Fleet Response Plan
Very interesting analysis of the Navy's fleet reorganization, in response to the new conditions of terrorism-fighting. It's actually a force-response reorganization. The Cold War model was to have 1/3 of the fleet deployed, 1/3 being refitted, and 1/3 in training.
The new Fleet Reponse Plan (FRP) calls for:
Imagine that...the Navy is changing its force structure so that it can fight a war every 70 days. Every two months, in other words. Such a situation is certainly not unimaginable: what if China had attacked Taiwan while we were engaged in Iraq or Afghanistan?
And the new FRP is already working:
Amazing, really. Change is always hard, and pro-active change is hardest. I'm proud of our Navy, and the military in general, for taking the initative and thinking ahead, changing where necessary.
The new Fleet Reponse Plan (FRP) calls for:
The FRP provides the nation six aircraft carrier strike groups deployed or ready to deploy within 30 days and another two aircraft carrier strike groups ready to deploy within 90 days. Commander Fleet Forces Command, based at Norfolk, Va., is leading the implementation of FRP across the Navy.
[Secretary of the Navy Gordon R.] England is committed to leading the service in alignment with a National Defense Strategy that measures success based on the “10-30-30” metric. That measurement defines the goal for closing forces within 10 days, defeating an adversary within 30 days and resetting the force for additional action within another 30 days.
Imagine that...the Navy is changing its force structure so that it can fight a war every 70 days. Every two months, in other words. Such a situation is certainly not unimaginable: what if China had attacked Taiwan while we were engaged in Iraq or Afghanistan?
And the new FRP is already working:
During the exercise Summer Pulse ’04, the Navy proved it could employ forces based on the FRP. With no more than 30 days notice, the Navy deployed seven aircraft carrier strike groups.
Amazing, really. Change is always hard, and pro-active change is hardest. I'm proud of our Navy, and the military in general, for taking the initative and thinking ahead, changing where necessary.
These new military initiatives are really impressive. It is really interesting to see the US military evolve from the large bulky Cold War strategy to one that is capable of engaging in entirely different war zones every two months. I would say that this transformation really began over a decade ago, following the first Gulf War. The transfer from a large D-Day style military to one which is small and capable of surgical striking capacity is nearly as revolutionary to the abandonment of linear tactics in the last few decades of the 19th Century. I would highly recommend Tommy Franks' autobiography "American Soldier". He gives fantastic insight into the changes in the American military over the past few decades.
Posted by
Sir James |
March 28, 2005 8:01 AM