Page 19 - Fleet Commander News Today

news South China Sea: US destroyer sails near Spratly Islands to ‘assert navigational rights’ The USS John S. McCain neared the contested Spratly Islands on Tuesday. Photo: US Navy via AP The US Navy sent a destroyer near the Spratly Islands in the disputed South China Sea on Tuesday to "challenge restrictions on innocent passage imposed by China, Vietnam, and Taiwan". The operation came after the United States military warned in a document last week that it would be "more assertive" again...

Hours now. thankfully, as you mentioned, 8 of the 11 people were rescued yesterday and taken aboard the "uss ronald reagan" and are said to be in good condition. but this has been a horrendous year for the u.s. 7th fleet. the latest in a string of accidents, two of which have been fatal. the "uss john mccain" and an oil tanker collided near singapore in august, leaving ten dead. seven dead in japan, prompting the removal of eight top navy officers from their posts including the 7 fleet commander...

Three personnel by japanese forces is still ongoing. the greyhound is a decades old bibut reliable workhorse of the fleet, flying people on and off carrier jets. >> the fact that eight personnel were able to survive this incident tells us there was probably a skilled pilot at the stick who was able to bring this aircraft down to the sea in such a way the plane didnt break up. >> reporter: its been a difficult and deadly year for the navys seventh fleet. 17 u.s. sailors killed in two collisions, ...

Admiral, this is an extraordinary move. this doesnt happen. >> no, it doesnt. its very, very unusual, jake. in fact, navy officials ive spoken to, they cant tell me the last time when they remember a fleet commander actually being relieved of duty. whats really unusual, and you hit it in your opening, four navigation-related incidents in the fleet in the last four months, two of them with lethal consequences. im not surprised that the navy did take this unusual step. >> a defense security analys...

Terms of these accidents and this trend. now, there may be other reasons here. the tempo we talked about, budget uncertainty, training, material readiness but a lot of that also comes under the fleet commanders purview so what that tells me is they believe leadership at that level was wanting. >> all four of these could simply be a convinincidence or . >> exactly. and they wont knowing in they get done these last two investigations but i think theyll probably find some threads here. also i think...

How unusual is this move that the navy is making? >> its fairly unusual to relieve a three star of his command so shortly after a mishap. the investigation is still going on. but what the fleet commander, the overall pacific fleet said they lost confidence in that individual in the admiral. it opposes accountability and poses more discipline on those sailors those warfare officers who are standing watch on the bridge because they still dont know these four mishaps whether or not they were relate...

Ones that will fall rightly under the fleet commanders investigation of what happened to his ship. this is a broader look at what is happening. >> broader seventh fleet investigation? >> yes, it is. and as we discussed saturday on the airplane coming out, this trip is part of the with and through effort with our allies. it is what were going to do here is find how we can better support one another. >> shannon: youve been listening to the defense secretary james mattis. we lost that signal there....

Investigation. >> the chief of naval operations broader inquiry will look at all related accidents, incidents at sea, that sort of thing. he is going to look at all factors, not just the immediate ones which will fall rightly under the fleet commanders investigation with his ship. this a broader look whats happening. >> broader 7th fleet? >> yes, it is. >> right now a desperate search is under way for those ten missing sailors on the mccain. five sailors were also hurt but their injuries are not...

Is expected to call for a one-day operational pause. this is hours after the "uss john s. mccain" collided with an oil tanker. this is to investigation the series of events that have taken place this year. cnn military analyst retired admiral john kirby joins us. what does this mean, a one-day operational pause? >> they will give fleet commanders across the navy to take one day at their discretion -- because they all have operational commitments to meet. they dont want to stand in the way of the...

Robert admiral robert, he is a former fleet commander. have you heard the news of the day no doubt, let me ask you first off, can we defend against this weapon? >> we would i would say we have a limited defense capabilities against this weapon, depending on how it is delivered. i certainly agree with the senator, we need to invest heavily and quickly in upgrading our capabilities of missile defense. we have gone too slowly in that regard and the abounds that have been existing for the last four ...