All part and parcel of the same...lack of funds. They want to get rid of the Riverine fleet to reduce costs and get the manpower back for the rest of the fleet at the expense of that specific capability. Just like the Air Force wanting to get rid of the A-10s and using ridiculous arguments about its survivability over a battlefield.
The answer is to increase the correct capabilities - and all of them that you can - for the money you have. The Navy should get more money for more hulls and more missile and more capabilities. As it looks now, though, they would be hurting for people to put on the platforms.
" our Navy is once again committing the professional malpractice of decommissioning most of the US Navy’s riverine fleet."
Wait, we have a riverine fleet now?
"We will be at war again, perhaps soon, where we will once more need to recreate a riverine force from scratch because we knowingly let it die at peace."
I am having trouble imaging what a US Navy riverine fleet would do in a war with China.
The same Navy that won't have Missile Patrol Boats for Blue/Green water isn't going to invest in a Brown water fleet. Too many chances for young officers to screw up.
Big Navy has never supported riverine capability. Such units were red headed step children in Vietnam, and have been so ever since. I recall, as a young Ensign, trying to volunteer for riverine duty in Vietnam, my Destroyer CO at the time scotched the effort. He told me that it was a career killer. I believe he was speaking truth.
Our people in charge are determined to gut our national defense and I don’t think they should be called leadership because they don’t appear to leading at all. We should always have small boat units because they are useful for so many different missions. This is just one more example of what not to do with a Navy.
Not only is it a strategic loss at the power projection level, it is an even greater loss at the sailor/officer development level. Lost opportunities to develop small, cohesive units. Lost opportunities to develop JOs early in their careers. Lost opportunities to build deck plate leaders.
Ca. 1995 at Ft. Ord, there was a huge lot with acre upon acre of river boats left over from the 7th ID. For all I know they are still there, or maybe they are in Ukraine. So I know we had this capability, once.
The US Navy has built up a riverine force multiple times, only to turn its head and dissolve that force a few years later. That has been said in many books and articles.
What that means is the officers in the OPNAV rqmts code I believe N95, have No operational experience and cant explain the need to their higher ups. Ergo no funding.
And we are NOT talking a lot of money. Probably less than some big programs like the ridiculous ORCA ULLUV. That is not an either or choice, its a do the right thing and stay the course.
An official USN Naval History and Heritage Command Riverine War book:
Marolda, Edward J. By Sea, Air, and Land: An Illustrated History of the U.S. Navy and the War in Southeast Asia. Washington, DC: Naval Historical Center, 1992. [Online edition without all of the images of the hardcopy edition.].
just before I retired as one of the few remaining 9279 NOBC's The Nav decided to build the CRF. I tried to volunteer for ANY of the billets; told to pound sand. The commissioning CO was a blue-water blackshoe with zero experience IIRC.
All part and parcel of the same...lack of funds. They want to get rid of the Riverine fleet to reduce costs and get the manpower back for the rest of the fleet at the expense of that specific capability. Just like the Air Force wanting to get rid of the A-10s and using ridiculous arguments about its survivability over a battlefield.
The answer is to increase the correct capabilities - and all of them that you can - for the money you have. The Navy should get more money for more hulls and more missile and more capabilities. As it looks now, though, they would be hurting for people to put on the platforms.
" our Navy is once again committing the professional malpractice of decommissioning most of the US Navy’s riverine fleet."
Wait, we have a riverine fleet now?
"We will be at war again, perhaps soon, where we will once more need to recreate a riverine force from scratch because we knowingly let it die at peace."
I am having trouble imaging what a US Navy riverine fleet would do in a war with China.
“ raft of options “
The same Navy that won't have Missile Patrol Boats for Blue/Green water isn't going to invest in a Brown water fleet. Too many chances for young officers to screw up.
Or worse, show up their superiors.
Big Navy has never supported riverine capability. Such units were red headed step children in Vietnam, and have been so ever since. I recall, as a young Ensign, trying to volunteer for riverine duty in Vietnam, my Destroyer CO at the time scotched the effort. He told me that it was a career killer. I believe he was speaking truth.
Riverine warfare is an often neglected and shunned warfare tactic, By both Navy and Marines.
Navy wants Blue water, Marines just need a beach.
But it is a very needed warfare tactic.
Good article here on MRF in Vietnam: https://cimsec.org/mobile-riverine-force-example-riverine-ops-21st-century/
Our people in charge are determined to gut our national defense and I don’t think they should be called leadership because they don’t appear to leading at all. We should always have small boat units because they are useful for so many different missions. This is just one more example of what not to do with a Navy.
Not only is it a strategic loss at the power projection level, it is an even greater loss at the sailor/officer development level. Lost opportunities to develop small, cohesive units. Lost opportunities to develop JOs early in their careers. Lost opportunities to build deck plate leaders.
Ca. 1995 at Ft. Ord, there was a huge lot with acre upon acre of river boats left over from the 7th ID. For all I know they are still there, or maybe they are in Ukraine. So I know we had this capability, once.
How much are we spending for riverine capability?
How much are we spending for diversity, inclusion and equity?
How much are we spending to care for people who cannot figure out which head to use?
How much of our existing riverine capability has been given away to UKR? Is any of it being replaced for OUR future use?
Great video. Wonder if USNI would dare show it. Nah.
The US Navy has built up a riverine force multiple times, only to turn its head and dissolve that force a few years later. That has been said in many books and articles.
What that means is the officers in the OPNAV rqmts code I believe N95, have No operational experience and cant explain the need to their higher ups. Ergo no funding.
And we are NOT talking a lot of money. Probably less than some big programs like the ridiculous ORCA ULLUV. That is not an either or choice, its a do the right thing and stay the course.
An official USN Naval History and Heritage Command Riverine War book:
Marolda, Edward J. By Sea, Air, and Land: An Illustrated History of the U.S. Navy and the War in Southeast Asia. Washington, DC: Naval Historical Center, 1992. [Online edition without all of the images of the hardcopy edition.].
This is Bosn Williams MOH citation:
https://www.nsw.navy.mil/MEDAL-OF-HONOR/Petty-Officer-1st-Class-James-E-Williams/
It's simple. We won't have it until we need it. Once we get it, the learning curve will be Darwinian.
Rinse, repeat.
just before I retired as one of the few remaining 9279 NOBC's The Nav decided to build the CRF. I tried to volunteer for ANY of the billets; told to pound sand. The commissioning CO was a blue-water blackshoe with zero experience IIRC.