U.S. Aircraft Carrier Fleet Down To 9

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The aircraft carriers USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), USS Enterprise (CVN 65), USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), and USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) are in port at Naval Station Norfolk, Va., the world’s largest naval station. Chief Mass Communication Specialist Ryan J. Courtade, Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ernest R. Scott, and Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kevin J. Steinberg

Navy To Stretch Deployments; Aircraft Carrier Fleet Down To 9 -- Washington Times

Sailors and Marines serving on aircraft carriers can expect long deployments for the next few years because of ongoing crises in the Middle East and a shrinking number of carriers available for duty.

The venerable USS Enterprise, commissioned in 1961 as the Navy’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, was deactivated last month, and the USS Abraham Lincoln is undergoing a four-year overhaul to increase its life span.

That has reduced the U.S. fleet of carriers from 11 to nine, as the Navy struggles to maintain a two-carrier presence in the Middle East as required by the Obama administration since 2010.

“We need 11 carriers to do the job. That’s been pretty clearly written, and that’s underwritten in our defense strategic guidance,” Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations, said recently.

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My Comment: So much for the US Navy's past remarks of needing 11 carrier groups to maintain it's defense/strategic requirements. But if sequestration hits .... which appears to be the case .... I am skeptical that the US Navy will be even able to field 9 aircraft carrier groups. Budget cuts will be gutting every service .... and US aircraft carrier groups will be a tempting target for the accountants.