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Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Marines To Acquire Carrier Ford

Continuing his stream of stunning announcements about the overhaul of the Marine Corps, the Marine Commandant issued a press release today stating that the Marine Corps would acquire the USS Ford from the Navy during 4Q 2020.  The carrier would be operated by Navy sailors but commanded by Marine officers.  The unprecedented transfer of the carrier to the Marine Corps was prompted by the on-going problems with the carrier which have rendered it unfit for naval carrier operations.  A simultaneous Navy press release described the carrier transfer,

USS Ford operational control and command will transfer to the Marine Corps during the fourth quarter of 2020.  While the Navy has made extensive progress resolving the Ford’s first-in-class problems, the Navy has acknowledged that some of the Ford’s issues cannot be cost-effectively resolved and has determined that the maximum effective use of the carrier can best be made by the Marines. 

Lessons learned from the Ford have already been incorporated into modifications to the follow on Ford class carriers and they will achieve full functionality. (1)

What will the Marines do with a carrier?  According to the Commandant’s press release,

USS Ford will be modified to operate an air wing of UAVs in support of the Marine’s sea control distributed operations.  The UAVs will range in size from small RQ-21 Blackjacks to large Group 5 UAVs similar to the MQ-9 Reaper which will be designed to operate, optionally, as sensor or strike platforms.  The Ford will perform surveillance, targeting and strike operations in support of the Marine’s distributed sea control operations. (2)

Well, there you have it.  I admit that I was surprised by the Commandant’s announcement of his plan to radically overhaul the Corps but this development has left me stunned and feeling like a fool.




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(1)Department of the Navy, Chief of Naval Operations, Memorandum 1-Apr-2020, “USS Ford Transfer Announcement”

(2)Broken Defense website, “Marines To Acquire Navy’s Newest Carrier”, Phil Mymug, 1-Apr-2020,
https://brokendefense/april/fools/post.com

22 comments:

  1. here's how the usn "manages" the virus: https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-military/2020/03/30/an-outbreak-on-a-navy-warship-and-an-ominous-sign-of-a-readiness-crisis/?fbclid=IwAR1WrkQs76DMu72Mu5uaMb4ZxIjogV4cukAKDW6im6QiKDNBOMAV9PZMrow

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  2. Good one!! Had me going for a second.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A degree of plausibility is the key!

      Delete
    2. So the USMC has decided to go green for Fossil Fools Day.

      Delete
  3. Nice! Happy April Fools Day CNO.
    Unfortunately, this may be another one of those times when an idea that started as a mere joke turns out to be the best solution to the problem.

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  4. I think this is a clear sign that the Ford won't be repaired.

    Rex

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    Replies
    1. The Marines also announced a shore bombardment configuration, 75 MLRS launchers chained to the flight
      deck. The two working elevators are considered usable for reloads. The EMALS is to be repurposed to crush beer cans for recycling during Steel Beach days.

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    2. "crush beer cans"

      I love it! :)

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  5. There are some products that we're working on here at RayTheeOn that may help, ART/UA.

    Admiral Replacement Technology provides synthetic AI driven admiral leadership to troubled projects. It runs on the Sherlock Difference Machine, designed by Dr. Babbage to be a companion to Watson. It is able to remotely answer questions from both inspectors and congressional aides. Truly a state of the ART solution.

    The Unmanned Admiral, Increment 2 is a semiautonomous android to allow safe interpersonal interaction with media, congressmen and senators. This was found to be necessary to satisfy legacy constitutional and social requirements until adjustments in the operational environment can be made. The system can be operated by a single sailor and a few inexpensive contractors for a low cost solution. Optional sexual harassment software can be engaged for extra added realism.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Toss in a subroutine that randomly fires ship Captains for 'loss of confidence' and you've got a winner!

      Delete
    2. We had some issues with that in UA Inc. 1 with that issue. The EPA ended up shutting us down over toxic ship environments.

      Increment 1 was probably a little too ambitious. It started out a Legacy Admiral Transgendering Experiment before cycling to Unmanned Admiral for operational use. While procurement rates improved by an incredible 20% with the refurbished models, the Increment 1 models occasionally failed under congressional questions. The blubbering was simply unacceptable so the Navy is only using them to pitch procurement.

      Delete
  6. Itll look good moored at Little Creek!! It goes hand in hand with the Executive Order of 3/26 that places all the decommed LHAs there as well as the decaying remains of the reserve fleet an in-your-face reminder of the Marines has-been status!!!
    Thats my absolute favorite journalist over at Broken Defense btw!!!☕ Thanks for the morning chuckle CNO!!!

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  7. Giant caterpillar tracks mounted to the hull.

    The AAV-8 Ford!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Boats with wheels on the bottom makes it Coast Guard material...
      ;)

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  8. Good one! For a second there I thought they are admitting only the F-35B will ever reliably fly off of it and they can use deck loading.

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  9. The Marines are also taking control of all three Zumwalt destroyers to form the ultimate high-tech and unbeatable battle group.

    ReplyDelete
  10. You joke, but I'm pretty sure someone somewhere has dreamed of a CVN-sized LHD...

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  11. Sad thing is that it might not be a bad idea to let them have it.

    Its best use might be in a raid, where you could scuttle it in the mouth of an enemy harbor, and blockade them for months.

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    Replies
    1. Or as a modern fire-ship!
      Look out Spanish Navy, the Ford is coming!

      Delete
  12. Off topic but funny none-the-less...

    Ramming incident of Venezuela.

    https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/32853/this-venezuelan-patrol-ship-sunk-itself-after-ramming-a-cruise-liner-with-an-reinforced-hull

    ReplyDelete

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