Base In The Philippines

[Medic Mike]

I was a marine in Vietnam a million years ago and still today I would not let a navy corpsman buy his own drink in MY bar!

I will remember that :) :thumbsup:

[NavyRN]

There is a secret US base in Mindanao with about 2,000 special operations personnel. The claim is Philippine military facility, but all the equipment, portable housing, and even the razor wire comes from the United States. Supposedly the US military personnel are providing training, but you don't need that many.

 

By the way, that is how the Vietnam War got started. From a handful of instructors assisting the South Vietnam army, President Kennedy increased the number to 2,000. The numbers kept increasing and peaked during the President Johnson administration. We tend to forget that the insurgency situation in Mindanao goes all the way back to Magellan. It's the same with Afghanistan. If the Afghan tribes don't have a common enemy like the British, Russians and now Americans, they will be fighting and killing each other.

 

The justification for being in Mindanao is the presence of extremists linked to global terrorist groups. 

I was there in 2002.  It was like the wild west.

[jon1]

I was there in 2002 when they stood it up. It's a lot tamer now than it was then.

[Tukaram (Tim)]

An old shipmate was just in Subic last week.  He said the barrio was off limits!  Off limits?!?  Sounds like bad liberty call to me ha ha  :tiphat:

[joeatmanila]

I only wonder this, why would US go in to the major expend to create a base here in Philippines? They have so many air-carries and in general naval force which they pay for already anyway. These forces are mobile and can go anywhere in the world for as long as they stay outside 12NM of any country's shoreline and no one can legally tell them anything.

The only need of this mighty force is refueling (which can be done at sea too), provisioning on food supplies, operational provisions (spare parts and consumables) and in case of engaging to a war, ammunition.

In all these needs Philippines welcomes US navy with more than enough capabilities.

so why should they go to the expend of maintaining a base??????

[JJReyes]

You will be transferring all the money and power to the US Navy. What about the US Army and Air Force? Aside from inter-agency rivalry, there are other practical considerations. The Air Force can fly their planes anywhere so long as you have air-to-air refueling. The DC-10 refueling aircraft fleet require land bases. The aircraft carriers are too vulnerable. They are expensive to build and maintain, and you need an entire carrier task force just to protect them.     

[Jake]

An old shipmate was just in Subic last week.  He said the barrio was off limits!  Off limits?!?  Sounds like bad liberty call to me ha ha  :tiphat:

Possibly the road to Barrio Barretto is blocked by recent mudslide or the fleet admiral doesn't want to take

a chance for his young horndog sailors to get into any trouble, so far away from main gate.  I would assume

that the whole town of Olongapo is still wide open for liberty call.  

 

Talk about getting into trouble......ooh yeah!

[Americano]

I only wonder this, why would US go in to the major expend to create a base here in Philippines? They have so many air-carries and in general naval force which they pay for already anyway. These forces are mobile and can go anywhere in the world for as long as they stay outside 12NM of any country's shoreline and no one can legally tell them anything.

The only need of this mighty force is refueling (which can be done at sea too), provisioning on food supplies, operational provisions (spare parts and consumables) and in case of engaging to a war, ammunition.

In all these needs Philippines welcomes US navy with more than enough capabilities.

so why should they go to the expend of maintaining a base??????

 

You can't expect a bunch of young kids to stay at sea all the time and not come ashore to see what the women are like. That would be cruel and unusually punishment.  The US Navy needs a land base so they can make trips to the bars to keep their spirits up or is that drink the spirits up. Well I guess its both.  I'm sure Jake knows what I mean being a sailor himself.

 

Last year in the news it was reported that China has built a new missile or rocket that is so powerful that China claims only two or three hits on an aircraft carrier will sink it. If this is true then we need to be tracking those missiles by satellite and ready to destroy them at any time.  Our aircraft carriers are too valuable during war time and have too many personnel on them to loose even one.  If China is building up its military arsenal preparing to start a war then its better that the war happens sooner instead of later. 

[joeatmanila]

 

I only wonder this, why would US go in to the major expend to create a base here in Philippines? They have so many air-carries and in general naval force which they pay for already anyway. These forces are mobile and can go anywhere in the world for as long as they stay outside 12NM of any country's shoreline and no one can legally tell them anything.

The only need of this mighty force is refueling (which can be done at sea too), provisioning on food supplies, operational provisions (spare parts and consumables) and in case of engaging to a war, ammunition.

In all these needs Philippines welcomes US navy with more than enough capabilities.

so why should they go to the expend of maintaining a base??????

 

You can't expect a bunch of young kids to stay at sea all the time and not come ashore to see what the women are like. That would be cruel and unusually punishment.  The US Navy needs a land base so they can make trips to the bars to keep their spirits up or is that drink the spirits up. Well I guess its both.  I'm sure Jake knows what I mean being a sailor himself.

 

Last year in the news it was reported that China has built a new missile or rocket that is so powerful that China claims only two or three hits on an aircraft carrier will sink it. If this is true then we need to be tracking those missiles by satellite and ready to destroy them at any time.  Our aircraft carriers are too valuable during war time and have too many personnel on them to loose even one.  If China is building up its military arsenal preparing to start a war then its better that the war happens sooner instead of later. 

 

Americano, I am a long timer at sea, 30 years now!!! I have stayed onboard ships for 4-6 months without stepping or seeing land, not to mention woman or drink. I so happen to know quite a few or your service men in the navy. What was happening 20-30 years ago, simply does not happen now. The sailor (not only in US navy but everywhere) is not expected to go out to the bars get drunk and screw a dozen of women. Simply it is not happening, so many rules and regulations to follow that is totally out of line and you risk your entire career doing so. If you have a chance ask the guys at the nuclear submarines, able and doing so from time to time, to stay submerged for 6 months. A former boss and mentor of mine (God bless his soul) was a captain on one of these nuclear submarines. He stayed submerged patrolling under the north pole for 3 months, every two years he had a 6 month submerged period. What do they do? They study and work, that is all about it. No they do not loose their brains, rather they make it sharper.

Make a base so the sailors can go out and entertain their self?????? WHY???? They can just dock or anchor at ANY port and do so if they need...Make a base to keep missiles, not unless it is in central Africa or central Europe or wherever too far away from the sea.

Loosing an aircarrier? IMPOSSIBLE. The way they operate, the defense tactics and systems, the structure of it, makes it simply impossible to receive attack and even more to sink. Every air carrier is accompanied from it's own fleet of support and defense vessels. The power these fleets can unleash is not compared with any base. communications, secret services etc...they do not need a formal base of their own...they never had one!!!!

By the way, how many of you have seen the later years, sailors drunk having fun in any "public services institution" or even bar? Not unless retired ones keep on bragging on their past and achievements with a beer at one hand and a boob on the other :) One day I will be them too!!!!

[OnMyWay]

I only wonder this, why would US go in to the major expend to create a base here in Philippines? They have so many air-carries and in general naval force which they pay for already anyway. These forces are mobile and can go anywhere in the world for as long as they stay outside 12NM of any country's shoreline and no one can legally tell them anything.

The only need of this mighty force is refueling (which can be done at sea too), provisioning on food supplies, operational provisions (spare parts and consumables) and in case of engaging to a war, ammunition.

In all these needs Philippines welcomes US navy with more than enough capabilities.

so why should they go to the expend of maintaining a base??????

 

I don't think they want a base to maintain, just the right to come in and maybe dock for longer periods.  That can only be good for the economy here.  Not only buying fuel but maybe other supplies too.  And if the young Jakes are allowed to, they will spend a lot of cash in town!