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Monday, May 7, 2018

The U.S. Navy has reactivated the 2nd Fleet -- now they need to give it some ships

For many years, the 2nd Fleet patrolled the North Atlantic, serving as our primary force for tracking Soviet -- and later Russian -- submarines entering the Atlantic from bases in Arctic Russia. Emperor Barry I deactivated the 2nd Fleet in 2011 because it was "expensive" and, hey, who needs to keep track of Russian submarines anyway?

Well, somebody decided maybe we should, after all:
Washington (AFP) - A top US navy admiral announces the re-establishment of the US 2nd Fleet -- a Cold War command disbanded in 2011 -- to patrol the North Atlantic and face a resurgent threat from Russia.
The chief of US Naval Operations, Admiral John Richardson, made the announcement during a change of command ceremony Friday in the Atlantic naval port of Norfolk, Virginia.
Of course, the 2nd Fleet has no ships at the moment. Nonetheless, a command structure will be created. It's a start, but it isn't enough. The Navy needs ships. Pres. Bill Clinton and Emperor Barry I were horrible, but Pres. George W. Bush wasn't much better at adding ships to the fleet. And don't think for a second we don't need more ships:
Russian planes and ships have in recent months made multiple incursions in the north Atlantic close to the airspace and territorial waters of US NATO allies, including Britain.
NATO naval officials in late 2017 also reported Russian submarines probing underseas data cables in the north Atlantic.
The Russians have been very aggressive in recent years. Letting them continue to be so unchecked is a horrible idea. I will take this as a good sign. A small start, but a start.


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