WEBVTT 1 00:00:29.879 --> 00:00:32.679 Welcome to mid Rats with sal from Commander Salamander an 2 00:00:32.759 --> 00:00:36.039 Eagle one from Eagle Speak at Seer Shore your home 3 00:00:36.079 --> 00:00:39.399 for a discussion of national security issues and all things maritime, 4 00:00:40.679 --> 00:00:43.240 and welcome on board everybody. Thank you very much for 5 00:00:43.359 --> 00:00:46.399 joining us today for another edition of mid Rats, and 6 00:00:46.439 --> 00:00:49.600 hey lucky for you for the second week in a row. 7 00:00:50.439 --> 00:00:52.719 I don't know if there's an exact definition difference between 8 00:00:52.719 --> 00:00:55.200 a free for all and a melee, but today we 9 00:00:55.240 --> 00:00:57.119 are going to have a melee. We do not have 10 00:00:57.159 --> 00:01:00.240 a guest. It's just Mark and myself. We have our 11 00:01:00.240 --> 00:01:02.600 list of things that we want to chat about today 12 00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:06.879 in the maritime and National security arena. But as always 13 00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:09.280 we're interested in what you're thinking as well, So if 14 00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:12.120 you're with us live, go ahead and roll into the 15 00:01:12.159 --> 00:01:15.040 chat room and you can just share some observations if 16 00:01:15.040 --> 00:01:17.560 you'd like, or if there's a topic or subject that 17 00:01:17.599 --> 00:01:19.480 you would like for us to talk about in the 18 00:01:19.480 --> 00:01:21.599 course of the next hour, you can put it in there, 19 00:01:21.640 --> 00:01:23.319 and if we don't already have it on our list, 20 00:01:23.359 --> 00:01:25.840 we will do our best to incorporate it into the 21 00:01:25.879 --> 00:01:29.480 conversation as it goes forward. And if this is the 22 00:01:29.480 --> 00:01:31.239 first time you listen to mid or at you're just 23 00:01:31.239 --> 00:01:33.000 one of those people that hop in now and then 24 00:01:33.040 --> 00:01:36.200 when you catch us live. If you don't already, go 25 00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:39.840 ahead and head over to iTunes, Spotify, spreaker, wherever you 26 00:01:39.879 --> 00:01:42.920 aggregate your podcast. Look us up. We're there and you 27 00:01:42.920 --> 00:01:44.640 can go ahead and subscribe to us that way. If 28 00:01:44.680 --> 00:01:47.040 you can't join us with join us live, then you 29 00:01:47.079 --> 00:01:49.959 can listen to us when you have an opportunity. So 30 00:01:50.439 --> 00:01:54.159 with all that out of the way, Hey, Mark, Happy 31 00:01:54.159 --> 00:01:54.680 Sunday to. 32 00:01:54.640 --> 00:01:57.799 You, Well, thank you, sal Happy Sunday to you. 33 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:02.079 Well, it's funny. I think I'd put in one of 34 00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:04.319 the little pre show now by picking up the conversation 35 00:02:04.359 --> 00:02:08.080 where it was last week, because our after show we 36 00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:11.759 talked for ten or fifteen minutes. That's one thing that 37 00:02:12.120 --> 00:02:16.719 even during the doldrums of summer, there's there's all there's 38 00:02:16.759 --> 00:02:19.039 always something going on that we can chat about. 39 00:02:19.240 --> 00:02:21.120 Yeah, let me let me throw out something that we 40 00:02:21.159 --> 00:02:22.800 didn't talk about in our pre show but which we 41 00:02:22.960 --> 00:02:28.599 ought to mention. Some person has undertaken to challenge the 42 00:02:28.599 --> 00:02:32.759 the I guess patriotism of a Medal of Honor winner 43 00:02:33.199 --> 00:02:39.039 because he chose to speak at a democratic national at 44 00:02:39.039 --> 00:02:42.680 the Democratic National Convention. And he has his reasons why 45 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:45.240 he did that. But you know, we've got to stop 46 00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:49.240 this nonsense of going after people because they you don't 47 00:02:49.319 --> 00:02:50.840 you know, they do something you don't agree with, and 48 00:02:50.919 --> 00:02:54.080 that does not make them a bad person, unpatriotic, and 49 00:02:54.199 --> 00:02:56.400 particularly when you're talking about a guy who was in 50 00:02:56.400 --> 00:02:59.240 this case was a French citizen who decided to become 51 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:03.080 an American and goes to war on behalf of this country, UH, 52 00:03:03.280 --> 00:03:06.879 saves a bunch of people, UH and get seriously injured, 53 00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:11.360 UH taking on a guy wearing a suicide vest and 54 00:03:12.280 --> 00:03:14.680 is awarded the Medal of Honor and and and it's 55 00:03:14.759 --> 00:03:17.599 well earned. You know that is that is the kind 56 00:03:17.599 --> 00:03:22.039 of discussion and attack on people that that we don't 57 00:03:22.080 --> 00:03:24.719 need this country. We we know we can, we can assume, 58 00:03:24.960 --> 00:03:26.360 we used to be able to assume at a certain 59 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:29.240 point that people of good faith could have different views 60 00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:32.080 on things and we could talk about it. And to 61 00:03:32.080 --> 00:03:36.800 to just suddenly throughout this smear especially against uh someone 62 00:03:36.840 --> 00:03:40.680 in that in that who's earned the nation's highest medal 63 00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:46.520 UH for combat operations. I I I just it's unfathomably 64 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:50.919 what what what's the word I'm gonna use tacky, tasteless, unfair, 65 00:03:51.319 --> 00:03:54.879 and and ridiculous. So I just thought we got to 66 00:03:54.960 --> 00:03:57.159 kind of throw that out. As you know, let's let's 67 00:03:57.439 --> 00:04:00.520 keep in mind that that there are people on both sides. 68 00:04:00.560 --> 00:04:03.560 We have different opinions, and that's what makes the country great. 69 00:04:03.599 --> 00:04:05.319 We can, we should be able to talk about that 70 00:04:05.439 --> 00:04:07.879 rather than in declaring that you I don't agree with you, 71 00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:10.960 therefore your evil and we're going to get you banned 72 00:04:10.960 --> 00:04:12.719 from from things for the rest of your life. 73 00:04:13.360 --> 00:04:15.680 Amen. I don't I don't care whether you know, as 74 00:04:15.719 --> 00:04:18.720 long as you're not on active duty. You know, there 75 00:04:18.759 --> 00:04:23.120 are great patriots and great Americans who are Democrats, who 76 00:04:23.120 --> 00:04:27.839 are Republicans, who are libertarians, who are independent. I might 77 00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:30.959 draw the line at the Communist Party USA or the 78 00:04:31.079 --> 00:04:34.839 Nazi Party, but you can be a Greenie. You can 79 00:04:34.879 --> 00:04:39.120 have all sorts. That's that is part of living in 80 00:04:39.240 --> 00:04:44.800 a free republic is that individuals can have agency and opinions, 81 00:04:44.839 --> 00:04:46.920 and they can vary very differently from you. But I 82 00:04:46.959 --> 00:04:51.240 think you're you're spawn on there is common ground where 83 00:04:52.759 --> 00:04:56.079 people who serve this nation. They may disagree with you 84 00:04:56.279 --> 00:05:02.319 on architecture, they may disagree with you on tax policy. 85 00:05:02.639 --> 00:05:05.800 Our various social issues, or they just might be from 86 00:05:05.839 --> 00:05:09.160 a part of the country that one political party or 87 00:05:09.199 --> 00:05:12.040 another just makes more sense for him. That's okay. We 88 00:05:12.079 --> 00:05:16.079 should be able to meet in the middle on fifty 89 00:05:16.160 --> 00:05:18.519 one percent of the items. And at the end of 90 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:21.720 the day, we're all Americans. We can have a beer together, 91 00:05:22.120 --> 00:05:25.000 our kids can marry each other, and we can share 92 00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:28.000 our trench together. And I know the individually talking about 93 00:05:28.040 --> 00:05:30.560 I'm not going to say the individual's name. I think 94 00:05:31.759 --> 00:05:34.959 they thrive off the oxygen of the attention. But you 95 00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:39.600 have we run into this on a regular basis where 96 00:05:41.279 --> 00:05:45.160 one side of the political spectrum or the other will 97 00:05:45.160 --> 00:05:51.879 go after somebody for having impure thoughts from their perspective 98 00:05:52.240 --> 00:05:56.079 and will detegrate their service to our nation. And I 99 00:05:56.079 --> 00:06:00.160 don't care whether you served one tour or you or 100 00:06:00.480 --> 00:06:04.519 thirty five years in the military. You stepped forward and 101 00:06:04.560 --> 00:06:09.079 did more than whatever the percentage is nowadays in the 102 00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:11.920 north of ninety five percent. That if people have done 103 00:06:12.480 --> 00:06:16.519 and when you are actually somebody who has received the 104 00:06:16.560 --> 00:06:19.959 Medal of Honor, what you always have to back up 105 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:22.920 and remember is the amount of people who do receive 106 00:06:22.959 --> 00:06:30.439 the Medal of Honor posthumously. That is exceptional people finding 107 00:06:30.480 --> 00:06:34.879 themselves in exceptional circumstances, and their characters revealed what your 108 00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:41.639 petty domestic political differences are against us are immaterial and 109 00:06:41.680 --> 00:06:45.079 should not detract from the service that they did. And 110 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:50.279 people who do that they deserve to be to be 111 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:53.040 publicly keel hauled and held up for what they are 112 00:06:53.839 --> 00:06:56.279 because they've lost the bubble, if they ever had the 113 00:06:56.319 --> 00:06:58.800 bubble to begin with. So I'm really glad you brought 114 00:06:58.839 --> 00:07:02.319 that up. That's a great way to start this because 115 00:07:02.680 --> 00:07:09.560 we both have friends, acquaintances, followers, people that we email 116 00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:12.199 and communicate with on the regulators who disagree with us 117 00:07:12.240 --> 00:07:17.519 on lots of different issues. Uh. And that's okay, and 118 00:07:18.040 --> 00:07:22.040 that that should be the default option for everybody, especially 119 00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:28.279 somebody who has come to this nation and has served 120 00:07:28.279 --> 00:07:31.399 it well and it's come out the other end and 121 00:07:31.839 --> 00:07:36.600 our nation has decided to recognize their service and support 122 00:07:36.639 --> 00:07:40.279 of our republic. And Uh, if they want to come 123 00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:46.519 out and support Betty and Smithfield over fred kaplan for 124 00:07:46.600 --> 00:07:50.160 a dogcatcher, that's okay. Let them do that, but don't 125 00:07:50.199 --> 00:07:53.399 don't don't degrade them in their in their service. That's 126 00:07:54.240 --> 00:07:56.079 can we say that's an American because I think you 127 00:07:56.120 --> 00:07:57.560 could probably put that in that category. 128 00:07:58.160 --> 00:08:00.160 Yeah, and we see, I mean we've seen it in 129 00:08:00.160 --> 00:08:03.720 a lot of ways that we both have experiences where, uh, 130 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:06.879 something we were doing, something that was said someone has 131 00:08:06.959 --> 00:08:10.439 disagreed with and in some cases taken us out of 132 00:08:10.600 --> 00:08:13.759 certain things that we used to be able to participate 133 00:08:13.800 --> 00:08:17.000 in pretty freely, you know, And that that's the choice. 134 00:08:17.079 --> 00:08:21.120 If you have a publication or something and you don't 135 00:08:21.160 --> 00:08:23.680 want our voice on it, that's that, you know, that's 136 00:08:23.720 --> 00:08:26.120 your You own it. You can you can do what 137 00:08:26.160 --> 00:08:29.199 you want with it. But that's not my point is that, 138 00:08:29.279 --> 00:08:31.600 you know, let's let's look at it from a larger picture, 139 00:08:32.440 --> 00:08:35.279 which is it is a when you when you start 140 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:38.840 banning people because they have a different view or it's 141 00:08:38.840 --> 00:08:44.039 affecting something, you know, it that that's wrong. I'm not 142 00:08:44.159 --> 00:08:48.120 just ban you from a specific publication, but demanding that 143 00:08:48.200 --> 00:08:52.480 they be basically a persona non grata for the rest 144 00:08:52.480 --> 00:08:55.279 of society because they hold a different opinion than yours. 145 00:08:55.320 --> 00:08:58.399 That that's not the way we're supposed to work. And 146 00:08:58.480 --> 00:09:01.399 you know, if you've ever looked at at the federalists, 147 00:09:01.720 --> 00:09:04.840 uh and the anti federalist points of view, there were 148 00:09:04.919 --> 00:09:07.000 these are the people who founded the country. They had 149 00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:11.480 serious disagreements about how this country was supposed to be 150 00:09:11.720 --> 00:09:15.440 organized and and and what the new constitution was going 151 00:09:15.519 --> 00:09:17.799 to should be like and what should contain, you know, 152 00:09:17.879 --> 00:09:20.440 and they were they had people who fought together as 153 00:09:20.600 --> 00:09:24.039 as as brothers in the in the in the in 154 00:09:24.080 --> 00:09:27.320 the war for Independence, and who had subscribed to the 155 00:09:27.320 --> 00:09:31.799 Declaration of Independence, and they could agree to disagree and 156 00:09:31.799 --> 00:09:33.840 and get it worked out politically. And there were a 157 00:09:33.879 --> 00:09:36.120 lot of things that came from that that that we 158 00:09:36.200 --> 00:09:39.240 take for granted day, but we forget how how difficult, 159 00:09:39.240 --> 00:09:41.960 you know, how challenging it is to get even people 160 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:45.759 who had that kind of shared experiences to h to 161 00:09:45.759 --> 00:09:48.519 to do what they did, which was communicate pretty effectively 162 00:09:48.559 --> 00:09:52.360 about about what they what their opinions were, and why 163 00:09:52.879 --> 00:09:56.240 uh the you know, the opinions of one side should 164 00:09:56.279 --> 00:09:58.879 prevail over over the other. And I think that we 165 00:09:58.960 --> 00:10:02.360 have to go back to that example as how as 166 00:10:02.360 --> 00:10:06.039 to how we need to approach things and just not start. 167 00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:08.559 You know, you're as I said, you know, you're evil, 168 00:10:08.639 --> 00:10:10.480 You're bad. I'm not going to talk to you anymore. 169 00:10:11.200 --> 00:10:16.679 Yeah, you look at how Jefferson Adams, Hamilton Madison All 170 00:10:16.679 --> 00:10:19.519 those all those gentlemen, they were at each other tooth 171 00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:23.600 and claw. I think even Abigail Adams had some uh 172 00:10:24.440 --> 00:10:27.159 the barbs to throw here and there with her exceptional 173 00:10:27.159 --> 00:10:29.679 intellect as well. But at the end of the day, 174 00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:36.639 they never challenged each other's support of our republic. It 175 00:10:36.759 --> 00:10:40.120 was just that creative friction that sometimes throws off bigger 176 00:10:40.159 --> 00:10:43.039 sparks than others about how to achieve what we want 177 00:10:43.080 --> 00:10:46.840 to achieve without you know, degrading the service one person 178 00:10:46.919 --> 00:10:50.440 or another did for our republic. And a lot of 179 00:10:50.440 --> 00:10:58.279 times when people they they they personalize the political and 180 00:10:58.279 --> 00:11:04.759 and opinion, and they they what was the phrase from 181 00:11:04.799 --> 00:11:09.279 the nineteen nineties, the politics of personal destruction when you 182 00:11:09.320 --> 00:11:12.240 back away from it. Those people who don't want to 183 00:11:14.080 --> 00:11:21.080 discuss issues, argue issues, don't want to assume good faith 184 00:11:21.559 --> 00:11:26.120 in one person an other, and devolve into name calling 185 00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:32.039 and smearing. They really say more about themselves and they 186 00:11:32.080 --> 00:11:34.960 do the person they accuse, especially the fact that they 187 00:11:35.320 --> 00:11:39.399 for whatever reason, they do not have the ability or 188 00:11:39.440 --> 00:11:44.080 the capacity to argue their position, so as opposed to 189 00:11:44.399 --> 00:11:51.360 coming to an argument and countering it like that individual 190 00:11:51.519 --> 00:11:55.039 speaking at the DNC, there were retired military who spoke 191 00:11:55.080 --> 00:11:57.320 at the RNC, you know, compare their two points of view, 192 00:11:57.399 --> 00:12:00.519 let them argue. Instead of allowing that open discussion to 193 00:12:00.519 --> 00:12:04.679 take place. They want to eliminate opposition. They want to 194 00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:08.279 destroy and diminish anything that's not exactly aligned with them. 195 00:12:08.440 --> 00:12:11.919 And again that habits as old as human history. But 196 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:15.440 in a republic like ours, people who do that should 197 00:12:15.519 --> 00:12:20.639 be rightfully called out and I really question how those 198 00:12:20.799 --> 00:12:23.720 can people can come to defend it. The fun thing is, 199 00:12:24.559 --> 00:12:26.639 and I've had a couple of exchanges with folks over 200 00:12:26.679 --> 00:12:32.360 the course of the last day on that. It's nice 201 00:12:32.360 --> 00:12:35.360 to see that people on both sides of the spectrum 202 00:12:35.399 --> 00:12:38.039 will rise to the occasion and hopefully when the shoes 203 00:12:38.080 --> 00:12:40.960 on the other foot and somebody who's on the other 204 00:12:41.000 --> 00:12:44.679 side of the political spectrum gets treated the same, that 205 00:12:44.759 --> 00:12:50.200 all parties will of good people of good faith and 206 00:12:50.279 --> 00:12:53.080 well meaning people will rally around them as well. And 207 00:12:53.120 --> 00:12:55.759 I think they will. We've seen that in the past 208 00:12:55.799 --> 00:13:00.519 and we will see this again. But like I said that, now, 209 00:13:00.759 --> 00:13:02.639 that was spot on for you to start off our 210 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:06.120 show like that, because you know, silence is approval and 211 00:13:06.320 --> 00:13:08.480 things like that. It's important to put a marker down. 212 00:13:09.519 --> 00:13:12.879 And again, if people people disagree with that, that's great 213 00:13:12.919 --> 00:13:16.120 on great for them, but they're wrong and we should 214 00:13:16.120 --> 00:13:17.240 put the marker down like that. 215 00:13:18.120 --> 00:13:20.080 Yeah, we tried to get political on this show, but 216 00:13:20.279 --> 00:13:22.679 you know, so we should probably get into some other 217 00:13:22.759 --> 00:13:26.000 stuff that we've been talking about. And one of the 218 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:30.279 things we looked at just just was the recent announcement 219 00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:36.639 by the Australians is they're gonna acquire and developed the 220 00:13:37.240 --> 00:13:39.200 Japanese of friggate. You want to talk about that a 221 00:13:39.200 --> 00:13:39.600 little bit. 222 00:13:40.720 --> 00:13:44.759 Yeah, I thought that was just that was great to see. 223 00:13:46.039 --> 00:13:49.240 I'll go positive and then I'll be mister grumpy pants 224 00:13:49.240 --> 00:13:54.679 on it. But the Australians, I mean, they're a relatively 225 00:13:54.679 --> 00:13:56.919 small nation where they have like twenty two million people, 226 00:13:57.000 --> 00:13:59.159 just a couple million more than the state of Florida 227 00:13:59.200 --> 00:14:03.879 twenty eight million, a twenty eight million. They they can 228 00:14:03.919 --> 00:14:07.320 build stuff domestically, but they just they have a habit 229 00:14:07.960 --> 00:14:12.080 of leveraging off of prior designs a European, our American 230 00:14:12.600 --> 00:14:17.559 and the Japanese. For a long time, they they were 231 00:14:17.600 --> 00:14:21.720 not in the export market, but they and they consistently 232 00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:24.960 spent one percent or less of GDP. But when you're 233 00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:28.519 the second are are now I think third largest economy 234 00:14:28.559 --> 00:14:31.320 in the world, even one percent of GDP Gissey the 235 00:14:31.360 --> 00:14:37.000 ability have a really nice military industrial base. And I 236 00:14:37.039 --> 00:14:39.799 know you've you spent time in the Pacific. I have 237 00:14:39.919 --> 00:14:44.600 as well, though as a predominantly a U Sands sailor 238 00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:46.600 and an East Coast guy, I did did do a 239 00:14:46.639 --> 00:14:50.320 tour in the Pacific. When you work with the Japanese 240 00:14:50.320 --> 00:14:53.639 on an individual basis, not only are they exceptional professionals, 241 00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:59.519 but they build good kit Their submarines are exceptional. Their 242 00:14:59.559 --> 00:15:02.919 surface chips you can do surgery on them. They're not 243 00:15:02.960 --> 00:15:06.039 only clean, they're very professional. They have a lot of 244 00:15:06.120 --> 00:15:09.120 systems that are in common with US obviously as a 245 00:15:09.639 --> 00:15:14.120 defense partner with US. They're maintenance facilities or are superb. 246 00:15:14.799 --> 00:15:21.120 And now that everybody's joining the twenty first century, Australia 247 00:15:21.159 --> 00:15:23.759 was looking at some European options for the next frigate 248 00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:28.759 and the Mogami, which is already under production and it's 249 00:15:28.759 --> 00:15:31.519 an expanded Mogami which makes it a little bit larger. 250 00:15:32.759 --> 00:15:34.639 It's going to it has everything from a five inch 251 00:15:34.679 --> 00:15:39.399 gun forward. The Australian version, which is the modified Mogami 252 00:15:39.440 --> 00:15:42.399 that the Japanese are building for themselves now, is going 253 00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:45.639 to have thirty two mark forty one vlsls that the 254 00:15:45.639 --> 00:15:50.200 Australians can put all sorts of fun toys in Helo capable, 255 00:15:50.759 --> 00:15:53.759 real great modern system. I think off the top of 256 00:15:53.799 --> 00:15:56.600 my head the first two or three will be built 257 00:15:56.639 --> 00:15:59.120 in Japan, and then they'll have an additional three to 258 00:15:59.200 --> 00:16:03.440 five that we built in Australia. So I'm real happy 259 00:16:03.440 --> 00:16:06.600 for the Australians. And it also brings together our two 260 00:16:07.240 --> 00:16:11.120 I know the Filipinos might throw a yellow card at 261 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:13.240 me for this, but when you're talking about royal military 262 00:16:13.279 --> 00:16:17.559 power and economic power, it's true. Our two big friends 263 00:16:17.840 --> 00:16:21.000 in the Western Pacific is Japan and Australia. We have 264 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:24.120 a mutual defense treaty with Japan. We have one with Australia. 265 00:16:25.320 --> 00:16:28.200 Australia and Japan don't have one with each other per se, 266 00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:33.559 though they have an official acquaintance that happened recently, but 267 00:16:33.639 --> 00:16:36.559 it's not a full blown treaty. However, we're all tied together, 268 00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:41.600 and if Australia in Japan, the closer they get together 269 00:16:41.720 --> 00:16:46.120 from a military and diplomatic point of view, everybody benefits. 270 00:16:46.159 --> 00:16:51.519 In between the Indonesians, the Vietnamese, the Filipinos, the Taiwani. 271 00:16:51.759 --> 00:16:56.639 Everybody benefits from Australia in Japan getting closer, and them 272 00:16:56.639 --> 00:17:00.240 getting closer will also tie the US back together. It 273 00:17:00.279 --> 00:17:02.240 was just all good news. The only bad thing I 274 00:17:02.279 --> 00:17:06.519 thought about it is again, I'm gonna take out one 275 00:17:06.519 --> 00:17:09.279 of my hobby horses out of the garage and jump 276 00:17:09.319 --> 00:17:13.920 on its back. It used to be whether you're talking 277 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:20.640 about the Charles Adams Class DDG, the Knox frigate, the 278 00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:26.279 Oliver Hazard Perry frigate, that the US used to design 279 00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:32.960 light destroyers and frigates so well that other nations would 280 00:17:33.039 --> 00:17:35.759 license build them. And we haven't done that since the 281 00:17:35.839 --> 00:17:38.720 end of the Cold War. So everybody is building European 282 00:17:38.759 --> 00:17:42.240 designs and now Japanese designs, and I'm sure the Koreans, 283 00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:45.920 at least in the land component the polls are buying 284 00:17:45.960 --> 00:17:51.799 pretty much everything the Koreans can build. It Also, while 285 00:17:51.839 --> 00:17:56.079 I smile on one end because I really am enthusiastic 286 00:17:56.119 --> 00:17:59.039 about the Japanese the Australian get together, it also is 287 00:17:59.119 --> 00:18:01.319 just another car hard to put down on the table. 288 00:18:01.359 --> 00:18:06.200 The fact that our shipbuilding industry and our shipbuilding intelligentsia 289 00:18:07.240 --> 00:18:13.240 for both commercial industry and a navsey it's it's broken, 290 00:18:13.400 --> 00:18:15.880 it's fixed, and it's so bad that that nobody wants 291 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:18.839 nobody else has anything they want to do with it. 292 00:18:18.920 --> 00:18:21.599 And so we should also acknowledge the fact that nobody's 293 00:18:21.640 --> 00:18:25.720 interested in license building anything that we've designed this century, 294 00:18:26.640 --> 00:18:31.039 should again redouble everybody's efforts to fix the system that 295 00:18:31.119 --> 00:18:33.880 has produced this because we have Lord knows, we have 296 00:18:33.960 --> 00:18:38.880 the economy, we have the engineers in theory, we have 297 00:18:38.960 --> 00:18:42.440 the business acumen to do it, we just don't have 298 00:18:42.519 --> 00:18:45.359 the ability to. So it's it's going to be a 299 00:18:45.480 --> 00:18:48.839 nice frigate and it's it's having the Australia having that, 300 00:18:49.160 --> 00:18:52.119 which hopefully should work out pretty well in the Japanese 301 00:18:52.119 --> 00:18:54.240 For those that have worked with Japanese industry on the 302 00:18:54.279 --> 00:18:58.400 commercial side of the house, they deliver what they promised 303 00:18:58.920 --> 00:19:01.480 much more often than anybody. So I think it's going 304 00:19:01.559 --> 00:19:03.240 to be a good news story down the road and 305 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:06.279 the one that every all the friends of Australia and 306 00:19:06.319 --> 00:19:08.480 Japan should smile with. 307 00:19:09.759 --> 00:19:12.160 Yeah, it's it's kind of interesting to me that that 308 00:19:13.279 --> 00:19:14.640 I was watching some of the other day and they 309 00:19:14.640 --> 00:19:17.519 had there were somebody was interviewing various mechanics. You know, what, 310 00:19:17.519 --> 00:19:20.319 what car would you what cars would you recommend mine? 311 00:19:20.640 --> 00:19:24.640 And if they asked twelve mechanics, eleven of them said 312 00:19:24.960 --> 00:19:28.519 Toyota or Honda. You know, and some of the Toyotas 313 00:19:28.519 --> 00:19:30.920 and Hondas are built in the US. Great, but you 314 00:19:30.920 --> 00:19:33.640 know they've got the engineering skills that we've created this 315 00:19:33.640 --> 00:19:39.480 thing where the Japanese vehicles have become uh what we 316 00:19:39.480 --> 00:19:42.400 would like to think what once was the Cadillac and 317 00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:45.839 they and the Lincoln's and other cars in this country. 318 00:19:45.839 --> 00:19:48.920 But you know that the way it goes, so there's 319 00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:50.640 a lot to be admired and the way they the 320 00:19:50.680 --> 00:19:54.359 way they've done that, and it carries over to other industries, 321 00:19:54.440 --> 00:19:58.079 and it also carries over if they've got the the 322 00:19:58.119 --> 00:20:03.960 ability to encourage the Australians and and there and the 323 00:20:04.599 --> 00:20:08.279 maybe even the Philippines to start working on those supply 324 00:20:08.440 --> 00:20:12.000 chain things. You need to get uh in place so 325 00:20:12.039 --> 00:20:17.720 you can you can get the the the non actual 326 00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:21.880 shipyard stuff done. If you want latches for lockers, if 327 00:20:21.920 --> 00:20:26.079 you want uh uh you know, all those things components 328 00:20:26.079 --> 00:20:29.119 that go into ships. You need to have the quality. 329 00:20:29.119 --> 00:20:32.160 And that's where the the the theory that Deming had 330 00:20:32.480 --> 00:20:35.000 got Japanese off was that if you only if you 331 00:20:35.039 --> 00:20:38.720 bring quality materials into the system, are you able to 332 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:41.799 stick quality produce quality materials at the end of the system. 333 00:20:41.920 --> 00:20:44.279 I mean, I don't think it takes a rocket science 334 00:20:44.319 --> 00:20:46.519 to figure that out, but but it was. It was 335 00:20:46.599 --> 00:20:49.920 really important for the for the for the Japanese industry 336 00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:52.240 to get that, and they that's how you get these 337 00:20:52.279 --> 00:20:54.839 things where you know, if they if they're bringing in 338 00:20:55.880 --> 00:20:58.720 good supplies from people that they can rely on to 339 00:20:58.799 --> 00:21:01.759 be good suppliers. UH, then that makes the whole world 340 00:21:01.759 --> 00:21:05.519 of difference. And and those are those are jobs that matter, 341 00:21:05.599 --> 00:21:08.480 they matter in this country and and they that and 342 00:21:08.519 --> 00:21:11.160 somebody is pointing out I think John in the chat 343 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:16.000 room that's why uh Tesla had to go. They have 344 00:21:16.119 --> 00:21:23.160 a a chain that is uh vertically integrated. And you know, 345 00:21:23.240 --> 00:21:25.240 you don't have to be vertically integrated if you have 346 00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:29.920 suppliers who are are toeing the line. And that's that's 347 00:21:30.039 --> 00:21:32.200 kind of what the the Australians and the and I 348 00:21:32.240 --> 00:21:34.200 hope that Japanese are going to encourage in some of 349 00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:36.880 the other countries. And I would go with the Philippines 350 00:21:36.920 --> 00:21:39.200 in the in the UH in that part of the world. 351 00:21:39.720 --> 00:21:41.960 UH so they can can you know, they can get 352 00:21:41.960 --> 00:21:45.039 everybody on board with these projects. And I fail to 353 00:21:45.079 --> 00:21:50.519 understand where that the UH Philippines aren't looking at the Japanese. 354 00:21:50.519 --> 00:21:51.960 I know they got some other stuff going on with 355 00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:55.519 the japan providing some equipment for them, but there are 356 00:21:55.519 --> 00:21:57.160 a lot of other countries down that should be looking 357 00:21:57.160 --> 00:21:59.359 at some of these Japanese and South Korean ships, all 358 00:21:59.359 --> 00:22:01.720 of which are pretty good, pretty good stuff. 359 00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:05.359 Yeah, it's one of those things that these things build 360 00:22:05.400 --> 00:22:10.359 over time. As country X does business with Country Y 361 00:22:10.839 --> 00:22:14.599 and it works out well, that more people will we'll 362 00:22:14.799 --> 00:22:18.519 benchmark and replicate that. And you know, not everybody has 363 00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:21.720 to work with the US and buy from the US. 364 00:22:21.759 --> 00:22:24.640 But if our friends are buying from our friends, as 365 00:22:24.640 --> 00:22:28.599 opposed to subsidizing people who aren't our friends, then then 366 00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:36.480 we all benefit from that. And because it seems like 367 00:22:36.519 --> 00:22:40.640 a long time ago, but it wasn't the amount of 368 00:22:40.720 --> 00:22:44.640 damage that's been done to the US and our allies 369 00:22:44.680 --> 00:22:51.880 when you look at our sovereign control over our industry, 370 00:22:52.440 --> 00:22:57.000 our supply chains, and our access to raw materials from 371 00:22:57.039 --> 00:23:02.119 the China doves who had so much power mostly for 372 00:23:02.160 --> 00:23:04.880 economic reasons because there was a lot of money to 373 00:23:04.880 --> 00:23:11.720 be made. Is China grew into prominence and that those 374 00:23:11.759 --> 00:23:17.319 those phone calls kept the serious national security China hawks 375 00:23:17.400 --> 00:23:21.279 at bay for a long time. But nobody can really 376 00:23:21.400 --> 00:23:26.960 argue anymore that the CCP is a force for good. 377 00:23:27.599 --> 00:23:30.079 And one thing we talked about in the show I 378 00:23:30.160 --> 00:23:35.920 think ties right into that is you were talking that 379 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:40.279 the news broke recently about the software problems that we 380 00:23:40.400 --> 00:23:43.920 have here in the US, where we have whether it's 381 00:23:43.960 --> 00:23:49.079 Microsoft or other companies who are creating software for not 382 00:23:49.160 --> 00:23:51.960 just military but our civilian infrastructure. You know, with without 383 00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:57.640 without power, without water, the whole society can collapse when 384 00:23:57.680 --> 00:23:59.920 you pull the thread on it. A lot of these 385 00:24:00.759 --> 00:24:07.160 nominally US companies they have outsourced to PRC nationals and 386 00:24:07.200 --> 00:24:13.319 PRC companies themselves, all of who have requirements and obligations 387 00:24:13.359 --> 00:24:18.079 with the Chinese Communist Party, and they are writing code 388 00:24:18.160 --> 00:24:22.440 and managing software and databases for something that if you 389 00:24:22.440 --> 00:24:26.319 wind up going to war with that country. In prior generations, 390 00:24:26.319 --> 00:24:29.359 they would have to put sabotage teams on submarines and 391 00:24:29.400 --> 00:24:32.799 sneak up the Long Island Sound and off of Saint Augustine, Florida, 392 00:24:32.839 --> 00:24:34.559 and try to dump people off on a raft to 393 00:24:34.599 --> 00:24:37.680 go do sabotage. Nowadays, all they have to do is 394 00:24:37.720 --> 00:24:42.400 get an IP portal and to click yes or no 395 00:24:42.799 --> 00:24:46.079 on a screen to do incredible amounts of damage. And 396 00:24:46.119 --> 00:24:51.880 a lot of that comes from that commercial aspect, where hey, 397 00:24:51.960 --> 00:24:54.640 if we do the following steps and offshore of the 398 00:24:54.680 --> 00:24:58.519 following items, we can create an additional point zero zero 399 00:24:58.559 --> 00:25:02.480 two to five cents per share over the course of 400 00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:05.319 a fiscal year. So let's go ahead and do that, 401 00:25:06.039 --> 00:25:11.319