Dead Drop: Week of November 2

SLOW BOAT? On Friday October 24, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced on social media that the “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth had ordered the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to leave the Mediterranean and head for the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility to support “the President’s directive to dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) and counter narco-terrorism.” Armchair admirals started to calculate how quickly FORD and friends would show up off the coast of Venezuela. The carrier strike group was reported to be off the coast of Croatia when the announcement was made but five days later, there were (unconfirmed) reports that it was still in the Med. A week after the Hegseth announcement, the Miami Herald reported that their sources said an attack on military installations could come “at any moment.” Administration officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the reporting “a fake story.” Some folks think the deployment announcement was mostly saber-rattling while others believe the eventual arrival will signal a big next step in regime change. In any case – the Ford is one of the most capable warships ever built despite having electro-magnetic plane launching catapults that for some reason the President hates nearly as much as he hates windmills.

The Dead Drop is now updating throughout the week. There's just too much good gossip in the national security world for a once-a-week drop.