Marines vs. Military-Industrial Complex

The U.S. Navy’s last two battleships appeared in December 2005 to have seen their final combat, on their way to being museum pieces. That’s not necessarily so. A decision to be made on Capitol Hill this week will determine whether the USS Iowa and USS Wisconsin are ready for a possible naval confrontation in the Persian Gulf with Iran.

Advocates of maintaining the World War II-vintage warships as troop-support firing platforms fell short nine months ago in efforts to block a provision in the Defense Department authorization bill sending the vessels to museums. Overlooked then was the bill’s conference report requiring that the battle wagons be returned to active duty if the president declares a national emergency. But they will be useless relics unless this year’s Defense authorization prohibits changes in the battleships that “would impair their military utility.”

The Chief’s duly considered opinion is that these ships are still a valuable asset to the defense of the United States. Right now we couldn’t replace them if we HAD to…the infrastructure just isn’t there anymore.

Remember: “BATTLESHIPS ARE CHEAPER THAN BATTLES.” – Lord Charles Beresford.