Mays USN.

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"'I am so grateful that this is finally over. It's been a long two years,' . . . 'I've been waiting a long time.'"

Regard this to be a surprise? American sailor found NOT guilty of arson. 

"Navy sailor found not guilty of setting fire that destroyed ship"

From www.upi.com | U.S. NEWS SEPT. 30, 2022 the story by Matt Bernardini.

"Sept. 30 (UPI) -- A sailor accused by the Navy of setting fire to and destroying an amphibious assault ship was acquitted Friday by a military judge."

"Ryan Sawyer Mays, 21, was found not guilty by Capt. Derek Butler of starting the fire that destroyed the $1.2 billion USS Bonhomme Richard."

EVIDENCE as needed to convict was just LACKING.

"The Navy had accused Mays of starting the fire because he was angry at being dropped from the training course to become a Navy SEAL."

Bonhomme Richard now swims with the fishes almost literally so. Damaged to extent that the ship has been scrapped. Over $1 billion dollars vessel lost forever in the process.

"The USS Bonhomme Richard caught fire on July 12, 2020, in San Diego, and more than 60 people suffered minor injuries. Left with extensive structural, electrical and mechanical damage, the ship was decommissioned on April 15, 2021, and sold for scrap."

At the time of the fire the vessel was undergoing routine [?] maintenance. See previous blog entries the topic what is called "hot work". Danger to a warship when docked in harbor often greater when the same boat at sea:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/06/hot-work-ii.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/06/hot-work-i.html

coolbert.

Nobbs.

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Two-fisted, head up and eyes open! Damnit!

Consider this blog entry a reprise of previous material posted a number of years ago.

As it was for Percy Erskine Nobbs in 1914 so will it be too for Vitali Valuev in 2022.

Vitali the former World Boxing Champion to teach physical fitness and the rudiments of boxing to recent Russian military recruits. 

Vitali as mobilized will be a father figure, an admired and respected person, his lack of hesitancy in not shirking his responsibility noted by the much younger men..

"Boxing for Beginners, with Chapter showing its Relationship to Bayonet Fighting"

As extracted from the http://ejmas.com Internet web site and thanks to same.

"The Value of Boxing in Military Training"

"The object of teaching boxing in the army is to make 'head up and eyes open' two-fisted fighting men rather than expert boxers and ring fighters. Therefore the instruction of the mass and not of a few individuals is of prime importance. Work for the largest number of men in the shortest possible time. Eliminate the 'frills' and fancy work and do your best to get the men to fight aggressively and effectively. Six standard blows are sufficient. A straight left, well delivered and backed up by aggressive American determination, is a Boche[German] eliminant in nine cases out of ten." - Introduction, Joseph E. Raycroft.

"I have seen youngsters in khaki turn pale lilac with orange blotches on being told to put on the gloves, and give up cheerily at the end of the first round, notwithstanding the fact that they were daily going over the jumps and hitting the bags about; and I have seen the same boys six weeks later, in the strength of their youth and fitness, come up against skilled boxers in the regimental boxing finals, get a fourth round ordered and come up with a grin for a certain knock-out. A fight to a finish with the gloves is an excellent experience for anyone. I do not mean a ten-round heart-destroyer, but a short, hard fight. Such a fight is in my opinion an essential part of any infantryman’s training. Whether he wins or loses he learns a lot. Bayonet training does the 10 percent that is not spiritual in the making of a fighter, and boxing can do the other 90 percent. That is the makeup of the first-class fighting man." - Major Percy E. Nobbs, Canadian army, WW1.

Percy E. Nobbs at the time of the Great War was thirty-nine years old. An accomplished fencer, boxer, cross-country runner. An athlete of Olympic caliber but most remembered in Canada for his accomplishments as an architect!

coolbert.

Mykhailo.

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"'They treated us like animals,' . . .'It was impossible to eat. We were given 30 seconds to eat. You had to eat everything you could in 30 seconds. The bread was deliberately very stale - the boys who had their teeth knocked out did not have time to eat. It was just 30 seconds and then you had to stop. Then you had to immediately get up and run. It was like that all the time,'" - Dianov.

See previous blog entry, the Ukrainian prisoner of war Mykhailo Dianov and his ordeal.

"Marine Mykhailo Dianov talks about torture and abuse in Russian captivity"

From "The New Voice of Ukraine" October 2, 2022.

Major clarification:  Mykhailo Dianov a senior sergeant of the 36th [Marine] brigade. Not a member of the Azov battalion.

"Dianov was among those who were held by the occupiers in the prison in Olenivka in the occupied part of Donetsk region. In an interview with UK broadcaster Sky News, Dianov described the prison as a concentration camp."

"He said the Russians brutally treated the prisoners from Azovstal — they stripped, beat, scotch-taped and humiliated them. The invaders also tortured the Ukrainian defenders with hunger."

Devoted readers to the blog please read the entire article.

Mykhailo having lost forty kilograms of weight in four months of imprisonment. That is nearly eighty-eight pounds!!

coolbert.

Mobilized.

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Whoever said Neanderthals went extinct?

"Former world heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev, the 7ft [2 and1/3 meter tall] giant who was famously beaten by David Haye, reveals he's been summoned to fight in Vladimir Putin's Russian army... and he plans to enlist next week amid war in Ukraine"

"Nikolai Valuev has been called up to fight in Vladimir Putin's Russian army"

By SAM BROOKES FOR MAILONLINE | 29 September 2022 |

The Ukranian have the Klitscho brothers. The Russians have Nikolai.

* "Valuev is a former two-time heavyweight champion who lost to David Haye"  * "He retired over a decade ago, but is now set to serve in the Russian army" * "He said he will enlist next week amid his country's conflict with Ukraine"

See previous blog entry Ukrainian athletes their military service the Ukraine Conflict:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2022/04/malyshev.html

Now Valuev does his bit! Not a young man. But can contribute. Conduct physical training for recruits for instance. Teach boxing or other martial arts to the raw levies the Russian army.

coolbert.

D.J. Trump.

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The tussle in Ukraine having entered a new and potentially monumentally more violent stage [the possible use of atomic munitions], an offer of negotiations to end or ameliorate the threat to human civilization is put forward.

President Trump offering his good offices as head negotiator.

"Trump Offers to Lead Negotiations to End Russian Invasion of Ukraine: ‘The Entire World is at Stake’"

From www.mediaite.com the article by Colby Hall Sep 28th, 2022.

"Former President Donald Trump is so concerned about the state of global diplomacy that he has offered to negotiate a deal 'NOW' because 'the entire world is at state.'”

"Trump took to TruthSocial to comment on recent explosions that have disabled the Russian Nordstream oil pipelines in what European leaders — and Fox News host Tucker Carlson — have called sabotage."

Click on image to see an enlarged view of the entire Trump statement.

"Trump appeared to mock the Biden administration by opening with US 'Leadership' in ironically-detached scare quotes before saying that the recent dismantling of the pipeline is a 'big event' but 'should not entail a big solution.' Of course, he noted that 'The Russian/Ukraine catastrophe should NEVER have happened, and would definitely not have happened if I were President.'”

Given the current apparent intransigence of both Putin and Zelensky I doubt an easy solution to the current situation is likely. Further war with the threat of nuclear escalation at least a possible. Some serious DEAL making is needed and now!

coolbert.

Evaders.

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Russian military reservists being activated for the Ukraine Conflict [300,000] some crossing the border between Russian and Norway to avoid military duty a hot-button item in the far north evidently.

Thanks in all cases to the "Barents Observer" all articles by Thomas Nilsen.

1. "Norway prepares for Russians fleeing military service"

September 30, 2022.

"It is starting to get cold in northernmost Norway and illegal border crossings in the wilderness could be dangerous. A police helicopter was Friday sent north from Oslo to patrol the border."

Helicopter with infra-red sensing to detect persons distressed and lost in the wilderness, in danger of FREEZING to death!

2. "FSB tightens control at Arctic exit route amid border closure rumors"

September 27, 2022.

"Crowds of young men fleeing from conscription are Tuesday morning heading towards Norway from Murmansk. Controls are intensified at Titovka checkpoint."

FSB Russian border guards checkpoints between the Russian and Norwegian border strengthened and document checks intensified. Show us your papers.

3. "'With military background, I had to make a quick decision,' Vladimir said after crossing northern border to Norway"

September 25, 2022.

"Vladimir Prokushev (36) believes the majority of those being sent to war have very little motivation to fight against Ukraine."

Just about ZERO motivation I might assume quite correctly so.

4. "More Russian men flee Putin's call-up decree via northern borders"

September 26, 2022.

"Both Finland and Norway saw more military-aged Russian men crossing borders this weekend. But still far from the queues reported from Moscow airports and other exit checkpoints in the South Caucasus and Central Asia."

Russian citizens fleeing the conscription call-up will be eligible for asylum? Given a legal status and not living in an unending limbo? That remains to be seen.

coolbert.

Creep.

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Mission creep the Ukraine Conflict, Canadian style.

Royal Canadian navy too "manpower" shortage for which there seems to be no remedy.

1. "John Ivison: If Canada Can’t Properly Arm The Ukrainians, We Can Train More Of Them To Fight"

"OTTAWA — For decades, Prestwick Airport was the only airport in Scotland offering transatlantic flights — hundreds of thousands of Scots flew to their new home in Canada from the west-coast hub."

"Now, Canadians are going the other way. In March, the military set up a facility at Prestwick to receive and redirect cargo aid to Ukraine. This week, Defense Minister Anita Anand said the detachment would be expanded to 55 Canadian Forces personnel and a third aircraft added to transport equipment."

If you can't arm them, then train them? My thought has been for some time that if anyone could train another military force for modern combat it would be the Ukrainian as instructors with everyone else a relative novice.

2. "Canadian Navy Struggling With Personnel ‘Crisis’: Commander"

By The Canadian Press September 27, 2022.

"The Royal Canadian Navy is struggling with what its commander says is a personnel 'crisis' as hundreds of positions sit vacant."

"Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee says he needs nearly 1,400 sailors to reach full strength, which is about 17 percent of the navy’s total ranks."

"While the shortfall comes amid a recruiting crisis within the Canadian Armed Forces, Topshee says the vacancies include numerous mid-level positions in the navy."

[....]

"Topshee recently announced that the navy was eliminating steward positions, whose primary role is serving officers and providing logistical support on warships."

You KNOW it is ESPECIALLY bad when the stewards: "whose primary role is serving officers" are now gone. 

RECRUITING crisis indeed!

coolbert.