USS Carl Vinson – wikipedia commons
By Michael Steinberg / Black Rain Press
US Navy warships based in San Diego are moving towards North Korean waters as tensions rise across the region.
Led by the USS aircraft carrier Carl Vinson, whose homeport is North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego harbor, this “strike group” had been heading towards Australia after taking part in “routine” military exercises off the Korean peninsula when it was suddenly ordered back following the US cruise missile attack in Syria recently.
The Vinson is powered by two nuclear reactors, and armed with anti-aircraft and anti-missile missiles. The US has raised concerns that North Korea may fire off a missile soon as a rationale for sending the strike force back. For its part North Korea Vice Minister Hong Song Ryal told the Associated Press on April 14 that Trump’s hostile tweets and the strike force’s return have put his country on a war footing. “We will go to war if we choose.” he said.
The Vinson also carries about 100 fighter jets and helicopters. Most of these consist of F18 Super Hornet attack jets that “can carry a wide array of bombs and jets,” according to Wikipedia.
The Vinson has been accompanied by the guided missile destroyers Meyer and Murphy, and the guided missile cruiser Lake Champlain. These warships are also based in San Diego, and they all carry multiple cruise missiles.
On April 13 the US military publication Stars and Stripes reported that two more guided missile destroyers, the Sterett and Dewey, were being sent from Hawaii to join the Vinson force, carrying more cruise missiles to add this array of weapons of mass destruction. These warships are home-ported in San Diego as well.
And on April 12 The Guardian UK reported that “Japan is preparing to send several destroyers to join the US aircraft carrier group heading for the Korean peninsula.” The report mentioned that a “submarine is expected to join the group” too. San Diego is headquarters for US Pacific attack submarines, also armed with cruise missiles. Japan formerly militarily occupied Korea and made it its colony.
Sources: Navy Times, navytimes.com;Stars and Stripes, stripes.com; GuardianUK,guardian.com; Associated Press;ap.com.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
The Carl Vinson was sited near Indonesia, not Korea as advertised:
The Vinson strike group was reported on Monday to be near Indonesia yes, but could still reach the Korean peninsula in a matter of days as tension and war threats continue to mount.
Now, there’s this: misleading statements by White House about Trump’s armada heading to North Korea.
Trump was a frequent critic of broadcasting to the world U.S. planned operations and military strategies. He cites Generals Patton and MacArthur as advocates of secrecy and unpredictability, follows advice of trusted military experts and security advisers, and acts with expediency. What’s going on around North Korea is anyone’s guess, how it was designed. I’m sure a strategic mission was executed in partnership with our allies and it certainly won’t be published by the media, because they don’t have a clue.
Past attempts of diplomacy with North Korea by former presidents failed. Lack of action by Obama resulted in significant nuclear arsenal expansion. Only one American has personally met Kim Jong Un – Dennis Rodman, who delivered this message …
“He wants Obama to do one thing: Call him. ‘I don’t want [to] do war.’ ”
It appears Obama ignored the request, the State Department declined to debrief Rodman, despite one official’s observation …
“There is nobody at the CIA who can tell you more personally about Kim Jong Un than Dennis Rodman, and that in itself is scary.”
Trump was handed one hot mess, an unhinged psychotic described by Rodman to “love power and control” was dissed by his predecessor. Kim’s missile tests are a show of progress in developing weapons of mass destruction, and goal to reach U.S. mainland.
I’m in the minority of Trump supporters here. How do you suppose Sanders or Clinton would respond if they were our Commander-in-Chief? They’d still be dicking around discussing peaceful negotiations, and it’s doubtful they’d achieve a similar gain with China as Trump did.
The President is an ignorant, dangerous idiot. Statements such as his about the Fleet could cause unintentional wars.
Kathy, you’re so hung ho, then you or your relatives should be the first to sign up and ship out. If you think asking the Fool, Denis Rodman, what his opinion was about U.S. policy and north Korean plans, then you’re twice the Fool and this is clearly YOUR president.
The Idiot-in-Chief is a threat to democracy and any chance at peace and prosperity.
We need to impeach this Jackass before more people get killed, more policies trying to protect natural resources are dismantled, more good people shipped away and more of our friends and neighbors have their health care, beliefs, marriages and livelihood threatened.
In 1994, at the behest of pres B. ( I didn’t have sex) Clinton, former prez Jimmy ( Mr. p-nut) Carter went to N. Korea, where he met with then leaderKim Il Sung and came back with a negotiated denuclearization agreement that lasted until Supremes appointed prez GW Bush declared NK part of the “Axis of Evil”scuttled the agreement in 2002.
As for Denis Rodman, he is arguably the greatest crossdressing rebounder in NBA history, shares multiple champion rings with Mike Jordan, Scottie Pippin and Sleepy Sam, and never launched any assaults off the court.