Tag Archives: Cold War

Submariners are Suing South Carolina to Save Cold War-Era Attack Boat

Submariners are Suing South Carolina to Save Cold War-Era Attack Boat

USS Clamagore (SS-343) on July 2, 1948. NHHC Photo

This post has been updated to clarify the proposed location of the artificial reef made from the hull of former USS Clamagore. The attack boat was previously planned to be sunk off of Key West, Fla. However, the lawsuit said the proposed location was off the coast of Charleston, S.C.

A group of retired submariners is fighting the State of South Carolina to keep what is believed to be the last World War II and Cold War-era GUPPY III submarine from forever becoming an underwater playground for fish and SCUBA divers. Read More

Old Treaties Called Into Question as Arctic Competition Increases

Old Treaties Called Into Question as Arctic Competition Increases

Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Hampton (SSN-757) during Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2016. US Navy Photo

Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Hampton (SSN-757) during Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2016. US Navy Photo

The rapidly changing Arctic region will open opportunities for everything from expanded fisheries to shorter trade routes and possible militarization, and the consensus from a panel of speakers is that these upcoming changes will require new international maritime agreements that may make obsolete existing maritime pacts. Read More

WEST: NORAD Head Says Russia Increasing Arctic Long Range Air Patrols

WEST: NORAD Head Says Russia Increasing Arctic Long Range Air Patrols

US Air Force F-22 Raptor escorting a Russian Tupolev Tu-95 Bear bomber in 2011. US Air Force Photo

US Air Force F-22 Raptor escorting a Russian Tupolev Tu-95 Bear bomber in 2011. US Air Force Photo

SAN DIEGO, CALIF. – While Russian military aircraft have stepped up their activity everywhere from the North Sea to the Baltic to the Black Sea in the last year they have also been spotted more frequently closer to the U.S. territory in the Arctic, the head of U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) told USNI News on Tuesday. Read More

Swedish Navy Hunts for Mystery Underwater Object, Russia Denies Involvement

Swedish Navy Hunts for Mystery Underwater Object, Russia Denies Involvement

Swedish Ministry Defense Handout Photo given to reporters on Saturday of the, “foreign underwater activity.”

Swedish Ministry Defense Handout Photo given to reporters on Saturday of the, “foreign underwater activity.”

Elements of the Swedish Navy spent the weekend searching for evidence of “foreign underwater activity,” following a Friday announcement from the Swedish Ministry of Defense, ahead of two days of naval maneuvers around the Stockholm archipelago.

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Document: Pentagon Joint History Office Report on the Post Cold War Decade

Document: Pentagon Joint History Office Report on the Post Cold War Decade

Newly arrived Marines are led through an encampment near an airfield during Operation Desert Shield. Department of Defense Photo

Newly arrived Marines are led through an encampment near an airfield during Operation Desert Shield. Department of Defense Photo

The following is from the introduction of the recently released report, Other Than War: The American Military Experience and Operations in the Post-Cold War Decade by Frank Schubert for the Pentagon’s Joint History Office. Read More

TV Spies of the Cold War Era

TV Spies of the Cold War Era

USA and USSR FlagDuring the 1980s with no end of the Cold War in sight, the CIA became alarmed at the number of Soviet spies working for the U.S. who were being arrested and executed. The U.S. network of informants within the USSR was rapidly being dismantled, severely damaging American intelligence gathering capabilities. It became apparent that the CIA had a mole who was compromising their efforts.

Based on the book Circle of Treason by former CIA agent Sandy Grimes, the ABC series The Assets dramatizes the events and investigation leading to the arrest of traitor Aldrich Ames. The show is a grim reminder that the dangers of espionage during the Cold War were very real despite the glamorous, exciting and humorous depiction of spies found in TV series of the era. Read More