Surface Forces: July 7, 2003

Archives

The U.S. Navy is undergoing a far reaching reorganization. When this is complete, the fleet will have 33 deployable "task forces". There will be 12 CSG (Carrier Strike Groups, each with a large aircraft carrier), 12 ESGs (Expeditionary Strike Groups; i.e., a reinforced battalion of marines and their amphibious ships, including a smaller amphibious aircraft carrier), and 9 SGs (Surface Action Groups consisting of cruisers and destroyers). There will also be four SSGNs (ballistic missile subs converted to carry cruise missiles and/or commandos). Nuclear attack submarines are also assigned to each of these task forces. Naturally, a portion of the task forces ships will be in refit at any given time, but by juggling the resources (mostly be reducing the number of ships in a CSG), the fleet will end up being able to maintain a "presence" while keeping more forces closer to home. Thus there will always be at least two dozen task forces available to send overseas to deal with emergencies.