by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
There has been a bit of confusion in the news over the past twenty-four hours as to whether the US Navy tried to hide or obscure the presence of a particular warship that was close to the one on which Donald Trump gave a Memorial Day address earlier this week. Trump spoke aboard the USS Wasp located in a harbor at a US naval facility just south of Tokyo - and present in that same harbor was the USS John S. McCain.
Various reports during the past day have indicated that the Navy moved the USS John S. McCain so that it would be out of sight of the Trump visit, and that it did so at the insistence of the White House, or that a large tarp was hung over the McCain's name during the Trump visit, or that a large barge was moved in next to the McCain to hide its name. Other more persistent reports suggested that sailors aboard the McCain who wear a blue service cap that features their ship's name were given the day off so that the McCain caps would not be visible to the press and public - nor presumably visible to Trump and his entourage either.
As those stories began circulating yesterday, indignation rode rampant on social media with writers and tweeters criticizing Trump as being a petulant man-child who can't let go of his feud with the deceased Arizona senator who shares the same name as a US warship - a ship that was named for Senator McCain's father and grandfather, both distinguished Navy admirals. Meghan McCain, the late senator's daughter, gave voice to those same complaints and lamented how sad it was that Donald Trump would not allow her father to rest in peace.
Now the Navy is saying that much of what was reported yesterday was inaccurate. The USS John S. McCain was not moved prior to Trump's visit because it is at the naval facility undergoing repairs. Yes, a tarp had been placed over the name of the ship, apparently while painting was being done, but the tarp had been removed on Saturday before Trump spoke on Tuesday. And yes, a large barge had been pulled up next to the McCain, a paint barge, but it was gone before Trump's visit.
So far there doesn't seem to have been any denials issued about the sailors being given the day off so that they would not be wearing the duty caps around the presidential party.
Today The Wall Street Journal, a news publication owned by Trump pal Rupert Murdoch, is reporting that the existence of an email from the US Indo-Pacific Command to Navy and Air Force personnel at the naval facility in Japan where the McCain and Wasp are currently situated. The email, dated May 15th, talked about preparations for Trump's visit and then stipulated that "the USS John McCain needs to be out of sight." The email said that request was being made based on conversations between the White House Military Office and Seventh Fleet - and it requested a confirmation that the specific directive about the McCain being out of sight would be carried out.
So, whether the USS John S. McCain was moved or hidden or not, it does appear likely, based on a story in a Trump-supporting news source, that someone at the White House put some effort into trying to make it invisible during the Trump visit.
Donald Trump, to no one's surprise, has denied all knowledge of the matter.
(Perhaps the next time someone at the White House thinks about hiding a battleship, they should begin the process by contacting Milton Bradley, the acknowledged experts in the field!)
Citizen Journalist
There has been a bit of confusion in the news over the past twenty-four hours as to whether the US Navy tried to hide or obscure the presence of a particular warship that was close to the one on which Donald Trump gave a Memorial Day address earlier this week. Trump spoke aboard the USS Wasp located in a harbor at a US naval facility just south of Tokyo - and present in that same harbor was the USS John S. McCain.
Various reports during the past day have indicated that the Navy moved the USS John S. McCain so that it would be out of sight of the Trump visit, and that it did so at the insistence of the White House, or that a large tarp was hung over the McCain's name during the Trump visit, or that a large barge was moved in next to the McCain to hide its name. Other more persistent reports suggested that sailors aboard the McCain who wear a blue service cap that features their ship's name were given the day off so that the McCain caps would not be visible to the press and public - nor presumably visible to Trump and his entourage either.
As those stories began circulating yesterday, indignation rode rampant on social media with writers and tweeters criticizing Trump as being a petulant man-child who can't let go of his feud with the deceased Arizona senator who shares the same name as a US warship - a ship that was named for Senator McCain's father and grandfather, both distinguished Navy admirals. Meghan McCain, the late senator's daughter, gave voice to those same complaints and lamented how sad it was that Donald Trump would not allow her father to rest in peace.
Now the Navy is saying that much of what was reported yesterday was inaccurate. The USS John S. McCain was not moved prior to Trump's visit because it is at the naval facility undergoing repairs. Yes, a tarp had been placed over the name of the ship, apparently while painting was being done, but the tarp had been removed on Saturday before Trump spoke on Tuesday. And yes, a large barge had been pulled up next to the McCain, a paint barge, but it was gone before Trump's visit.
So far there doesn't seem to have been any denials issued about the sailors being given the day off so that they would not be wearing the duty caps around the presidential party.
Today The Wall Street Journal, a news publication owned by Trump pal Rupert Murdoch, is reporting that the existence of an email from the US Indo-Pacific Command to Navy and Air Force personnel at the naval facility in Japan where the McCain and Wasp are currently situated. The email, dated May 15th, talked about preparations for Trump's visit and then stipulated that "the USS John McCain needs to be out of sight." The email said that request was being made based on conversations between the White House Military Office and Seventh Fleet - and it requested a confirmation that the specific directive about the McCain being out of sight would be carried out.
So, whether the USS John S. McCain was moved or hidden or not, it does appear likely, based on a story in a Trump-supporting news source, that someone at the White House put some effort into trying to make it invisible during the Trump visit.
Donald Trump, to no one's surprise, has denied all knowledge of the matter.
(Perhaps the next time someone at the White House thinks about hiding a battleship, they should begin the process by contacting Milton Bradley, the acknowledged experts in the field!)
1 comment:
Pitiful Presidential Pettiness, his denials not withstanding, the affront to the USS John S. McCain (DDG-56), is a slap in the face to the United States Navy and dishonors an important World War Two naval officer. That ship is in the Arleigh Burke class of destroyers.
The Navy's description of the class of ship is that the "Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyers is the United States Navy's first class of destroyer built around the Aegis Combat System and the SPY-1D multifunction passive electronically scanned array radar. The class is named for Admiral Arleigh Burke, an American destroyer officer in World War II, and later Chief of Naval Operations."
While North Korea's Kim Jong=un no doubt dislikes guided missile destroyers with advanced electronics protecting Japan, I have no doubt Emperor Naruhito and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe are grateful for the presence of the McCain.
Arleigh Burke was a better man than Donald J. Trump ever will be.
John S. McCain was a better man than Donald J. Trump ever will be.
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