Shaping the 21st Century Navy

SHAPING THE 21st CENTURY NAVY The structure and doctrine of the U.S. Navy are enduring a painful reassessment; observers are even drawing parallels with General Billy Mitchell's bomber demonstrations of 1923 that heralded the end of the battleship era. The future of the carrier fleet is now being questioned amid both Congressional budgetary debates, and Defense Department skepticism about the purpose of the fleet. Navy planners are confronting the strategic revolution brought by technological change-one made all the more portentous by enhanced Soviet sea power. The following essays discuss the future of the Navy from two perspectives. The first reflects a considerable part of Congressional sentiment concerning programs underway; the second indicates how the Navy may contend with defense policy decisions that it regards as unfavorable. W e believe that these essays offer unusual insights into the trends and controversies of the coming two decades. -The Editors 174 ...