When I see various classes of ships scrapped without replacement or with a replacement that is substandard to the previous class it begs the question, “What side is the CNO on?”.
I think we already KNOW what side he's on, and it isn't America's. We need to fire or retire all flag officers, and rebuild the officer corps from the junior ranks. And we need to have a hard limit on the number of flag officers; when there are more admirals than ships, something is terribly wrong and has BEEN terribly wrong for quite a while.
We need to get more hulls in the water SOON. Let's pay for them by cancelling the pensions of all the admirals we're going to fire.
Aug 17, 2022·edited Aug 17, 2022Liked by CDR Salamander
The T-ESD story is somewhat the result of the "We don't need that much ship here at the end of history" memetic infection that also led to the two LCS classes, though apparently (eventually) without the same crappiness of the resulting ships, plus with no "tiny rotating crews" or "swappable mission module" additions by the good idea fairy.
Back when the Navy and Marine Corps were trying to generate more Gator Navy hulls at spend levels less than America-class CV-lite, it seems they sharpened their pencils on the specs on those first two supertanker conversions a bit too much. They did succeed in getting the sea-base idea past powerpoint and proved the concept, but those first two USNS T-ESD ships have enough operating constraints that they, at least per the story linked below, are judged not worth retaining even as USNS assets. This is especially the case compared to the significantly more capable ESB-3 USS Lewis B. Puller and the rest of the USN Puller-class ESB ships, with four in the water and another (ESB-7 USS Robert E. Simanek) on the ways.
I share the bitter dregs of truth concerning the LCS. I am much angered (a polite term) about the shrinking of the fleet. And I am outraged that no one - no one - has been held accountable for this terrible state. At the very least, how about taking back some ill-deserved end of tour and end of career awards and promotions.
But we part paths when you jump all over Goldwater Nichols and jointness. When you state that as the main reason for the condition of the Navy, I will always call your hand. G-N didn't choose DDX or LCS,; jointness didn't choose to ignore O&M and/or deliberately sacrifice manpower and PME for the force. Big Navy did. Plain and simple. They may have used G-N and jointness as an excuse, but that's just that - and excuse. And I believe you are above that. Buying into excuses. What Big Navy had was abyssmal leadership. Not bad or average, but abyssmal. They sacrificed force for fad, and now it's time to pay the piper.
Big Navy has shown it can't run fleets, ships, or bases. It dismisses education and training but insists we outthink the enemy. How shallow and disingenuous. It certainly cannot be trusted with the future of the most vital arm of our military in the time of a pacing threat. But don't pin the rose on jointness; until very recently, Big Navy dismissed the idea, believing it could win anything on its own. That is idea simply is quaint, and this nation desperately needs something more than quaint.
My response has turned into a rant of its own. For that I apologize. But the ideas I espoused, I take full credit for.
At the end of the day, the Navy leadership has done nothing to solve the decades-long failures to adequately budget and plan for the maintenance of the Fleet. As long as budget efficiencies get Admirals promoted, the man, train, and equip missions of the Navy will always fall short and fail. While responsible stewardship of the taxpayers money is a necessary part of the mission, it must also be balanced with the need to keep the Fleet operating in a manner that safeguard our national security interests.
I admire your tenacity and persistence. I from 1992, I've been frustrated at the decisions made regarding the fleet and our sailors. There have been precious few bright spots. I appreciate that you keep sounding the alarm.
When I see various classes of ships scrapped without replacement or with a replacement that is substandard to the previous class it begs the question, “What side is the CNO on?”.
I think we already KNOW what side he's on, and it isn't America's. We need to fire or retire all flag officers, and rebuild the officer corps from the junior ranks. And we need to have a hard limit on the number of flag officers; when there are more admirals than ships, something is terribly wrong and has BEEN terribly wrong for quite a while.
We need to get more hulls in the water SOON. Let's pay for them by cancelling the pensions of all the admirals we're going to fire.
The T-ESD story is somewhat the result of the "We don't need that much ship here at the end of history" memetic infection that also led to the two LCS classes, though apparently (eventually) without the same crappiness of the resulting ships, plus with no "tiny rotating crews" or "swappable mission module" additions by the good idea fairy.
Back when the Navy and Marine Corps were trying to generate more Gator Navy hulls at spend levels less than America-class CV-lite, it seems they sharpened their pencils on the specs on those first two supertanker conversions a bit too much. They did succeed in getting the sea-base idea past powerpoint and proved the concept, but those first two USNS T-ESD ships have enough operating constraints that they, at least per the story linked below, are judged not worth retaining even as USNS assets. This is especially the case compared to the significantly more capable ESB-3 USS Lewis B. Puller and the rest of the USN Puller-class ESB ships, with four in the water and another (ESB-7 USS Robert E. Simanek) on the ways.
https://www.defensenews.com/news/your-marine-corps/2022/06/20/marines-still-have-big-plans-for-seabasing-ships-as-2-head-for-mothballs/
I share the bitter dregs of truth concerning the LCS. I am much angered (a polite term) about the shrinking of the fleet. And I am outraged that no one - no one - has been held accountable for this terrible state. At the very least, how about taking back some ill-deserved end of tour and end of career awards and promotions.
But we part paths when you jump all over Goldwater Nichols and jointness. When you state that as the main reason for the condition of the Navy, I will always call your hand. G-N didn't choose DDX or LCS,; jointness didn't choose to ignore O&M and/or deliberately sacrifice manpower and PME for the force. Big Navy did. Plain and simple. They may have used G-N and jointness as an excuse, but that's just that - and excuse. And I believe you are above that. Buying into excuses. What Big Navy had was abyssmal leadership. Not bad or average, but abyssmal. They sacrificed force for fad, and now it's time to pay the piper.
Big Navy has shown it can't run fleets, ships, or bases. It dismisses education and training but insists we outthink the enemy. How shallow and disingenuous. It certainly cannot be trusted with the future of the most vital arm of our military in the time of a pacing threat. But don't pin the rose on jointness; until very recently, Big Navy dismissed the idea, believing it could win anything on its own. That is idea simply is quaint, and this nation desperately needs something more than quaint.
My response has turned into a rant of its own. For that I apologize. But the ideas I espoused, I take full credit for.
All true. That use of Kendie to drive home your point was brilliant.
At the end of the day, the Navy leadership has done nothing to solve the decades-long failures to adequately budget and plan for the maintenance of the Fleet. As long as budget efficiencies get Admirals promoted, the man, train, and equip missions of the Navy will always fall short and fail. While responsible stewardship of the taxpayers money is a necessary part of the mission, it must also be balanced with the need to keep the Fleet operating in a manner that safeguard our national security interests.
I admire your tenacity and persistence. I from 1992, I've been frustrated at the decisions made regarding the fleet and our sailors. There have been precious few bright spots. I appreciate that you keep sounding the alarm.