We can argue until the sun consumes the Earth why that is, but the fact remains true all the same.

The problem isn’t that the South turned traitor to the Republic in service of greed and racism (order arguable). The problem is that the South still has a far-too-significant fraction that doesn’t think the Confederacy was wrong on basically every count.

As a born-and-raised Atlantan, my stance is that Sherman didn’t burn enough

I’d argue the Slav side of the debate would hold they are their own thing separate from the rest of Asia (also racist).

The CVN-21 program was to phase it in over the first three ships, now known as FORD, JFK, and ENTERPRISE. Then-SecDef Rumsfeld overruled the Navy in the early 2000s and demanded FORD be fielded with the entire suite, contributing significantly to the mess.

Additional details: FORD herself did have numerous teething issues with the new technologies, including her catapults, elevators, and other systems. This contributed to a long construction and long period between commissioning and first deployment.

Further, the original Navy plan for the tech in…

The TICONDEROGAs are unambiguously at the end of their service lives.

But only one has been commissioned to date as the Navy moves ahead taking the 22 cruisers out of service. They were originally to be replaced by CG(X), a cousin of what became DDG 1000 before that was cancelled in the 2000s for cost reasons. While uncomfortable, the retirements are necessary as…

And while we’re here, asking Bryan Clark, noted opponent of aircraft carrier construction, if a carrier was a good investment is like asking Ferrari for an opinion on the last Ford F-150. At best it’s a biased answer.

*Technically the TICONDEROGA class is being replaced by the Flight III DDG 51s…

And combined with her different deck layout, advanced elevators, and other features means a FORD class ship can fly her aircraft more times per day than a NIMITZ, by about 33-50%. In situations where raw sortie rate is the key factor, she is much more powerful than the older ships.

Than she (FORD) was. The FORD class has numerous significant improvements over the preceding NIMITZ class, including the noted crew reductions (which is significant cost savings over the life of the ship) and her electromagnetic catapults. Her catapults put less wear and tear on her aircraft,…

Escort.

Second, it’s really hard to talk about the CVN-21/FORD class program succinctly, but the facts of the matter are thus. FORD was late and over budget; JOHN F KENNEDY and ENTERPRISE (the next two FORD class ships) will be comparable in cost to their elder sister and are less behind schedule…

CHURCHILL’s commander is a full captain; BAINBRIDGE and MAHAN are both commanders per SURFLANT. This also means that by default CHURCHILL will be acting as FORD’s “bodyguard”, with the other two ships potentially further out. Of course as needs must, both BAINBRIDGE and MAHAN can be FORD’s close-in…

Air defense commander for the group. That means CHURCHILL has ultimate responsibility for group air defense, supported by the others. This role was traditionally filled by a TICONDEROGA class CGs, but as the fleet retires those without replacement*, DDGs commanded by full captains are taking over.

In his defense, he is not the worst of the petulant self-assured asshole lot inside the Puzzle Palace. But everyone worse than him works for him soooo….

Some are calling him one of the stupidest motherfuckers in American defense policy (me)

As well you goddamn should