By James R. Holmes
Maybe Soviet Fleet Adm. Sergei Gorshkov had it backward: quantity doesn’t have a quality all its own. Instead the speed, mobility, and striking power of U.S. naval ships and aircraft render mere numbers largely moot. The U.S. Navy can do the same, or more, with less. Or at least that's the message Undersecretary of the Navy Robert Work seems to be sending. One hopes he's right. Budgetary exigencies mean that the size of the American navy will remain stagnant at around 285 ships -- even under the most upbeat forecasts. Work struck an ebullient note during the Surface Navy Association National Convention in Washington last month, maintaining that naval commanders "have" Ronald Reagan's fabled 600-ship navy for all intents and purposes. "We span the globe," declared the under secretary, despite fielding the smallest number of warships since World War I.
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