Senator promises careful scrutiny of Navy carrier changes

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, R-Va., is expected to scrutinize any Navy proposal to reduce its aircraft carrier force to 11 and decommission the USS John F. Kennedy, according to a spokesman.

Although Warner has not commented on specific details of the forthcoming fiscal 2006 defense budget, the chairman "remains convinced of the importance of carrier-based air power to America's efforts against terrorists who train in remote areas of the world," the spokesman said in a statement Monday. "It took five carriers to win in Afghanistan -- and he will keep that in mind as he reviews the department's budget," which is expected to be submitted to lawmakers Feb. 7.

The spokesman said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called Warner last week to inform him of the broad outlines of this year's Pentagon budget, which is still being formulated.

"It is clear that the Department of Defense will not be exempt from the overall budget tightening that the administration intends to put forward this year," the spokesman said, adding that Warner "believes that it is fair for the department to play a role in the overall budgetary discipline this year, as long as the reductions are consistent with preserving our national security and military readiness in the war on terror."

Media reports of the Kennedy's retirement last week immediately sparked opposition from Florida lawmakers. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., last week said the Pentagon's proposal is "short-sighted, short-term thinking, and long on wrong-headedness." Crenshaw said removing a carrier from commission "is not like flipping a switch. She can't come back on in a moment's notice should we need her desperately."

Crenshaw said he sent a letter to President Bush expressing his concern about the proposed cut in the carrier fleet. "I'm going to do everything in my power to convince the president that our national security demands at least 12 carriers, if not more," he said.

The Kennedy is reportedly only one of a handful of planned cuts in Navy and other defense programs. The carrier is an especially likely target for decommissioning in part because it is slated to undergo a $250 million, two-year overhaul this spring in its home port of Mayport, Fla., leaving ample time for Navy officials to revise their plans.

The Navy recently has taken steps to increase the number of ships assigned to home ports closer to hot spots and is studying the idea of transferring an aircraft carrier from the continental United States to Guam or Hawaii.

In this scenario, the Navy could possibly sustain a day-to-day level of forward-deployed carriers with a smaller carrier fleet, according to a Congressional Research Service report last month by defense analyst Ronald O'Rourke.

Increasing the number of ships with home ports farther out in the Pacific is viewed as an enhancement of the Navy's ability to respond to potential contingencies in locations such as the Korean Peninsula or the Taiwan Strait, the study states.