A Rockefeller of the Seas
America Should Consider Private Funding of Its Submarine Fleet
 
 

The most survivable deterrents to war are in short supply as the U.S. Navy struggles to replenish its underwater fleet. But history suggests America’s wealthiest can make a difference in closing the nation’s submarine gap.

By Bill Rivers | April 19, 2024

Mr. Rivers served as speechwriter to U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis from 2017 to 2019.

When General Ulysses Grant floated troops down the Tennessee River in 1862 on the campaign that would eventually break the back of the confederacy, his transports did so under the protection of privately-owned gun boats. The first-of-their-kind riverboat ironclads were at that time still the property of their inventor—St. Louis entrepreneur James B. Eads.1

A wealthy businessman, Eads oversaw more than four thousand workers to build the boats from scratch in less than one hundred days, spending his own money to finish them in time. Though technically under contract with the federal government, he was not paid until well after Grant used his vessels to pry open the war’s western theater.

The acquisition pace for new naval assets was different in 2023. On submarines, for example, the Navy announced last March that the United States would not achieve a two-submarine-per-year delivery schedule until 2028.2

https://republic-journal.com/journal/articles/a-rockefeller-of-the-seas/

 Amphibious assault ship USS Boxer is out of action, and it's a problem, top Marine Corps general says
Story by insider@insider.com (Ella Sherman) • 18h

USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship, is undergoing repairs, causing disruptions to Marine Corps operations.
 
 
"When you lose your big-deck, you lose most of your aviation assets and you lose your crisis response force," Marine Corps commandant Gen. Eric M. Smith told members of the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday.

Smith also said that Marines cannot train the same with the USS Boxer, a large flattop that resembles a medium-sized aircraft carrier, currently out of action.
 
Amphibious assault ships, or LHDs, typically have flight and hangar decks that helicopters and aircraft like the Harrier jump jet or newer F-35Bs can operate from.

 
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/amphibious-assault-ship-uss-boxer-is-out-of-action-and-it-s-a-problem-top-marine-corps-general-says/ar-AA1nZKUe#:~:text=USS%20Boxer%2C%20an%20amphibious%20assault%20ship%2C%20is%20undergoing,that%20the%20USS%20Boxer%20may%20deploy%20this%20summer.