U.S. Transfers Seized Iranian Weapons to Ukraine

Mike Schuler April 9, 2024

The U.S. Government has transferred a substantial quantity of seized Iranian munitions to the Ukrainian armed forces to aid in their battle against Russia’s invasion.

The transfer to Ukraine took place on April 4, 2024 and included over 5,000 AK-47s, machine guns, sniper rifles, RPG-7s, and half a million rounds of 7.62mm ammunition. The amount is sufficient to equip an entire Ukrainian Brigade with small arms rifles.

The U.S. government acquired the munitions on December 1, 2023, via the Department of Justice’s civil forfeiture claims against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

U.S. Central Command and allied naval forces seized the weaponry from four unregistered vessels in international waters between May 2021 and February 2023. The IRGC was illegally transferring these munitions to Houthi terrorist forces in Yemen, in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216.

Since 2014, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) has been arming and training the Houthis, which has enabled them to launch missile and UAV strikes against commercial shipping in the Red Sea since November 2023, threatening international commerce and freedom of navigation through the critical waterway.

Between 2015 and 2023, the U.S. and its allies intercepted at least 18 Iranian smuggling vessels, seizing illegal weaponry including ballistic missile components, UAVs, antitank guided missiles, and thousands of assault rifles and rocket components destined for the Houthis.

“U.S. CENTCOM is committed to working with our allies and partners to counter the flow of Iranian lethal aid in the region by all lawful means including U.S. and U.N. sanctions and through interdictions,” CENTCOM said in a statement.

“Iran’s support for armed groups threatens international and regional security, our forces, diplomatic personnel, and citizens in the region, as well as those of our partners. We will continue to do whatever we can to shed light on and stop Iran’s destabilizing activities.”

https://gcaptain.com/u-s-transfers-seized-iranian-weapons-to-ukraine/

Navy Secretary Del Toro Calls for Modernization and Expansion of Domestic Shipbuilding

Mike Schuler April 9, 2024

Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Carlos Del Toro underscored the urgent need for modernization and expansion in the domestic shipbuilding industry during his keynote speech this week at the Navy League’s Sea Air Space expo in National Harbor, Maryland.

The address highlighted the various maritime challenges the nation is currently facing, ranging from geopolitical tensions, such as the excessive maritime claims of the People’s Republic of China and Houthi attacks on shipping, to emerging technological needs.

“Over the past forty years, America’s maritime shipbuilding capabilities and capacity have atrophied,” said Del Toro. “The consequences for naval shipbuilding have been manifesting for years and will grow ever more acute unless we reverse the underinvestment, both private and public, in modernization and industrial capacity.”

The Secretary emphasized that, while the U.S. constructs the most capable warships in the world, the shipyards where they are built are “decades behind the global technological standard.”

“This is an inefficient approach requiring far too much time, workforce, and taxpayers’ dollars,” he said.

Secretary Del Toro also noted that U.S. allies like South Korea and Japan can build high-quality ships, including AEGIS destroyers, both at a fraction of the cost and on time and budget.

“When my team and I went to South Korea, we were floored at the level of digitization and real-time monitoring of shipbuilding progress, with readily available information down to individual pieces of stock materials,” said Del Toro, referring to his recent trip to tour South Korea’s biggest shipyards. “Their top executives could tell us–to the day–when ships would be delivered,” he said.

In the U.S., many of the Navy’s top shipbuilding programs are running years behind schedule and over budget, according to a recent internal review.

Del Toro sees current challenges as an opportunity to partner with more U.S. and international shipbuilders. He suggests attracting advanced shipbuilders to open U.S.-owned subsidiaries and invest in domestic commercial shipyards, which could help to modernize and expand the shipbuilding industry, create well-paying “new-collar” jobs, and foster a healthier, more competitive workforce.

“Let’s be clear–I want American industry to thrive. As a business owner for almost two decades, I understand your perspective. I am pushing our shipbuilding industry to invest in itself to get better, to be technological leaders, and to once again deliver platforms on-time and on-budget,” he said.

To address some of the challenges facing the industry, the Secretary said he has tasked the new Office of Strategic Assessment (OSA) to explore opportunities for improvement identified in a recent 45 Day Comprehensive Shipbuilding Review, ordered in January as part of his new ‘Maritime Statecraft’ strategy, and to develop innovative approaches for more effective ship procurement.

“I created OSA just for this kind of purpose—to provide data-driven assessments and recommendations that will help drive smart choices for our Department,” he said.

The Secretary concluded by stressing the importance of a creating “a steady demand signal to the industry” and prioritizing the increase of industrial capacity to meet global challenges.

“The maritime battlespace is ever-changing and demands constant adaptation and innovation from all of us. We must continue to foster a culture of open communication, unyielding collaboration, transparency, and trust to find creative solutions to the complex problem-set which lay ahead of us,” he said.

https://gcaptain.com/navy-secretary-del-toro-calls-for-modernization-and-expansion-of-domestic-shipbuilding/

Report: Biden Set for Deal to Allow U.S. Warship Repairs in Japan

Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka Reuters April 1, 2024

https://gcaptain.com/report-biden-set-for-deal-to-allow-u-s-warship-repairs-in-japan/

U.S. Navy Shipbuilding Running Behind Schedule

By Mike Stone Reuters April 2, 2024

https://gcaptain.com/u-s-navy-shipbuilding-running-behind-schedule/

>>20703237

Amphib looking like Pendleton is busy

Bird farm (should be Lincoln) further out

LCS out there scaring fish as well

>>20703262

ArtII.S2.C2.3.6 Creation of Federal Offices

Article II, Section 2, Clause 2:

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.

The Constitution gives Congress substantial power to establish federal government offices. As an initial matter, the Constitution vests the legislative power in Congress.1 Article I bestows on Congress certain specified, or enumerated, powers.2 The Court has recognized that these powers are supplemented by the Necessary and Proper Clause, which provides Congress with "broad power to enact laws that are ‘convenient, or useful’ or ‘conducive’ to [the] beneficial exercise" of its more specific authorities.3 The Supreme Court has observed that the Necessary and Proper Clause authorizes Congress to establish federal offices.4 Congress accordingly enjoys broad authority to create government offices to carry out various statutory functions and directives.5 The legislature may establish government offices not expressly mentioned in the Constitution in order to carry out its enumerated powers.6

The Appointments Clause supplies the method of appointment for certain specified officials, but also for "other [o]fficers" whose positions are "established by [l]aw." Although principal officers must be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate, Congress "may by [l]aw" place the appointing power for inferior officers with the President alone, a department head, or a court.7 As this section will explain, the Supreme Court has recognized Congress’s discretion to establish a wide variety of governmental entities in the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches.

Congress’s authority to establish offices is limited by the terms of the Appointments Clause. The structure of federal agencies must comply with the requirement that the President appoint officers, subject to Senate confirmation, although the appointment of "inferior officers" may rest with the President alone, department heads, or the courts.8 More broadly, the Supreme Court has made clear that the Constitution imposes important limits on Congress’s ability to influence or control the actions of officers once they are appointed. Likewise, it is widely believed that the President must retain a certain amount of independent discretion in selecting officers that Congress may not impede. These principles ensure that the President may fulfill his constitutional duty under Article II to "take [c]are" that the laws are faithfully executed.9

https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S2-C2-3-6/ALDE_00000012/