Riki Ellison with the Charlie Battery of the 1-1 ADA Battalion in Okinawa, Japan

 

Riki Ellison with the Charlie Battery of the 1-1 ADA Battalion in Okinawa, Japan 

In Naha, Okinawa where the air hangs, thick on a well-nourished fertile 70 mile long island perched upon reefs that are the sentinel, smack dab in the middle of a natural geological containment of the China Seas both East and North. With its coral reefs, strategic location, and deep blue ocean drop offs make it bountiful for fruits of the sea, U.S. Marines, Japanese tourists, the U.S. Air Force’s largest combat fighter wing, elements of the Japanese Self Defense Force, support facilities of the U.S. Naval 7th Fleet and the local Okinawans.

The United States presence here in Okinawa, Japan began in April, 1945 with a horrific fight that lasted months and over 100,000 casualties. The cost and number of lives lost during the battle of Okinawa were key tipping points that led to the use of the atomic bomb to conclude the war quickly and without the massive loss of life it would have required to do conventionally.

This little skinny island, where most of the world doesn’t know or care where it is located, is the center of gravity holding balance of the emergence of the great power of Asia and the West. Decisions made from consequences of this emergence here in the future could be as profound to the world as the consequences made from Okinawa on the use of an atomic bomb.

It is with great foresight and significance that all the U.S. military services and the Japanese Military have and support Missile Defense capability here in Okinawa to ensure status quo, freedom of access of international seas and air space for the most tremendous economic growth region of the world in which we live in.

Missile defense is a critical strategic asset that does not inflict loss of life or offensive action, it is being used strategically today right here effectively from the island of Okinawa, to prevent conflict and ensure safety to this most powerful region of the world where emergence of growth and power will take place this century.

Decisions made with our Nation’s best Missile Defense Capability embedded and supported here in Okinawa will positively influence the shape of Asia, the United States and the future of our global economic prosperity.

MDAA was honored to visit and recognize our soldiers of our Missile Defense Systems here in Okinawa, Japan. The 1-1 “Snake Eyes” Air Defense Artillery Battalion is located here, where men and women of the Army Air Defense Artillery Branch spend two to three year tours manning these systems in preventing conflict and assuring peace in this region.

On behalf of our Alliance and the American Public, it is with sincere appreciation and strong support of our nation’s men and women that their selfless service is making our nation and world safe. 

 

Ayotte, Lieberman to Offer Proposal on East Coast Antimissile Site Analysis

Senate Republicans plan to bring an amendment to the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill that would call for a study into an East Coast antimissile site.

The amendment, to be filed by Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, to the bill (S 3254) represents a compromise position with the House-passed version (HR 4310), which would require a missile site be operational by the end of 2015.

Although studies of these kinds often are seen as innocuous, adoption of the amendment would be a victory of sorts for House Republican strategists who had hoped their original provision would initiate a debate on whether it was necessary to build an East Coast site to counter what they say are attempts by Iran to develop a nuclear weapon and an intercontinental ballistic missile capability in the coming years.

“I think we need a full study of the issue,” said Ayotte, who will sponsor the amendment along with Joseph I. Lieberman, I-Conn. “It’s hard to take issue with a study.”

Arizona Senator John McCain, ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services panel, said in May that he was skeptical about the provision in the House version of the defense policy bill. Ayotte also was skeptical given the costs associated with building such a site without proper analysis.

U.S. intelligence agencies believe that Iran does not yet have nuclear weapons or long-range missiles to deliver them, although many Republicans argue that Iran could have that capability by 2015.

McCain said the committee had never discussed the issue of an additional missile defense site, but Ayotte said that she has heard anecdotally from the Pentagon that another site is not necessary. Nonetheless, she said some in-depth analysis is necessary.

She called her amendment a measured step. The provision in the House bill, added via amendment by Ohio Rep. Michael R. Turner, who is chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, would come at great cost.

The proposed antimissile site would add significant future costs at a time when the Defense Department faces tough spending caps over the next 10 years under last year’s deficit reduction law (PL 112-25). The caps would lead to savings of about $490 billion over that period.

The Congressional Budget Office said in a report on the House defense bill that the East Coast missile site would require funding totaling $3.6 billion through 2017 that the Pentagon has not requested.

While the House sought to sidestep the budget caps in the deficit reduction law in its fiscal 2013 budget deliberations, Senate Democrats and McCain intend to adhere more closely to the caps.

Privately, House Republican strategists admitted that they did not expect their missile site provision to survive a Senate-House conference on the defense bill. But they appear to have succeeded in opening a debate among lawmakers in the House and Senate about the potential threat from Iran and the need for a more robust defense.

One senior Republican aide said that since it would take several years to build such a facility, it is important to begin work because Iran could soon have a long-range missile and nuclear warhead.

The Senate panel approved its $631.4 billion bill in late May. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the bill could reach the floor for debate in late June or early July. The House passed its version in mid-May.

India Not Sold on Closer Military Ties with U.S.

NEW DELHI — Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta urged India on Wednesday to build a closer military relationship with the United States, but Indian leaders appeared more interested in buying U.S. weapons than in aligning strategically with Washington.

Iran Threatens Delays in Nuclear Talks

Iran raised the possibility on Wednesday of delaying or canceling the resumption of nuclear talks with the big powers, scheduled in less than two weeks, because of what it called dithering by the other side in holding preliminary meetings aimed at ensuring some success.

Russia supports ‘peaceful’ nuclear drive in Iran

BEIJING: Russia supports Tehran’s atomic programme as long as it is “peaceful”, President Vladimir Putin told Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Thursday ahead of global talks on Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Unrestrained Increasing Missile Defense Harms Int’l Security: SCO Heads of State

BEIJING, June 7 (Xinhua) — The heads of state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) uphold that the strengthening of missile defense by a country or group of countries in a unilateral and unrestrained manner in disregard of the legitimate interests of other countries will cause harm to international security and global strategic stability.

Levin Outlines Where He Sees Disagreement in Defense Bill

U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, Democratic chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, outlined some of the disagreements he expects to see when the House and Senate meet to settle differences in the defense authorization bill later this year.