It was a couple of weeks back that I addressed the gradual and continuous decimation of our military force. We know our active duty Army will be cut down by another 40,000. Our U.S. Marine Corps is at World War I levels. We cannot even make a decision to protect our men and women here in the Continental United States (CONUS), providing them the ability to secure themselves at any military installation, active duty, reserve component, or National Guard. We've reported here that the U.S. Navy would not be able to backfill a Carrier Battle Group (CVBG) in the Persian Gulf. I had read reports that any request of that nature would go to France, and it looks like that is the case.
As reported by Fox News, "The U.S. Navy will not have an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf this fall for the first time in years, President Obama's nominee to be the Navy's top officer told Capitol Hill lawmakers Thursday. The gap in the Gulf -- expected to last two months -- would come at a time when the U.S. is not only launching sustained airstrikes against nearby Islamic State targets, but trying to keep a check on Iranian aggression in the region.
| Why keep an aircraft carrier on station in the Persian Gulf when the president has made peace with Iran and has no intention whatsoever of using that carrier? Bring it home to Norfolk and let the boys and girls have some leave in Virginia Beach... |
Under questioning by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., at his nomination hearing to be chief of naval operations, Adm. John Richardson acknowledged the Navy would pull the carrier and said this hurts U.S. capability in the region. "Without that carrier, there will be a decrement in our capability there," Richardson said before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
It would be the first time a U.S. aircraft carrier has not been in the Gulf since 2007. Currently, the USS Theodore Roosevelt is stationed there. Fox News is told that when she departs the area sometime this fall, the U.S. military may rely on a French aircraft carrier until they can deploy another carrier." That [carrier] gap is a reflection of earlier strains on the force [and] long-term commitments," Richardson said Thursday." |