The Navy is there to project air power and artillery or missiles so that the ground troops can get it.
To put it bluntly, we've underfunded the Navy for decades, so now we have to put up or shut up.
This, by the way, really is Bush's fault. He could have asked for all the funding needed to re-equip the armed forces after 9/11 but sought to fight on the cheap, delaying or cancelling program after program. There's no need for armor in the 21st century, right? My guess is we're in even worse shape than after Carter.
’ He could have asked for all the funding needed to re-equip the armed forces after 9/11 but sought to fight on the cheap, delaying or cancelling program after program. ‘
He was a real effing prize.