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"The Navy’s 272-ship force is straining under today’s security challenges, some experts say — and one glaring symptom is a shortage of aircraft carriers.
For the first time in almost a decade, the Navy does not currently have a single aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf area to execute the war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), or to keep Iran in check.
There was also an interruption to what is billed as a “continuous carrier presence” in the Asia-Pacific region after the USS George Washington left in July and its replacement did not get there until the fall.
Earlier this week, senior Navy officials publicly acknowledged there will be more gaps next year. The basic problem is simple: The Navy only has 10 aircraft carriers, one short of what senior officers say is required.
"We require 11 aircraft carriers to meet our full range of military operational requirements,” the Navy’s Assistant Secretary for Research, Development and Acquisition, Sean Stackley, told the House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee on Wednesday.
"Today we're at 10 — and we're at 10 that are highly stressed because they have been driven hard," Stackley said.
An 11th aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, is slated to be commissioned in 2016, but won't be ready to deploy until 2021.
This shortage also comes at the same time U.S. leaders are attempting to reassure Gulf Arab allies that they are willing and able to counter growing Iranian influence in the region. The day after the USS Theodore Roosevelt left the Persian Gulf on Oct. 9, Iran fired off a ballistic missile in violation of international law.
Officials say the carrier shortage is due mainly to deferred maintenance on the carriers, to accommodate repeated deployments in support of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The longer a carrier goes without being maintained, the longer maintenance will take when it's finally done. That backlog of maintenance was then exacerbated by steep defense cuts under sequestration.
Currently, half of the 10 carriers are in maintenance. With three carriers supporting every one carrier deployed, it is impossible to have two continuously deployed in both the Middle East and the Asia Pacific at the same time.".....
"The Navy’s 272-ship force is straining under today’s security challenges, some experts say — and one glaring symptom is a shortage of aircraft carriers.
For the first time in almost a decade, the Navy does not currently have a single aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf area to execute the war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), or to keep Iran in check.
There was also an interruption to what is billed as a “continuous carrier presence” in the Asia-Pacific region after the USS George Washington left in July and its replacement did not get there until the fall.
Earlier this week, senior Navy officials publicly acknowledged there will be more gaps next year. The basic problem is simple: The Navy only has 10 aircraft carriers, one short of what senior officers say is required.
"We require 11 aircraft carriers to meet our full range of military operational requirements,” the Navy’s Assistant Secretary for Research, Development and Acquisition, Sean Stackley, told the House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee on Wednesday.
"Today we're at 10 — and we're at 10 that are highly stressed because they have been driven hard," Stackley said.
An 11th aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, is slated to be commissioned in 2016, but won't be ready to deploy until 2021.
This shortage also comes at the same time U.S. leaders are attempting to reassure Gulf Arab allies that they are willing and able to counter growing Iranian influence in the region. The day after the USS Theodore Roosevelt left the Persian Gulf on Oct. 9, Iran fired off a ballistic missile in violation of international law.
Officials say the carrier shortage is due mainly to deferred maintenance on the carriers, to accommodate repeated deployments in support of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The longer a carrier goes without being maintained, the longer maintenance will take when it's finally done. That backlog of maintenance was then exacerbated by steep defense cuts under sequestration.
Currently, half of the 10 carriers are in maintenance. With three carriers supporting every one carrier deployed, it is impossible to have two continuously deployed in both the Middle East and the Asia Pacific at the same time.".....
