Agree with your calls and your thoughts. It would be nice to have cheap diesels to handle some of the items you might not need a nuke for, but the problem is getting them there. You still need to cover the whole ocean, and the nukes just get there faster, stay longer, and can do more. We’d have to build too many diesels to cover the load to make it cheap.

I’ll stay out of the Littoral Ship discussion. Not my lane. But I think you gents here all have a pretty good handle on what does and doesn’t make sense. The problem is that even in WWII, when the full weight of American corporate might supported the military construction schedules, there still wasn’t enough to go around. There never is.

So hard choices have to be made. And just like Iraq, Afghanistan, and all wars haven’t gone perfectly, fighting a Navy war against China and N Korea won’t either. Mistakes will be made. Lives will be lost unnecessarily. And all because we don’t have a crystal ball. Imagine that.

But I don’t feel anyone actually wakes up in the morning, looks at themselves in the mirror and says, “I’m going to do my best to buy the wrong stuff or too little stuff for the Navy to do its job.”

Good luck to all of us, and God save the US Navy.

Subsunk

re “?

re ““golly gee!/ gee whiz!” technology, each one of them clamouring to slurp at the public trough”

It is a trough somewhat but the requirements and systems are already chosen for the most part. No A-12 here. Not much on aircraft development except integration…and thats tough enough!

Re taxes and Cold War. Same same but I’ve evolved somewhat. (not on taxes!)

B2

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big Nuke fan…. spent a lot of time chasing holes around the ocean, as it were. My comment regarding getting some of the German Diesel boats was to augment, not replace Nuke Subs. I personally think that the U-boat design could do most, if not all the mission requirements that the Littoral Combat Ship is supposed to do, and with a lot more stealthiness to boot. Or to U-Boot, as it were:)

Yeah, we need some Flags to stand up and say “wait a minute, there” and I’m also not too sure we have enough to make a difference these days. So many are so cozey with the Politicos who have the checkbooks, and also with the Industry types who’d sure like to have a few token retired flags to decorate their corporate resumes…..

There are certainly some damned fine and responsible officers out there. But I do feel we are approaching a crossroads where we’ll have to make a choice about whether we become a fleet responsible to the people or to corporate America. Recent dustups at Annapolis have shown the inroads that politics and the PC crowd have made into the Academy. I’m worried we are replacing marlinspike seamanship and basic gunnery with Jag and procurement courses.

Anyway, thanks for letting me vent here. I certainly have some personal bias regarding platforms and procurement, but I’m always willing to listen and learn. That’s the first step towards success in any field.

Respects to all,

AW1 Tim

Bloggers, Americans and countrymen, lend me your eyes. Skippy says the every aircraft that is in procurement now, could have been procured 5 years ago at less cost. Three times did Skippy not buy the MMA, EA-18, E-2D or the F-18F, yet Skippy says they could have been bought cheaper, and Skippy is an honorable man. Skippy says there is no carrier based ES capability, the Bear was brought to his knees, but Skippy says there is no ES capability and Skippy is an honorable man.

I could go on, but I really agree with S.San.