as reported in the navy times....i knew obama was known for doing things on the sly and this just falls in line........Clinton Era anyone? Navy League: Obama on path to 240-ship fleet - Navy News, news from Iraq - Navy Times and before anyone says why do we need a fleet of 300+ ships....keep one thing in mind...we are a globally deployed and foreign homeported navy...because of clinton and his cutbacks in the 90's the navy was a shadow of its former self
All that money that was squandered in Iraq has to come from somewhere. After all, the citizens were not asked to sacrifice.
this is a cool little tool.....one of the positive things Obama has done. Federal IT Dashboard Also, a push for more transparency in Gov and open access to datasets via Data.gov
despite the fact that will still have the worlds most powerful navy it is but a shadow of its former glory...at least under bush things were starting to get turned around...a could new carriers were created under his watch plus the next generation of amphibious ships and the advent of future tech...like the DDX/CGX/CVX programs and the E-MRG(Electro-Magnetic Rail Gun) however i have a feeling that since obama is in control alot of those programs will either be scrapped or put on hold while he is in office....the evidence speaks for itself when he has to quietly cut the defense bill...pretty much used the whole health care debate to very quietly take funding away from the military...this bit us in the ass once before...why is repeating history
Obama was left with a huge deficit. Of course he is going to be cutting programs. We spend more money on defence than any other nation, yet our health care system is crumbling. We are out of balance. Time we spent a bit more of our money on taking care of our own instead of spending it on unnecessary wars. Who are you going to fight with a larger fleet of ships? We do not need to arm ourselves to the teeth to fight wars of the past. Our current threats are from small groups of extremists, insurgents, cyber attacks, etc. A large armada of ships do not address these threats. Shall we borrow more money from China to build ships we wont use?
hey robin....there is an potential threat that is right now who is building a navy that is bordering on insanity...that would china...they are trying to build a massive fleet and are talking about trying to establish a base in a foreign country... look ive seen this argument before....the military doesnt need that much money...we can spend it on welfare and what not....then 9/11 happened and reminded the us and the world why the us military exists...but it seems that has been forgotten...ships we wont use?how about the next generation of aircraft carrier...how about the Littoral Combat Ships(LCS) that are designed for shore or shallow water combat...or the new generation of the LPD (Amphibious Dock landing ship) and the new LHD's that bring marines and their equipment into a fight...or how about the new Ohio class submarines that have been retrofitted to now carry Block 4 Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles...how about Riverrines (inland river and coastal combat, PBR's), how about SEAL,SWCC,Diver,EOD...not to mention the navy has more air combat power than the air force does typical...people assume the navy is nothing but nuclear missile subs,battleships and whatnot...never even realize there is more to us than that....and cyber attacks? the navy created a job rating to deal with just that... who was the ones that were first to strike in iraq...it wasnt the army...it was the navy using ship launched TLAM's... if we are that desperate for money then why the hell are we giving out free money to the welfare babies...i think welfare needs to be fixed before healthcare...i think they should be turning towards creating more jobs...not saying they are going to...or hey if you really want health care...require all 18-35yr old's to do at least 4 yrs of military service...israel does it?seems to work fine for them...they should have 2 options...military or college...and in return for time served they will have access to the health care system retirees use
We also spend more money on health care than any other nation in the world but people in power (I won't defer all the blame to any one person on that) are trying to increase spending in that realm despite the deficit. There are things that works and things that don't. We have military personel on nearly every continent and and ships patrolling all the oceans and many of the seas. You can argue we don't need to be fighting wars, but even in a time of war that's not the military's only job. During Katrina the Army and National Guard, as well as the Coast Guard and Navy were sent in to help. During the Pakistani Earthquake the Army had boots on the ground, providing medical aide and helping rebuild. During the Pirate Standoff it was the Navy that took care of the situation and down in Haiti you'd better believe we've got ships on the way. Defense spending isn't just to fight wars or flex our muscles, defense spending in also about peacekeeping and helping others.
I am thinking about the humanitarian services the Navy (as well as the other services) provides as well. They are often the "first responders" for natural disasters all over the globe, and provide services that most people never even think about. Carriers alone provide evacuation/relocation, food, fresh water, and hospitals. Add manpower for security, reconstruction, and whatever else might be necessary and you START to appreciate the capability. It's not all about wars.
It is easy to say it is "unnecessary" because it is staying over there, rather then here and no real way to prove if our troops being in place have caused this. Had we not gone and more 9/11 type incidents had taken place in the U.S. would have said we should have gone because it was "necessary"? Jim
The argument is about the number of ships in the Navy, not general military spending. It is about limiting the Navy to 240 ships, rather than expanding it to 300. Don't change the argument to try and win a point. It would be ironic to have to borrow more money from China to fight an arms race with China. If you believe the conservatives, it was an arms race that brought down the USSR. They spent more on trying to match us than they could afford. Our economic security is probably more critical to this nation's survival that the size of our Navy. So, we should let babies starve so we can build more ships. Wow.
Now now..thats just being sensationalist. We have Fox news for that and they do it better. There are many areas that have waste, yes even in the Navy. A little looking for those lost pennies will probably find a few ships worth.
You are right, that was pushing it too far. It was in response to: I worked for the Army as a civilian at one time. In the little corner that I had a glimpse of, there was massive waste. I assume the Navy is no different. It is in the nature of large organizations where people are dealing with money that is not their own. We could fund many many more things if we could reduce waste.
its also a function of 'use it or lose it' budget rules. THere's a reason the month of Sept is busy for me. We're taking orders from all the USG entities that have money left and don't want to lose it for the next year by NOT using it. In private corporations, the head of a line of business gets rewarded for returning unused budgets.
the navy has always been the worlds 911 service...oh and think about this...when the **** hits the fan somewhere in the world do they ask where the nearest army unit is?no....do they ask where the nearest air force base is? the first question is where is the nearest carrier battle group...there is always always 1-2 CBG's at sea...we can be anywhere in the world in a matter of hours...by the time a army brigade got off its collective ass and mobilized the navy is already there...plus there is also the civilian side of the navy...all those cargo ships that bring our soldiers equipment to war...all those tanks and hmmvw's and what not werent flown to iraq...they were brought in to kuwait by way of the MSCLANT..we have ships that are constantly out there refuelling and rearming not only our ships but allied ships as well...plus we are also on the forefront of the war on drugs...we have frigates and destroyers patrolling the waters of the caribbean and eastern pac with coast guage LEDETS(Law Enforcement Detachments) and their helo's on board to intercept/interdict/disrupt drug traffic..and what about the hospital ships that do world tours to impoverished regions bringing everything from blankets to even dentists...im sure right now COMLANTFLT/COM2ndFLT are already on their way to haiti and USNS Comfort and maybe USNS Mercy are on the way as well....when i say a reduction is ship building its not just surface/sub surface combatants...its the support/aux/medical ships as well...not to mention ship building cost also cover the repair and retrofit of our fleet as well to keep them operating...there are alot of ships that will be coming up for a major overhaul before long....plus the navy is one of the leaders in equipment design and testing...that E-MRG is being tested at Dahlgren Naval Experimental Weps Lab...and guess what...it works! they showcased it on a episode of future weapons...plus the navy is one of the leaders for nuclear engineering and network tech september is like christmas for us...especially if we have use or lose money left the problem with democrats in charge of the military budget they sit there and come up with excuses why we dont need certain projects or parts of the budget then they start cutting more and more...all the while programs like welfare...which there is no oversight on that...they throw money at it without ever making sure the money is being used responsibly by the people...which is why ive always been for drug testing to get welfare...case in point...there was a news story out of new york where the federal gov gave welfare recepients i think it was 1000-1500 per child in their home to pay for school supplies and what not....the only sticking point was they didnt make sure the money was spent wisely...they didnt ensure that it was going to school related costs...they gave it to them with no strings attached...at a cost of untold millions to the us taxpayers...im all for helping kids but i want to know my money is being used for that...not to continue a drug habit...or it being dumped into a brand new big screen tv of course the liberals are now asking why do we need a large military...its not necessary...i really believe before anyone is allowed to take a public office like the us house/senate/dept head/cabinet member/president...they must have served time in the military...because those who never served seem to not have a real grip on what its like for us...and for those of us who are in the military the president is a big deal because he is our boss...which is why i voted for mccain...i wanted someone who had been there and done that to be the president...not a rehash of crooked chicago politics...
AHHH but as this administration returns us to the well oiled fighting machine that was first invisioned by Jimmy Carter, we are manufacturing the largest stockpile of "Reason Bombs" the world has ever seen!!!! Sleep well America...