UPDATED;The mysterious mission of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan

For most recent update, click category “USS Ronald Reagan” in the far right hand column.

UPDATE:

NEWSWEEK has learned that a third carrier will likely follow.

This can only refer to the USS Ronald Reagan.

The official line given to the press about the mission of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, which departed San Diego on January 27, is that the ship was sent to the “Western Pacific” to relieve the carrier USS Kitty Hawk, which is undergoing repairs.

The Reagan is being deployed while the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk undergoes scheduled maintenance in Yokosuka, Japan, according to a public affairs officer with Commander Naval Air Forces.

However, the navy also said that

the Ronald Reagan carrier strike group “was deployed under the navy’s Fleet Response Plan (FRP), which provides the United States with the ability to respond to any global commitment with flexible and sustainable forces and the ability to respond to a range of situations at short notice.”

Now that is a lot of verbiage. Guess what it means….The sailors of the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan and its strike group seem to think they are on a surge mission and see also here.

See this for a discussion of what a surge is.

And, in fact, on January 19, the NBC affiliate in San Diego reported:

San Diego-based aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan will leave its home port in a few weeks for a mission related to President George W. Bush’s plan to send a surge of new troops to Iraq, sources told NBC 7/39.

Furthermore, the story about the repairs to the Kitty Hawk doesn’t seem to hold water.

What is a bit unusual here is that the Kitty Hawk’s three-month maintenance work is being undertaken by the crew, not external contractors, with the ship retaining the ability to deploy at short notice if need be. Furthermore, this maintenance started on 8 January, whereas the Ronald Reagan carrier battle-group will not even arrive in the area until mid-February. This does not seem to fit with standing in for the Kitty Hawk and does mean that another carrier battle-group could actually be deployed to the Gulf at short notice. Moreover, this is a strike group that has a crew experienced in recent operations in the Gulf.

The Stars and Stripes reported on Feb 6:

The Ronald Reagan, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, will stop at the southern port of Sasebo from Feb. 24 to Feb. 28 …

Now, the Gulf is about ten days sail from Sasebo. Let’s assume that they make some intermediate stop just to cloak their objective just a little. I don’t know where, but let’s say it takes them two weeks to get to the Gulf. That is mid March. The stories I have heard indicate that this attack is gonna happen in April. So that fits.

Watch and see. Call your congress people.

Saturday Big Lebowski Roundup

Hello again, TBL freaks. You others, just go away, you don’t care about this. You heard me. GO.

WTF?! it’s true; Sienna Miller and Donny

HUGE news: Technorati used an annotated clip from TBL in its Super Bowl -associated ad. Of course, they are changing “What the Fuck?” to WTF to “Where’s the Fire?”

“WTF” is intended to clarify who and what is getting buzz on the Web, as well as why. The Big Lebowski is better known for the other use of the acronym “WTF,” which is where Technorati’s ad punch line lies.

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Further explanation:

During the last few Super Bowls, a number of Internet-based companies have thrown their hat (along with their advertising budget) into this expensive ring, with GoDaddy and Monster.com probably the most memorable.

This year, some of the growing Web 2.0 Internet companies are doing Super Bowl ads as well, but this year, they aren’t going through the NFL or CBS. Instead, these companies are using probably one of the most powerful viral Internet tools on the planet: YouTube.com.

A group consiting of Technorati, meebo, Meez, Multiply, Plaxo, and RockYou.com has decided against paying the astronomical fees associated with advertising during the Super Bowl. What they did was start a YouTube channel called SuperDotComAdsXLI that features commercials for each company (there’s even one for Technorati’s WTF feature that makes brilliant use of The Big Lebowski).

link

The World Bowling Center in Orlando, FL, held a SuperBowl/bowling party to benefit underprivileged families.

The Dude (well, ok, Jeff Bridges) is gonna appear in the move Iron Man, about the Superhero. He plays some acquaintance of Tony Stark.

Coen Brothers next film will be ‘No Country for Old Men’. No idea when it’ll be released.

Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon some dead bodies, a stash of heroin and more than $2 million in cash near the Rio Grande. Tommie Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, and Woody Harrelson.

If you haven’t checked out the tabs here at Over the Line, Smokey!, take a couple minutes; push the About, Rules, and Tying the Room Together tabs in the header.

That’s my homework, Walter !!