Can Gates Save the Navy?

Mike Burleson

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has astonished the military community by firing the top Air Force leadership. Pundits are beginning to question where Gates’ ax will fall next and if the Navy is on his list for shakeup and change. Blogger Westhawk wonders:

“Might Mr. Gates’ next blows land on the Navy? Those who follow defense issues know about the deep problems the Navy has with its acquisition programs, particularly for surface combatants. The Navy is trying to plan for the replacement of its frigate, destroyer, and cruiser fleets. Unfortunately, the programs designed to accomplish these recapitalizations have all gone badly awry.”

Navy shipbuilding plans have raised the ire of many in Congress in recent years. Costs have skyrocketed for almost every warship program, from new aircraft carriers, destroyers, littoral ships, and amphibious vessels. Only the Virginia class submarines have come in under budget with even more savings expected thanks to a doubling in production.

Questions over the huge Zumwalt stealth destroyer, at 14,500 tons the largest such craft ever built, has brought much criticism for Navy doctrine, whether it is geared sufficiently to fight “the war we have know” as the Secretary often describes the current struggle against Radical Islam. The $5 billion warship seems more suited to fighting the Cold War against a navy similar to our own world spanning fleet, despite the lack of such peer adversaries.

Yet, it is not only in shipbuilding that the Navy continues to refight previous conflicts. The fleet has also been extremely slow in introducing combat UAVs at sea. The USAF has pioneered arming new robot planes such as Predator, armed with Hellfire missiles for use in supporting ground forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. A new version dubbed the Reaper will be geared specially for the attack mission, with a greatly enhanced payload, speed, and range. The Reaper can also launch many versions of smart bombs, including the deadly accurate JDAM.

In contrast, the Navy leadership sees the UAVs only in a supporting role, with the long range Global Hawk currently used only for surveillance. For the near future, the USN sees no diminishing of manned fighters for strike missions, as this article from Aviation.com reveals:

“"Manned aircraft still retain relevancy in scenarios where airborne decision-making is critical to mission success," said Navy spokesman Lt. Clay Doss.
He cited close air support, where pilots provide air cover for troops on the ground, and also direct ground attack "where dynamic maneuvering and/or visual situational awareness is necessary."
The Navy will look at strike capability for future generations of its carrier drone, Doss said. But he stressed that the aircraft would not replace the Navy's fighter pilots anytime in the foreseeable future.”

So in spite of the fact that UAVs like Global Hawk and Reaper can stay aloft for at least 40 hours without refueling compared to only a few hours for gas guzzling manned jets, the Navy insists that their pilots are indispensable. Much like the old battleship admirals once scorned the abilities of the airplane, so do their aircraft carrier contemporaries doubt the importance of the new robot planes.

Returning now to Sec. Gates, his nominee for Air Force chief of staff was interesting and revealing. Gen. Norton A. Schwartz was neither a veteran bomber or fighter pilot, which have collectively dominated the USAF leadership since its inception, but from the Transportation Command. Such a posting would be the same as appointing a sailor from the Military Sealift Command as chief of naval operations.

The kind of leader our Navy needs for our current conflict, the one against terrorism on which Gates insists we must focus, is someone with an eye on the littorals. He would need to understand small boat operations like the Coast Guard, the operations of small teams in inland waters like the Marines and SEALs. He also needs a plan to deal with the epidemic of piracy around the world, transferring the Army’s proven anti-insurgent tactics to the sea.

Off hand we can think of no one in the navy leadership with such credentials which Gates might seek. Only the now deceased Admiral Arthur Cebrowski comes to mind: the father of the littoral combat ship and small navy advocate long before the start of the War on Terror. We can only hope the Secretary will appoint someone suitable in the time he has left, with the ability to salvage our magnificent but rapidly diminishing fleet.

You can email me at charwriter2000@yahoo.com

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Mike Burleson is a regular columnist with Sea Classics magazine and an advocate of Military Reform. He resides in historic Charleston, SC. http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/honestnews/ http://newwars.blogspot.com/

charbookguy@myway.com