A Keen Eye on Keen Sword
By Rear. Adm. Karl Thomas Commander, Task Force 70 This week, we wrapped up Keen Sword 2019, the biennial exercise with the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force, (JMSDF) or Kaijo Jieitai as they are known in Japan. This exercise is designed to strengthen and demonstrate our commitment to the U.S. – Japan alliance and ultimately …
Sailing side by side the JMSDF–Strengthening Interoperability with a key Ally!
By Rear Adm. Karl Thomas, Commander, Task Force 70 “Launch the alert 15, side 203, initial vector 240” crackles over the 1MC (the ship’s loudspeaker system) early in the morning. An unknown air contact has been detected and is closing the force. Sailors from the U.S. Navy and Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) spring …
SAAPM 2018: Protecting our People Protects Our Mission
By Rear Adm. Karl Thomas Director, 21st Century Sailor Office As we enter SAAPM, we’d like to reflect on this year’s theme, Protecting our People Protects Our Mission. Each of us has a role to play in preventing, reporting and eliminating sexual assault. We are all accountable. We can protect our mission by ensuring everyone …
Suicide Prevention: Act. Care. Treat.
Our measure of success really is how well our Sailors perform at their job. Ensuring they can come to work in a healthy environment. There are policies to set them up for success. There are a lot of reasons members decide to take their own life. So words and thoughts matter, and pay attention to …