The US Navy is the largest navy in the world, and on paper, certainly the most powerful. It is also unmistakably the most expensive navy the world has ever seen. Of that there is no doubt.OK, my question to you would be, do you think our military is to sophisticated, and that we need to get back to basics so we can meet the challenge of the new era as Defense Secretary Robert Gates alluded to?
Now that the Russian navy is all but gone, and the Chinese Navy is still ascending, the American Navy remains the dominant sea power in the world. Yet, as this video proves, our heavyweight navy often has great difficulty handling the little guys. Indeed, if the US Navy were a boxer, one might say that his dominance is due mostly to his sheer size because he punches well below his massive weight. In this era of asymmetrical warfare, of David versus Goliath conflicts, perhaps it is time for America to rethink its naval strategy, lose some weight, and as sports announcers say, "focus more on the fundamentals."
For all the money America spends on its huge navy, it really needs to be much better. Edmund Burke once said, "A nation without the means of reform is without the means of survival." So, too, I would add, is a navy.
It’s actually not my blog.
The site belongs to OneVike and he runs the site and he has invited me to be a guest writer.
I was in the Navy for the last few years of the cold war. We had a naval enemy to focus on, to prepare and train for.
I can imagine how not having a formidable, cohesive naval enemy could make some to become somewhat complacent. USS Cole?
When money gets tight, the US military traditionally cuts unglamorous programs like ASW and anti-mine warfare. Then, sure as shooting, we get our asses handed to us when the next war happens. We nearly lost England and our logistic capability when German submarines ruled the Atlantic in the early part of WW II. It was only when we developed new ASW assets in sufficient numbers did the Atlantic War turn to our advantage.