Page 2 - ARUBA TODAY

A2 UP FRONT
Saturday 5 May 2018
New naval command created to step up presence in Atlantic

By LOLITA C. BALDOR "continues to grow more
Associated Press challenging and complex."
WASHINGTON (AP) — Amid The command will oversee
rising tensions with Russia, ships, aircraft and landing
the Pentagon on Friday an- forces on the East Coast
nounced the official launch and northern Atlantic
of a new naval command Ocean, and will be respon-
that will bolster the U.S. and sible for training forces and
NATO presence in the At- conducting maritime op-
lantic Ocean. erations in the region.
Outlines of the plan were Restarting the command
approved at the Febru- was recommended in the
ary meeting of NATO de- Navy study done following
fense ministers, as part of a the two deadly ship colli-
broader effort to insure the sions last year that killed a
security of the sea lanes total of 17 sailors.
and lines of communica- The destroyer USS Fitzgerald
tion between Europe and struck a commercial ship
North America. off the waters of Japan in
"The return to great power June, killing seven U.S. sail-
competition and a resur- ors. The destroyer USS John
gent Russia demands that S. McCain collided with an
NATO refocus on the At- In this Dec. 18, 2017, file photo, U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson waits for Ja- oil tanker in coastal waters
lantic to ensure dedicated pan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for their meeting at the Prime Minister's official residence in Tokyo. off Singapore in August, kill-
reinforcement of the con- Associated Press ing 10 U.S. sailors.
tinent and demonstrate The Navy concluded that
a capable and credible the Atlantic region. Under heavily in their military ca- to be located in Germany. the two crashes, as well as
deterrence effect," said the new plan, the U.S. will pabilities, modernized their At the same time, the U.S. a third collision in May and
Johnny Michael, a Penta- set up NATO's new Atlantic military capabilities, which Navy is re-establishing its a ship grounding, were all
gon spokesman. He said Command headquarters in are exercising not only con- 2nd Fleet command, which avoidable, and resulted
the new NATO command Norfolk, Virginia. ventional forces but also was eliminated in 2011 in a from widespread failures
"will be the linchpin of trans- NATO Secretary General nuclear forces." move to save costs. It was by the crews and com-
Atlantic security." Jens Stoltenberg told re- He said the new Atlantic merged with the navy's manders who didn't quickly
The decision reflects es- porters in February that "we Command will be vital for Fleet Forces Command. recognize and respond to
calating worries across Eu- have seen a much more the alliance to be able to Adm. John Richardson, the unfolding emergencies.
rope and within NATO over assertive Russia, we have respond. NATO also cre- chief of naval operations, A report called for about 60
Russia's increased military seen a Russia which has ated a new logistics com- said the move comes as recommended changes to
presence and patrols in over many years invested mand, which is expected the security environment address the problems. q

Ex-President George HW Bush released from Houston hospital

HOUSTON (AP) — Former also noted that while hos- because their swallowing
President George H.W. pitalized, Bush had been process can be compro-
Bush was released from a more focused on the Hous- mised. Experts also say that
Houston hospital on Friday ton Rockets playoff series the stress of losing a loved
after spending 13 days be- against the Minnesota Tim- one can weaken the im-
ing treated for an infection berwolves "than anything mune system.
that required his hospital- that landed him in the hos- His son, former Florida Gov.
ization a day after his wife's pital." Jeb Bush, indicated during
funeral. The Rockets won the series his eulogy at his mother's
Jim McGrath, a spokesman 4-1 on April 25. Bush, fre- funeral service that his fa-
for the 93-year-old Bush, quently accompanied by ther had been hospitalized
tweeted that doctors at his wife, has long been a recently at the same time
Houston Methodist Hospital fixture at Houston sporting Barbara Bush was in the
"report he is doing well" and events. hospital for the last time.
that the former president is Bush has used a wheelchair Those hospitalizations were
"happy to return home." In this April 21, 2018, file photo, former presidents George W. and an electric scooter for not publicly disclosed at
Bush, left, and George H.W. Bush arrive at St. Martin's Episcopal
The nation's 41st president Church for a funeral service for former first lady Barbara Bush in mobility since developing a the time. Jeb Bush said he
was admitted to the hospi- Houston. form of Parkinson's disease, believed his father "got
tal on April 22 for treatment Associated Press and he has needed hospi- sick on purpose so that he
of an infection that spread tal treatment several times could be with her."
to his blood. Bush spent who died on April 17 at "professionalism and obvi- in recent years for respira- George Herbert Walker
some time in an intensive their Houston home. Mar- ous care" during the me- tory problems. Bush served as president
care unit before being ried for 73 years, the Bushes morials and services for his Few details were released from 1989 to 1993. Born on
moved to a regular patient were the longest-married wife. about Bush's most recent June 12, 1924, in Milton,
room. presidential couple in U.S. McGrath had previously illness. But medical experts Massachusetts, Bush also
Bush was hospitalized a history. said Bush was eager to say that people in their 90s served as a Texas con-
day after he attended the In a tweet sent out dur- get well so he could get to with Parkinson's disease are gressman, CIA director
funeral and burial of his ing his hospitalization, Bush his summer home in Ken- often at higher risk of pneu- and Ronald Reagan's vice
92-year-old wife, Barbara, thanked Houston for its nebunkport, Maine. He monia and other infections president.q