US Navy, Third Fleet
Naval Base Point Loma, San Diego, CA
Admiral Lensten frowned. He was still new to his slot as deputy commander and head of N5 (plans), for 3rd Fleet so he was feeling his way in the new job. However, the readiness report he had just received from the N3 (operations) commander was the worst level of readiness he had ever seen. If he had still been the captain of the America, there would have been hell to pay. Just do what you would have wanted your XO to do, Bill. Lensten nodded to himself. “Commander, do you feel that this level of readiness is acceptable?”
The Commander hesitated. He didn’t know Lensten well and wasn’t sure what his command style was. Better to be honest. “No sir, I do not.”
“That’s a relief. I would hate to have to find a new N3 after just two weeks in the job.”
“No, sir.”
“What do you propose we do about this?”
“Sir, it’s the budget. Maintenance budgets and training budgets have been slashed.”
“I don’t want excuses, commander, I want answers.”
“Yes, sir.” The commander thought for a few minutes. “Sir, I think that we need to take one CVN and one LHA down, shift crews across and use the surplus to ensure that our remaining ships are fully operational.”
“You know that will cause a shit storm in the Pentagon and on the hill.”
The commander looked down, thinking. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. “Yes sir. I would rather do the right thing and get relieved of my command than let sailors go out on a ship that isn’t safe.”
“Good man!” It made Lensten happy to know that his new boss had fostered a culture where officers were not afraid of uncomfortable truths. “Let’s get this down on paper and I’ll take it to the boss.”
It took hours, but they finally came up with a plan that allowed them to operate safely with a force that could do the jobs requested of them. It also meant reducing the number of sorties they would support this year, but it was the best of a bad situation. This meant that besides the George Washington, which was forward deployed in Japan, there would be only one other aircraft carrier in the Pacific at any one time for the foreseeable future. It also meant only one Amphibious Readiness Group, or ARG, would be available. This was basically half the capability that they would normally maintain. While the US Navy had the largest carrier fleet in the world, the Chinese Navy (People’s Liberation Army Navy or PLAN) was working hard to catch up, recently commissioning their first full-on catapult-capable carrier.
As he walked over to his boss’ office to deliver the bad news, he cheered himself up remembering that he was scheduled for an inspection tour of the newly commissioned LHA-8, USS Bougainville. Rushed into service to replace the USS America which had been sunk at the battle of Fiery Cross Reef, the Bougainville was working up off the coast of California, and its commanding officer had invited him over to give a talk to his officers. A good excuse to get out of the office. Lensten often thought of that fateful day when his command had been shot out beneath him.
He braced himself, checked his uniform briefly and knocked on C2F’s door. Well, at least the boss wasn’t a screamer.