The Sad Shadow of a Seapower
neglect has its symptoms
Sad.
That is about the only word I can conjure up right now.
Sad.
In an echo of the conversation we had last month on Midrats about the USNS ships we’re soft-mothballing to free up 700 mariners, look at the absolute state of our best maritime partner, the Royal Navy.
Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) officers and crew are set to launch a series of rolling strikes, threatening to cripple Royal Navy operations worldwide, as they escalate their pay dispute.
The strike action is scheduled to begin on 20th September and will coincide with the Labour Party conference, concluding on 22nd September.
…
The RFA’s employees have faced a real-term pay cut of over 30% since 2010, according to the union, with a 4.5% pay rise imposed in November 2023 for the 2022/23 period. The pay offer was rejected by union members, who are now pushing for a deal that addresses the wage losses suffered over the past decade.
There is just 13 ships in the United Kingdom’s RFA serving a nation of 69 million.
For comparison, the United States’ Military Sealift Command has 125 ships serving a nation of 330 million.
Just look around. The USA, UK, our friends … all while China grows in strength, size, and capability.
We don’t own the seas or the international order. It must be defended and maintained.
Which way Western man? Which way?
CDR Sal, you are like the concerned doctor telling the patient (the U.S) "I have really bad news". You see that guy over there (the UK)? He is on the same arc of history that you are. He had an empire and a great navy. Not anymore. He now is losing his homeland, culture and demographics to poorly managed uncontrolled immigration (redundant, sorry) AND a failure to take responsibility for the required investment in the common defense. You are heading down the same trajectory unless you change your bad habits."
We're mothballing ships because we can't get anyone to work on them. To (mis) quote Dean Wormer "Fat, stoned, and virtue signaling is no way to go thru life son." We are reaping the "benefits" of telling our younger generations that their country is not worth defending. Correlation is not causality BUT it can be, and sometimes it is. You invest in what you value. Our educational system has taught our young folk to NOT value their nation. We are now reaping the "fruits" of that labor. Keep pointing it out, you are on target.
ADM Hyman Rickover, USN: "The art of war is the art of the logistically feasible."
The US Navy is trending downward in what is logistically feasible. Too late we will discover that wars are won with substance —not style.