"If anybody can get this thing unstuck, it is Donald J. Trump. The thought of having two brand new battleships, afloat and ready to go before Trump's term is up - brings a smile to my face. In his first term, Trump gave us the Space Force. In this term, he is giving us the Golden Fleet of Battleships. Proud to be an American? I sure am!"
To say this old Navy guy is excited after yesterday's news would be quite the understatement! Holy cow! I have been waiting for this for a long, long time. Ever since Desert Storm. To me, our old battlewagons belong on the front lines of battle - not as museum pieces. Why is that? Dang near unsinkable. With solid steel sides ranging from 6" to 12", they were about as safe and safe can get. But now the battlewagons of yesteryear are way too dated to join the fight. Trump's solution? Bring on the Golden Age of Battleships! Brand new from the keel upward!
They will be called the Trump Class. The lead ship will be the USS Defiant (BB1). Nuclear powered, and bristling with state-of-the-art weapons which exist today, and ready for the weapons which will exist tomorrow. We have scrapped the idea of having a new Frigate class called the Constellation Class. We will keep the two that are in construction and forget the rest. Why? Cost and schedule.
The Commander-in-Chief as ready to wade into our weapon procurement snafu. No more sky-high overruns. No more schedule extensions which go out to the edge of the horizon. No more half empty shelves for munitions. Trump is calling together all our defense production gurus for a bit of a scolding. For example, this new battleship class, of which there will be two built initially, Trump wants done in 2 1/2 years with zero, zip, nada cost or schedule overruns. In other words, the entire defense industry needs a giant "do better".
However, as a former employee of the defense contracting industry, I do need to say this. Government - heal thyselves also. Part of the problem of staying on schedule and within budget is the nine zillion rules and regulations which need to be followed - many of them unnecessary. Cut the crap, cut the red tape and then the industry will have a fighting chance to clean things up. If we keep the morass of rules and regulations as is, it will be an uphill battle.
If anybody can get this thing unstuck, it is Donald J. Trump. The thought of having two brand new battleships, afloat and ready to go before Trump's term is up - brings a smile to my face. In his first term, Trump gave us the Space Force. In this term, he is giving us the Golden Fleet of Battleships. Proud to be an American? I sure am!
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