-Caveat Lector-
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020108-24387732.htm
WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War!
Carrier barred from Vieques training
By Rowan Scarborough
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
The Navy, overruling two top commanders, has decided not to let the USS
John F. Kennedy battle group train on the island of Vieques before deploying
this month for the Arabian Sea near Afghanistan. Top Stories
• Democrats dispute Daschle
• Bush keeps up drumbeat to pass stimulus package
• Pentagon gets tight-lipped about hunt for terror leaders
• Captain links cargo of weapons to Fatah
• Warner ponders closing campuses
• Girls gain on boys as road risks
Citing the war on terrorism, Adm. Vern Clark, the chief of naval
operations, and Gen. James Jones, the Marine Corps commandant, had asked Navy
Secretary Gordon England to permit limited live-fire training for the Kennedy
armada on the Puerto Rican island. The Puerto Rican governor had urged him to
deny the request.
Gov. Sila M. Calderon apparently has won.
Navy officials said yesterday the carrier Kennedy will not train on
Vieques before departing. Instead, pilots and gun crews will use ranges in
Virginia and North Carolina.
"The battle group will not use Vieques," Capt. Mike Brady, a spokesman
for the Atlantic Fleet, said in response to questions from The Washington
Times. "All exercises will be at training ranges on the East Coast. The
Kennedy battle group will not use Vieques."
Capt. Brady said it is not unusual for a battle group to skip Vieques in
a final tuneup before deploying overseas. He said the Kennedy task force
ships were able to conduct preliminary exercises there in the fall using
dummy ammunition. Training has been limited to less-realistic inert bombs
under an agreement between Puerto Rico and the Clinton administration.
However, both Adm. Clark and Gen. Jones thought enough of the value of
live-fire training for the Kennedy in January at Vieques that they sent a
private letter to Mr. England this fall asking for permission.
"Their crews would benefit greatly from live-fire practice achieved over
a three-four day period at Vieques," the two said in a jointly signed letter,
a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Times. "This would ensure that
our sailors and Marines can train under combat conditions as they prepare for
deployment operations which may call for direct action missions in the war on
terrorism."
Capt. Frank Thorpe, a spokesman for Adm. Clark, said yesterday, "The CNO
has great confidence in [the Atlantic Fleet commander's] plan to ensure we
deploy the JFK battle-ready."
The Navy declined to comment on what spokesman called "private
communication." Capt. Brady said yesterday he had not seen the letter to Mr.
England and would not comment.
The Kennedy is scheduled to leave its home port in Mayport, Fla., in
mid-January, two months ahead of schedule. Army Gen. Tommy Franks, who as
head of U.S. Central Command is running the war in Afghanistan, wants at
least two carrier battle groups on station in the Arabian Sea. By leaving
early, the Kennedy can relieve the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt on station
without the Roosevelt having to extend its six-month deployment, Navy
officials said.
Kennedy aircraft may see action over Afghanistan, where Navy aircraft
have conducted the bulk of the tactical missions. Somalia and Iraq are also
known terrorist-harboring states and could face air strikes.
Two carriers, the USS Roosevelt, and West Coast-based USS John C.
Stennis, are now operating in the Arabian Sea. Two other carriers in the
region, the USS Carl Vinson and USS Kitty Hawk, had been in the Arabian Sea
and are returning to their home ports.
Vieques has been a hot political topic for Congress, President Clinton
and now President Bush.
Puerto Rican activists, joined by many leading liberal Democrats,
including members of the Kennedy family, demonstrated outside the range,
demanding an immediate end to practice bombing.
The Navy, and pro-military members of Congress, say the training is
essential.
Mr. Bush, in a decision critics linked to his desire to garner Hispanic
votes, announced earlier this year that the Navy must find alternative
training sites by 2003.
Adm. Robert J. Natter, commander of the Atlantic Fleet, is now searching
for new sites, including ranges in North Carolina and Virginia.
The Kennedy and its air wing will depart with a partial battle group of
cruisers, destroyers, an oiler and an attack submarine. Remaining ships will
leave the United States as originally scheduled in mid-March.
Capt. Brady said the decision to send the Kennedy to other training
sites does not mean the Navy is abandoning Vieques before the deadline of May
1, 2003.
"Right now, we don't have a suitable replacement for it, so I would
anticipate we would use it again," he said. "We have not made a decision yet
with regard to future training."
The carrier Kennedy was in the news last month. The Navy fired its
commanding officer after an inspection board found a rash of operational
failures. "The ship was seriously degraded in her ability to conduct air
operations," said a report by a Navy Board of Inspection and Survey.
"Three of four aircraft elevators were out of commission, two of four
catapults were degraded and the overall flight deck fire-fighting capability
was seriously degraded," the report said.
Capt. Brady said the new commander is correcting the problems in time
for a January deployment.
*COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107,
any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use
without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational
purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ]
Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists!
Write to same address to be off lists!
<A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A>
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are
sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis-
directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with
major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought.
That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and
always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no
credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html
<A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of
[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
<A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A>
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
