A Better Fleet: Scrap LCS, Double Virginia Sub Buy & Move Design Back To Navy

[unhappycamper]

http://breakingdefense.com/2014/03/america-needs-more-ships-scrap-lcs-double-virginia-sub-buy-move-design-back-to-navy/



A Better Fleet: Scrap LCS, Double Virginia Sub Buy & Move Design Back To Navy
By Kirk Lippold on March 20, 2014 at 5:38 PM

he US Navy needs more ships. The United States cannot protect the world’s sealanes, let alone “pivot to the Pacific,” if we further downsize our military. Especially given other nations’ growing anxiety about whether the US will still shoulder the leadership role of protecting them, the Navy must grow, not become smaller.

Yes, individual ships may be more capable today than in the past, but the harsh reality is that even the most high-tech ships are useless unless the U.S. maintains enough of them to sustain a forward deployed presence in hot spots around the world.

~snip~

Cut the number of flag officers and civilian counterparts by 50 percent. In World War II, the Navy had approximately 4,000 ships that fought a global war for freedom with about 100 admirals in charge. Today, there are over 300 admirals overseeing about 280 ships. This unnecessary bureaucratic expansion has diluted the lines of accountability and weakened the chain of command.