U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Reginald Smith rides in a Bell UH-1Y Venom helicopter during Fire Support Coordination Exercise at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, July 21, 2021. U.S. Marine Corps / Lance Cpl. Joshua Sechser
The Naval Brief: Evacuation review; Missing sailors after crash; Warship space upgrades; and more...
Welcome to The Naval Brief, a weekly look at the news and ideas shaping the sea services’ future.
Afghanistan evacuation review. Marine Commandant Gen. David Berger wants his staff to review the decisions made during the recent evacuation mission in Kabul to learn more about what went right and what went wrong, Defense One reports. 11 Marines were killed and dozens wounded Aug. 26 trying to help evacuate civilians at the Kabul airport.
Missing sailors. Five sailors are missing at sea after their MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter went over the edge of the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier Monday, USNI News reports. One sailor was rescued and five other sailors on the carrier were injured.
Withdrawal complete. Before the last aircraft left with the last troops to serve in the Afghanistan war, troops had to destroy or disable aircraft, artillery and other equipment so that it could not be used by the Taliban or others, Defense One reports. The last items left operational were the C-RAM systems that had protected the airfield from rockets and mortars.
Sign up to get The Naval Brief every Thursday from Caitlin M. Kenney, Defense One’s military services reporter. On this day in 1944, future president George Herbert Walker Bush bailed out of his flak-damaged TBF Avenger after bombing a Japanese installation. Bush was rescued by the USS Finback lifeguard submarine, but his two crewmembers were killed.
From Defense One
Marine Corps Commandant Wants Review of Afghanistan Evacuation // Caitlin M. Kenney: “While it's relatively fresh in our minds, we need the honest, open critique,” Gen. Berger says.
US Navy Will Upgrade Warships to Add Unnamed Space Capabilities // Caitlin M. Kenney: “Everything is classified” when it comes to space, one admiral complained.
‘It’s Possible’ US and Taliban Will Target ISIS-K Together, Milley Says // Tara Copp: But SecDef Austin cautions, “I would not make any leaps” beyond recent coordinated airport evacuation ops.
No US Military Dogs Were Left Behind in Afghanistan, DOD Says // Elizabeth Howe: Pentagon officials say the caged dogs in viral photos aren’t military working dogs, all of which were evacuated.