Posted on 11/14/2018 7:18:25 PM PST by ameribbean expat
It has been said before, but as the song says, it bears repeating: “In 1944 there were 256 flags for 6,084 ships; today there are 359 flag officers for 280 ships.”
(Excerpt) Read more at taskandpurpose.com ...
Let's see the chicoms mess with them...
Bump
It’s not the same service.
If we had light carriers, cruiser carriers, escort carriers, cruisers and destroyers with guns and torpedoes, not just rockets, the Chinese would have a fight on their hands. With today’s automation they could be staffed at 1/4 the rate of the old ships.
And half of em are probably lesbos and chicks.
The US Navy last fought a surface war in August, 1945.
Fought terrible air combat-bombing “wars” under terrible rules of engagement and absurdly limiting conditions in Korea and Vietnam, and supported bombing campaigns since, but the last “ship” to actually fight an enemy still afloat is the USS Constitution.
Submarines? Been underwater in that game, built and drove and repaired and decommissioned those boats from Nautilus to Seawolf to 594’s, 637’s and 688’s, I know what they go through. Haven’t shot torpedoes either.
A lot more politicians in high office these days.
So simple math suggests that all but 13 admirals should be involuntarily retired.
LOL, more BRASS than floating STEEL.
And half of em are probably lesbos and chicks.
Carriers are just big targets. They are fighting the last, last war.
Sure, big targets, but well defended and remain viable so long as defense outperforms threats against them.
Remember, carriers were always considered vulnerable to land based attacks and so kept at a safe distance off shore.
Over the years such safe distances have increased or reduced based on relative technology.
Today is no different and the latest carriers come with the latest tech, hopefully up to whatever challenges are out there.
One of the cuts in the military I would like to see is a 50% cut across the board in Flag officers. There are a lot of REMFs making work and squandering money justifying their existence with worthless projects.
In major emergencies leadership is the scarcest resource.
It would be interesting to see just WHERE all those flag officer billets are in the Navy’s organizational structure.
My feeling is a number of the billets are on very high level joint and combined staffs, primarily for comparability purposes. That is, an admiral is required to match up with the generals being assigned by the other services. (And they are all general officers because national level poloticias expect generals when they want to talk to military authority figures.). Stupid as it sounds, even a senior field grade officer (colonel/captain) (which might be the right rank for the actual work and experience the job requires) is at a real disadvantage when trying to defend service interests or make tough points in a room filled with dismissive general officers. Not having to consult headquarters to push back against nonsense is pretty important to prevent bad ideas from gaining a foothold and leading efforts astray.
As for the politicians...it is said you have to be a politician to be a general.
I understand that. But new weapons are not coming from the land. A 20 foot long, 2,000 pound rod of tungsten rod shot from space is going to do a lot of damage to a big carrier in the middle of the ocean.
I am pretty sure the US of 2018 is not going to be able to handle the loss of multiple carriers in an engagement.
This ain’t your Dad’s country.
Rail guns.
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>> A 20 foot long, 2,000 pound rod of tungsten rod shot from space may not make it to the surface before burning up.
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