Would US Marines on merchant ships be enough to deter Iran in the Gulf?

Would US Marines on merchant ships be enough to deter Iran in the Gulf?
Would US Marines on merchant ships be enough to deter Iran in the Gulf?

The threat from Iran helped drive the decision to send the USS Bataan Amphibious readiness Group and the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit to the region earlier this year.

Coast Guard Deploying More Ships To Pacific, Arctic

Coast Guard Deploying More Ships To Pacific, Arctic
Coast Guard Deploying More Ships To Pacific, Arctic

The Coast Guard ships are “not ballistic missile shooters,” Adm. Karl Schultz said, “but you know not every place that you need a ship needs to have that BMD capability.” What his ships can do is “free up shooters to be the key places they need to be.”

Biden Taps Two Admirals To Face China Challenge

Biden Taps Two Admirals To Face China Challenge
Biden Taps Two Admirals To Face China Challenge

If confirmed by the Senate, Adm. John Aquilino and Vice Adm. Samuel Paparo will enter their jobs amidst increasing competition in fleet size, precision missiles, hacking, & espionage.

US Wants Allies To Do More In Gulf; But They’re Already There

US Wants Allies To Do More In Gulf; But They’re Already There
US Wants Allies To Do More In Gulf; But They’re Already There

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wants to establish a 20-country coalition to protect commercial shipping in the Middle East. But the US already leads a 33-country coalition doing just that.

Navy Seizes 1,700 Iranian Weapons Bound For Yemen’s Houthi Rebels

Navy Seizes 1,700 Iranian Weapons Bound For Yemen’s Houthi Rebels
Navy Seizes 1,700 Iranian Weapons Bound For Yemen’s Houthi Rebels

We write a lot on this site about high-tech, high-cost weapons. But it’s worth remembering that most of the killing around the world, an estimated 200,000 deaths a year, takes place with low-tech tools, like these AK-47 assault rifles the Navy seized Friday in the Arabian Sea. All told, the small cargo ship carried 21…

Navy Moves Smaller Coastal Craft To Persian Gulf As We Pull Big Ships

Navy Moves Smaller Coastal Craft To Persian Gulf As We Pull Big Ships
Navy Moves Smaller Coastal Craft To Persian Gulf As We Pull Big Ships

Three Navy coastal patrol craft arrived in the Persian Gulf this morning aboard a transoceanic transport ship. Once again, the US Navy is moving more warships to the Persian Gulf. This time, though, we’re not sending an extra aircraft carrier or another task force. This is arguably a de-escalation of possible tensions with Iran. In…

Navy Mine War Game ‘Not About Iran,’ Officially; Biggest Mine Exercise ‘Ever’

CORRECTED: Fixes Number of Minesweepers in US Ports 9:35 am 10/1/2012 Officially, despite rising tensions with Tehran, the enemy in in the international naval wargames that kicked off in the Gulf this week is not, repeat not, Iran: It’s radical environmentalists. Very, very well-armed environmentalists. Against this fictional Greenpeace gone rogue are set the ships,…

‘Deadly Serious’ Navy Wrestles With Mine Warfare Modernization

[updated 12:45 Tuesday with VCNO Burke comment] PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA: Improving the Navy’s long-neglected capability to hunt mines is a top priority for the fleet — but it still gets less than 1 percent of the Navy budget. “We do have a sense of urgency and I think we’re applying as much resources as we…