Admiral Sandy Adams (Ret)
Gramps was well informed by Adm. Sandy Adams’ presentation on the status of today’s Navy. Admiral Adams is a recently retired Navy officer with extensive experience and exposure to the facts of today’s naval resources and activities. She told us of the fact that there are 272 ships in the Navy of which roughly 52% are underway. The remainder are either being serviced or on standby. Another interesting fact is that there are more combat aircraft in the Navy and Marine corps than in any other branch of our military.
She told of the coming of the F-35 as perhaps the last manned aircraft in the Navy. She views this as a good thing because it eliminates the risk of death and/or capture of flight crews.
She described her experience as one of the first female officers assigned to sea duty. She had good words for the crews she served with since she was judged entirely on her performance without any gender bias. In discussion of the place of women in the service, she revealed that only about 25% of the persons of appropriate age are actually eligible for service due to many kinds of disqualifications based on behavior, etc., thus the military has fewer recruits to choose from than would seem to be available. Such things as criminal records contribute to the disqualification.
NATO is an important factor in our Navy’s deployment. There are 46 countries on base in NATO. Afghanistan is a very important site at this time. The Mediterranean and Indian Ocean are important with all the activity of ISIL in the region. The Navy provides one third of all the airstrikes in Afghanistan.
North Korea remains an increasing threat and China is continuingly advancing. Only the Navy has the ability to operate all over the world. Global trade is critical to our economy: it is responsible for 25% of our jobs and $160 Billion in California. As a result of potential global choke points, our Navy has increased its deployment to protect such points. We have increased from 50 to 58 ships for this purpose. Along with this is practice maneuvers with other countries such as South Korea.
New designs are in the works. The U.S.S. America is a new design that uses entirely non-fossil fuel and has markedly improved efficiency using bio fuel. A civilian group called the Military Sea Lift is doing very well in providing mid ocean refueling under way. Other new innovations are the use of laser weapons that cost only 25 cents per round fired and electromagnetic weapons that cost only 85 cents per round. Admiral Adams conclusion is that we have the best Navy in the world. We thank her for her service and for her very positive presentation about our Navy.
* 70% Water, 80% people, 90% Trade ** 100% On Watch **375,000 A/R sailors, over 200,000 Navy civilians ** On watch 24/7 ** Around the clock, far from our shores, defending America at all times. ** Navy has great ships, submarines, and aircraft….but a billion dollar warship is nothing without its crew. ** PICTURED: guided-missile frigate USS Simpson (FFG 56) conducting Amphibious Ready Group and Marine Expeditionary Unit exercises. ** Last FFG deployment in 2015. Making room for latest technology.
*272 Ships/Subs, 52% underway at any time *Sailors on Land, EOD, SEABEEs, SEALS: Small, but critical. SC Special Warfare Operator Edward Byers…MOH *3700 aircraft…evolution of unmanned aircraft. F35 coming to the fleet. First Atlantic crossing last year. Last manned aircraft? *Critical arm of the Navy’s power projection ashore. *Submarines…Women on subs * TOP LEFT: Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer in the 7th Fleet area of responsibility * BOTTOM LEFT: F/A-18C Hornet assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 87 on USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). *BOTTOM RIGHT: The Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS La Jolla (SSN 701) after completion of its six-month deployment to the western Pacific Ocean.
*Our collective actions with our partners is critical to promote stability and trust. ROK Navy and Japan MSDF have participated with us in ballistic missile launch exercises off of Hawaii. These unprecedented exercises with our partners make us better at working together in real world operations and solidifying the Navy can be there when it’s needed. *July 2014, Rim of the Pacific Exercise with 22 other countries. *Top Right: An MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter operates near USNS Mercy and the People’s Republic of China medical ship Peace Ark during a close formation of 42 ships and submarines from 15 international partner nations during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2014. *Top Left: Sailors both assigned to Beachmaster Unit , with signaling a landing craft air cushion (LCAC) assigned to Assault Craft Unit (ACU) as it arrives at Marine Corps Training Area Bellows *CENTER: Explosive ordnance disposal technicians from the U.S. and Republic of Korea perform a maritime improvised explosive device (IED) familiarization dive
