It was called “Murderer’s Row.” Aircraft carriers lined up across Ulithi Lagoon. Ulithi was used as the major “secret” naval base during WWII. Official U.S. Navy Photograph.
Posted on 08/22/2017 11:24:02 AM PDT by nickcarraway
ith the USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) knocked out of commission after a collision on Aug. 21 in the Straits of Malacca, the United States Navy is down two ballistic missile defense-capable Aegis destroyers in the Pacific.
With USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) being also being knocked out of action after a June 17 collision off the Japanese coast, the loss of the two vessels from operational service could not come at a worse time for the Navy, which needs of all the ballistic missile defense assets it can get to deal with the North Korean threat. Nor does the Navy have a good way to mitigate for the loss of those vessels—the 275-ship fleet is already stretched thin.
“The U.S. combat fleet is already over-stretched,” Seth Cropsey, director of the Center for American Seapower at the Hudson Institute told The National Interest.
“Being short of two Aegis-equipped DDGs that provide ballistic missile defense while North Korea is threatening to launch ballistic missiles at local U.S. targets or allies is deeply unhelpful and regrettably timed. The overall impact on the Navy should be measured not only in the loss of sailors’ lives and unavailability of the ships as they are repaired but in the possibility that requirements have exceeded capabilities so far that the training needed to avoid such accidents has been impaired.”
Bryan McGrath, managing director of the naval consultancy FerryBridge Group, agreed with Cropsey’s assessment.
“Two fewer DDGs—I believe both of which are BMD equipped—leaves a sizable hole in a fleet that is already too small for what is being asked of it in the Western Pacific,” McGrath told The National Interest.
“I imagine that the Navy will have to move ships out of their regular cycles from Hawaii and CONUS [continental United States] to cover down on Pacific requirements.”
It will not be easy to cover for the loss of the two destroyers, explains Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.
“With two FDNF (Forward Deployed Naval Forces) DDGs out, the Navy would either need to forego some operations, work the remaining 10 cruisers and destroyers harder, or bring ships from Hawaii or CONUS to cover for them,” Clark told The National Interest.
Indeed, the fact that the Navy is forcing its fleet to do more with fewer ships to perform its global mission might have contributed to both collisions.
“Since the workload in FDNF may be a contributing factor to the collisions, the Navy would probably use ships from Hawaii from CONUS to cover for the loss,” Clark said.
“If those ships are following the Optimized FRP (Fleet Response Plan), the Navy will need five ships to cover for the two lost from FDNF. Each FDNF ship maintains an about 50 percent OPTEMPO, and an OFRP ship is about 20 percent deployed (one 7-month deployment each, 36 months).”
In fact, because the fleet is being pushed so hard, the Navy might be using its time at sea to train during operational deployments because there is no other option, Jerry Hendrix, director of the Defense Strategies and Assessments Program at the Center for a New American Security, told The National Interest.
“Something has to give, and right now, it’s training,” Hendrix said.
“A year ago, or two years ago, it was maintenance, but now it’s training. We’re probably trying to make up training while we’re underway during the deployment because there just isn’t enough room in the schedule to get it all done.”
It is simply not sustainable to have a 275-ship Navy that has 100 ships underway at any given time. The Navy needs to expand its numbers with smaller, cheaper surface combatants such a new multi-mission frigate that the can relieve high-end warships such as DDGs from mundane missions such as forward presence. With frigates relieving the DDGs from those roles, cruisers and destroyers can focus on high-end missions such as missile defense.
“We need those 50 to 75 frigates—not to mention more fast attack submarines—to make up those gaps,” Hendrix said.
But ships take time to build. What the Navy can do immediately is to bring retired Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate back into the fleet as a stopgap.
“You can use things like the Perrys with some missiles to do the show-the-flag missions until we can get the new frigate up and you could probably get eight ships right there,” Hendrix said.
Stop running the Navy like a touchy-feely corporation and I bet anything that it turns back around. Exhaustion my ass.
Yes, because the Navy that won at Tripoli or Midway were not exhausted at all. Those were like picnics in the tropics.
sheesh
Bump!
“We need those 50 to 75 frigates—not to mention more fast attack submarines—to make up those gaps,” Hendrix said.
No truer words were spoken.
Actually, the gap is 100 frigates and 40 SSNs.
Exhausted from what?
Is this the forthcoming defense for sleeping or goofing off (or worse) while on watch?
See post #3.
“Exhaustion my ass.”
Deployed 50% most definitely leads to exhaustion.
Of course any submariners wife would know that.
“Exhausted from what?”
Have you ever been to sea on a warship?
How does a Navy destroyer get hit in the rear by a tanker going 9.2 knots?
Granted it was a typical morning rush hour into Singapore. But somehow the McCain got itself in the way of the Alnic MC, got hit, and 10 sailors are likely dead.
Check out the tracking video of the Alnic and others.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlrA36GzHNs
It was called “Murderer’s Row.” Aircraft carriers lined up across Ulithi Lagoon. Ulithi was used as the major “secret” naval base during WWII. Official U.S. Navy Photograph.
“Yes, because the Navy that won at Tripoli or Midway were not exhausted at all. “
Warships in both of those eras never maintained a 50% deployment/at sea pace over the long term.
I don’t think it’s ever been done before.
Jerry Hendrix, director of the Defense Strategies and Assessments Program at the Center for a New American Security, and
Seth Cropsey, director of the Center for American Seapower at the Hudson Institute
Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.
"Those 50-75 frigates" are not ABM bearing Aegis equipped DLGs or Cruisers.
Yeah the Navy is in a bad way, but having a lot of folks around seeking a lobbying paid pay-day is not helping at all.
How long before Trump gets his 355 vessel Navy going? Nothing in this budget for it. Why is sequester still in place too?
How secret was it? Japan used it before the U.S., and the Japanese attacked it multiple times.
Yeah. Training on how to fight fires has to give. Training on maintaining fire control systems has to give. Training on bridge watches has to give. Training on Damage Control has to give. Training on First Aid has to give. Training on navigation has to give. Training on seamanship has to give. Training on corrosion control has to give. Training on everything has to give.
Yeah. Training on everything has to give.
BUT YOU CAN BET YOUR A$$ TRAINING ON SENSITIVITY, TRAINING ON HOMOSEXUALITY AND TRANSGENDER-ISM, TRAINING ON RACIAL RELATIONS, TRAINING ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT, AND EVERY OTHER KIND OF WORTHLESS, USELESS, PARASITIC LIBERAL TRAINING WILL DEFINITELY, MOST DEFINITELY, HAVE TO NOT GIVE.
This crap makes me so spitting mad I can barely see straight. We have dead sailors due to this putrid, pathetic, PC culture. That is why they are dead. It isn't the North Koreans hacking, it isn't the Chicoms poking, it isn't stupid damned idiotic Russian tampering with our nav systems, it is this PC culture, the poisoned naval leadership, and the LACK of training.
Damn it all, this makes me as angry as all get out.
Why not 200 frigates and 80 subs?
The Budget War is scheduled to begin in September.
That’s when the current CR expires AND borrowing authority expires.
McConnell is already saying there will be no issues and the US will not default.
He’s betting on ANOTHER CR and doubling down on the bet with the assumption that Trump will sign it.
Trump has some things he wants to get done: 355 ship Navy, Border Wall etc.
I don’t think he will sign a CR. It would be a complete collapse and surrender. Somehow I just don’t think that’s in him.
I believe he would rather go out in a blaze of glory.
It does not help how the Navy sets watches. The Merchant Marine has 3 watches: 12 to 4, 4-8, 8-12. Repeat. In the Navy if it is like the Coast Guard you stand rotation based on how many people are qualified for the watch you stand. I have stood two man watch which is 6 on and 6 off. 3 man watch which is like the Merchant Marine, 4 man and 5 man rotation which messes with your circadian rhythm. Once even 7 man which was great. But you have to add in all hands training, operations, and other stuff during the day. After a while people are nearly zombies, just trying to get through another day. Add to this that there is a constant turnover of personnel that need to be trained and you have a really physically and mentally exhausted crew. What could possible go wrong?
Dittos.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.