I'd think of the solution as an equation, time being a critical component of said equation. Obviously, the value of the time input changes the output dramatically, forcing the other input values (eg "industrial shipbuilding capacity) to change to get to the desired output. The devil, as always, is in the details...and the timeline.
There are a lot of cities like Camden when you could put a new shipyard, but does Camden or Baltimore have a population with the skills needed? You can train people, but getting people to show up reliably and sober/not stoned is a major issue right now. Worked in construction management and we had a real problem getting skilled workers and we had to let some go regularly because working high twenty stories up is a danger to you and the people below you.
"...does Camden or Baltimore have a population with the skills needed?" A new shipyard in a city like Camden would require a commitment and investment in the area's education system to identify, foster, and educate potential shipyard workers in the appropriate skill sets from High School all the way up to at least a Junior College level. The Trades would have to stand-up an apprentice program, and honcho certifications. Naval Architects are collegiate level. This would be a package deal with any investment in a new shipyard, and probably should happen first if a shipyard was contemplated. Camden could use the work/employment opportunities.
W/r/t MERSHIP . . . we must start at the beginning. Two tracks must exist:
1-Who will man/maintain/operate this equipment as the MSC/MERSHIP force grows?
2-Where will the new MERSHIPS come from conformant to the Jones Act (The Jones Act requires that cargo (cabotage) transported between US ports be carried on US-owned, -built, -crewed, and -documented vessels.)?
The Merchant Marine Academies require favor to push Merchant Mariners into this ignored and depleted community. Scholarship money, and operational and maintenance funds should go their way to support this fleet and MERSHIP support that is currently waning. The United States Merchant Marine Academy, SUNY (State University of New York) Maritime, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Texas Maritime Academy should receive Grants and financial support for future professional mariners.
Read it and I think its generally on target. You just need some legal framework rather than a handshake to make certain foreign builds eventually move back to domestic builders. I also feel there remains some confusion between MDUSV, Overlord, MUSV, and LUSV.
The SHIPS Act has DOT MARAD Center of Excellence funding. A few questions on the CoE:
1. Most CoEs are seaboard States, how would a broader approach enlist inland waterway states and how would that be organized (I’m trying to interest University of Hawaii)?
2. 4 and 2-year post-secondary institutions have a broad range of educational offerings, but not everyone has the requisite social capital. Is it possible to organize an educational path that would include the Army National Guard but not the military commitment? OK Governor Stitt recentlyoutlined three paths, 4-year, 2-yr CTE, or military, and got a lot of push back on forcing kids into the military.
3. Economically our options are more debt, more unemployment, or more investment. Has there been any organized effort to invest in inland waterways?
The incentive structures must change from subsidizing useless degrees to build over-priced and over-leveraged baristas. More Mike Rowe’s are need to evangelize these education programs.
…and why if you can send an officer to naval postgraduate school do we not have the equivalent for tradesmen and maintainers?
Not to mention co-op opportunities with yards, manufacturers, etc? Send ADs to go do a tour w Pratt and Whitney for example. A shore tour in a shipyard.
It is happening some places. I met a new LCDR chop at church who was doing a rotation with the Home Depot HQ to learn more about supply chain mgmt.
We do have the training but you have to enlist. The need I see is to segment the CTE training and education before requiring enlistment with full obligations.
The Chinese maritime strategy is also integrated with their cyber, economic, etc strategies. They do fall short when it comes to diversity and self esteem.
China certainly has homefield advantage in the Western Pacific, and that advantage is growing, but it is not accurate to say they have a larger navy except in numbers of ships. The USN has about twice their current tonnage and many more aircraft than the PLAN. While they have a huge advantage in building hull, that does not mean they have the same advantage in making the weapons, sensors, and aircraft that make a hull a warship.
The US is in no danger of invasion. Our SLOCs to Europe are more secure than they were before the collapse of the Soviet Union.
On the other hand, I have little confidence that our SLOCs to Asia are secure.
Our most serious problems right now are not the number of combatants, but the difficulty keeping them operational, the depth of our magazines, and the ability to keep them supplied on the far side of the Pacific. Those problems can be addressed in less time than adding significant numbers of combatants, though we will also need to do that too to keep the Chinese from truly building a larger navy than the US. Point being we need spend much more on unsexy support functions that do not get as much press.
Dependence of public yards that have a bigger focus on DEI programs and other social engineering madness than ship repair is so concerning.
These yards should really be the leading edge and fully staffed w frankly over-skilled people to serve as the core stock to grow elsewhere. Sort of like the process of mitosis. One team divides and becomes two able to keep moving while skills are honed in the new joiners.
There are solutions, but paltry little commitment…
Almost as though everyone knows what needs to be done but nobody is willing to do it
I'd think of the solution as an equation, time being a critical component of said equation. Obviously, the value of the time input changes the output dramatically, forcing the other input values (eg "industrial shipbuilding capacity) to change to get to the desired output. The devil, as always, is in the details...and the timeline.
There are a lot of cities like Camden when you could put a new shipyard, but does Camden or Baltimore have a population with the skills needed? You can train people, but getting people to show up reliably and sober/not stoned is a major issue right now. Worked in construction management and we had a real problem getting skilled workers and we had to let some go regularly because working high twenty stories up is a danger to you and the people below you.
"...does Camden or Baltimore have a population with the skills needed?" A new shipyard in a city like Camden would require a commitment and investment in the area's education system to identify, foster, and educate potential shipyard workers in the appropriate skill sets from High School all the way up to at least a Junior College level. The Trades would have to stand-up an apprentice program, and honcho certifications. Naval Architects are collegiate level. This would be a package deal with any investment in a new shipyard, and probably should happen first if a shipyard was contemplated. Camden could use the work/employment opportunities.
W/r/t MERSHIP . . . we must start at the beginning. Two tracks must exist:
1-Who will man/maintain/operate this equipment as the MSC/MERSHIP force grows?
2-Where will the new MERSHIPS come from conformant to the Jones Act (The Jones Act requires that cargo (cabotage) transported between US ports be carried on US-owned, -built, -crewed, and -documented vessels.)?
The Merchant Marine Academies require favor to push Merchant Mariners into this ignored and depleted community. Scholarship money, and operational and maintenance funds should go their way to support this fleet and MERSHIP support that is currently waning. The United States Merchant Marine Academy, SUNY (State University of New York) Maritime, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Texas Maritime Academy should receive Grants and financial support for future professional mariners.
Read it and I think its generally on target. You just need some legal framework rather than a handshake to make certain foreign builds eventually move back to domestic builders. I also feel there remains some confusion between MDUSV, Overlord, MUSV, and LUSV.
The SHIPS Act has DOT MARAD Center of Excellence funding. A few questions on the CoE:
1. Most CoEs are seaboard States, how would a broader approach enlist inland waterway states and how would that be organized (I’m trying to interest University of Hawaii)?
2. 4 and 2-year post-secondary institutions have a broad range of educational offerings, but not everyone has the requisite social capital. Is it possible to organize an educational path that would include the Army National Guard but not the military commitment? OK Governor Stitt recentlyoutlined three paths, 4-year, 2-yr CTE, or military, and got a lot of push back on forcing kids into the military.
3. Economically our options are more debt, more unemployment, or more investment. Has there been any organized effort to invest in inland waterways?
The incentive structures must change from subsidizing useless degrees to build over-priced and over-leveraged baristas. More Mike Rowe’s are need to evangelize these education programs.
…and why if you can send an officer to naval postgraduate school do we not have the equivalent for tradesmen and maintainers?
Not to mention co-op opportunities with yards, manufacturers, etc? Send ADs to go do a tour w Pratt and Whitney for example. A shore tour in a shipyard.
It is happening some places. I met a new LCDR chop at church who was doing a rotation with the Home Depot HQ to learn more about supply chain mgmt.
We do have the training but you have to enlist. The need I see is to segment the CTE training and education before requiring enlistment with full obligations.
The Chinese maritime strategy is also integrated with their cyber, economic, etc strategies. They do fall short when it comes to diversity and self esteem.
China certainly has homefield advantage in the Western Pacific, and that advantage is growing, but it is not accurate to say they have a larger navy except in numbers of ships. The USN has about twice their current tonnage and many more aircraft than the PLAN. While they have a huge advantage in building hull, that does not mean they have the same advantage in making the weapons, sensors, and aircraft that make a hull a warship.
The US is in no danger of invasion. Our SLOCs to Europe are more secure than they were before the collapse of the Soviet Union.
On the other hand, I have little confidence that our SLOCs to Asia are secure.
The problems are quite bad enough just because of the geography and the fact that they can choose the time to start hostilities. https://chuckhillscgblog.net/2025/01/08/top-ten-navies-by-aggregate-displacement-1-january-2025-analysis-and-diagram-by-phoenix_jz/
Our most serious problems right now are not the number of combatants, but the difficulty keeping them operational, the depth of our magazines, and the ability to keep them supplied on the far side of the Pacific. Those problems can be addressed in less time than adding significant numbers of combatants, though we will also need to do that too to keep the Chinese from truly building a larger navy than the US. Point being we need spend much more on unsexy support functions that do not get as much press.
Dependence of public yards that have a bigger focus on DEI programs and other social engineering madness than ship repair is so concerning.
These yards should really be the leading edge and fully staffed w frankly over-skilled people to serve as the core stock to grow elsewhere. Sort of like the process of mitosis. One team divides and becomes two able to keep moving while skills are honed in the new joiners.
Are they capable of that? I have my doubts.
"Dependence of public yards that have a bigger focus on DEI programs and other social engineering madness than ship repair is so concerning. "
Its as bad or worse at the Navy Yards...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNkU4Ik4fuo&t=26s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhclon1u9_Q&t=22s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLahadFN_Hs&t=83s
And they are all about "Equity" in the Workforce!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QdDmIbMsIs