Stardate 20030117.1427

(On Screen): The US Navy is the largest naval force in the world today, and the most powerful naval force in the history of the world to date. In fact, by some reckonings, the US has more naval power than everyone else in the world combined.

For many people, when they think of the US Navy they think of big deck aircraft carriers (CVs and CVNs). It's natural; they're huge and impressive and dangerous as all hell, and they tend to show up anywhere in the world that there's trouble (when we care about it) and are able to project huge power for great distances. In fact, the US Navy operates one of the largest air forces in existence, and is actually capable of fighting against and defeating the ground-based airforces of all but a handful of the nations on earth.

And CVNs are monstrously large; if you haven't seen one in life you can't truly conceive of just how immense they are. The largest warships of WWII were the sister ships Yamato and Musashi built by the Japanese, which displaced about 63,000 tons. They are dwarfed by a Nimitz-class carrier, which comes in at about 93,000 tons. Yamato and Musashi weren't even a match for America's Essex-class carriers in WWII and both were sunk by carrier-based aircraft. Against the Nimitz they'd last about ten minutes, which is why no one in the world uses battleships any longer.

When you see a CVN, it's amazing that such a thing can even move, let alone be one of the fastest ships in the ocean. The Navy admits to 30 knots; I've heard rumors that they can actually exceed 40, and a CVN can operate at those speeds pretty much indefinitely.

You can water-ski at those speeds. (Now that's my kind of tow-boat!)

But it's a mistake to think of the US Navy as "carriers". It performs a lot of other jobs, and those actually involve a lot more ships.

Obviously, another major job is to operate "boomers", SSBN's, submarines which carry ballistic missiles. That's the Tridents, the Ohio class boats. They are the largest submarines ever built. Displacing 17,000 tons, they are actually larger than the ships which were considered "heavy cruisers" in WWII.

We also have the world's largest fleet of nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs), consisting of three Seawolfs, and 51 Los Angeles class subs, which will be slowly phased out as the upcoming Virginia subs start appearing. During the Cold War, one of the main jobs for the attack subs was to keep track of Soviet SSBNs. If the Cold War had turned hot, it was hoped that our SSNs could destroy Soviet SSBNs before they could launch their missiles. And other American SSNs were assigned to defend our SSBNs against Soviet SSNs.

With that threat diminished, our attack subs are a major threat to any nation which relies on shipping for anything; it's another stick available to us in our diplomacy, because modern attack subs are extraordinarily capable and dangerous. Our SSNs are, for instance, the primary reason why any attempt by China to actually invade Taiwan would fail. They could only maintain their supply to the invading force using ships crossing the Taiwan Strait, and there's no way they could defend those ships against American SSNs. Our SSNs can attack and sink an enemy ship at a range of 15 kilometers; and the Chinese have no credible ASUB capability. And they know this, which is why they won't make such an attempt as long as the US remains firm in supporting Taiwan.

We also operate the world's largest fleet of surface combat ships, which is to say frigates and destroyers and cruisers. (Actually, a modern American "destroyer" tends to run upwards of 8,000 tons and by WWII standards would have been considered a cruiser.) Some of those are assigned to carrier battle groups to serve as defense for the carrier. They operate in a wide ring around the carrier and will operate against enemy submarines if need be, as well as performing air defense against enemy jets and guided missiles. A typical CBG will have four or five Ticonderoga class cruisers or Arleigh Burke class destroyers, all of which carry the Aegis system and each of which carries helicopters. But the majority of our surface combat ships do other duty, of a wide variety of kinds in war. They patrol, and they sometimes actively hunt enemy submarines (or can, in war) and they also do convoy duty if necessary. And they can provide substantial fire support, via missiles and guns, for troops on the ground.

All of these guys have to be supplied when they're on station, and the US Navy operates a big fleet of supply ships of various kinds. These look a lot like standard cargo ships but they're operated by sailors of the US Navy, and they're armed. (And they don't take shit from anyone.) In a major shooting war against an enemy which has a substantial navy, these ships move in convoy and are accompanied by destroyers.

And what is actually one of the largest missions of the US Navy is to support the US Marines.

If you weren't familiar with Navy ships, you might well assume that this was an aircraft carrier. In fact, in any other navy of the world it would be an aircraft carrier, because it's larger than almost every non-USN ship in the world which is called a carrier.

This is USS Bonhomme Richard, LHD-6. With displacement of about 40,000 tons and carrying 40 helicopters and 5 Harriers, it compares favorably with British carriers such as HMS Ark Royal in terms of ability to project air power. Ark Royal, at 20,000 tons, operates 8 Harriers. Don't get me wrong: Ark Royal is a fine ship, and there are no better sailors in the world than her crew. But she's only half the size of Bonhomme Richard which can operate 20 Harriers if it doesn't carry any helicopters.

But that's not Bonhomme Richard's primary mission; it isn't a carrier. Its mission is to support amphibious assault by the US Marines. Its primary complement of helicopters are used to support air-mobile operations, and in addition to its flight deck it has a large internal hold where it carries landing craft (such as the superb LCAC). In addition to a crew of about 1,000, it's designed to carry about 2,000 Marines, to take them where they're needed, to get them ashore, to support them once they're on the ground, and finally to help them if they're wounded (which is why an LHD has a large hospital, and why another mission for its helicopters is medevac). Its Harriers are intended for close air support of the Marines, and all its aircraft are flown by Marine pilots.

USS Bonhomme Richard left San Diego today, headed for the Gulf, fully equipped and ready for war. So did USS Boxer (LHD-4), another ship of the same class. And they left behind a dock full of tearful wives and mothers and children, who kissed their men goodbye possibly for the last time.

They were accompanied by USS Cleveland and USS Dubuque. They are members of the Austin class Amphibious Transport Docks (LPD), and each of them can carry 900 Marines and 6 helicopters plus landing craft.

And they were also accompanied by USS Anchorage, USS Comstock and USS Pearl Harbor which are Dock Landing Ships (LSD), each of which can carry about 400 Marines plus helicopters and landing craft.

The force that left San Diego today is large, powerful and extremely formidable. One does not send that kind of force out to no purpose; they don't use ships like this to "show the flag". All told this force is reported to be carrying about 7,000 Marines and about 3,000 sailors, but this underrepresents the size of the landing force. (A fair percentage of those who "hit the beach" are actually sailors and not Marines. For instance, the medics who accompany the Marines into combat are sailors.)

Ships like this carry with them everything they need. As long as a friendly CBG or friendly ground-based air assets provides air cover, they're ready to fight wherever they're sent.

An advance force of Marines in Kuwait just unloaded several cargo ships there, carrying what is reported to be sufficient equipment and supplies for a force of 17,000 Marines (probably from the cargo ships we had prepositioned at Diego Garcia for just this kind of eventuality). 12,000 Marines at Camp Lejeune will be deploying very soon, and an additional 3-4,000 Marines from Camp Pendleton just left by air, in desert camo, for "the Middle East".

A few days ago, USS Ashland (LSD-48), USS Portland (LSD-37), USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) and USS Bataan (LHD-5) left from Norfolk for "an undisclosed location" (about which you're permitted one guess). Kearsarge and Bataan are the same kind of ship as Bonhomme Richard and Boxer. Portland and Ashland are the same class as Anchorage, Comstock and Pearl Harbor. The group leaving Norfolk was reported to be carrying 8,000 Marines.

And that's not even everything the Navy has sent, nor have I even mentioned the Air Force or the Army both of which are also deploying huge forces now.

All these ships can reach the Gulf in less than two weeks. This is no joke; this is real. This is no bluff. This isn't just posturing. You don't deploy these kinds of forces in this kind of numbers unless you're really serious. And you do not send a force like this to a theater to sit on its ass for six months and only then go into combat. In the ideal case, they get sent at the last possible instant both because that maximizes readiness and because it minimizes the window of risk to the men and ships from enemy air, missile or submarine assault.

They're really going to start fighting, and soon.

And as is always the case for me in the days before combat begins, I have a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I have been advocating this war all along. I still do. We must fight it. We cannot wait any longer.

But there are a lot of good people in those ships, who are going to put themselves into harm's way for the rest of us, and I know that some of them won't come back. I'm terribly afraid for them.

I know they'll fight well. I am absolutely certain that they'll prevail. I know that none of them are eager for combat, but they're all ready for it, and they're as prepared as it is possible for them to be. They are tough and they are confident and they will do what they need to do.

And I know that they're fighting in a good cause, and I have no doubts about the decision to send them. But all we can do, here on the home front, is to sweat it out and hope for the best (and pray if you got 'em).

When you read the headlines, as combat begins and as the war develops, remember that we're not moving counters around on a map. It's not a real-life replay of the SuperBowl. The people who fall down don't get back up. They're real people fighting for us; they're our neighbors and our friends; our sons and daughters and cousins; some of them are mothers and fathers. The Iraqis will be shooting real bullets at them. This is no sporting event. It's deeply serious and horribly ugly and incredibly dangerous.

We must fight and we must win, and we will. But we will pay a high price to do so, and we must remember the price, and remember those who pay it, and know that victory is always dearly bought, even if there's only one casualty.