08/08/24 Afternoon CommStock Report – Global Geopolitical Mission Since WWII is Outgrowing the US Navy

Where are US aircraft carrier task forces today? Those that are in service are being shuffled around the world like paddles in a game of whack-a-mole to attempt to cover all of the globe’s geopolitical hot spots. We have reached a point where the US Navy is short of the necessary resources to meet every mission being asked of them. The Navy is short of sailors and has had to resort to lengthening missions and exchanging crews to keep the fleet operating. We are not even at war and the US Navy is fully deployed. The USS Ronald Reagan, which is based in Yokosuka, Japan, the US Navy’s largest overseas naval base, is being switched out with the USS George Washington. What was unusual was that the Reagan returned to San Diego where the carrier transferred everything “from aircraft tires to hazmat suits” to the Washington. That is cutting the inventory of these items too close when forced to trade back and forth. The number of carriers in the fleet and the number which can be deployed at sea at any one time are two very different things. The USS Reagan will transfer its aircraft to the USS Washington at…