The narrative has been that ancient ships hugged shoreline to avoid open seas, because they couldn’t navigate. This new shipwreck discovery near Israel helps prove navigation goes back thousands of years.
A 3,300-year-old ship has been discovered at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, making it one of the oldest shipwrecks ever discovered and rewriting our understanding of sailing in the ancient world, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority.
The vessel is estimated to be from the 13th or 14th century BCE, the authority said in a statement. It was discovered 90 kilometers (around 56 miles) from the shore, in waters 1.8 kilometers (1.1 miles) deep, with hundreds of intact jars still on board, the statement added.
A U.S. Navy plane dispatched from Japan made the initial discovery, as told by the U.S. Coast Guard Forces of Micronesia/Sector Guam
On April 6, Joint Rescue Sub-Center (JRSC) Guam received a distress call from a relative of the three mariners reporting her three uncles had not returned from Pikelot Atoll, approximately 100 nautical miles northwest of Polowat Atoll.
[…]
The three mariners, all men in their 40s, reportedly embarked on their voyage from Polowat Atoll Easter Sunday in a small 20-foot open skiff equipped with an outboard motor and experience in navigating these waters.
JRSC Guam watchstanders immediately began coordinating a multifaceted search and rescue operation. Despite initial challenges in mobilizing air assets due to availability, operational commitments, and weather conditions, persistent efforts led to the engagement of a U.S. Navy P-8 aircraft crew from Kadena Air Force Base in Japan and the diversion of USCGC Oliver Henry (WPC 1140), already underway in the FSM, to the initial search area which spanned over 78,000 square nautical miles.
The breakthrough came when the U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon aircraft identified the three mariners on April 7 on Pikelot Atoll, confirming their presence and condition.
“In a remarkable testament to their will to be found, the mariners spelled out “HELP” on the beach using palm leaves, a crucial factor in their discovery. This act of ingenuity was pivotal in guiding rescue efforts directly to their location” said Lt. Chelsea Garcia, the search and rescue mission coordinator on the day they were located. “This successful operation underscores the effective coordination and partnership between the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Navy, and regional partners. We extend our gratitude to everyone involved.”
The aircraft crew successfully deployed survival packages to sustain the mariners until further assistance could arrive. USCGC Oliver Henry was rerouted to Pikelot Atoll to conduct the rescue operation.
…power can be unleashed via a button on the steering wheel, providing a 15-second boost. […] Dodge offers its already famous Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust sound generator to match the roar of a Charger Hellcat.
A pipe organ in a muscle car. That’s the most dark mod thing I’ve read in years. Only thing better would be if it literally had giant bone-shaking fire-breathing pipes sticking out of the sides.
Dodge really deserves credit for hitting it out of the ballpark with its old skool take on EV innovations.
When I hear a Hellcat’s tuned engine, honestly, the first thing that comes to my mind is a Totoro “Catbus” (ネコバス or Nekobasu).
Meeeooow.
Also I recall over a decade ago discussing with Pete Melvin “cigarette boats” in Florida as they drifted along the inter-coastal waterway, giant petroleum guzzling engines idling with gurgles as they tried to passively generate attention for being excessive and obnoxious. He said “I should build a shell around a tiny electric trawling motor and add some huge sound pipes”. And that’s why Pete’s a genius.
To be candid, I’ve always found the NSA’s “defend forward” pitch intriguing from a historical perspective.
The Navy subsequently developed a “transoceanic” strategic concept, orienting the Service away from contesting the oceans and toward projecting power across them to distant land masses.
Truman, a master statesman, perhaps explained the problem most succinctly as I’ve written here before:
…MacArthur had been outwitted and outflanked by a guerrilla army with no air force, crude logistics, and primitive communications, an army with no tanks and precious little artillery. As David Halberstam put it, MacArthur had “lost face not just before the entire world, but before his own troops, and perhaps most important of all, before himself.” All of this happened because MacArthur was almost criminally out of touch with reality. […] “I didn’t fire [General MacArthur] because he was a dumb son of a bitch, although he was,” Truman later said. “I fired him because he wouldn’t respect authority…”
The CIA might be making a subtle yet very poignant argument that all the best high-tech in the world doesn’t amount to a hill of beans when basic skills and wisdom for placement and use are missing.
The biggest “power projection” advocates often overlook some important lessons of quiet professional intelligence oriented towards asymmetry. Consider how false power projections often have helped smaller, more agile forces overcome vastly more powerful enemies.
Here’s a story that can’t be told often enough. In 1940 Ethiopia 20,000 irregular troops from Sudan made quick and easy work of nearly 300,000 Italian fascist soldiers. Done and dusted, presenting us a very fine model for active defense in cyber being highly efficient and strategic, creative more than athletic.
The impotence of the American juggernaut in Vietnam has put this problem under the spotlight of history. The one thing the guerrillas have in abundance is imagination, and this seems to outweigh the imbalance in materiel. It is the author’s contention that creativity is what wins battles–the same faculty that inspires great art.
Analogies comparing more traditional big power projection (Russia’s “dumb meat grinder” approach) onto cyber operations, projecting massive capabilities as the wedge into an adversary’s digital infrastructure, are frequently used but may not accurately reflect the complexities of cyber warfare. It’s a bit like hearing “we estimate Goliath’s imposing size is what will prevent the next David”. Meanwhile David might just be afraid of tiny spiders. It’s conflict on the Web, after all.
The NSA’s publicly described concepts of “Cyber 101 – Defend Forward” showed much promise for being on the right side of “power projection” history, yet it remains unclear just how agile, adaptive and effective it has been and at what scale. Can it be a deterrent if its potential remains a secret?
The book that inspired Dr. Strangelove
At the very least I can appreciate that an official .mil site said “Cyber 101” as if a veiled shout-out to those who know about the WWII Special Operations “Mission 101” victory. Big hint? Maybe 50 years from now we’ll know how deeply the NSA landed and implanted quiet professionals behind enemy infrastructure boundaries.
…just as a navy goes underway from a port or an airplane takes off from a runway, and thus are legitimate targets during times of conflict – persistent engagement involves targeting adversary cyber capabilities and their underlying infrastructure. This approach prevents adversary nations and non-state actors from launching disruptive and destructive cyberattacks in the first place.
With the departure of General Paul M. Nakasone, the primary advocate for “defend forward” from a top NSA position, it remains to be seen under General Haugh how this strategy will evolve.
General Timothy D. Haugh, U.S. Air Force, assumed command of U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) and the National Security Agency (NSA)/Central Security Service (CSS) on February 2, 2024, during a change of command, directorship, and responsibility ceremony at USCYBERCOM/NSA/CSS Headquarters.
In my estimation and experience, Navy leadership typically brings a superior strategic mindset to effectively navigate the intricate infrastructure and multi-domain landscape of cybersecurity. Air Force brass, however, may prioritize very abstract approaches lacking grounded understanding of light-touch and responsive asymmetry needed for real measured success in massive scale operational challenges (e.g. risk MacArthur’s “catatonic” follies).
