Navy Carriers....

In todays age, I am not really sure how effective those large ships are anymore...
 
Carriers

Carriers task forces are expensive.

But so are foreign military bases, which are subject to the whims of local politicians.

In the last 20-30 years, US military has lost key bases in Greece, Panama, the Phillipenes, Saudi Arabia, etc. And, in the next few years, probably from Spain, Turkey, and Germany.

But nobody can kick the US from the high seas.

US Navy carrier fleet should expand, not contract.
 
Carriers task forces are expensive.

But so are foreign military bases, which are subject to the whims of local politicians.

In the last 20-30 years, US military has lost key bases in Greece, Panama, the Phillipenes, Saudi Arabia, etc. And, in the next few years, probably from Spain, Turkey, and Germany.

But nobody can kick the US from the high seas.

US Navy carrier fleet should expand, not contract.

What do we need foreign military bases? Why do we need a military base in Greece, Panama, the Phillipines (on a side note, back in 2012, an agreement was reached to partially reopen Subic Bay and Clark Air Force Base).

How many M1 or M2s can an aircraft carrier carry? Doesn't matter as I don't know how it would off load them without docking.
 
If they are Marine Corps tanks, we don't need to dock. We just get a running start off of the flight deck, and we're good to go. 'Amphibious Warfare'!:biggrin:
 
And, in the next few years, probably from Spain, Turkey, and Germany.

But nobody can kick the US from the high seas.

US Navy carrier fleet should expand, not contract.

1. I'm not sure what you mean. Germany is almost gone. We used to have almost two full divisions there not even 10 years ago. Now it's a CAB, a Cav regiment, and some HQs. Rammstein, Vogelweh, Spangdahlem all still exist. There's no "probably" about Germany. The Army already plans to remove almost all aviation from Germany. That ship has sailed.

2. We already massively outnumber the rest of the world in carriers.
 
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1. I'm not sure what you mean. Germany is almost gone. We used to have almost two full divisions there not even 10 years ago. Now it's a CAB, a Cav regiment, and some HQs. Rammstein, Vogelweh, Spangdahlem all still exist. There's no "probably" about Germany. The Army already plans to remove almost all aviation from Germany. That ship has sailed.

2. We already massively outnumber the rest of the world in carriers.

Awww, Scoutpilot was never invited to play at Grafenwoehr? :wink:
 
Spent a bit of time myself at graf, vilsek and hoenfels on field problems...completely off point but this thread brought back a few memories.
 
Consider...

1) The US has the ability to project power on a global scale that is unrivaled in the history of mankind.

2) Super carriers/groups are the single most effective platform ever created to project power abroad.

Those two facts are not coincidental. Few things in the world can influence a situation just merely by showing up the way a super carrier can. They are staggeringly expensive, but what they bring to the table in terms of influence, military capability abroad, and their ability to ward off further agression, makes them invaluable. Of all the places we should consider cutting military spending, do we really think this is one we should prioritize?
 
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Consider...

1) The US has the ability to project power on a global scale that is unrivaled in the history of mankind.

2) Super carriers/groups are the single most effective platform ever created to project power abroad.

Few things in the world can influence a situation just merely by showing up the way a super carrier can. They are staggeringly expensive, but what they bring to the table in terms of influence, military capability abroad, and their ability to ward off further agression, makes them invaluable.

We can also consider that the world has changed, and while there ARE state actors out there, not all of our enemies can be targeted with an aircraft carrier.

There are limits to power projection. And there are limits to what we can pay for. When we default on debt, that projection won't mean as much. When dollars flee US markets, that's something we'll all feel, without a single enemy jet taking off.

So where do we say "we can project power, and we are the best in the history of the world at it, but we don't need THIS much projection?"
 
It's a fair point, Lits.

I just hope that those charged with making the cuts we need in the military (and we do, for sure), also remember to figure into their calculus the value of the lives saved by being able to show up early at potential trouble spots with the ultimate "big stick".
 
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