On unfriendly seas – Our military continues to evolve

How the Marines Spell Relief – The military employs the new concept of “sea-basing” off the coast of Sumatra. By Bidisha Banerjee

Slate continues to surprise. Not only do they publish a positive toned article, the writer goes out of his way to capitalize “Marines” where it refers to the United States Marine Corps. Nice work, Mr. Banerjee.

Keep it up, guys… and I’ll consider rescinding my earlier comments regarding the influence of the Washington Post on your editorial content.

(Article is a summary of a http://newyorker.com/fact/content/?050207fa_fact New Yorker Article that goes into more depth on the workings of “sea basing”.)

The tsunami relief effort provides a chance for the Navy to test out its new plan—”for a day when America might find itself without allies.” A piece follows an Expeditionary Strike Group—”small fleets built around amphibious assault ships stuffed with [M]arines and helicopters … ready on a few days’ notice not only to put [M]arines ashore anywhere in the world but to support them for as long as they need to be there”—on a mission to Banda Aceh. There, the Marines proceed with extreme caution because of the delicate nature of U.S.-Indonesian relations. An admiral says, “We’ve talked about this idea of sea-basing for several years, of being able to project power anywhere in the world without asking permission. What we’re doing here validates the beauty of it.”