Official: Navy role unclear if mine hits U.S.

Official: Navy role unclear if mine hits U.S.
By Zachary M. Peterson - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Jan 18, 2008 6:05:27 EST

Uncertainty looms over the Navy’s role in the event of a mine attack on a U.S. port.

Rear Adm. J.J. Waickwicz, commander of Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command, said the Department of Homeland Security has yet to define a requirement for the response effort in the event of a domestic mine incident.

“If a port is mined, what is the requirement — to have it opened completely, or one pier or two piers?” Waickwicz said Wednesday at the Surface Navy Association’s annual conference in Arlington, Va. “What we’ve been told is to have our ships on 72-hour notice and our aircraft on 96 <-hour notice> — that doesn’t give me a requirement. What I need to know is how many days or how many hours do I have before I have to an open harbor?”

Some argue that the mission of domestic mine countermeasures should exclusively belong to the Coast Guard, the admiral said.

“But who going to call?” he said. “Who has the capability to do this?”


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/01/navy_minewarfare_sna_080117w/



uhc comment: Since the Deepwater program went off the rails and the LCS program melted down, these guys need to pump up the terra / fear levels to get some more $$$$ for shiny new ships. Expect to see many more stories about the dire need for more of everything.