Huh? Only USS Carrier In Asian Waters Sent To Desert?

The critical shortage of aircraft carriers in the U.S. Naval Fleet is one reason why Donald Trump’s re-election would have been wise in the eyes of some admirals.

Not that Mr. Trump after the 8-year budgetary neglect of Obama couldn’t grasp the danger in letting our carrier stockpile age to dangerous levels as the Chinese Communists stockpiled theirs. But, another 4 years of the pro-military Commander in Chief might have made a difference. Instead, on this Memorial Day 2021, we have the WSJ asking what’s going on with “The Missing Aircraft Carrier”? According to the paper, the only carrier the US has in Asian waters is USS Ronald Reagan & instead of minding that strategic store, has been ordered by the Pentagon to cover Biden’s Afghan retreat. It seems the aging USS Dwight D. Eisenhower now covering the Middle East for us has been deployed going on forever and has to head home for a well-earned respite, meaning the PRC can have (and is having) a field day in its home waters.

As the WSJ noted, using any carrier to guard troops in the sandy Middle East is a little questionable to start with, and on second thought, it would have been “cheaper” just to leave a small contingency of troops in Afghanistan to cover the president’s withdrawal. But, as Joe is fond of saying, “it’s simple” as in “mind bogglingly so.”

Davd Soul