[Jacquerie]

“Do we really need 11 carrier strike groups for another 30 years when no other country has more than one?”

Maybe not. Just be sure we have a force powerful enough to convince the PLA Navy not to take us on. FWIW, I’m not sure we can have too many attack subs.

[Enchante]

"when no other country has more than one?"

It requires detailed thoughtful analysis, to be sure, but it's totally completely the wrong comparison for him to emphasize that "no other country has more than one"....

The issue is not whether other countries can project such power more than a few hundred miles from their own shores, the issue is what kinds of decisive local and regional superiority the USA needs to be able to attain on short notice just about anyplace on the globe. Given than only a handful (3-4) of our carrier battle groups can be on station far overseas at any moment, we effectively have far fewer than 11 in any actual conflict. 2/3 of our CBGs are not deployed at any given time and some cannot be deployed quickly due to requirements of long-term maintenance etc.

we need something close to 11 CBGs in order to have 3-4 actually on station in varied parts of the globe. No other nation has the same reasons for projecting such power.