Galrahn has a post on the relief efforts in Japan with an updated list of the ships involved. Awesome stuff. Where we go in opposite directions is his last paragraph....
With the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) expected to serve as a helicopter support base offshore for both US Navy and Japanese SDF helicopters, once again the nuclear powered aircraft carrier is poised to be the most versatile and flexible capability in responding to the needs following an international catastrophe.What the fuck?
Talk about justifying using super carriers in an LHD role!
We've gone over it and I've rechecked the numbers. Unless the CVN dumps its entire airwing and reloads with helos (which in order to fill it out would have to come from LHDs anyway)....one LHD has the helo lift of 5 aircraft carriers.
One.
Additionally the LHD has onboard a surgical hospital, and is designed to handle refugees...the CVN isn't.
The LHD can offload troops and have space tailor made for those needing extra bunks...like Japanese Helicopter Crews in the middle of rescue operations....the CVN can do likewise but will have to jump thru hoops to do it.
What are we actually seeing in the Navy's deployment of ships to these recent disaster zones?
1. The budget wars are here. An aircraft carrier steaming at 35 knots to Haiti...an aircraft carrier steaming to Japan...all show no go. Just like the Coast Guard sending ships to Haiti...they can get there first--make claims about all the work they're doing but its all about publicity and budget more than getting the actual work done. Show over go!
2. Bastardizing the Sea Base concept. Simply having an assemblage of ships operating off a coast is not a sea base. I'll be watching Marine Corps reaction to these events...if they even whisper the term sea base in describing this then the sea base concept as I've read it is as dead as disco.
3. Looks matter more than performance. Watching the Navy get the "facts" out about the action in Japan indicates that our PAO's have jumped the shark. What do I mean? Its no longer about actually telling the story to the American people but in tailoring it in such a way as to emphasize certain weapon systems...ships etc...
Information should be provided to the public...we don't need publicist in uniform.
UPDATE:
This photo by MS1 Steve Smith shows to good effect the potential for the LPD-17 class to revolutionize amphibious operations in general and disaster relief in particular. Note the number of helos on the deck of this LPD! Two CH-53's and other helicopters plus room for a MV-22 to land? That represents more than the standard number of helicopters found on a CVN. Amphibs prove their worth...carriers show the flag.
UPDATE 1:
Another fallacy needs to be put to rest on this operation. A fleet of ships does not constitute a sea base. An aircraft carrier that leaves its planes on shore and becomes a helicopter carrier is not a sea base....we need to make sure that we stick to the approved USMC definition of a sea base...otherwise we will be left with a pale version of the same.
UPDATE 2:
The USMC has removed its Sea Basing Site and all the information within from the web. Why they've taken this action is beyond me...luckily I have archived past information...future developments will be hard to come by. It seems that the proper telling of the USMC's story and the debate about its future needs will be done outside the view of the public.