The U.S. Ground War In Afghanistan Is Over. Now It’s The Navy’s Turn: Expect Aircraft Carriers To Stay In The Middle East, U.S. officials Say, Even As The Military Tries To Pivot To China

Paul McLeary at POLITICO offers a piece on the U.S. Navy’s role in the Middle East after the American withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The American military’s involvement in Afghanistan could soon become largely the Navy’s responsibility, an ironic twist for a counterterrorism mission in a landlocked country.

Although the Navy has long privately bristled at the requirement to deploy one or even two aircraft carriers at a time to the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf to support the ground fights in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, the lack of U.S.-controlled airfields near Afghanistan could mean more planes taking off from decks at sea.

And that could set off a fresh round of requests for more funding — and more hand-wringing among those who want the U.S. military to focus more on China.

“I think a lot of that mission is going to fall on the Navy,” said a Navy official who requested to speak on the condition of anonymity because the Pentagon’s plans have yet to be finalized. “This is a great example of why we need more money to operate forward — things like this are what we’re built to do, but we need the funding and support to keep doing it, and that hasn’t always been there.”

Worried about the reemergence of ISIS-K, or an emboldened al Qaeda in Afghanistan, the Biden administration has pledged to continue to launch “over the horizon” airstrikes from drones and manned aircraft. But it has yet to detail a plan for how those aircraft will collect intelligence on targets, or conduct sustained missions from such great distances.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

The U.S. ground war in Afghanistan is over. Now it’s the Navy’s turn. - POLITICO 

Message To North Korea: The Military Might of The Three Carrier Task Force Underway

In the above U.S. Navy photo the aircraft carriers USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) and USS Nimitz (CVN 68), along with their strike groups are underway, conducting operations, in international waters as part of a three-carrier strike force exercise near North Korea. 

Note: The above photo was taken by Lt. J.G. James Griffin.

You can click on the above photo to enlarge.

In Praise Of The Aircraft Carrier

Having served on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk during the Vietnam War, I’ve seen how carriers project power as well as deliver it – anywhere, anytime, anyplace. 

"Where are the carriers?" That is the first question American presidents have asked at the start of every world crisis since World War II. 

Geoffrey Norman at the Weekly Standard offers a piece in praise of aircraft carriers.

Pensacola: The staging is perfect. A raised dais with a formation of A-4 Skyhawks suspended overhead, in the signature colors and markings of the Navy's Blue Angels. The venue is the National Naval Aviation Museum, which occupies space adjacent to Sherman Field on the naval air station in Pensacola—the birthplace of naval aviation and home of the Blue Angels.

The museum is not a busy, up-tempo military installation, so today's event, its 30th annual symposium, qualifies as an exciting day. Past themes—with speakers ranging from former President George H. W. Bush to Secretaries of the Navy John Lehman and James Webb—have focused on the battles of Midway and Coral Sea, the stories of legendary squadrons like the Black Sheep, and overviews of entire conflicts: the Vietnam war, Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom.

This year, however, the focus is on battles of the future, budget battles, that is. The assorted admirals, ensigns, and civilians have gathered to consider "Power Projection in the 21st Century" and more specifically, "the role of large deck air-capable warships."

It is both a timely debate and one that never seems to end. Does the United States really need aircraft carriers? Can it afford them?

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.weeklystandard.com/in-praise-of-the-aircraft-carrier/article/2008223 

Note:  In the above U.S. Navy photo from 2006  the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), foreground, USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63), center, USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) and their associated carrier strike groups steam in formation while 17 aircraft from the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps fly over them during a joint photo exercise. The photo was taken by Chief Photographer's Mate Todd P. Cichonowicz 

You can click on the above photo to enlarge.