The United States of America has been involved in many different conflicts, foreign and domestic, popular and unpopular, spanning across four centuries and all corners of the globe. From the warm coastal waters of the American homeland to the atolls of the Pacific, from the winding inland rivers of Vietnam to the chokepoint at the Strait of Hormuz, American sailors have valiantly stood up to defend America’s interests at home and abroad. The Navy has had to continuously update its vessels and technologies in order to keep up with the rapidly changing times, and ensure we not only stay competitive with but surpass the foreign competition. No other period in history has undergone the swift technological evolution that our troops experience today, and outfitting our soldiers with the best equipment money can buy and the most up-to-date training must remain a top priority. As sequestration and budget cuts slash $487 billion from the Department of the Navy’s budget over the next 10 years, it is more evident than ever how detrimental these budget cuts can be on the sailors of today and tomorrow alike. Significant cuts to the Naval budget will jeopardize the readiness of our ships and sailors, impair our ability to maintain strategic assets ready for forward deployment in critical areas, and constrict our ability to acquire new and improved technology. Sequestration is a relatively new challenge for the United States Government and the Department of the Navy more specifically; the seeds of it being sown a little over five years ago through the great recession. As a result of the recession, the Tea Party, a more deficit conscious fiscal conservative wing of the Republican Party, was formed. This new group then railroaded the br... ... middle of paper ... ...ch overwhelming evidence on the table, it would be hard to ignore the huge negative impact budget cuts will have on the Navy. By cutting down on flying times, eliminating training deemed nonessential, and decreasing the amount of deployments, our sailors are losing valuable experience that they would not gain elsewhere. Through the lack of maintenance on our ships, the Navy is also experiencing a decrease in readiness. By decreasing the amount of forward deployed ships, we are also increasing our reaction time to potential threats to our allies and other interests abroad. Finally, as we miss out on or delay the modernization of our Navy due to fiscal reasons, we are hindering ourselves from attaining the most combat ready force that we could be. As the United States’ economy rebuilds up to its former glory, increased military spending should be soon to follow.
The Trident Submarine houses twenty-four nuclear warheads with each having a range of 4,600 miles over land. If a nuclear war were to break out between the Soviet Union and the United States, virtually every major city could be destroyed in a matter of hours. The origin of these major players in modern day warfare lies in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.
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...
While many of these changes include the advancements in technology and ingenuity, nothing can replace the rich history, proud culture, and bright future of the NCO Corps. Though several additional factors doubtlessly play roles in the strength and continuity of the corps, I do not believe any have contributed to the extent of the solid rank structure, efficient training network, and passionate NCO Creed. These elements have worked together in continuously strengthening and molding the NCO Corps, and they will remain building blocks that will project the Army into the
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...
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.
...states there are three powerful external factors that cloud the Marines’ horizon. The first being the oppressive influence of threat. That threat is rooted in the attitudes or aspirations of the Army, the Navy, or various chief executives. Its nature has varied-threat to the Corps’s repute, to its right to fight, to its very survival. Secondly, the recurrent military affliction called austerity. At worst, they linger in active service and are a hazard to all around them. The third is the dead hand of bureaucracy that lies over the entire military establishment. While the larger services may be able to handle the pressures of bureaucracy, the Marine Corps has neither the instinct nor the time for it. The Marines are an assemblage of warriors, nothing more. Paper massaging and computer competitions do not kill the enemy, which is what the Marines are supposed to do.
Despite his many compromises however, Thomas Jefferson’s intent to dissolve the national debt was to a great extent unvarying. Jefferson and his Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin honestly feared a large federal deficit as a threat to Republicanism. To avoid this threat, the President sought to diminish the role of the federal government, and decreased the national budget. These budget cuts substantially diminished the size and resources of the American army and navy. When criticized, Jefferson defended these military cuts as being consistent with Republican policies in that a smaller U.S. Army would be seen as less of a threat to other nations and reduce the risk of provocation, resulting in the ultimate promotion of peace.
Loyalty, Duty, Service, Honor, Integrity, Courage, Commitment. The seven Army values, the three Navy core values, and the three Air Force core values: each branch of service possesses a codification of values and characteristics embodied by servicemen and women for generations; simply picking a handful of these qualities presents a logical and justifiable option for defining the essential qualities of a military officer. It is true an officer must personify and uphold such values, however, interpersonal skills and self-confidence are also invaluable traits necessary for the highest level of leadership and excellence demanded of a military officer.
Milner, Marc. "The Humble Corvette: Navy, Part 27." Legion Magazine. Legion Magazine, 5 June 2008. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.
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...
National defense is a sensitive topic to most because we need it to live in our country as safe as we do, but it is a big problem in our national debt. The Washington Post showed that the United States spends 20% of its budget on defense and it has increased dramatically since the tragedy of 9/11 (“America’s Staggering Defense Budget”, Plumer). America spends more on its military than the next 13 nations combined, which...
One of the most important aspects of having a strong and successful military is logistics. Without a strong supply corps, a military is not able to mobilize nor sustain their current operations. Sun Tzu says “the line between disorder and order lies in logistics.” Navy supply is a large operation, consisting of over 26,000 personnel. Navy supply’s sole objective is to provide “One-Touch-Supply” in which a single request can activate a global network. With “One-Touch-Supply” navy supply “is responsible for quality of life issues for our naval forces, including food service, postal services, Navy Exchanges, and movement of household goods”(globalsecurity).
1) Naval Supply System Command (NAVSUP) Fleet Logistics Centers (FLCs) under direction of PACFLT has begun to award Multiple Award Contracts (MAC) for husbanding services for all port visits in our AORs. A MAC is procured on a full and open competition on Federal Business Opportunities (http://fbo.gov/). Eventually, all port visits will be under MAC practice which is competitively bid by various Husbanding Service Providers (HSPs). Consequently, HSPs will be more and more unseasoned when it comes to the intricacies of the submarine mooring functions. Early communication with HSPs will grow more important to mitigate risks associated with their relatively low experience. We plan to issue LOGREQs six to eight weeks prior to a visit (rather than the required four) in our more "robust" non-Navy ports to allow plenty of time to address questions and identify earlier who the awarded HSP will be. This approach will also allow for earlier communication between the HSPs and the N4 boat managers.
Since the attacks a number of civil defense programs have been initiated, which leads to more departments asking for an allowance within the national budget. This ultimately is leading to a larger and larger deficit that is quickly encompassing full percentage points of our GDP. There is a debate on how much defense spending is actually needed, because during the Clinton administration there were massive cuts to the defense budget, which lead to critics saying that our military force was in question. These same critics said that without the funds that had been cut-off by Clinton the military would spiral down to not being able to defend the homeland, let alone take on any offensive. The one argument I have is that President Bush was not in office long enough for his increased defense budget to take affect when he overthrew two regimes (Afghanistan & Iraq) with the same military force that was said to be completely ineffective because of lack of funds.
Naval Sea Systems Command. "EWTS General Information." NAVSEA AUTEC. U.S. Navy, 30 Aug. 2013. Web. 1 May 2014. .