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.
According to the article, it’s 20% deployment. One 7 month in 36 months. Or, if I understand it correctly, 29 months not deployed and 7 deployed over a span of 3 years. Doesn’t sound exhausting to me.
That’s the caption that came along with the photo.
“Yes, because the Navy that won at Tripoli or Midway were not exhausted at all. “
Because they are not needed to accomplish the current mission assignments.
Try a couple of weeks of 4 and 8 watchstanding at sea sometime.
“Mighty suspicious pattern there given the state of the relationship with China and North Korea!”
Just what I was thinking.
Yes.
Have you ever done a 50 mile forced march in full gear load out with no pogey-bait stops?
When I was at sea it was a rotation of 3s.
1-1-1-32.
Eight on, eight off, eight on, 32 off.
The 32 off included all training, cleaning, maintenance etc.
And that was the best possible option.
Port and Starboard (12-12) being the normal rotation...fitting training and cleaning into the 12 off.
“Doesn’t sound exhausting to me.”
Try it.
DOUBLE AMEN (IN RED)
That makes sense. We’ve never in history expected our soldiers, sailors and airmen to work as hard as today’s snowflakes have to work. Shoot, the Marines who island-hopped the Pacific 75 years ago had it easy compared to this generation.
Much bigger ship dude, you were lucky.
“Doesn’t sound exhausting to me.”
That’s for ships based in the states. They deploy on a WestPac once every three years for 7 months.
In between they are under weigh at 0600 Monday, returning 1600 Friday for about a year. And just before deployment they are out for 3-4 consecutive 2-week periods for “Sea trials”
The rest of the time they are alongside the pier doing training and maintenance with occasional trips out...every month or so for 4-5 days.
HOWEVER, for those ships that are forward deployed...like the ships mentioned in this article...they maintain a 50% at sea pace. It’s a 4 month rotation or so.
Excruciating.
Hell, do it for 70-100 days at a time! lol
>How long before Trump gets his 355 vessel Navy going? Nothing in this budget for it. Why is sequester still in place too?
Might want to ask those Antifa supporting GOP scumbags.
[ How does a Navy destroyer get hit in the rear by a tanker ]
The McCain was rammed port side - IIRC looked slightly astern of mid-ship.
AHHH!
A jarhead.
You guys get to sleep at sea, even though it’s hot bunking. The rest of the time you’re sleeping or in the chow line.
That is far from a sailors load at sea.
Try a couple of weeks of 4 and 8 watchstanding at sea sometime.
= = = = = = = = = = = =
As a Radioman on an LST I had set up 12-12 at sea and Watchstanders Liberty in port.
(Had to supply 1 RM to ship that took our ‘in port watch’ usually gave them a couple of non designated strikers)
Worked out well as ‘they’ didn’t expect anything out of us for the 12 off.
Reason I did that was lack of Qualified Morse watch standers.
“you were lucky”
Except we’d do it for 100 days at a time.
This radioman did time on an LHA.
Among other billets.
Whip it back into shape with rum and the lash. They’ve already got the other.
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.