Has the Navy and congress lost it's collective minds? We are at war, we face continued threats from rogue nations and they want to cut the military budget. Hey Congress, we've spent over 5 Trillion dollars on the war on poverty, that's the war you should quit! Cut social welfare spending and defend our nation!

Hoorah Sir!

Excellent article. The Navy never ceases to amaze me with their ability to "predict the future and not blink while doing so."

Anything less than twelve aircraft carriers and the combat and combat support ships needed to assemble a similar number of carrier task forces is unacceptable. America's carrier force is the vanguard of the fleet. In fact, when do any surface ships go in a war zone where they aren't under the protection of naval air power from an " a-i-r-c-r-a-f-t c-a-r-r-i-e-r ?"

USS Enterprise
Had a chance to see the ship in 1965 near Barcelona. A most memorable visit. Absolutely amazing.
Whether or not 11 or 12 or 20 or whatever number of carriers is enough, I can't say. But the prudent course of action seems to be to keep as many as you can. Some is better than none.
As to whether or not the reduction by one or two carriers emboldens any enemies.... I wonder. It's a factor for global planners and strategists and academics, but I highly doubt it means squat to terrorists. I don't see Russia or China being affected by just one or two either so long as we keep ourselves pinned down in the Middle East. All they have to do is make sure... covertly, of course... that we stay trapped.

Did anybody watch "Carrier" on PBS?

makes you kind of wonder about our Carrier Force a bit (of coarse, keeping in mind it was produced by Mel Gibson)

If anything, it didn't put the Navy's best foot forward....sorry squids!

Anyways.... to that idea to reduce them, but...those bean counters seem to always have a better control of things than the Operational force people do....

So, how much money would we save by taking one more carrier off line...compared to the other cost savings we have saved on all those other great ideas of Force reduction to save a buck....

We can't compare our naval needs to those of Russia and China because we are a maritime country; they are not. Russia and China can place all of their air power squarely on the Asian continent; for the most part, we have to bring ours with us.

We can become a victim of maritime warfare just as easily as we have been able to control the world’s sea lanes of communication for the last half century. Just remember, sea power is not just ships; it is everything from air, land and sea fighting capabilities to bases, shipyards and logistics. Aircraft carriers and the air power they project around the world are one of the chief cornerstones of that structure.

quote:

It's troubling that, like our ground forces, the carrier fleet is also stretched thin. Navy brass already have difficulty meeting the need for carriers. What if another major crisis, such as a serious dust-up in the Taiwan Strait between powerhouse China and its rival Taiwan, comes across our bow? Considering China's military buildup, you can bet that we'll need several (at least) carrier groups to deal with People's Liberation Army's navy and air force.

I like the "emboldening" part the best (especially coming from the guys that have shamelessly provided the lousiest advice to any sitting president)!

That said - the example of the Taiwan Straits is a lousy example. The hands of the next president have already been tied by the incumbant, because he doubled our national debt in 7 years (and isn't done yet) by borrowing the money from the commies that would be crossing those Taiwan Straits. We go after them - they destroy our economy.

However, reducing our carrier force seems like a pretty lousy idea overall. But the costs we currently incur due to our lousy/ineffective acquisition processes are daunting. Unless the Navy can fix that - there may not be any other options despite the world being made in more recent years a vastly more dangerous place.

The problem with decommissioning a nuclear ship, is that they are sent immediately to Bremerton, to the nuclear ship deactivation program and IMMEDIATELY CUT INTO PIECES. We would not even have the option of putting the Enterprise in "mothballs", to return her to service, if it hits the fan. Any nuclear ship or submarine that is decommissioned, is lost to us. Now there is a law that needs to be changed and ASAP!...
Respectfully, SUNLINER81