Despite splendid deeds, Navy remains target of budget AX.

• Author: Lewis, Fred
• Position: Viewpoint - Brief Article

Despite overwhelming evidence that large-deck aircraft carriers are critical to the United States' national security, there are ongoing efforts, behind-the-scenes, to reduce our carrier force structure.

Before September 11, the Navy was hard pressed to fulfill existing carrier presence requirements around the globe. Now, with continued presence required in the Arabian Sea, the carriers and their embarked air wings will be stretched dangerously thin. In this time of great uncertainty, and for the foreseeable future, as we carry out the war against terrorism, it would be unwise to reduce the carrier force structure. No other country in the world possesses this "trump card" in bringing such formidable power to bear against an enemy.

On September 11, the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise was en route to its homeport in Norfolk, Va., after it had completed a normal six-month deployment to the Mediterranean and Arabian Gulf Within minutes of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, an alerted "Big E" reversed course and prepared to engage in combat operations. Early the next day, the ship was within striking reach of Afghanistan, ready to launch aircraft armed with precision-guided weapons against Taliban and al Qaeda terrorist targets far inland.

Other forward-deployed aircraft carriers immediately joined in response to the crisis. The USS Carl Vinson, operating in the Western Pacific, was redirected to participate in the war on terrorism. The USS Kitty Hawk quickly completed preparations to leave its homeport of Yokosuka, Japan, to join the cause -- and was tasked to participate in the innovative role of a mobile deployment platform for joint special operations forces.

Displaying extraordinary flexibility, Kitty Hawk was reconfigured rapidly to support Army special operations helicopters, along with embarked Navy tactical aircraft. The carrier became a floating staging base for U.S. forces. In remarkably short order, these vital national assets were all "on station," ready to deliver America's response against the al Qaeda terrorist groups and the Taliban regime that harbored them in Afghanistan. Over the course of six months, more than 50 U.S. warships, including five other aircraft carriers, participated in Operation Enduring Freedom.

The Navy's successful contribution to Operation Enduring Freedom has centered on carrier-based strike aircraft operating from the sea. In this war effort, the long established rotational deployment of...