Category: Military

By Joseph C. Rocha / Times of San Diego / September 23, 2021

Ten years ago this week, the discriminatory Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy was repealed, finally lifting the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in our armed forces.

From that morning, I most vividly remember two things. First, all the courageous veterans and servicemembers who had shared their stories. And second, that the sky hadn’t fallen.

By Phillip Halpern / San Diego Union-Tribune OpEd / July 13, 2021

The U.S. Navy has embraced “stealth” technology with the launch of three Zumwalt class warships. This technology allows the ships to elude radar, sail into enemy territory undetected and conduct surveillance in a clandestine manner. Such stealth strategies are, of course, both necessary and laudable when undertaken in the national interest.

Unfortunately, the Navy has also recently launched a stealthy redevelopment project, which has been flying under the radar of most San Diego residents. This project — which is shamefully supported by the city of San Diego — seeks to modernize the old SPAWAR site

By Dave Schwab / San Diego Community News Group / June 16, 2021

An environmental analysis is out on the NAVWAR redevelopment proposal to turn it into a transit hub with housing and airport connections, while pressure is building to downsize the project by a local group calling itself Save San Diego’s Character.

“Recently, the Navy initiated a direct mail campaign to notify residents and business owners of the impending renovation of the NAVWAR facility in Old Town offering five ‘alternatives’ to review and select a viable option,”

by Ernie McCray

When we say to a veteran or to someone active in the military, “Thank you for your service” what are we thanking them for?

I ask this question for the children’s sake, for the many teenage warriors, fresh out of high school, who find themselves off somewhere in a land, that was never mentioned in their schooling, “making a difference.”

I mean after World War II came to an end, has there been any real reason for our country to be involved in war?

Today we learned that on the heels of Gov. Gavin Newsom putting his signature on Assembly Bill 2731 just yesterday, Tuesday – which pushes forward the whole SANDAG – Navy deal on the old SPAWAR property -, San Diego mayoral candidate and assemblyman Todd Gloria, is taking over as the lead politician on the project, with Faulconer only around another month or so.

(I know it’s not called SPAWAR officially any more but how can we give up such a great name – Spawars – short for space wars? Besides, I bet there’s only one person on the OB Rag who knows what the current name is.)

The signed bill removes, as the San Diego Union-Tribune touted, “much of the red tape associated with the environmental review process required by the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA.” And there’s more:

Editordude: We offer the following without comment as a FYI for our Point Loma and Midway readers.

by Elisha Gamboa / Defense Visual Information Distribution Services / July 1, 2020

To keep Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) ready to meet its critical, high-tech, cybersecurity mission, the Navy is working alongside advocates throughout the San Diego region to create a state-of-the-art facility in support the command’s diverse, high-priority mission and rapidly growing cyber requirements.

Known as the Navy Old Town Campus (OTC) Revitalization Project, this effort centers around NAVWAR Headquarters, which is currently located on 70.5 acres of Navy-owned land, in the Midway-Pacific Highway Community.

The people who do G.I. hot-line counseling across the country, veterans’ groups and G.I. rights organizations are condemning the use of the National Guard in the George Floyd protests occurring nationwide. Meanwhile, some G.I.s are telling these counselors they will refuse to comply with orders directing them to go to the cities where protests are happening.

Here is the statement by the the Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild:

Statement opposing use of National Guard against anti-racist protests

The Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild strongly condemns the use of National Guard and active duty troops to police anti-racist protesters. ,

By Joni Halpern

Once upon a time there were two generals. One was a fit-looking guy with gray hair, a handsome older face with a square jaw, wearing a nice-looking uniform trimmed in gold braid, decorated with medals and campaign ribbons. The other general was a guy with – well, pretty much the same appearance.

One general worked for Country No. 1, a big, brash, rich, well-armed and -equipped place with millions of patriotic people. The other general worked for Country No. 27 (depending on which Gross Domestic Product (GDP) list you consult). Country No. 27 was not rich; it had some notable armaments and trained soldiers, but it was brash, and its people were very patriotic.

Both countries were involved militarily in countries outside their borders.

A world in which war is normal and peace is out of reach is no more survivable or sustainable than a world where the atmosphere gets hotter every year.

By Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies / Nation of Change / December 20, 2019

The trove of U.S. “Lessons Learned” documents on Afghanistan published by the Washington Post portrays, in excruciating detail, the anatomy of a failed policy, scandalously hidden from the public for 18 years. The “Lessons Learned” papers, however, are based on the premise that the U.S. and its allies will keep intervening militarily in other countries, and that they must, therefore, learn the lessons of Afghanistan to avoid making the same mistakes in future military occupations.

by Ernie McCray

Trying to help children create a peaceful world is difficult, to say the least. The reason being, I suppose, is because war seems to be the default way human beings have chosen, over time, to solve problems between nations.

Children are groomed to accept armed conflict in such a world.

I mean I grew up in the 40’s running around with my buddies, loudly mouthing the whistling and booming noises of bombs exploding and the rat-a-tat-tat sounds of war we learned how to playfully mimic at the movies on many a Saturday afternoon.

We were grunts and swabbies and jarheads and flyboys all wrapped in one, anchoring aweigh and flying off into the wild blue yonder and storming beaches and rolling those caissons along, practically every day.

Nobody ever said “Hey, haven’t you children ‘play killed’ enough people today?”

By Judi Curry and Gil Field

What does cost $72,000 an hour just to entertain your fellow San Diegoans?

What “glorifies” with exciting and colorful shows of speed, power and noise?

What celebrates the skills and machinery that were developed with the prime purpose of kill, maim and destroy?

How many “performers” have been killed in accidents during their performances?

What spews exhaust into the environment, and costs millions of dollars to fuel for the show

From DredgingToday.com

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Los Angeles District is inviting public comments on the Naval Pier 5000 North Outer Berth and Approach Area Dredging and Disposal Project in San Diego County, California.

The scheme, proposed by the Department of the Navy, NAVFAC SW, involves dredging of approximately 110,619 cubic yards of sediment from the northeast side of submarine Pier 5000 in the North Side Outer Berth and Approach Area.

According to the plan, suitable dredged material and disposal would occur either at the Silver Strand Boat Lanes 8 and 9 beneficial use site or the LA-5 Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Site (ODMDS).