MSTS pre-positioned supply ships are on the move!

[Bob Cleek]

Some intrepid reporter seems to have noticed that a LOT of the pre-positioned MSTS ships have put to sea of late. Last week I was just down at the berths in Alameda where they've got maybe six or eight of them and they were still there, but they did seem "active." Certainly they were all "up and running," with ensigns flying and crew aboard. Don't know if any have left from SF Bay, but they are supposedly moving out from San Diego and the East Coast on their way to the Gulf. Navy says "Something to do with the war on terror..." but nothing else. Iraq? Naw... I'd bet they'll be stirring up a little dust in the Yemeni hinterlands before Iraq. A WHOLE lot of materiel on the move, though, that's for sure. Them suckers are full of tanks, Bradleys, Hummvees, ammo, MRE's... just about whatever you need to fight a war all in a "can." Ready to go. I always figured they were just another way to waste the taxpayer's money, having ships just sitting in the slips all full of army toys. I guess they are going to use them after all.

Anybody else know more about this?

[Dave Fleming]

Neighbor in this tenament is a Nuke Inspector at Pt.Loma, he has been working OT for some months now and the work crew is down from Bremerton staying on TDI and all the perks. Navy says that is better than moving a vessel up there and putting a hardship on crew and the quality of family life..
Whatever, that is some big payroll each month!
Haven't noticed too much traffic of the big rig variety but a carrier group left this week for the Indian Ocean area, ahem.

[John Bell]

Seriously, I'm not surprised. I thought I heard the other day they were going through some excercises in setting up a theater command in the Gulf. Perhaps this movement is part of that exercise.

Moving stuff around these days is a lot easier than it was in 1942, seeing as us and our allies have submarine superiority.

[ 11-05-2002, 09:59 PM: Message edited by: John Bell ]

[Dave Fleming]

Oh m;god Laddy Buck if it takes reading this Forum for the ***enemy*** to find out what is going on then THEY are really in bad shape.
Any pilgrim just has to sit in front of the TVeee and watch the news as ALL comings and goings of Navy vessels are well covered in the news here in 'insane Diego'.
You can cruise right bye the base at Pt.Loma after coming the 1/2 mile across the bay from sitting and watching the comings and goings at North Island Naval Air Station and home port of several nuke carriers.
Or go up to Mira Mesa and sit at the end of the runway and count the Marine Jets coming and going.
Pretty damn hard these days to keep anything hidden in this country. Hell I am using a demo copy of a Satellite program and one of the features is a look of Area 51!
So much for loose lips, ya folla?

[Dave Fleming]

NY Times reports that the US has established a base with about 2000 personel in Dojabooty( spelling my creativity exercise) on the Horn right across from YEMEN for who knows what uses.
Probably quick response across the Gulf.

[Gary Bergman]

Before most every major outing, the crane and rigging company who pays my wages get emergency calls, usually to load out ordance or equipment. We have ongoing calls now.

[rodcross]

Thank you, John Bell. I had not finished reading Bob's post when 'Loose Lips Sink Ships' sprung into my mind. Your graphic is more eloquent., however.

[Dave Fleming]

Gary, Smith Rice or Bigge or perhaps Manson from Seattle?

[On Vacation]

Yes we are coming. Let this be your only warning. The next time you hear a warning, it will be the buzz from the funny bomb with flashing lazers lights. And this, my folks, is only the icing on the cake.

[John Bell]

The old WW2 poster is there simply to point out what a different world we live in these days. If I were an enemy of the US, I would not like to hear that ship loads of the latest US whiz-bang military goodies had pulled out of port bound for parts unknown.

[Wild Wassa]

Now that Saudi Arabia has forbidden the Allies to launch strikes from her Sovreign Territory and Turkey would prefer the Allies nowhere near her Territory, could I suggest sending more Super Carriers.

We certainly can't afford to send our Collins Class subs. Anyway they're in for refits, they are always in for refits. In fact they have never been fit. I think Australia's promises are a little bit beyond ourselves.

Warren.

ps, I'm still trying to figure out how Oz is going to send our armoured division, since we don't have one, as promised to the Alliance by our PM. I can only think that we have a secret, secret weapon.

[ 11-06-2002, 01:29 AM: Message edited by: Wild Wassa ]

[Hughman]

...And a chief engineer I know has been recalled to duty...

[Leigh]

Well, we do have an Armoured Division...the 1st Armoured, but just because they have stuff all tanks and personel doesn't mean they don't exist. We could probably borrow a Bass Straight ferry and get all of them on board with room to spare.
Don't you just love it when politicians bandy around terms like "sending an armoured division" when I'll bet they wouldn't have a clue as to just how big a real division is, and how the hell we'd move it, if we actually had one.

[Norske3]

Anyone want to join or re-up?...prior boating experience not required.

[Gary Bergman]

I am a rigging foreman for Sheedy, but I've also done the same for Bigge and Bragg. Wor with Smith Rice when we need something on the water bigger than we own. Manson seems to have stolen a lot of Smith Rices work in the Bay area.

[Wild Wassa]

Leigh, Cheers. My son is a soldier, he is in Armour, AusLAV's. I do know we have an armoured division, but not one to send. I don't think our tanks are even night equipped, I will ask him.

Warren.

[ 11-06-2002, 05:39 PM: Message edited by: Wild Wassa ]

[Dave Fleming]

Gary, was down in National City, just south of SD this AM looking at the Californian out of the water and from up on deck I could see ( 2 ) Manson barge cranes working at the 32nd St. Naval facility.
I forgot about Sheedy, but Bigge used to be the top dog on land and Smith Rice with that old Steam Crane( still working?) was it on the waterfront. Worked an around the clocker with that thing loading EMD loco's on a Sea Train for RVN. Guess they are now part of the hoo hoo choo choo min RR over there. Trucks were loaded and shored separately and then the body was laid on cribbing over two diagonal layers of 2x plank on the deck and the in-between decks all the way down to the tank tops were shored one to the other.. Damn near took a whole forest to load those 6 or so loco's.

[bud]

If we had a way to let every soldier in Iraq know just what they are about to walk into - I bet Saddam would be "got to". Maybe he's just too well insulated, but I don't think secrecy about our capabilities serves any point.
I wonder what is going through the minds of his generals?

[Dave Fleming]

I wonder what is going through the minds of his generals?

I wonder what kind of a deal I can make with the Americans after I kill the spies watching me?
How's that?

[cs]

Some of you folks that have more time than me or read more newspapers might want to look at the status of some little middle eastern country that had its butt pulled out of the fire a few years back. Look at this country in terms of an unnamed superpowers relationship with them.

Now we got ships leaving for points unknown.

2+2=4

Chad

[ACB]

Djibouti is French.

[LeeG]

Originally posted by cs:
Some of you folks that have more time than me or read more newspapers might want to look at the status of some little middle eastern country that had its butt pulled out of the fire a few years back. Look at this country in terms of an unnamed superpowers relationship with them.

Now we got ships leaving for points unknown.

2+2=4

Chad

help me on this one chad

[cs]

The middle eastern country is not Djibouti and the time frame was a little over 10 years ago and they make a great staging area.

Chad

[ 11-06-2002, 04:54 PM: Message edited by: cs ]

[cs]

News link

News link #2

[Bruce Hooke]

Yes, I'd guess that we can expect Kuwait to be fairly open to US Forces using their bases...

I do keep wondering if this UN Resolution is ever going to come to pass because even Kuwait is saying that this is a must. If it gets watered down too much Saudi Arabi and Kuwait may say that it is not a mandate to attack.

As to the ships and equipment on the move, I think in this case that Pentagon is probably quite happy to have this all over the news. All along it has seemed like part of the plan was to try to scare Iraq so much that Sadam would get knocked off from the inside.

[Chris Coose]

You've got to be kidding.
This operation has been under way since Nov. 2000.