Shame of a Nation: Marines Forced to Deploy Via Foreign Ship

[GURPS]

Shame of a Nation: Marines Forced to Deploy Via Foreign Ships
Under Obama. U.S. Navy experiencing ship shortages.



Notice how socialism always and everywhere results in “shortages,” every time it’s tried. Well, our own socialist chickens have now come home to roost:

Faced with a shortage of U.S. Navy ships, the Marine Corps is exploring a plan to deploy its forces aboard foreign vessels to ensure they can respond quickly to global crises around Europe and western Africa. The initiative is a stopgap way to deploy Marines aboard ships overseas until more American vessels are available, said Brig. Gen. Norman Cooling, deputy commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa.

The Marines will be able to respond quickly to evacuate embassies or protect U.S. property and citizens, a need highlighted by the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador.​

Gee, I wonder who was responsible for that?

“There’s no substitute for U.S. amphibious” vessels, Cooling said. “We’re looking at other options” in the meantime, he added. The U.S. Navy has 30 amphibious ships but says it needs 38 to fulfill war fighting requirements. It won’t reach that level until 2028 because of budget constraints, according to the Navy.

Critics say the Navy has allowed its amphibious capabilities to decline. ”Allowing the continued atrophy of the Navy-Marine Corps team’s amphibious capacity is simply not an option given the national security challenges facing the United States and its allies,” said Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., a member of the Armed Services Committee, in an email statement.​

 

[BOP]

I don't know what they're talking about...it's not like we're already depending upon countries like India to evacuate our citizens out of imminent danger. Oh, wait...http://america.aljazeera.com/articl...king-india-to-help-citizens-escape-yemen.html

 

[GURPS]

I don't know what they're talking about...it's not like we're already depending upon countries like India to evacuate our citizens out of imminent danger. Oh, wait...http://america.aljazeera.com/articl...king-india-to-help-citizens-escape-yemen.html

 

[Gilligan]

Good grief. The Navy has a shipbuilding budget and that determines or limits what gets built. Every mission and branch is competing for those funds. What is wrong with the always-resourceful USMC pursuing out-of-the-box alternatives for their theater transport? Frankly..USMC has been using out-of-the-box solutions for their transport requirements for many years.

For example:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/676812/posts

 

[nhboy]

America’s Got Useful Ships Just Lying Around.....

Link

"It’s no secret that the U.S. Navy doesn’t have enough amphibious ships. The Marine Corps, which rides the amphibs into battle, says it needs 38 of the ships — and could make do with 33, in a pinch. But Congress hasn’t been willing to pay for the vessels, which can cost a billion dollars or more apiece.

So today the Navy has 29 amphibs and might manage to boost that number to 33 by 2018.

But never fear. It turns out that Military Sealift Command, the Navy’s quasi-civilian specialist branch, has lots of useful ships lying around mostly idle that, with some imagination, can partially fill in for the pricey amphibs.

Take, for example, MSC’s two aviation logistics ships — S.S. Wright and ]S.S. Curtiss. Six hundred-and-two feet long, displacing 24,000 tons fully loaded, the twin loggies each boasts a large helicopter landing pad, multiple cranes and a full-length cargo hold opening onto ramps on its sides and stern. With a crew of just 41, each of the vessels can accommodate more than 360 passengers.

While less tough than dedicated amphibs and totally lacking defensive weaponry, under the right circumstances the aviation logistics ships could embark potentially hundreds of Marines and their vehicles plus thousands of tons of supplies. Joining other specialized ships, the loggies could help send the Leathernecks ashore to invade an enemy, defend an ally or help out following a natural disaster.

Curtiss and Wright have been mostly idle for the 30 years they’ve been in government service. Both vessels began life in the late 1960s as commercial cargo ships. The Navy acquired Wright in 1986 and Curtiss in 1987 and outfitted them as floating depots for helicopter mechanics — T-AVBs, in MSC nomenclature.

The idea was that, during wartime, the T-AVBs would tie up alongside a pier just behind the front lines of some foreign war zone. The Marines on the ground would send their damaged and broken copters back to the loggies for repairs.

But Curtiss and Wright have rarely performed that specific role. Both vessels activated for the 1991 Gulf War. Wright also supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Wright helped out the relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, tying up on Staten Island as temporary lodging for aid workers. Otherwise, the T-AVBs mostly sit inactive — Wright in Baltimore, Curtiss in San Diego." ......