Sunday, April 9, 2017

U.S. Admiral Who Heads NATO's Joint Force Command: Russian Naval Activity In Europe Exceeds Levels Seen During The Cold War

The Russian Navy's frigate Admiral Grigorovich sails in the Bosphorus on its way to the Mediterranean Sea, in Istanbul, Turkey, November 4, 2016. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo

Reuters: Russian naval activity in Europe exceeds Cold War levels: U.S. admiral

Recent Russian naval activity in Europe exceeds levels seen during the Cold War, a top U.S. and NATO military officer said, voicing concern that the distributed nature of the deployments could end up "splitting and distracting" the transatlantic alliance.

Navy Admiral Michelle Howard, who heads NATO's Allied Joint Force Command in Naples and commands U.S. naval forces in Europe and Africa, said Russia had clearly stepped up its naval actions in recent years although the size of its navy was smaller now than during the Cold War era.

"We're seeing activity that we didn't even see when it was the Soviet Union. It's precedential activity," Howard told Reuters in an interview late on Saturday during a missile defense conference.

Read more ....

Update #1: Russia’s submarine patrols reach levels last seen during Cold War (The Independent)
Update #2: Russian Subs Are on Patrol Like It's the Cold War All Over Again (Popular Mechanics)

WNU Editor: I am skeptical of the above Reuters report. I was around during the Cold War .... it was intense everywhere (including on the high seas) .... and I just do not see those same levels today. Case in point .... after Thursday's US strikes on Syria, the Russians responded by sending only one warship .... Russian warship steams toward US destroyers that launched Syria strikes (FOX News). During the Cold War they would have responded with far greater force. But I guess with what is happening in Syria, Ukraine, and elsewhere .... everyone is becoming nervous, and are expecting the worse .... US and Russia haven’t been this close to a clash since the Cold War (Leonid Bershidsky, New York Post).

9 comments:

Andrew Jackson said...

Fake news.

Jay Farquharson said...

Fake Poster.

RussInSoCal said...

Maybe segments of the Russian Navy - for instance, submarine patrols may be up to that level. But not overall. The hardware just isn't there.

Anonymous said...

Could this include naval activity we are unaware of? Manned subs, deep sea/ground listening networks, drones etc? I think much has changed from a technology perspective and we might just not be aware. ..but yeah. .doesn't feel like cold war yet. .more like a chilly war... having said that we're moving into the wrong direction and it always seems to be the same...
Iran/Russia on one side. ..China somewhat in between, US on the other end. ..

I think the next partnership will shape the world and I hope it will be China and the US.. we are so much closer to each other it's ridiculous. ..despite the one party system it feels the US,Europe and China could get along and shape the future of this planet for the better. ...I'd love Russia to join,but I don't see it happening under Putin...He really thinks he can rule the World and we'd just go along. ..no thanks. ...

Jay Farquharson said...

The Cold War ended in 1991.

The Current Crop of Admirals were at best, Captains 28 years ago.

They have no grasp of Cold War History.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=l3bijF2--o

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pukUod8VKoo



Anonymous said...

Jay...gosh you always talk in such extremes "they have no grasp of cold war history"... this must be one of the most retarded comments I read on this blog (my apologies for this extreme, but please wake up)..don't you think this is taught at naval schools? During service? Passed on from one generation of admirals and captains to the next?
While there's of course a reduction in institutional as well as corporate systemic memory, it's of such significance that your comment is so ignorant I just want to bang my head

Jay Farquharson said...

During the Cold War, 2162 NATO and Allied , (Finns, Swedes) service men lost their lives in ship collisions, aircraft collisions, aircraft shoot downs, submarine incidents, and border shootings involving the Soviet Union.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalina_affair

If you had bothered to watch the short you tube clips, one is of a Soviet vessel ramming a USN Ship in the Black Sea,

The other is a Soviet bomber losing control and crashing into the sea after buzzing the USS Essex.

This of course, does not include all the spies and paramilitary that died behind Soviet borders. In the Ukraine, the CIA sponsored the UNO, who fought a terroristic/guerilla war with the Soviet Union, that lasted until the 1960s, and included bomb attacks on Soviet Embassies and Passener Aircraft.

Then there is the 28 or more times the Nuclear button was almost pushed.

Google USS Gudgeon Cold War or USS Grenadier Cold War sometime, or Cold War collisions.

The "hot side" of the "Cold War" isn't taught.

http://www.americancoldwarvets.org/cold-war-casualties






Andrew Jackson said...

Hey Jay,thank you proving that the Russkis are a bunch of murdering baby killers

Jay Farquharson said...

Wasn't aware that sending babies into combat was US Military doctrine.

Thanks for the "heads up".