The Sept 2009 issue of the U S Naval Institute Proceedings (page 10) states the USS Abraham Lincoln CVN-72, fifth of the Nimitz class and only 19 years in commission will not be refueled as scheduled in the next two years thereby reducing our carrier force to ten, also reducing carrier air wings by one to save money. Given the time and resources expended in building a nuclear carrier this is at best short sighted, more appropriately criminally negligent.

Perishable skills and not so easily replaced assets come to mind.

This scenario not only sucks for Navy, but Everett prolly won’t get a replacement CV. It’s quite a thing to come down the hill towards the Sound and see the ship in port, with Possession Strait and Saratoga Passage for a backdrop. All that money spent to build facilities to homeport a cuppla Destroyers and a Frigate.

As far as commitments, I think Taiwan was just approved for annexation by the CHICOMs. And Dinner Jacket got the go-ahead to take out Israel.

Hollow force, here we come!

Elections have consequences, and I have not seen a single good one since November 5, 2008.

One bright spot- when the terrorists get cleared out of GTMO, that should free up plenty of space to house most of the top-level Obama administration if justice ever awakes and throws their butts in jail for their criminal acts of corruption, and at the rate they are going, treason is quite possible.

I pray our country can survive until the 2010 elections take hold and in 2012 throw the Chicago mob out entirely.

But I am not betting on it.

My boss and many of my bosses folks have visited my buildings and told me to order a bunch of items: New desks, chairs, projectors, lights, etc. The furnishings we have are really old and most of it was obtained from DRMO several years ago(ie. someone else threw it away and we got it out of the Navy dumpster). The roughly 60 computers we have are too old to buy memory cards for them anymore since nobody makes that type of memory card anymore – they require replacement. The list goes on but suffice to say, the items I put on the budget are the same items I was told to put on the budget by the boss and his folks. These same items have apparently been on the budget for several years but each year they get cut despite all the assurances we get that “This year we are really going to fund it.” Next year I feel fairly certain that they will all visit again and remark that the same items need to be replaced and that I really, really should put it on the budget next year. Kinda feels like Groundhog Day.

The parent command does try to help us out when it is really, no kidding a gotta have item. For example, when the 16 year old Fax machine finally gave up the ghost they quickly got us a replacement one. The new one is only 8 years old and was sitting unused in a storage closet ever since they replaced it several years ago. It sounds kind of funny but at least it works. I ain’t complaining.

I know money is tight and every year it seems to get tighter. I am certainly willing to do my part but I just don’t think I can tighten the belt much further as we are quickly running out of leather.

Who will pick it up?