Admiral Moreell didn’t win a Medal of Honor, reform the Navy or create a new military doctrine for frightened 18-year-olds to recite during Plebe Summer, but he did establish the essential and extremely efficient Contruction Battalions (CB’s – later dubbed “Seabees”) of sailors who knew both how to build and fight. These battalions were founded at the start of World War II by Admiral Moreell, at that time a Rear Admiral, through an act of congress on 28 December 1941. RADM Moreell saw a need for more forward presence in the Pacific, more diverse Military Occupational Specialties in the construction field, and fewer bureaucracy-plagued contracts. Because of the Seabees’ presence in islands such as Midway and Wake, the United States was able …show more content…
A few sailors in the Navy were builders, but the sole Military Occupational Specialty held by those men was Construction, which did not provide enough diversity in skills to make them very effective. Although contractors were the better option at the time, the contracting system was ridden with problems. Every contractor was required to reach a government-set qualification level before beginning work. Congress had to authorize every contract, and the payment type was decided on a case-by-case basis. Some contracts were unit-price payment, others were lump-sum, others were paid on a loan, and still other prices were calculated at the end of the project based upon man-hours, materials cost and similar factors (known as an informal contract, and was the most expensive of all contract types) (Bingham 77-80) Furthermore, every project was carried out using a predetermined amount of supplies, again negotiated with Congress. If more supplies were needed, the contracting business went through Congress to re-negotiate the contract for more supply …show more content…
Thanks to RADM Moreell, this did not crush all chances of success. As Japan conquered half of the eastern world and America joined the fight, the Seabees deployed to forward operating bases to build and improve America’s foothold in the Pacific. Some of these included Midway and Wake. From these, the United States was able to reinforce its fleet and withstand Japan in a fight for control of the eastern world. If Japanese forces had seized total control of those islands, Pearl Harbor would have crippled U.S. chances of bouncing back, and Marine forces deployed to pacific islands would have faced a far stronger, more prepared and larger enemy than they did (Bingham
To begin, the attack on Pearl Harbour was devastating to U.S. naval capabilities in the Pacific at the onset of their entry into the war. Japanese officials had grown tired of the U.S. oil embargo, which was meant to limit their territorial expansion and aggression in South-East Asia as well as China, and as negotiations weren’t reaching any conclusions they decided that the only course of action was a first strike on the aircraft carriers at Pearl Harbour to cripple U.S. naval capability in the Pacific (Rosenberg 1). The attack, which lasted about two hours, had resulted in the sinking of four battleships, among ...
Planners of the first strike at Pearl Harbor, including Admiral Fukodome, argue that the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was as successful as it could have been, stating that the United States needed two full years to begin any significant offensive in the Pacific. 1 pg 83 If their assessment was correct, and many will argue that it was, the question arises of whether any Japanese war strategy could have led to a successful war termination for Japan.
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was one of the most atrocious attacks to have ever happened on American soil, starting with disagreement on the Potsdam declaration. Japan’s greed for more land and industrial materials led the Japanese to make a plan to keep the United States out of the war, which consisted the use of kamikaze pilots and bombs to destroy our aircraft carriers and boats in an attempt to control the Pacific. While leaving the drowning, and dead bodies of thousands of American seamen and battleships at the bottom of the sea, seemed to be a good idea to the Japanese; America joined World War II and introduced the first nuclear weapons as reprisal for the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Had the Japanese agreed to an unconditional surrender and end to militarism during the agreement on the Potsdam declaration, the introduction to nuclear weapons and the death count wouldn’t have been so high and devastating on both the American and Japanese sides.
Admiral William Frederick Halsey Jr. (Bull) (American Naval Officer who led vigorous campaigns during World War II, 1882-1959)
The U.S. Navy nurtured into a challenging power in the years previous to World War II, with battleship construction being revived in 1937, commencing with the USS North Carolina . It was able to add to its fleets throughout the early years of the war when the US was still not involved, growing production of vessels both large and small. In a conflict that had a number of amphibious landings, naval superiority was important in both Europe and the Pacific. The mutual resource...
This battle was the start of America taking control of the war over the Pacific. This battle took place six months after Japan first struck Pearl Harbor. Many historians say this was the greatest air battle of all time. America not only proved that numbers didn’t matter, but showed that only leaders with clear eyes and soldiers with heart can win a battle of any size. Even before the battle started, America saw his attack coming.
...whereas the U.S only lost 1, the USS Yorktown which was already heavily damaged from previous conflicts in the Coral Sea. Had the U.S lost at Midway, the Japanese would have achieved their goal, and finished what Pearl Harbor started by permanently crippling the U.S Navy. In a Preface from an excerpt by Japanese Airman Fushida Mituso (Who famously Shouted “Tora, tora, tora”) the Japanese loss at Midway did the exact opposite of crippling the Navy. “During the Next two years while Japan’s Shipyards Splashed out six new heavy carriers, America’s turned out 17” (Mituso).
On November 10, 1775 the Second Continental Congress established what was to become one of America’s greatest traditions. This signing ignited the founding of the continental Marines; the two battalions with which it was to be made of was led by Captain Samuel Nicholas. On land, sea, and air; the Marine Corps has always been an unstoppable force. The only purpose the Marines had during the early existence of it was to mount ships. They were the one jumping from ship to ship like pirates, disabling enemy naval forces. However, Marines became specialized in amphibious assaults during both World War I and World W...
...g in Action and then presumed dead. The troops paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving their country. Every one of their names deserves to be placed on the wall. The United States Maritime Service Veterans (USMSV) is an organization that was formed to inform the U.S. Government and the public about the United States Maritime Service. The USMSV strives to gain recognition for all of the men who served their country during wartime and national emergencies. The massive impact that the Merchant Marines had on the United States Navy during World War II and the Vietnam War is considered to be one of the largest impacts that the in Naval History. They Merchant Marines were undoubtedly the largest make up of the shipping throughout these two wars. The U.S. wartime merchant fleet was one of the largest contributions made by any nation to the ultimate winning of World War II.
Heinl, Lt. Robert Debs, Jr. Marines at Midway. Washington: Historical Section, Division of Public Information, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, 1948. Print.
The U.S., who was under the command of Admiral Chester Nimitz in the Pacific fleet, would lose most, if not all of the major carriers in the fleet. They would be forced back and by then, the Pacific fleet would be useless. The Japanese would pursue the fleet back to Hawaii, and finish off Pearl Harbor. They would capture it and launch assaults to the U.S mainland.On Guadalcanal, the army would be annihilated. In real life, the U.S had control over the shipping lanes in the South Pacific, however, the U.S who was inexperienced, would be pushed
In May of 1942, Japanese Admiral Isorosku Yamamoto devised a plan to draw the US Pacific fleet into battle where he could completely destroy it. To accomplish this master plan of his, he sought out the invasion of Midway Island which would provide a base for the Japan troops to attack Hawaii. Unfortunately for Yamamoto, America decrypted Japanese radio transmissions and Admiral Chester Nimitz was able to establish a counter attack against this offensive. Nimitz sent three aircraft carriers, The USS Enterprise, The USS Hornet and The USS Yorktown to destroy the Japanese. This is just a short overview of The Battle of Midway, or as commonly referred to as, the battle that changed the war. People argue that it had no affect on the war, but those critics couldn’t be farther from the truth. The Battle of Midway was the turning point of the war because it fully enters America into the war, it kicked off the Pacific Campaign, and it had Japan on the defensive, thus preventing them from helping The Axis Forces.
In the thirty-eight years of the United States Naval Submarine Service no United States submarine had ever sunk an enemy vessel. With the ignition of the Second World War the poorly equipped and poorly trained Silent Service, nicknamed for the limited access of the media to the actions and achievements of the submarines, would be thrust into the position American submariners had longed for. The attack on Pearl Harbor left the United States Navy with few options for retribution. The three remaining aircraft carriers were to be “the last line of defense.” Commander Stuart S. Murray made the precarious situation clear to his skippers, captains, upon sending them on their first war patrol. He stressed the importance of smart sailing by warning them not “to go out there and win the Congressional Medal of Honor in one day. The submarines are all we have left.” We entered the war with 55 submarines, 27 at Pearl Harbor and 28 at Cavite in the Philippines. At first our submarine strategies lacked ingenuity and failed to use our subs to their full potential. United States subs were assigned to reconnaissance, transporting supplies, and lifeguard duty, picking up downed airmen and sailors. They were even, on occasion, sent to rescue high profile Americans on the run from the enemy or from islands under enemy siege. Although their ability was, unfortunately, wasted in our entrance to the Pacific Theater the Silent Service would soon gain the recognition its men yearned for.
Pacific fleet over to Hawaii,” Iriye (1999) this threatened many of japan's high powered leaders. This led Japan to attack Pearl Harbor because of relocation. Iriye (1999) also said that the U.S. congress promised to triple the size the fleet in less than four years. This would have intimidated the Japanese because the American fleet was already the biggest fleet in the world and now it was going to triple its size. Therefore eliminating the American fleet before it destroyed the Japanese was on their to do list. At that time america was a sitting duck and Japan took their
Abrashoff begins the book by informing the reader of how his story begins; when he is given command of the USS Benfold. The Benfold was the Navy’s most advanced guided missile destroyer the Navy had in 1997 and its command was to be one of the Navy’s top innovators. Unfortunately, Abrashoff points out some flaws with the Navy’s personnel management that I found to be shocking. First, was that “nearly 35 percent of the people who joined the military annually, wouldn’t complete their enlistment contracts.” (p.2) Such turnover can be understood by many business managers in the service industry, but unlike the quick and cheap training process for them, the cost for the military (taxpayers) is astounding. Abrashoff estimates that it cost roughly “$35,000 to recruit a trainee and tens of thousands more in additional training costs to get new personnel to the basic level of proficiency.” (p.2) Curbing this trend on his own ship and eventually helping to achieve a decrease overall in the mil...