The USS Cowpens (CG 63) leads the formation of USS Lassen (DDG 82), USS John S. McCain (DDG 56), USS Vandegrift (FFG 48) and USNS Tippecanoe (T-AO 199) in the Western Pacific Ocean on June 18, 2006, to start exercise Valiant Shield 2006. The joint exercise consists of 28 naval vessels including three carrier strike groups and more than 300 aircraft and approximately 20,000 service members from the Navy, Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast.
Politico: Inside the Pentagon slugfest over the future of the fleet
No one can agree on how many ships the Navy needs, and Congress isn't pleased.
The Navy of the future needs 316 ships. Actually, make that 327. No, more like 367. You know what? Let’s make it 373, or maybe even 500.
At different points this year, the Pentagon and Navy leaders have floated all five numbers as the desired size of the Navy, the result of a high-stakes — and still raging — internal battle among top Navy, Marine Corps and Pentagon leaders.
And the discord at the top has real-world consequences for America’s sea service, denying lawmakers a number to shoot for as they figure out how many ships to buy in the fiscal year that starts in October, and beyond.
At issue, according to six people with knowledge of internal discussions, is the desired number of amphibious warships, which carry Marines and can launch warplanes and landing craft.
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WNU Editor: This is what happens when there is no leadership in defining what are America's foreign policy and national security priorities. Update: Here is a must read ..... Note from Nimitz: You Need Lots of Ships to Take Risks in War (James Holmes, 19FortyFive).
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