy a host of logistics vessels and around 260 sailors to help operate the pier system being spearheaded by the\u00a0Army<\/a>\u00a0to provide millions of meals and supplies to the Gaza Strip. Many Gaza residents are starving as Israel lays siege to the region after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israeli settlements.<\/span><\/p>\n

…Along with the components of the floating dock — also known as a “roll-on\/roll-off facility” — the Lopez and the Bobo will carry three ferries that act as motorized barges and other small boats to move people around between the two ships.<\/span><\/p>\n

“That will all be loaded on the East Coast,” the official said.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to sailors from the San-Diego based Naval Beach Group 1, others from the Navy’s Cargo Handling Battalion at\u00a0Fort Story<\/a>, Virginia, will also join the expedition, the official said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The details come just over a week after a second wave of four Army ships left a base near\u00a0Norfolk<\/a>, Virginia, to begin their monthlong journey to the waters off Gaza with components for the land-based pier.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That was March 20th. It’s now 18 April. Where is everyone?<\/p>\n

Things didn’t go so well\u00a0for the USNS Button<\/a>\u00a0[Beege update: Button not slated for Gaza<\/em>] and USNS Bobo (mentioned above).<\/p>\n