"Deploy the Carriers!" How long to get there?

[busterpickle]

To clarify some things:

There are also other limiting factors. Typically the air wings on carriers need weeks of training before being ready to deploy. Getting a carrier to a crisis zone is more than simply being physically present.

Maybe longer, there are a lot of certifications required of both the air wing and the ship. That being said, it’s a moot point as there is a regular training schedule so in theory there should be a carrier with its air wing ready to deploy at any given time.

I would assume their max speed would affect battle group’s speed (5-7 days). . . I mean, I’m the President. I would never send a carrier out on it’s own; she’s a sitting duck without picket and support ships.

Not really, a carrier is not really expected to have any major offensive or defensive capability by itself. It’s the air wing that provides that and they sit far far away from land. You some sorties that are offensive and others that are defensive. Assuming the carrier was fully laden with its supplies and fuel it could go awhile before replenishment.

[QUOTEflyboy I was attached as an XO to EODMU6, and the guys there gave me a few pointers. But I didn’t get a chance to ask: there are oilers and ammo ships that sail alongside the carrier–do their underway replenishment affect sortie rates that you, as aircrew, would notice?]

[/QUOTE]

Really? When? Usually (on the East Coast) we go to Earle, NJ, and do an “ammo onload” where we fill the magazines with ordinance. I’m not saying that it’s impossible to do an “ammo onload” at sea but it’s just easier to do it on a dedicated base.

Also, the supply ships (oilers, etc) are constantly circulating around feeding everyone. Plus, they are at every major base. So, ideally, one would deploy from Japan and Spain and meet up at some point. Also, there was only one conventional air craft carrier and that was out of Japan, the rest are nuclear so you only need fuel for the generators and aircraft.

Well the modern Carrier should be able to sustain 32 knots pretty well and maybe higher.

Who told you that? It is not customary for a ship to be at full-speed for a prolonged period of time. This has a huge logistics and maintenance impact. Typical cruising speed is 14-17 knots. Carriers can go faster to generate a 30 knot wind across the flight deck to help give the aircraft lift (that catapult doesn’t do it all). But, to get where they are going, it’ll be the 14-17 knots. I have been on a ship when we did go max speed (and then some) but that was for Katrina, a national emergency, and Louisiana is a lot closer than Spain or Japan. I really don’t thing the US has every had any ship go full speed across either ocean. I’ll have to ask some people that are still in.

Before sequestration, talking about the time to do anything was a moot point as the US had anywhere between 11-14 carrier groups and they rotated in and out. Regardless of what the current political climate was. If they needed more, they either extend another groups deployment or redeploy one that just got back. The reason being the training and certification process is very intensive and very costly. You spend a lot of time and money going through the phases. As I was on an LHD (amphibious aircraft carrier) we first had to do these: sea, well-deck (amphib part), flight deck. Then the grand finale of being able to do all those operations at the same time. It takes months to arrange everything between all the branches and departments.

Now, post sequestration, they will stop all the things that are expensive: training, maintenance, deployments. To be started back up again in October, but, this will have unforeseen logistical impact.

[Sailboat]

@electronbee

It is not customary for a ship to be at full-speed for a prolonged period of time. This has a huge logistics and maintenance impact.

For one thing, long high-speed runs will damage the propellers through cavitation. Still, they will do it if some sort of crisis requires it.

Regarding escorts, the fighting escorts can probably keep up with the carrier speedwise; but their range (and associated refueling) will be a limiting factor…offset, as mentioned in previous posts, by replenishment ships either accompanying (which would present a speed limitation) or pre-positioned along the route (which they do routinely, possibly not during sequestration).

[MikeS]

I don’t know how accurate this website is, but if it is, you could probably get the George Washington to the Sea of Japan pretty quickly and the George H. W. Bush or the Dwight D. Eisenhower to within sabre-rattling distance of Spain without too much delay.