The US Navy is going underground as NATO increases its focus on its northern border with Russia

[EvilEyeFleegle]

Beefing up in Norway?

The US Navy is going underground as NATO increases its focus on its northern border with Russia

The US Navy set up a new facility in a cave system in northern Norway in October, reflecting the increased focus that the US and its NATO allies have put on the alliance's northern borders with Russia.
This month, the US Navy announced that Naval Forces Europe and US Navy Expeditionary Medical Support Command had delivered an Expeditionary Medical Facility to a cave system near Bogen Bay in northern Norway, some 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle.
EMFs have many of the same capabilities as a modern hospital and can be deployed on short notice, according to Lt. Cmdr. Michael Lucas, director of operations for US Navy Expeditionary Medical Support Command.
The US Navy and Air Force presence there has increased in recent months, including port calls and a historic deployment by B-1B bombers earlier this year. US Navy commanders have also trained to sail in fjords during exchanges with Norway's navy.
A deal signed this spring will allow the US to build facilities on Norwegian bases, including at Evenes air station and Ramsund naval station, both of which are near Bogen Bay.
The activity comes amid heightened tension with Russia. Russia's military activity in the Arctic has concerned Norway and its NATO allies, which have stepped up their own activity in that increasingly accessible region.
A Russian invasion of northern Norway is seen as unlikely, but the EMF deployment is part of the response to what US officials call strategic competition in the region and around the world.
"In this era of great-power competition, distributing our capabilities around the globe drives down risk," Rear Adm. Michael Curran, director of readiness and logistics for US Naval Forces Europe, said in the release.

 

[Mikeoxenormous]

Beefing up in Norway?

The US Navy is going underground as NATO increases its focus on its northern border with Russia

The US Navy set up a new facility in a cave system in northern Norway in October, reflecting the increased focus that the US and its NATO allies have put on the alliance's northern borders with Russia.
This month, the US Navy announced that Naval Forces Europe and US Navy Expeditionary Medical Support Command had delivered an Expeditionary Medical Facility to a cave system near Bogen Bay in northern Norway, some 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle.
EMFs have many of the same capabilities as a modern hospital and can be deployed on short notice, according to Lt. Cmdr. Michael Lucas, director of operations for US Navy Expeditionary Medical Support Command.
The US Navy and Air Force presence there has increased in recent months, including port calls and a historic deployment by B-1B bombers earlier this year. US Navy commanders have also trained to sail in fjords during exchanges with Norway's navy.
A deal signed this spring will allow the US to build facilities on Norwegian bases, including at Evenes air station and Ramsund naval station, both of which are near Bogen Bay.
The activity comes amid heightened tension with Russia. Russia's military activity in the Arctic has concerned Norway and its NATO allies, which have stepped up their own activity in that increasingly accessible region.
A Russian invasion of northern Norway is seen as unlikely, but the EMF deployment is part of the response to what US officials call strategic competition in the region and around the world.
"In this era of great-power competition, distributing our capabilities around the globe drives down risk," Rear Adm. Michael Curran, director of readiness and logistics for US Naval Forces Europe, said in the release.

Yeah, China is launching hypersonic missiles that cant be intercepted, and the Navy cowers into a cave. This is Joe Bidens military....

 

[EvilEyeFleegle]

Yeah, China is launching hypersonic missiles that cant be intercepted, and the Navy cowers into a cave. This is Joe Bidens military....

errr..it's a hospital? Perhaps a secure area is a good thing?

 

[Mikeoxenormous]

errr..it's a hospital? Perhaps a secure area is a good thing?

Can you get a ship underground? Let the army be underground, they are good at being trench diggers, leave the ocean to the navy....

 

[harmonica]

..sounds like wasted $$$$$, again.....
1. I've been reading and researching WW2/wars/military for over 45 years---USUALLY, [ almost NEVER ] the enemy does not WASTE assets by attacking MEDICAL facilities
2. the tensions were HIGHER in the Cold War

 

[whitehall]

Americans could have been incarcerated and possibly executed for releasing classified stuff about a "cave system" allegedly used by the USN back in the early 40's. Now, formerly classified stuff seems to be routinely released by unidentified and unverified sources apparently for the sole purpose of undermining America's status in the world. If there are no secrets left what are we paying the CIA to do?

 

[Mushroom]

This month, the US Navy announced that Naval Forces Europe and US Navy Expeditionary Medical Support Command had delivered an Expeditionary Medical Facility to a cave system near Bogen Bay in northern Norway, some 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle.
EMFs have many of the same capabilities as a modern hospital and can be deployed on short notice, according to Lt. Cmdr. Michael Lucas, director of operations for US Navy Expeditionary Medical Support Command.

OK, now I am confused.

This is a big deal because it is going to be in a cave. Yet, it is a field hospital that is designed to be taken and set up anywhere they need to put it at.

Are they going to take the cave with them?

Once again, a lot of extrapolation and nonsense, that is missing the obvious point.

It is being put in a cave, because it is not in operation. It is being stored there. And caves are excellent places to store equipment. They are natural bunkers, and climate controlled so what is stored inside will remain in excellent condition without the constant need for maintenance. That is why salt mines are used around the world for storing things.

I really wonder what they want to say, because once I realized that this is about a mobile hospital, the fact it is stored in a cave became nonsensical to the rest of what they were trying to say.

 

[Mushroom]

1. I've been reading and researching WW2/wars/military for over 45 years---USUALLY, [ almost NEVER ] the enemy does not WASTE assets by attacking MEDICAL facilities

But it is not for use, it is storage of their equipment. Makes perfect sense to me.

I have been part of a CASH, the Army equivalent of this and the modern version of the MASH unit. And such a facility is really big.

This is a typical older setup, and realize that in moving, you will need around 50 trucks, as well as all the other vehicles and equipment from fuel trucks, generators, and everything else. It takes about 48 hours to set one of these up or to put it away. And as it is medical equipment, it needs to be stored in a climate controlled environment. And some equipment must be inspected regularly. And these really are complete hospitals. In the example above, I can even spot the 2 operating bays, and the X-ray area.

On the right side would be triage and admitting area, then the patients would move to the left as they were treated. The ones on the left side for those in final recovery before being returned to their unit or evacuated for care in a secure location.

In the US, we normally use bunkers to store such in. But if there is a cave available, that does make a lot more sense.

 

[Mushroom]

Oh, and these are also very flexible. To give an idea, the one I showed above is likely for supporting a Division sized operation. But they can also be smaller.

This one is likely for supporting a Regimental sized unit, but it is also an example of equipment that we would be using now. The half dome tents instead of the old frame types, and only a single operating bay instead of two of them. But both of these are obviously in "exercises", as there is only a fraction of what you would see in a real life example.

 

[harmonica]

But it is not for use, it is storage of their equipment. Makes perfect sense to me.

I have been part of a CASH, the Army equivalent of this and the modern version of the MASH unit. And such a facility is really big.

This is a typical older setup, and realize that in moving, you will need around 50 trucks, as well as all the other vehicles and equipment from fuel trucks, generators, and everything else. It takes about 48 hours to set one of these up or to put it away. And as it is medical equipment, it needs to be stored in a climate controlled environment. And some equipment must be inspected regularly. And these really are complete hospitals. In the example above, I can even spot the 2 operating bays, and the X-ray area.

On the right side would be triage and admitting area, then the patients would move to the left as they were treated. The ones on the left side for those in final recovery before being returned to their unit or evacuated for care in a secure location.

In the US, we normally use bunkers to store such in. But if there is a cave available, that does make a lot more sense.

..in over 50 years, I've never heard of a medical STORAGE facility being purposely targeted

 

[Dayton3]

Aircraft carriers based in fjords are almost invulnerable to missile attack

 

[Mushroom]

in over 50 years, I've never heard of a medical STORAGE facility being purposely targeted

Or much of any, short of munitions and fuel.

As I said, this is being sent into some weird tangent by the original article. Which is a real mess by the way.

A photo captioned as "US Navy personnel stow gear", with no people visible in it and no identifiable US military vehicles. A photo from outside of the cave from over 24 years ago. And the article itself bounces all over the place, from B1 bombers to equipment being replaced 14 years ago.

Hell, even the title of the article "The US Navy is going underground as NATO increases its focus on its northern border with Russia" is a nonsensical mess, since Norway is to the West of Russia, not South. And the author seems obsessed with Russia and China. Even trying to link the cargo ship that blocked the Suez Canal recently as somehow being relevant to bring up Russia and China in the same article.

No, I am honestly laughing because this article is a complete joke. So they are storing equipment in a cave, the article itself states they have been doing that for over 40 years. So what is the point of it? Other than giving the author yet another chance to use it to try and say Russia and China are a threat. Every single one of his articles no matter what it is about is warning about Russia and China.

And I now take MSN a bit less seriously than I used to before, if they thought this was important enough to bring up as some kind of "news".