What Does a Decaying Empire Look Like?
decline is a choice
There reaches a point where having a ship put to sea in peacetime, regardless of her mission short of directly saving human lives, is a net negative to its nation.
Of all places, yesterday in broad daylight, the USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) passed through the Singapore Strait.
After our national humiliation in Afghanistan roughly half a year ago, and in the face of a serious challenge from China, in a part of the world where the powerful must maintain appearances less they lose face...behold what an organization that bills itself as the world's premier superpower has showing its flag.
Piet over at Maasmondmaritime.com has a whole series of high-res pics of her passage yesterday.
BEHOLD!
Our Admiralty continues to send such ships forward to show the flag, and they seem to be content to send the message of a poor, decrepit empire run by distracted and disengaged leaders who lack self-awareness of their decline.
I'll be blunt; this disgraces the Sailors, the ship, the Navy, and our nation.
There are no excuses.
Congress allocated to the Navy the money from the American taxpayer to buy this ship, and this is the level of stewardship we demonstrate.
Sure, the CNO stated we needed a 500 ship Navy, but I'm sorry Admiral - until we can prove we can properly take care of the ships we have, we have not earned a single additional hull.
The outward appearance does not neccesarily reflect a warships capability, but it gives volumes of information about the resolve of the flag it sails under.
Good grief! Is she on her way to a port for more repairs and paint after her collision and repairs in Japan? And such a small American flag!
Low morale -- "decaying empire" -- comes from the top, as a fish rots from its head. NSC make no National Security Strategy because, in their minds, there is no nation to secure. Why should this skipper and crew care how their ship looks?
This isn't about money or hulls. It's not even about training.