Implications for the U.S. Navy of a 50 percent decrease in defense spending
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Authors
Brady, Patrick Hahler
Subjects
United States National security
Naval warfare
United States Military policy
United States Navy.
Naval warfare
United States Military policy
United States Navy.
Advisors
Tritten, James J.
Date of Issue
1992-12
Date
December 1992
Publisher
Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School
Language
en_US
Abstract
This thesis addresses the capabilities of the 300-ship Navy that could be afforded with an assumed fifty percent decrease in defense spending and the restrictions that this size navy would place on U.S. foreign policy. This Navy could fulfill the nation's strategic deterrence requirements for the post Cold War era. The SSBN force alone provides the required EMT to provide the nation with an assured destruction capability. This navy could also fulfill the nation's forward presence requirements. However with the ability to maintain only two CVBGs forward deployed, the Navy would be forced to use non-traditional methods, such as new deployment force structures or a mix of high cost/high capability and low cost/low capability ships, to fulfill this role. The requirements for crisis response can be fulfilled but only at the tactical level of warfare. It is unlikely that this navy could even lift one division to conduct forced entry missions with. Even if one division was lifted, it is too small to conduct forced entry missions even at the low end of the operational level of warfare. This would force the U.S. to rely more heavily on joint and coalition warfare. Additionally, the ability of this navy to handle more than one crisis at a time is doubtful. Finally, this navy could fulfill the nation's reconstitution requirements if given the full assumed warning period (8 to 10 years) to reconstitute forces.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
National Security Affairs (NSA)
Organization
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funding
Format
80 p.
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.