12 thoughts on “Boeing VC-137C 72-7000

    1. USS Nimitz (CVN-68) has just left on her final deployment. When she returns, the United States Navy will be down to ten aircraft carriers, the smallest number since 1943. All of those remaining have been serving extended deployments at hot spots around the world for years. The ships are worn out, much in need of deferred maintenance. The crews are tired. Even if there were more carriers, there are a limited number of aircraft and crews to assign to them. And they are tired, too. The Navy has to cannibalize helicopters for parts. Carriers have as many as half their complement of SH-60 Sea Hawks pushed to the side on the hangar deck, unable to fly because they don’t have parts. The same can be said of the United States Army and Marine Corps. They have been fighting wars almost continuously for decades. For many years, new enlistments have fallen far short of the needs of the U.S. military. That is only starting to turn around with the new administration. Stocks of weapons, like Tomahawk cruise missiles and Standard air-to-air missiles for fleet defense are depleted. A very large amount of 105 mm artillery shells have been transferred to Ukraine, and increased production to make up those losses from the U.S. inventory is only just beginning… The list of short falls could go on and on. So, while it would be nice to be able to increase the number of aircraft carriers in the Pacific, that isn’t possible right now.

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