Dave,

As for this option, it wouldn't make any sense.

Your good points made me realize I had forgotten to include a key
assumption.

Yes, there is a time / distance penalty (compared with a forward deployment
to Japan or Guam), but we already have a boat there. Presumably the Japan
boat would sortie immediately while the Hawaii boat gathered its Air Wing as
expeditiously as it could, and then move out to wherever. Like an Alert 15
backing up an Alert 5.

Now if we also plan to do away with any boat deployed west of Guam I would
be much more inclined to agree with you.

Distance and time certainly matter, but these are also times when the
Japan-based Air Wing deploys to Iwo Jima for bounce practice. More
importantly, a US based Air Wing does not incur the same premium cost (in
terms of incremental additional support, moving families, etc.) as one
forward deployed.

If our objectives could be enhanced as well with a boat forward deployed to
Hawaii without its Air Wing (and the Japan boat / Air Wing still in place),
then as a taxpayer I know what I would choose.

--
Mike Kanze

"If truth is beauty, how come no one has their hair done in the library?"

- Lily Tomlin


"Dave Morris" wrote in message
...
I'm not sure the Air Wing needs to stay in the Hawaiians with the boat.
It might work as well for the Air Wing to stay on the mainland, with its
training opportunities like NAS Fallon not available in the Hawaiians.
This is different from being forward-deployed to Japan and having access
to Misawa, etc.

As for this option, it wouldn't make any sense. Basing a carrier in
Hawaii puts it outside the range of some of the aircraft it would be
carrying if they were based on the mainland. If the carrier would have to
backtrack, even if she could meet them half-way, what would be the point
of a having the carrier forward deployed in the first place? When
traveling with escorts (not at top speed) it takes a carrier approximately
5-7 days to reach Hawaii from the west coast and vise versa, basing the
aircraft on the mainland would defeat the purpose of having her forward
deployed and surge ready.

Another option might be for the Air Wing to be forward-deployed elsewhere
in the Pacific basin: Japan or Guam, if space permits. They could pick up
the ship in transit from Hawaii to whatever hot spot she's headed.

This makes a lot of sense. You could even possibly spread the aircraft
squadrons throughout the Pacific (Hawaii, Guam, and possibly Japan). The
only issue with this becomes that of training. In order to do
pre-deployment workups, the aircraft need to be onboard. It may prove
difficult to make rounds out to Guam and Japan to pick everyone up.
Especially because most Hawaii based ships currently do pre-deployment
training between Hawaii and the West Coast. It would only make sense
then to base more escorts in Hawaii, Guam, and Japan and do training in
the Western Pacific instead. We wouldn't exactly be playing in our own
backyard anymore, but on the plus side this would provide greater
opportunities to do international training with our Pacific rim allies
(Australia, Japan, s. Korea, etc.) and provide a stronger "presence" in
the Pacfic.