In the US Press: Modern American Naval Officers Become Managers
The last naval battle in which the US Navy took part was the invasion of Okinawa in mid-1945. Then there were, of course, separate naval operations, but only of a supporting nature, and not against enemies of such a level as imperial Japan. Ground Forces, Marines, aviation participated in hostilities in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries, but the fleet itself does not have such experience (with the exception, perhaps, of the transfer of troops), and this worries the American authors.
Of course, writes The Hill, American submarines at one time "played cat and mouse" with Soviet submarines, but this underwater confrontation cannot be called full-fledged naval battles. No American admiral commanded fleetthat would fight other fleets.
Meanwhile, the global political environment is forcing the United States to watch with increasing vigilance the actions of China and Russia. In recent years, China has developed into a strong maritime power that may well launch an invasion of Taiwan. In this case, the United States, if it decides to intervene for the island, will probably have to participate in naval battles against the modern and well-armed Chinese People's Liberation Army fleet.
Meanwhile, The Hill is concerned about the level of readiness of the US Navy for real naval battles. So, the fire at the USS Bonhomme Richard showed that even with such an emergency situation, the fleet can cope with difficulty. What will happen in the event of a large-scale conflict with naval battles?
The Hill writes about a range of issues in the Navy. Moreover, this is at least the second article in the last few days in the same publication.
First, junior officers are reported to complain of declining sailors' morale, combat readiness, and leadership skills. Second, there is an obvious funding problem. Third, the command does not check the operational readiness of the combat units of the US Navy.
The lack of continuity has also become a serious problem: there are no more officers in the fleet who would have participated in their past in real naval battles. Naturally, this circumstance also affects the quality of personnel training and its fighting spirit: there is no one to inspire sailors with their example, to broadcast their knowledge. Modern American naval officers are turning into managers who are not yet known how they will behave in real naval battles. It is noted that naval officers are used to considering the US Navy invincible, but the whole problem is that the last victories date back to bygone dates.
According to The Hill, one of the ways to solve this problem is a radical reform of naval education, which will improve the situation with the level of training of junior officers. And, of course, more time and attention should be devoted to naval exercises.
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