CNO Mullen bumped up to Chairman, JCS
Ignoring the E-Ring spin that Congress shouldn't exercise oversight and force the SecDef to offer something other than two more years of Pace-against-West-Asia, bumping up the CNO to Chair offers a moment to think about the big picture.
Has the time come to formally scuttle the former SecDef's, and the former SecNav's (now ASD) plan to turn the blue water navy into a brown water navy? Is the US Navy really just the Saudi Coast Guard and a bunch of gun boats to support "Jointness".
How many carrier strike groups can fit in the Persian Gulf in a sandstorm and how many surface-to-surface missiles can thread the needle of ship defense, again, in a sandstorm?
Has the time come to formally shootdown the former SecDef's and the current SAF obsession with jamming heavy armor (minus most of the armor) into 19 ton C-130 airlift? There's a wicked huge pile of cash attempting to shrink 68 ton main battle tanks into 19 ton packages. I suppose one day someone will come up with an assemble-on-battlefield kit consisting of three 19 ton parts and a bag of nuts, bolts and fashion accessories.
Just what is the point of "Air Power" anyway? Other than combat air superiority, tactical missions in support of ground and naval forces, look-down, and logistics?
Iraq and Afghanistan are just the wrong wars. Asymmetric distractions from symmetric forces.
