The Future of the U.S. Navy

[Zach Caldwell]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/10/tech/innovation/navy-new-technology/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

 

I found this most interesting and wanted to share it with the forum. This is kind of mind boggling and scary at the same time.

[seabird]

All that is said about the USS Zumwalt is probably about half true and was designed to frighten laymen, who have only a brief knowledge of how ships work. Always remember, when reading articles like this, that the Laws of Physics remain inviolate.  That being said, however, the Zunwalt IS a formidable weapon, it is, however, only ONE ship and it is unlikely that many or even IF any additional ships like it will be built. A warship, however powerful,  is only as strong as the men (and women) who operate that ship and, while mutiny has not occurred in a very long time in the US Navy, it is always every Captains' daily nightmare. I do not mean to give the idea that US Naval Personnel are likely to mutiny, but, I can assure everyone, from my own persona;l experience, that American Naval Personnel are as righteous as anyone else, maybe even more so as they have seen and visited those place so different from our own that they might as well be another race on another planet. They are about as likely to fire upon their own fellow citizens as they are to commit hari-kari on the White House lawn. Sailors and soldiers (and airmen) have a well known soft spot in their hearts for children, the elderly and the sick/infirm or wounded of another nation and any commanding officer going "rogue" would never have the chance of "pushing the button".

 

In short, while the USS Zumwalt is a marvelous advance in engineering and design, it remains the men and women who man her, not the machines inside her hull and, from the lowest wiper in the Engineroom to the Captain on the Bridge, there is a dedication NOT to use the weapons provided.

 

 

Charles Bird

SeaBird