Here are the stories generating the most comments this week on Military.com, along with a sampling of responses edited for clarity:
North Korea Threatens to Sink US Aircraft Carrier
- Kim Fatty III is unlikely to have the hardware to sink a carrier battle group. But he should be reminded that the U.S. has the capacity to sink North Korea. His real ace is that he is holding South Korea hostage, and that needs to be defused. South Korea has had a long time to prepare for self defense and I can understand that they would not want to go public with how they can manage this. -- Josh Bronxman
- "Regrettably, the days a carrier gets a proper escort are long past. Although at the moment Vinson has more than a normal escort, we have no [anti-submarine warfare] frigates at all to be part of it (the survivors are mothballed). And it is impractical to have more than one sub near each other -- to prevent confusion. A carrier in this age usually has only four ASW helos -- not the squadron of the past -- and ZERO ASW fixed wing (the aircraft now perform logistic support duty). While a ship of this type should carry 80 to 100 jets, we usually carry 48. You are thinking in Cold War terms. The good news is that DPRK is not up to detecting, tracking and engaging a carrier battle group at sea. -- Lawrence Trevethan
Decorated Navy SEAL Moonlighting as a Porn Star
- "Is America a great country or what?!" -- Sergeant Fury
- "[Someone] was jealous. That is all there is to it. The same thing happened to me. I was a sub sailor on shore duty. I started an automotive repair business with my wife. I took college classes at my expense and was self taught as we went along. I paid for my [Automotive Service Excellence] certifications, which at the time were more extensive than college entrance exams and very expensive for an E-5. We were supposed to be encouraged at self improvement. I did nothing that endangered military property (myself) or reflected any negative view of the USN. My [lead petty officer] was well aware of my activities, as I did seek some recognition for my achievements. Evaluations were important for advancement. However, my divisional master chief just didn't like me or he was, in my opinion, jealous. He tried to take me to mast for moonlighting without approval. My commanding officer had to ask why I was there. He proceeded to say he had a business and commended me for my efforts. I had never seen a master chief petty officer foam at the mouth like that before. The moral is, don't covet." -- Mike
Sailor Who Apologized to Iran Will Stay in Navy, Board Rules
- Why would he want to stay in? His career is over, he will never be promoted and no senior officer will want him in his command. He has to realize this. -- Rvsforever
- Why is everyone so mad at this officer? When the Persians rescued these ships, they took good care of them and gave them gas. I suggest, question the admiral who sent them with broken GPS. Be mad at the admiral, not the lieutenant! -- TeXan1111
Navy Redesigning Its Submarines to Accommodate Women
- I'm thinking that if women want to serve on submarines, then let them serve on them -- the way they are built now, with no modifications needed. A submarine is a warship, not a cruise ship. -- Jim
- Sounds like a lot of Navy guys are afraid of the competition. -- wtpworrier
Chelsea Manning Tweets About Impending Prison Release
- [She will probably receive a dishonorable discharge], which is the same as a felony conviction -- no benefits of any kind unless awarded at Discharge Review Board. -- 24092614
- Manning never should be released. But what I want to know is, why was Manning the only one prosecuted? What about those who were responsible for securing the data? What about those who were responsible for Manning (his command chain) who knew they had a highly disgruntled "employee" yet still allowed him access to secure data (instead of assigning him to clean latrines, etc.)? That Manning was allowed to download 750,000 articles, etc., to removable media, without alarms going off from Baghdad to Boston is astonishing -- especially given that financial services companies were using the kind of software that detects such events for years before this even occurred. There should've been a real investigation and courts-martial for dereliction of duty. A lot of obvious failures leading up to the WikiLeaks articles, which should've been entirely avoidable. -- PolicyWonk
