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Donald Moskowitz
Londonderry
Our 11 aircraft carrier strike groups are stretched very thin around the world: in shipyards undergoing repairs, maintenance, overhauls and upgrades; in transit; and in port after prolonged deployments. A major undertaking has to be the revival of our shipyards to handle the construction and repair of our aircraft carriers.
The crews on the ships are enduring physical and mental strain from prolonged deployments which could impact their morale and readiness. My guess is the retention rate on our carriers is low due to these conditions.
It has been known within Navy circles that we need more than 11 carrier strike groups to meet our commitments. There are estimates that 12 to 15 carriers are needed to adequately address our needs.
A possible fix is delaying the retirement of older carriers when we bring on new carriers starting with the USS John F. Kennedy due to join the fleet in March 2027. The USS Nimitz, and carriers due to be retired in the future, would continue in service for a while to provide the 12th carrier. The upkeep for postponing carrier retirements could be costly, but it pales in comparison to $30 billion for a new carrier. A question is: Can old carriers remain in service beyond their estimated useful life and fulfill missions and not endanger the crew?
Adding a 12th carrier would provide much better worldwide coverage and improve the morale and retention rate of our Navy personnel.