Excellent, and reading the entire piece over at The Wahoo is both encouraging and illuminating. The nagging problem is resources--that is MONEY. This administration will never, in my opinion, devote nearly enough funding to put the Navy on the road to where it needs to be. To do so would require significant reductions in welfare and transfer payments. This is, to put it mildly, unlikely to happen under the current regime.
During the Reagan Administration, John Lehman's skillfully delivered PR campaign garnered support for the USN in Congress and elsewhere by framing the issue in simple terms. Soon phrases like "GI-UK Gap" and "600 ship Navy" were common parlance. One hopes that the recommendations of this commission can avoid the recondite...making the conclusions easily repeated by lay and professionals alike.
And while a fixed airbase is more vulnerable to being attacked, it is hard to sink Guam or Okinawa, and it's hard to rapidly repair an aircraft carrier with bulldozers and rapid repair mats.
"Implication: The Commission should consider the wisdom of the Founders and Framers and evaluate whether there have been any important modern developments that should cause us to rethink that wisdom."
Long March 9. If successful, I would find it difficult to believe that the PLA will not use the platform to place in orbit a constellation of KEWs. Two oceans and friendly neighbors? Pshaw.
Bryan, to be frank? The real question is if any of the staffers who will be tasked with reading and regurgitating a summary for their respective legislative boss will have the intellect to adequately understand what they've read.
Maybe we need Warriors running the Navy and not the Perfumed Princes that are appointed by politicians. Maybe then we wouldn't have to put up with the nitwittery they comes out of the offal office these days.
As former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said: “When it comes to predicting the nature and location of our next military engagements, since Vietnam, our record has been perfect. We have never once gotten it right.”
Thank you, Friend.
As I pointed out on Mr. McGrath's Substack, the Navy will need more non-combatant ships to help readiness; tenders and tankers.
Excellent, and reading the entire piece over at The Wahoo is both encouraging and illuminating. The nagging problem is resources--that is MONEY. This administration will never, in my opinion, devote nearly enough funding to put the Navy on the road to where it needs to be. To do so would require significant reductions in welfare and transfer payments. This is, to put it mildly, unlikely to happen under the current regime.
During the Reagan Administration, John Lehman's skillfully delivered PR campaign garnered support for the USN in Congress and elsewhere by framing the issue in simple terms. Soon phrases like "GI-UK Gap" and "600 ship Navy" were common parlance. One hopes that the recommendations of this commission can avoid the recondite...making the conclusions easily repeated by lay and professionals alike.
How about Jerry Hendrix?
And while a fixed airbase is more vulnerable to being attacked, it is hard to sink Guam or Okinawa, and it's hard to rapidly repair an aircraft carrier with bulldozers and rapid repair mats.
"Belief 4: The national maritime industrial base is insufficient to support the Navy we have, let alone the Navy we need."
Can't build and sustain more ships, plus what we already have unless this is addressed.
"Implication: The Commission should consider the wisdom of the Founders and Framers and evaluate whether there have been any important modern developments that should cause us to rethink that wisdom."
Long March 9. If successful, I would find it difficult to believe that the PLA will not use the platform to place in orbit a constellation of KEWs. Two oceans and friendly neighbors? Pshaw.
Bryan, to be frank? The real question is if any of the staffers who will be tasked with reading and regurgitating a summary for their respective legislative boss will have the intellect to adequately understand what they've read.
Maybe we need Warriors running the Navy and not the Perfumed Princes that are appointed by politicians. Maybe then we wouldn't have to put up with the nitwittery they comes out of the offal office these days.
Congrats Bryan. You have a shit ton of material from the porch over the years.
As former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said: “When it comes to predicting the nature and location of our next military engagements, since Vietnam, our record has been perfect. We have never once gotten it right.”
^ https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2023/04/25/beyond-ship-counts-training-readiness-and-capabilities-count-too/