6th Fleet Focus: Admiral Ulrich Had a Tough Week

This post is dedicated to my favorite blogger CDR Salamander, currently on a short term shore leave from blogging, in honor of his favorite Admiral.

Imagine being Admiral Henry G. Ulrich, Commander of US Naval Forces in Europe, dispatched to Russia last week to celebrate Russian Navy Day with a tour on the Russian Battlecruiser Pyotr Veliky. I was naive enough back on July 27th to wish I was in his shoes, just for the trip on the CBGN.

Looking back at his week, I don't think I would want to fill those shoes. On Sunday July 29th he had to sit next to Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Admiral Vladimir Masorin as he spelled out the plans for the future Russian Navy. I understand there are skeptics to the discussed Russian plans, but regular readers to this blog are reminded I have covered in depth why I believe we are more likely to see a larger Russian Navy in the future than not. Admiral Masorin's speech on Russian Navy day, in the presence of Admiral Ulrich, addresses one point that should trouble even the most skeptic.

Recently approved, a rearmament program until 2015 for the first time in Soviet and Russian history puts the development of the navy on an equal footing with strategic nuclear forces. Out of 4.9 trillion rubles ($192.16 billion) allocated for military rearmament, 25% will go into building new ships.

"We are already building practically as many ships as we did in Soviet times," First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said during a visit to Severodvinsk. "The problem now is not lack of money, but how to optimize production so that the navy can get new ships three, not five, years after laying them down."

Westerners jeer at the Russians over their Navy, the most common question being "does it float?" I was doing that too until recently, when someone slapped me with a dose of reality. Did you know that all those ships being built by Russia for India and China are being built from different shipyards? Check it, they build a new order at a new yard everytime. I didn't know that, but it is one of several pieces of evidence that Russia has somehow sustained its industry base despite having a fleet that doesn't sail. With the Russian economy booming, ( <--- read if you think it is all about oil) up until recently there was really only one question left on whether or not Russia was serious about its Navy growth, who would head up the Russian United Shipbuilding Corporation. A couple weeks ago, that question was answered.

The Russian Federal Property Management Agency (Rosimushchestvo) has nominated Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov to be chairman of the board of the United Shipbuilding Corp., which is now being formed. The final decision on the choice of board chairman for the company rests with Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is already known that presidential advisor on military technology Alexander Burutin will be the company's general director.

First Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov was expected to chair the company's board of directors. Sources say that Ivanov, who is already chairman of the United Aviation Construction Corp., was not interested in the position in the shipbuilding company. Serdyukov was named chairman of the board of the state Khimprom company.

Serdyukov is an appropriate choice to head the new corporation, since at least 85 percent of the Russian shipbuilding industry is devoted to the military. The wholly state-owned company will be based around OAO Nevsky Design and Construction Bureau in St. Petersburg and will have $12 billion in orders. The Western, Southern and Far Eastern shipbuilding and repair centers will be subsidiaries of the corporation.

So much for market reforms, the Defense Minister now heads up all Russian shipbuilding.

As if Adm. Ulrich was having a tough enough time in Russia, first it is reported he is passed over as CNO, then while he was there he was replaced.

President Bush nominated Vice Adm. Mark Fitzgerald and Rear Adm. James Winnefeld on Friday to take the top two Navy leadership positions in Europe, according to a Pentagon announcement.

If approved by the Senate, Fitzgerald will earn a fourth star and become commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Allied Joint Forces Command in Naples, Italy. Fitzgerald is currently director of Navy staff at the Pentagon. He will replace Adm. Harry Ulrich in command in Naples. Ulrich’s future plans have yet to be announced.

Wow that sucks, who did he piss off to be both passed over for promotion AND replaced in his current job while in Russia... at a time when things are just starting to get interesting in Europe... with the Russians no less!

Russia should have a permanent naval presence in the Mediterranean, the head of its navy said Aug. 3, mirroring the military ambitions of the Soviet Union.

"The Mediterranean Sea is very important strategically for the Black Sea fleet," Adm. Vladimir Masorin said during a visit to the base of the fleet in the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol, RIA news agency reported. "I propose that, with the involvement of the Northern and Baltic fleets, the Russian navy should restore its permanent presence there."

This isn't new. There has long been Russian Navy interest in Syria. It was also assumed in February of 2006 Russia was going to base in Syria, before being denied again in February of 2007. This most recent announcement might be procrastination, although it also might not be. It's hard to tell with the Russians lately.

Either way, Admiral Ulrich had himself one really bad week if you ask me.