The Great Debate About the Future Fleet Structure

(From foreground) USS Nimitz (CVN 68), USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) and USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) transit the Gulf of Oman. Photo from Defense Talk

From Information Dissemination:

In 1794 when the nation decided to build a Navy for the United States, the first thing the government did was talk to the shipbuilders. Talking to shipbuilders about Navy shipbuilding is a tradition in this country OLDER than the official Navy itself. The first name Congress knew relating to the Navy was not an Admiral or Commodore, it was a Quaker named Joshua Humphreys.

So when I see Admiral James Lyon's noting the absence of shipbuilding executives at the table regarding Naval shipbuilding problems today, I think he has a good point. Look, costs are challenging the Navy at every turn and the problem isn't specific to shipbuilding. The inflation of shipbuilding looks really bad right up until one calculates the inflation associated with manpower costs in general, and all of a sudden shipbuilding is just one of several issues. There are several aspects of Admiral Lyon's Washington Times piece that could be discussed, but this part stood out as a basis for any shipbuilding conversation.

There is now a great debate about the future structure of the U.S. Navy....

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My Comment: An excellent and well written post. It summarizes accurately the discussion on the direction of the U.S. Navy, and what the blogger believes the direction should be. This is a must read for all those who are interested in the U.S. Navy.