Thank you, Mr Obama, for this obvious political gift. Our sequestration.

From YahooNews.com:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is cutting its aircraft carrier presence in the Persian Gulf region from two carriers to one, the Defense Department said Wednesday, in a move that represents one of the most significant effects of budget cuts on the U.S. military presence overseas. The decision comes as Washington struggles to find a way to avoid sharp automatic spending cuts set to strike the Pentagon and domestic programs next month.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has approved keeping just one carrier in the Persian Gulf region. The U.S. has maintained two aircraft carrier groups in the Gulf for most of the last two years.

Panetta has been leading a campaign to replace the automatic cuts he warns would “hollow out” the military, and the Pentagon has been providing greater details on the cuts it would have to make if Congress fails to both replace them and agree on a 2013 defense budget bill. The carrier decision is one of the most significant announcements made thus far.

Go here and here and here for more information.

But, naturally, as the rest of America and its military are cut to the bone via Mr Obama’s sequestration, let us take joy and pride in the fact that Joe Biden, our efficient and intellectual vice president, has received a pay hike.

President Barack Obama issued an executive order to end the pay freeze on federal employees, in effect giving some federal workers a raise. One federal worker now to receive a pay increase is Vice President Joe Biden.

 According to disclosure forms, Biden made a cool $225,521 last year. After the pay increase, he’ll now make $231,900 per year.

Also on the list for a pay bump are all of the Senators, House members, John Boehner, majority and minority leaders in both chambers and all the members of the Supreme Court.  They — frankly — got “theirs.”

But, in consideration, perhaps it’s time to realize that the Middle East isn’t any kind of “hot spot” and that, in truth, its delicacy is only offered up by those who wish to exploit global politics over the national good.

Because the Middle East is the last place the United States could expect immediate and serious trouble, is it not?

Frankly, I think it’s time to insert a few US carrier groups off the Canadian coasts.  Because any country who would quantify their coins as either a Loonie or a Toonie.  .  .

BZ

For those interested, an historical list of our US aircraft carriers:

#	Name	Commissioned	Class	Status
CV-1	Langley	1922	Langley-class, lead ship	Sunk, 27 February 1942 65 nm south of Cilacap, Java
CV-2	Lexington	1927	Lexington-class, lead ship	Sunk, 8 May 1942 in the Battle of the Coral Sea
CV-3	Saratoga	1927	Lexington-class	Sunk, 25 July 1946 in Operation Crossroads as a nuclear test target
CV-4	Ranger	1934	Ranger-class, lead ship	Decommissioned: 18 October 1946. Scrapped 1947
CV-5	Yorktown	1937	Yorktown-class, lead ship	Sunk, 7 June 1942 in the Battle of Midway
CV-6	Enterprise	1938	Yorktown-class	Decommissioned: 17 February 1947. Scrapped 1960
CV-7	Wasp	1940	Wasp-class, lead ship	Sunk, 15 September 1942 during the Guadalcanal campaign
CV-8	Hornet	1941	Yorktown-class	Sunk, 27 October 1942 in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
CV-9 a, c, d	Essex	1942	Essex-class, lead ship	Decommissioned: 30 June 1969. Scrapped 1975
CV-10 a, c, d	Yorktown	1943	Essex-class	Decommissioned: 27 June 1970. Preserved, Patriot’s Point Naval & Maritime Museum—Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, USA
CV-11 b, c, d	Intrepid	1943	Essex-class	Decommissioned: 15 March 1974. Preserved, Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum—New York, New York, USA
CV-12 a, c, d	Hornet	1943	Essex-class	Decommissioned: 26 June 1970. Preserved, USS Hornet Museum—Alameda, California, USA
CV-13	Franklin	1944	Essex-class	Decommissioned: 17 February 1947. Scrapped 1966
CV-14 b, c, d	Ticonderoga	1944	Long hull Essex-class	Decommissioned: 1 September 1973. Scrapped 1975
CV-15 a, c, d	Randolph	1944	Long hull Essex-class	Decommissioned: 13 February 1969. Scrapped 1975
CV-16 b, c, f	Lexington	1943	Essex-class	Decommissioned: 8 November 1991. Preserved, USS Lexington Museum On the Bay— Corpus Christi, Texas, USA
CV-17	Bunker Hill	1943	Essex-class	Decommissioned: 9 January 1947. Scrapped 1973
CV-18 a, c, d	Wasp	1943	Essex-class	Decommissioned: 1 July 1972. Scrapped 1973
CV-19 b, c	Hancock	1944	Long hull Essex-class	Decommissioned: 30 January 1976. Scrapped 1976
CV-20 a, c, d	Bennington	1944	Essex-class	Decommissioned: 15 January 1970. Scrapped 1994
CV-21 e	Boxer	1945	Long hull Essex-class	Decommissioned: 1 December 1969. Scrapped 1971
CVL-22	Independence	1943	Independence-class light carrier, lead ship	Nuclear test target in Operation Crossroads, July 1946. Decommissioned: 28 August 1946. Scuttled 29 January 1951
CVL-23	Princeton	1943	Independence-class	Sunk, 24 October 1944, Battle of Leyte Gulf
CVL-24	Belleau Wood	1943	Independence-class	Transferred to France as Bois Belleau (R97) (1953–1960). Returned to U.S. Scrapped 1960
CVL-25	Cowpens	1943	Independence-class	Decommissioned: 13 January 1947. Scrapped 1960
CVL-26	Monterey	1943	Independence-class	Decommissioned: 16 January 1956. Scrapped 1971
CVL-27	Langley	1943	Independence-class	Transferred to France as La Fayette (R96) (1951–1963). Returned to U.S. Scrapped 1964
CVL-28	Cabot	1943	Independence-class	Transferred to Spain as Dédalo (R-01) (1967–1989). Returned to the U.S. Scrapped 2002
CVL-29	Bataan	1943	Independence-class	Decommissioned: 9 April 1954. Scrapped 1961
CVL-30	San Jacinto	1943	Independence-class	Decommissioned: 1 March 1947. Scrapped 1972
CV-31 b, c	Bon Homme Richard	1944	Essex-class	Decommissioned: 2 July 1971. Scrapped 1992
CV-32 d	Leyte	1946	Long hull Essex-class	Decommissioned: 15 May 1959. Scrapped 1970
CV-33 a, c, d	Kearsarge	1946	Long hull Essex-class	Decommissioned: 13 February 1970. Scrapped 1974
CV-34 a, b, c	Oriskany	1950	Long hull Essex-class	Decommissioned: 30 September 1976. Scuttled as an artificial reef, May 2006 in the Gulf of Mexico[1]
CV-35	Reprisal	Canceled (August 12, 1945)	Long hull Essex-class	Canceled while under construction. Hulk launched in 1946 and used for experiments and explosive tests. Scrapped 1949
CV-36 d	Antietam	1945	Long hull Essex-class	Decommissioned: 8 May 1963. Scrapped 28 February 1974
CV-37 e	Princeton	1945	Long hull Essex-class	Decommissioned: 30 January 1970. Scrapped 1971
CV-38 b, c, d	Shangri-la	1944	Long hull Essex-class	Decommissioned: 30 July 1971. Scrapped 1988
CV-39 a,d	Lake Champlain	1945	Long hull Essex-class	Decommissioned: 2 May 1966. Scrapped 1972
CV-40 d	Tarawa	1945	Long hull Essex-class	Decommissioned: 13 May 1960. Scrapped 1968
CVB-41 b, c	Midway	1945	Midway-class, lead ship	Decommissioned: 11 April 1992. Preserved, USS Midway Museum—San Diego, California, USA
CVB-42 b, c	Franklin D. Roosevelt	1945	Midway-class	Decommissioned: 30 September 1977. Scrapped 1978
CVB-43 b, c	Coral Sea	1947	Midway-class	Decommissioned: 26 April 1990. Scrapped 2000
CVB-44		Canceled	Midway-class	Canceled
CV-45 e	Valley Forge	1946	Long hull Essex-class	Decommissioned: 15 January 1970. Scrapped 1971
CV-46	Iwo Jima	Canceled (August 12, 1945)	Long hull Essex-class	Canceled while under construction. Scrapped 1946
CV-47 d	Philippine Sea	1946	Long hull Essex-class	Decommissioned: 28 December 1958. Scrapped 1971
CVL-48	Saipan	1946	Saipan-class, lead ship	Converted to USS Arlington (AGMR-2) 1966. Decommissioned: 14 January 1970. Scrapped 1976
CVL-49	Wright	1947	Saipan-class	Converted to USS Wright (CC-2) 1963. Decommissioned: 27 May 1970. Scrapped 1980
CV-50		Canceled	Long hull Essex-class	Canceled
CV-51		Canceled	Long hull Essex-class	Canceled
CV-52		Canceled	Long hull Essex-class	Canceled
CV-53		Canceled	Long hull Essex-class	Canceled
CV-54		Canceled	Long hull Essex-class	Canceled
CV-55		Canceled	Long hull Essex-class	Canceled
CVB-56		Canceled	Midway-class	Canceled
CVB-57		Canceled	Midway-class	Canceled
CVA-58	United States	Canceled (April 23, 1949)	United States-class supercarrier, lead ship	Canceled five days after the ship’s keel was laid down
CV-59	Forrestal	1955	Forrestal-class supercarrier, lead ship	Decommissioned 11 September 1993. Currently docked at NISMF, Philadelphia, PA
CV-60	Saratoga	1956	Forrestal-class supercarrier	Decommissioned 20 August 1994. To be dismantled at NS Newport, RI[2]
CV-61	Ranger	1957	Forrestal-class supercarrier	Decommissioned 10 July 1993. On donation hold, docked at NISMF, Bremerton, WA
CV-62	Independence	1959	Forrestal-class supercarrier	Decommissioned 30 September 1998. Awaiting disposal, docked at NISMF, Bremerton, WA
CV-63	Kitty Hawk	1961	Kitty Hawk–class supercarrier, lead ship	Decommissioned 12 May 2009. In reserve until 2015, docked at NISMF, Bremerton, WA
CV-64	Constellation	1961	Kitty Hawk–class supercarrier	Decommissioned 6 August 2003. Awaiting disposal, docked at NISMF, Bremerton, WA
CVN-65	Enterprise	1961	Enterprise-class supercarrier, lead ship	Inactive 1 December 2012. Decommission 15 March 2013 (scheduled). Awaiting defueling, docked at Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, VA.[3] Slated for disposal[3]
CV-66	America	1965	Kitty Hawk–class supercarrier	Decommissioned 9 August 1996. Scuttled in 2005 as a live-fire test platform
CV-67	John F. Kennedy	1968	Kennedy-class supercarrier, lead ship	Decommissioned 1 August 2007. On donation hold, docked at NISMF, Philadelphia, PA.
CVN-68	Nimitz	1975	Nimitz-class supercarrier, lead ship	Active; Homeport: Naval Station Everett, Everett, Washington
CVN-69	Dwight D. Eisenhower	1977	Nimitz-class supercarrier	Active; Homeport: Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia
CVN-70	Carl Vinson	1981	Nimitz-class supercarrier	Active; Homeport: Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California
CVN-71	Theodore Roosevelt	1986	Nimitz-class supercarrier	Active; Homeport: Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia
CVN-72	Abraham Lincoln	1989	Nimitz-class supercarrier	Active; Homeport: Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia
CVN-73	George Washington	1992	Nimitz-class supercarrier	Active; Homeport: Yokosuka Naval Base, Yokosuka, Japan
CVN-74	John C. Stennis	1995	Nimitz-class supercarrier	Active; Homeport: Naval Base Kitsap, Bremerton, Washington
CVN-75	Harry S. Truman	1998	Nimitz-class supercarrier	Active; Homeport: Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia
CVN-76	Ronald Reagan	2003	Nimitz-class supercarrier	Active; Homeport: Naval Base Kitsap: Bremerton
CVN-77	George H.W. Bush	2009	Nimitz-class supercarrier	Active; Homeport: Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia
CVN-78	Gerald R. Ford	2015[4]	Ford-class supercarrier, lead ship	Keel laid; Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia
CVN-79	John F. Kennedy	~2020[4]	Ford-class supercarrier	First steel cut; Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia
CVN-80	Enterprise[3]	~2025[4]	Ford-class supercarrier	Planned; Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia

Further:

The United States now cannot afford to accomplish the USS Lincoln overhaul and refueling.

From MaritimeExecutive.com:

The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) refueling complex overhaul (RCOH) will not start due to a lack of funding, the Navy said Feb. 8.

Lincoln was expected to move to Newport News shipyard next week to begin the overhaul. However, as a result of the fiscal constraints resulting from the ongoing continuing resolution (CR), the contract for the refueling complex overhaul (RCOH) has not been issued to Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.

Lincoln will remain pierside at Naval Station Norfolk until sufficient funding is received to start the execution of the RCOH. In the meantime, the ship’s Sailors continue to conduct maintenance.

In their 50 year life spans, one RCOH is scheduled for the midpoint of an aircraft carrier’s service life. Lincoln was commissioned 23 years ago Nov. 11, 1989.

The impact of postponing CVN 72’s RCOH is three-fold:

* the time scheduled for the RCOH will have to be lengthened because the overhaul won’t begin when it was expected,

* delayed redelivery of Lincoln to the fleet,

* and impacts to industry (takes away money/jobs and can delay subsequent scheduled availabilities).

Cancelling or delaying maintenance creates a significant backlog of deferred maintenance and affects future year schedules and costs, as well as future readiness. The delay in Lincoln’s RCOH will affect other carrier work. Because of the short time available between sequential dockings, the delay will also result in day-for-day impacts to the defueling of the recently inactivated Enterprise (CVN 65) and the start of USS George Washington’s (CVN 73) RCOH.

BZ