I knew it would take time. We are, well others are, a polite bunch. We don't want to make our predecessors look bad. We don't want them to lose face.
On balance, we like for there to be a little time to pass before we start to back away from the really bad things that previous leaders said and did - things that were wrong on its face, though no one could say so.
In that light, I am glad to hear this from David Axe in The Diplomat;
With looming defense cuts of at least $450 billion over 10 years, the U.S. military is reconsidering long-standing modernization schemes. For the U.S. Navy, that means potentially abandoning a six-year-old plan that envisioned growing today’s fleet of 285 major warships to at least 313 ships.No one has thought the 313 was doable for years; one of the reasons Admiral Roughead in his last few years had so little credibility on The Hill.
But Navy leaders claimed the reduction will not degrade the sailing branch’s ability to influence world events and deter rivals. At roughly 3 million tons displacement combined, today’s Navy is by far the largest in the world, exceeding the tonnage of the next dozen navies, combined. The Navy maintains around 2/3 of its forces in the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions.
Adm. Mark Ferguson, the Navy’s second-ranking officer, signaled a possible shift away from the 313-ship plan in a recent speech. He said a new shipbuilding plan could take three years to finalize.
This is good. Let us be adults and talk plainly among ourselves as adults.
with already proposed 1-carrier-each-7-years shipbuilding plan and 50 years planned lifespan I can see 7 carriers navy by 2050...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jan/15/new-navy-budgets-may-sink-plans-for-carriers/
OK, let's talk plainly. Three years to "finalize" (as if it was nearly complete) a new shipbuilding plan is ridiculous. Bring in the heads of the shipyards for the capabilities, the numbered fleet commanders for the requirements, and COCOMs for the funding, into a room for a long weekend and a few bottles of scotch. Done. Start building.
ReplyDeleteThe Shipbuilding Plan Catch-22...
ReplyDelete- site unrealistically high numbers (based on current cost of ship construction) that the plan is never realistically achievable, that you aren't taken seriously inside and outside of the Navy
- site numbers lower and acquire the wrath of every congress-person from the Northeast, Southeast, and Mid-Atlantic states, questioning the patriotism of the current Navy leaders...as if their support of shipbuilding has anything to do with patriotism and everything to do with staying elected
Based on our build rates, expected service lives, and recent trends of early decommissioning (DD 963, CG 47), we are really building to sustain about 185 ships right now. And, quite frankly, that is not realistic either.
ReplyDeleteThis is nothing more than "Do more with less." There is no adult conversation to be had here. Merely more heads in sand. We will not stand up as adults and say "we cannot do mission X, Y, and Z because we do not have enough ships" or "we will have to cede influence in oceans A, B, and C because we do not have enough ships". Instead, we will salute, ride our M-3 ships into M-4 status, screw over our dwindling supply of Sailors, cut VA benefits for the 80,000 servicemembers we just sent home and keep paying lazy democrats to sit on their asses for the fourth straight year collecting Welfare Plus, also known as "unemployment insurance"
ReplyDeleteOr you can tell the truth based on realistic range of numbers. Radical concept, I know.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that in the halls of congress the idea is to give them just enough. So the army ask for 500 attack helicopters and instead gets 400. The Airforce ask for 1000 F-35s and gets around 600.......
ReplyDeleteThats the problem there are no realistic and adult decissions being made on either side.
No lunch, no booze, no trips to the head. Orders to home for all already made up. Send one home in the first five minutes (there will be a volunteer, I guarantee it). Start at 0800, done by 1100.
ReplyDeletePlans are important. So is dependable funding. Missing thus far is any comment about skilled workforce.
ReplyDelete"Where do we get such men?"--.. Unless some continuing care is placed on the maintenance of American Shipbui.ding capability we will have to design ships in house and then let them out for contract worldwide.
Sign me up for SUPSHIPS OSLO.