For all its combat power and large numbers, the United States naval and air forces are not without certain shortcomings and are forced to overcome various difficulties. All such difficulties in one way or another weaken the sea and air fleets, which may be beneficial to third countries. Such facts and trends, quite expectedly, attract the attention of specialists and analysts.
On November 26, the Internet edition Next Big Future presented its interpretation of current events in the development of the US Navy. Editor-in-Chief Brian Wang published an article titled "US Navy, Air Force are overworked so Russia and China ramped up activity to exploit the weakness." As the name implies, the topic of the publication was the current trends in the development and work of the American armed forces, as well as foreign reactions to such events.
B. Wang begins his article with a reminder of the urgent problems of the American navy. He points out that the US Navy has reduced the number of personnel, and this has led to an increase in the workload on the remaining sailors. Sailors and officers on duty have to keep watch for 100 hours a week. This has certain negative consequences.
Through regular exercises, including international ones, the United States naval forces are able to flex their muscles. When planning future operations, the fleet must take into account various factors, including the need to maximize combat power in the shortest possible time. In the event of a hypothetical conflict, the naval forces will have to pull at least three aircraft carriers with naval groups into the combat area. Such operations place special demands on the fleet. According to B. Wong, in order to solve such problems, it is necessary to begin the restoration of the Navy.
The US Pacific Fleet is currently the largest and most numerous operational-strategic formation of its kind in the world. It includes about two hundred ships and submarines, as well as about 1200 aircraft and helicopters. A total of 130,000 military and civilian specialists are serving on Pacific bases. Nevertheless, according to the author of Next Big Future, even this is not enough for the desired level of combat readiness that meets the requirements of the time.
For example, the US 7th Fleet has a uniquely large area of responsibility. He must monitor the situation in the territories and waters with a total area of 124 million square kilometers. The eastern border of this zone is on the date line, and the western one is a continuation of the Indian-Pakistani state border. The fleet must operate from the latitudes of the Kuril Islands to Antarctica.
The Pacific Fleet as a whole is called upon to solve several main tasks directly related to the situation in the region. He must monitor the activities of North Korea and, if necessary, respond to its actions. He must participate in joint operations with the navies of South Korea, India, Japan and other friendly states. Also, the US Pacific Fleet is responsible for countering the Chinese Navy in the South China Sea.
The U. S. Air Force lacks pilots
Also B. Wang touched upon the problem of the shortage of pilots in the United States Air Force. Earlier this year, Senator John McCain, who served in the naval aviation in the distant past, drew attention to the problem of shortage of flight personnel. He called this situation a "full-scale crisis" that could have the most serious consequences. According to the senator, the lack of pilots may lead to the fact that the combat potential of the Air Force and their ability to perform the assigned task will be in question.
In the days leading up to the Next Big Future post, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson brought up the issue of pilot shortages again. According to her, at the moment, the Air Force lacks two thousand pilots. Ongoing operations are pulling back the available forces. As a consequence, the command needs to prepare in advance for new actions, taking into account the existing capabilities.
The High Command has already taken some measures to reduce the shortage of aircrew. In October, US President Donald Trump signed a decree under which the Air Force could return 1,000 retired pilots to active service for up to three years. This decision of the President expands the conditions of the Voluntary Retired Return to Active Duty program, which started in July. Under this program, retired military personnel are given the opportunity to return to the army for a specified period. Initially, the VRRAD program provided for the return of personnel of 25 specialties. Now pilots can also join it.
However, the first month of the new terms of the program did not have time to lead to noticeable results. According to B. Wong, to date, only three retired pilots have taken advantage of this opportunity. Obviously, this is too little to fulfill the current plans.
Learning sacrificed
A shortage of personnel is also observed in the naval forces, which leads to unpleasant consequences. Long-term combat service of ships leads to a significant increase in the workload on their crews. The author recalls the recent incidents with the destroyers USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) and USS John S. McCain (DDG-56), which until recently were based in the Pacific Ocean. The crews of the ships were busy with operational duties and combat service, which seriously affected the educational process. Such a problem could well become one of the reasons for the two collisions of destroyers with foreign ships.
B. Wong quotes Karl Schuster, now a professor at the University of Hawaii and a former naval officer who served on warships for about ten years. He notes that in the absence of sufficient time for training activities, there is a "fleeting atrophy of skills." In this context, he compared the crew of a battleship to a football team: they must constantly train.
Overloaded seafarers refuse service
The increased workload on the personnel leads to another problem, one of the consequences of which is the difficulties with the full-fledged training of seafarers. Faced with unacceptably high complexity and length of work during service, overwhelmed seafarers lose interest in continuing. They refuse to renew their contracts and continue their service. As a result, the ship goes on the next voyage without them.
This situation seriously complicates the training of personnel. Excessive loads literally squeeze sailors and officers who have undergone a certain training out of the fleet. It takes time to train new specialists to replace them.
19 years to restore the industry
Another problem for the United States Navy is related to the state of the shipbuilding industry. In September this year, the US Government Accountability Office, having carried out an inspection of the industry, came to disappointing results. It turned out that the state of the existing factories involved in the program of building ships for the navy leaves much to be desired. Problems have been identified both with the equipment of factories and with enterprises in general.
The specialists of the Accounts Chamber studied the state of shipbuilding and made some conclusions about its prospects. Tests and calculations have shown that a separate, long-term program will be required to restore production capacity with the desired results, fully meeting the current requirements. Such work can take up to 19 years.
China and Russia exploit the problems of the United States
Brian Wong believes that the Chinese military has already learned about the existing problems of the US military. The naval forces of the People's Liberation Army of China can operate freely near their shores and cover their activities with ground forces. The US Navy, for obvious reasons, will not be able to fully resist such threats. The position of the US Navy in the Pacific could deteriorate if China continues to deploy new ship formations and intensifies its activities in the coastal areas.
Russia is not lagging behind China and is also building up its combat power. Among other things, the Russian navy and air force have shown increased activity in recent years. Moscow's interests affect both Europe and other regions.
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The article "US Navy, Air Force are overworked so Russia and China ramped up activity to exploit the weakness" from Next Big Future is not optimistic and talks about the current problems of the two main branches of the US Army. Indeed, the US military is now facing a severe manpower shortage, which is causing noticeable problems. At the same time, certain measures are already being taken to stabilize the situation.
However, not all such measures lead to the desired results, as evidenced by the observed consequences of expanding the conditions of the VRRAD program. As B. Wong points out, a few weeks ago D. Trump allowed the Air Force to return 1,000 retired pilots to active service, but this has not yet led to the desired replenishment of units. To date, only a few people have filed reports on returning to flight personnel - less than one percent of the expected number. At the same time, the updated Voluntary Retired Return to Active Duty program will cover only half of the Air Force's needs for pilots.
The situation is similar in the naval forces, but in this case there are several additional specific problems. Due to the increased workload, sailors leave the service, which is why their duties have to be transferred to other military personnel, and in addition, the fleet is losing people with the necessary experience. In this context, one should recall the plans of the American command for the development of the Pacific Fleet in the coming decades. The current problems could seriously affect the build-up of forces in the Pacific Ocean and limit the real capabilities of the Navy in the region.
The current problems of the American armed forces have an understandable effect on the general level of combat effectiveness of individual branches of the armed forces. It is quite natural that such a development of events turns out to be beneficial for the main geopolitical rivals of the United States. China, too, claims to be the leader in Southeast Asia and can fulfill its plans, taking advantage of the geographical advantages. Russia, in turn, gets certain advantages in Europe and some other regions.
However, the command of the American army at all levels sees and understands the existing problems, and is also trying to get rid of them. Not all new moves quickly lead to the desired results, but they still allow the Pentagon and the White House to look to the future with restrained optimism. Time will tell whether the new programs will be able to solve the existing problems, and whether the optimism will be justified.
