A re'mine'der

To remind, I've brought up our well behaved, and diverse Navy's glaring lack of competence in thecombat critical area of mine warfare before.

https://nexttobagend.blogspot.com/2020/08/and-now-for-something-little-different.html

This is an area that was best analyzed vis a vis China's Peoples Liberation Army Navy by the NavyWar College some years ago.  That report provided these conclusions (and things have not materially improved for us since)

"... it is imperative that U.S. military and diplomatic leaders understand that China already possesses more than enough capability to blockade Taiwan."

"Washington seemingly has little choice but to adopt a cautious strategy concerning the Taiwan issue and face the uncomfortable truth that it cannot feasibly defend Taiwan militarily over the long term."

https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/cmsi-red-books/7/

Currently the issue is getting attention by a number of writers...

https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2022/01/15/taiwan_adds_minelaying_ships_to_defenses_against_china_812194.htmlhttps://www.aspistrategist.org.au/the-looming-threat-of-sea-mines/

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/chinese-naval-strategists-see-value-sea-mines-us-navy-should-take-note-143392

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/china-thinks-united-states-cant-handle-sea-mines-194845

Low hanging fruit that.

'attention' and PowerPoint slides, oh, and diversity, are all the surface Navy has at hand as a real confrontation off China approaches.

Meanwhile, in the halls of the pentagon ...

https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Portals/103/Documents/Exhibits/SNA2020/SNA2020-MineWarfarePrograms-CaptDanielleGeorge.pdf?ver=2020-01-17-113441-990

Nice brief.  Much the same vaporware and PPT I've seen since I was in the gulf, 500 yards behind MV Bridgeton, over three decades ago.  That mine, striking a similar spot on the ship I was on, would have explosively ruptured our forward missile magazine.  

And our ineptness now is much the same as when our inability to sweep mines in a real world, contested, situation held an entire amphibious landing force at bay.

Anyone remember that???    So much for keeping the Marines aboard for their invaluable expertise at opposed amphibious landings. https://www.newsweek.com/shores-kuwait-205478

For most of the ensuing decades the answer was to have been a Mine Warfare 'module' for the LCS class .. ahh ferry boats(?).   The modules haven't materialized - even as we are beginning to decommission these craptastic ADM Mullen/NAVSEA retards.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/42582/the-first-littoral-combat-ship-has-been-decommissioned-after-just-13-years-of-service

Just thought I'd remind y'all.  I expect we're going to relearn that going to sea on gray hulls can be a very serious business.