Hospital Ships to Be Counted in U.S. Combat Fleet

Weekly Standard ^ | 3/17/14 | SETH CROPSEY

[Nachum]

Earlier in March, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus revised how to count the size of the U.S.’s battle force inventory. The battle force inventory is important because it measures the size of the U.S. combat fleet. The new definition will make the U.S. combat fleet look larger than it really is. This provides a political shield against legitimate concerns that the Navy is shrinking. Ships included in the battle force inventory had been “warships capable of contributing to combat operations” or ships that contribute “directly to Navy warfighting or support missions.” Aircraft carriers, destroyers, amphibious ships, and submarines are included in the former; examples of the latter are mine warfare vessels.

Under the new definition hospital ships will be included in the battle force inventory. So will mine countermeasure ships: they had previously been categorized by their ability “to provide support to fleet units.” This classification made sense because while hunting for, and destroying, enemy mines could enable a naval squadron to conduct offensive operations, such missions could neither sink enemy ships nor project power ashore. Also added to the battle force inventory are coastal patrol (PC) boats. Weighing in at about one-seventh the displacement of the littoral combat ship, the Navy’s smallest combat vessel, the PC is armed with twin 25mm guns and several .50 caliber machine guns.

[ConorMacNessa]

I'm constrained to ask how many of ourat the hands of this illegitimate Regime?

The term "cannon fodder" comes nowhere near what these bastards are doing to our Troops!

Damn them to Hell!

America demands Justice for the Fallen of Benghazi!

O stranger, tell the Lacedaemonians that we lie here, obedient to their command.

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[ConorMacNessa]

"ourat" = "our Brothers and Sisters at Arms at"

Sorry - the Jameson's kicking in - it is St. Patrick's Day, or at least was until a few minutes ago. :)

America demands Justice for the Fallen of Benghazi!

O stranger, tell the Lacedaemonians that we lie here, obedient to their command.

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[minnesota_bound]

Just like the job numbers. Cooked and phony and in this case very very dangerous!

[Vendome]

Pretty sure our adversaries can count better than that....

[xzins]

That’s a lot like counting combat hospital staff as infantry.

I guess they can have the cooks handle the surgery unless the cooks are getting counted as artillery.

[M Kehoe]

We were once a superpower. Both respected and feared.

Those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end...

5.56mm

[Taxman]

Why not count life rafts?

What a bunch of maroons!