The internal crisis of the US Navy continues to ferment, and the military report exposes "family ugliness"

According to relevant foreign media reports, the US military and a number of think tanks have recently released reports criticizing the shortcomings of the US Navy in its own construction and overall strength. The problems disclosed in it are not only caused by "accumulated defects", but also suspected of "concealing the truth and showing falsehood". Looking to the future, the US Navy may continue to promote the construction of combat readiness under the guise of "weak military strength", and the relevant trends are worthy of attention.

Military report exposes "family ugliness"

In July 2020, the U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship USS Richard the Good Guy caught fire at naval base in San Diego, California, and the fire lasted for 5 days, severely damaged the hull. The U.S. Navy ultimately decided to scrap it. Commissioned in 1998, the ship has a full load displacement of 40,500 tons, can carry more than 2,000 Marines and corresponding weapons and equipment, and the cost of the year is about 750 million US dollars, compared with the current standard of about 4 billion US dollars.

Until recently, the U.S. Navy released a more than 400-page investigation report on the fire accident of the "Good Guy Richard." The report pointed out that deficiencies in command, training, fire prevention plans, equipment maintenance, coordination and communication of fire extinguishing operations led to the loss of control of the fire. Seventeen were found to be directly responsible, including several warship commanders, including the captain, and another 17 were found to be indirectly responsible, including senior officers, including richard Brown, the retired commander of the surface forces of the Pacific Fleet.

From the perspective of daily training, U.S. Navy crews lack basic firefighting knowledge. The Good Guy Richard caught fire 10 minutes after they rang the fire alarm. During the fire, the ship's main foam fire extinguishing system was not activated because the maintenance was not in place and the crew was not skilled.

Judging from the state of the ship, the "Good Guy Richard" was undergoing major upgrades and maintenance when it caught fire, the work site was disorganized, and the flammable materials were improperly stored. After the fire, the metal in some parts of the warship melted at high temperatures and spread to other parts. The report revealed that the ship's maintenance report was forged and that 87 percent of the ship's fire stations had equipment problems or had not been inspected.

Judging from the on-site command, although there are local firefighters involved in the fire fighting, there is a lack of coordination and communication with the military, and there is no cooperation training, resulting in ineffective firefighting. Of the crew surveyed, "none of them thought of pressing a button to activate the fire extinguishing system, or to know exactly where and what the button was doing."

In response to the investigative report, John Galamendi, chairman of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee's Combat Readiness Subcommittee, said the incident was shocking and infuriating because it was a disaster that could be completely avoided.

Think tank "singing down" the overall strength

The Heritage Foundation, a well-known think tank in the United States, recently released the "2022 Military Strength Index" research report, which assessed that the US Navy's score in terms of capability and combat readiness tends to be "weak". The report's author, Brent Sadler, noted: "The fleet of 297 ships is too small relative to its mission. ”

With regard to outstanding issues, the report notes that U.S. Navy ships are continuing to age and require more maintenance and downtime. Specifically, more than half of the U.S. Navy's fleet has been in service for more than 20 years, including some heavyweight warships such as fast-strike submarines and ballistic missile submarines.

According to the think tank's analysis, the U.S. Navy's optimal fleet size is 400 ships, as well as 13 carrier strike groups and the same number of air squadrons. The air wing should have 624 fighters, and the fleet should include 15 expeditionary strike groups.

As for the crux of the matter, the report argues that the U.S. Navy's biggest weakness is the lack of a shipbuilding industry. In shipbuilding and maintenance, the number of skilled workers is decreasing. Sadler pointed out that in the foreseeable future, in response to threats from countries such as Russia, the US military's demand for nuclear-powered warships will continue to increase, and whether public shipyards can maintain the required labor resources is worrying.

The report also notes that the U.S. Marine Corps is too small relative to its combat mission and requires more troops and more tactical units to effectively respond to real threats.

Or there may be potential considerations

Analysts pointed out that the US Navy was jointly "named and criticized" by official and non-governmental think tanks this time, which not only exposed its shortcomings in the construction of combat readiness, but also the consideration of "selling miserably" to obtain more defense budgets and confuse potential opponents. Looking ahead, there are two major trends in the U.S. Navy that deserve sustained attention.

On the one hand, "darkness Chen Cang" needs to be vigilant. The U.S. Naval Association website recently published a research report entitled "The U.S. Navy Needs More Firepower," declaring that the U.S. Navy is in a new tactical era characterized by missile warfare, calling on it to speed up the construction of combat platforms and strike firepower, so that the U.S. Navy can return to the "era of firepower." In the next step, the US Navy may use the "outstanding shortcomings" of military construction as an excuse to further refine and improve the capability system design of the concept of "distributed maritime operations" in operational theory, further deepen the joint exercise with other services of the US military and allies of other countries in actual combat training, and continue to strengthen the military presence in key areas such as the Indo-Pacific and Europe in front-line deployment.

On the other hand, "desperate to take risks" eats the consequences. Alexander Woolley, a reporter for foreign affairs magazine, pointed out that in order to defeat its fantasy competitors in the maritime competition, the US Navy is obsessed with so-called "change" based on blind confidence in its own ability to innovate quickly. Elaine Luria, deputy director of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee and a veteran surface warfare officer, believes that the U.S. Navy has been "technology for technology's sake" in shipbuilding for the past 20 years, and the end result is that the cost of shipbuilding has increased significantly, but it can only deliver ships that are difficult to achieve even the most basic functions of floating, moving and fighting. If the U.S. Navy remains obstinate and attacks on all sides and makes enemies everywhere, in addition to bringing serious challenges to regional peace and security, the problems it faces will become more and more intense.

Source: China National Defense Daily