On Oct. 13, the Navy is set to celebrate its 250th anniversary.
Every Oct. 13th is a day to celebrate and reflect on the founding of the nation’s Navy. From inauspicious origins, what was a meager fleet of two ships in 1775 grew into a force that helped deliver our nation’s independence and unleash human liberty.
Today, that fleet is needed more than ever to safeguard that hard-won freedom and prosperity. This cannot be done without sailors, modern warships, and lethal munitions at numbers that matter.
Over the last year, our political and military leaders relearned that technical competency and service to the nation are the qualities that attract people to the Navy. Under the last administration, which prioritized individual identity and feelings as a priority, recruitment tanked. Now, those numbers have only slowly improved as prior leadership grudgingly reversed course.
Today, the Navy’s recruitment is rebounding, buoyed by a renewed emphasis on lethality and commonsense standards—as championed by our secretary of war. But this must continue for the next few years so we can recover our losses and grow to meet the needs of the larger fleet demanded to confront today’s dangers, the foremost of which is Communist China.
At-sea death is always near navigating an unforgiving ocean. Consider 1944, when a typhoon caused three destroyers to lose nearly all hands and wreaked serious damage on nine other warships. In naval combat, survival is a function of tenaciously competent leadership, the technical acumen of the crew, and a capability edge over the adversary.
Today, China is eroding these margins. Fortunately, our sailors know this, and they’re unrelenting in making American naval tonnage count and ensuring each advanced munition hits its mark.
But this cannot be sustained without a shipbuilding revival, new fleet level operations, and a continual growth in warship numbers. Our sailors deserve better than what they have today—especially if they’re to prevail in a long war with China.
In naval warfare you are either victorious or you are sunk. Our Navy is steeped in many lessons written in blood—lessons that teach undeniably, for example, that there are no cheap solutions to building survivable and lethal warships.
At the same time, though, cost overruns and delays aren’t sustainable as the fleet’s service life is quickly running out. At over 20 years old, over a third of our fleet faces a midlife crisis.
Resources aren’t unlimited, and time is a commodity we don’t have with a foe like Communist China, whose leaders are making every preparation to wage a successful war with the U.S. by 2027.
Today, there are no wonder weapons that can assure victory. But the rapid embrace of unmanned warships armed with long range strike and missile defense weapons can fill an urgent need to get firepower to sea before the end of 2027.
Simply put – the Navy needs more ships at sea armed and within weapons range, and a forthcoming plan for its fleet design must address this necessity.
This past week, our nation has celebrated and reflected on our Navy. The president and the first lady began the celebrations at Naval Station Norfolk on Oct. 5 that included live fire weapons demonstrations off the Virginia coast.
Such celebrations underscore that our Navy has much to be proud of. But storm clouds are building in Asia, and the mettle of our sailors and ships could soon be tested in a manner not seen since 1945.
China is on the march, and though some wars are being ended, vigilance and strength are the surest remedy against an adversary’s adventurism. So, while we celebrate our Navy on its 250th birthday, we must remember the risks our sailors take for our liberty—and start preparing for the Navy’s next 250 years.
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