* In his statement [PDF] submitted today to the Senate Armed Services Committee, US Navy Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Greenert explains the Navy’s current and future posture. The document includes a map of the 104 ships forward deployed across the world today, and how that should evolve in the next 5 years, with up to 17 additional ships in the Pacific region by FY20. But Greenert’s testimony also includes the word “sequestration” 7 times, to explain reductions in maintenance and training.
* National Defense looks at the projected types and numbers of Chinese naval ships available by next year. China is renewing its fleet at a rapid pace using parallel manufacturing in different shipyards. This begs the question: are build quality and performance going to be consistent within each ship class? Factors from seaworthiness to fuel efficiency could presumably vary significantly.
Ukraine: It’s Not Over
* U.S. fears Russia planning to federalize Ukraine. Better late than never, since the same intelligence community reportedly thought Russia would stay out of Crimea 24 hours before they started invading it.
* RIA Novosti – now pretty much a mouthpiece for the Russian government – confirms IHS Jane’s recent report: Over 30 Ukrainian Ships To Enter Russian Navy Service after Inspection.
* FT: Crimea fuels call for rethink of UK defence plans.
Teaching the ANA to Deal with the Talibans
* US Army Lt. Gen. Joseph Anderson, chief of the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command (IJC) in Afghanistan since last month, expects the Taliban to try and disrupt next month’s election, but the state of their capabilities remains unclear.
* This video shows US Marines training Afghan National Army personnel on a variety of topics from basic combat skills such as map reading to IED mitigation, while the video below shows Norwegian Army medics training the Afghan National Police to deal with IED and gunshot victims:
