For the U.S. submarine fleet, it’s still a Cold War
Published: 16 March, 2009, 22:26
Edited: 24 February, 2010, 12:39
America’s strategic submarine fleet, armed with Trident II ballistic missiles, spends more time these days in the deep sea than they did during the Cold War.
The US ballistic missile submarine fleet has always had 2 crews. It is not a recent change. Two crews allowed the submarines to achieve the high 50-70% at sea rate talked about in the article. To keep these highly technical ships at sea requires periodic maintenance in port, which accounts for the 30-50% in-port time. So what is the point of this article, to sensationalize supposed heightened tensions between the US and Russia or the US and China?
Peace is a noble goal. But there are those who only wish to do harm to the citizens of the USA. It is the US Military that stands between them and protects us. Each and every day. Unfortunately, only those who actually served in the military really do understand this. God bless evey Soldier, Sailor, Airman , Marine and veteran. God bless the blue star and gold start mothers and fathers.
It's about time that the world realises that the biggest threat to world peace is the USA, with its gungho policies and its bullying tactics. The world was lied to about Iraq purely because Saddam Hussein gave George Bush senior the two finger sign and if the US president had bothered to study his history he would have discovered that no outside country had ever subdued Afghanistan. In addition why the hell should the USA be the only country to have nucleur capabilities. Would you trust them? I sure as hell don't
Just want to see how to make a post. Good points. Obama is making contradictory statements. He says he wants a world free of nuclear weapons and then expands the USA's, our, nuclear weapons. Obama also is ignoring Israel's nuclear weapons when he points his finger at the nuclear weapons of other countries. The contradictions cause me, and probably others, to wonder if he can be trusted.
Jeff Long had it right. I would add that during the Cold War , 1950-1990, approximately, it was the often maligned nuclear stand-off between the US and the USSR that averted WWIII several times, as a reviesw of events in that period will attest. Does anyone seriously believe that this planet will ever be nuclear-free? That particular genie is long out of the lamp, and it will not be put back, because there will always be another nation or group seeking to gain power by acquiring nukes.
This story further illustrates the power behind politics in the USA. Obscene overkill masking as protection. To one poster: it is the sheer magnitude of nuclear capabilities that added to the threat of nuclear nightmare during the cold war. To comment that the standoff prevented it is absurd, it creates the conditions for it. As far as the clown goes who feels there are people out there wishing to do harm to US citizens, I would rethink this. 9/11 was merely symbolic attacks on institutions of American exploitation internationally, Wall street and the Pentagon. Enemies not only of foreigners but of US citizens as welll
"Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it." Younger generations have little understanding of the Cold War and how our Submarine Force won it without firing a single shot. This was/and is today all about deterence by our country and allies.. General Colin Powell: “No one has done more to prevent conflict – no one has made a greater sacrifice for the cause for Peace – than you, America’s proud missile submarine family. You stand tall among our heroes of the Cold War.” — General Colin Powell As Admiral Nimitz said in the aftermath of Japan's deadly, unprovoked attack on Pearl Harbor, "It was our submariners that able to turn the tide until our surface fleet ...." As an acknowledged Submarine Force family member (as a civilian, and excluding contractors) I probably know more about submarines, especially life aboard, than most. The men of The Silent Service, by the very nature of their missions, receive no public recognition. These young men (average age, 23) travel silent and deep to protect our country. BRAVO ZULU>
I currently Serve on an Ohio class submarine and have made several patrols. First point yes back during the Cold War each submarine made less patrols than currently however, there were 41 ballistic submarines commissioned during the cold war. Hence the "41 For Freedom". So now with only 14 SSBNs we still have to maintain the Nuclear Presence with a lot less submarines. As far as Nuclear disarmament goes we will always have it. We can trust most of the nuclear nations to not launch, but do you trust China? How about North Korea? If we step down our Nuclear deterrence then those countries might think they could do something like trying to remove the U.S. Now I may not agree with all the U.S. has done, but I do believe in what the U.S. is supposed to stand for. This is still my country where my family and friends live, and I'll be damned if I don't protect that which I believe in or care for in anyway I can.
Good article. Most Americans little know that the "41 For Freedom" were the cutting edge of America's nuclear deterrence that eventually ensured the peace during the Cold War. I served as a torpedoman aboard one of those submarines conducting six deterrent patrols and a like number of other deployments in the early-mid 70s. I remember our commanding officer saying that, "We will win this struggle, but only if we never have to fire a shot in anger." In those days, not all of us were very confident in that successfully happening. Thank God it did. The Cold War with the now deposed Soviet Union is over, but the cold silent watch continues. Thanks to a new generation of submariners who will continue in defense of our nation in this increasingly dangerous world.
Very amusing.... since it was Putin who said this statement on August 17, 2007, "We have decided to restore flights by Russian strategic aviation on a permanent basis." I guess this is still the Cold War going on..... "C"