European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 11, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday March 11, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 9 Over Here a amps Gary Miller sailors aboard the Forrestal deployed in the Mediterranean stand near planes and watch As the Carrier takes on fuel from the replenishment Oiler Milwaukee. Carriers far from sitting ducks Navy says us i i Imp Roi turn n n. _ a t a a a a. By j. King Cruger Mediterranean Bureau aboard the Carrier Forrestal a critics slam americans aircraft carriers As easily damaged Multi billion Dollar dinosaurs. The Navy says that a nonsense and justifies the enormous Cost of its 14 flattops a a new one costs $3.4 billion a by arguing that they Are viable Centrepieces of National strategy uniquely projecting american Power worldwide. Naval strategists say carriers Are Tough to find even harder to target and so Well defended that knocking one out of action would be extremely difficult. An aircraft Carrier is not As vulnerable As a lot of people think it is. We enjoy a great degree of mobility and flexibility a said rear adm. 1 Richard c. Allen commander of Carrier group 6. A the Carrier As big As it is can employ a certain degree of stealth through rapid movement a Allen said aboard his flagship the Carrier Forrestal now on a six month Mediterranean deployment. A you try to avoid going to where someone would think you should be and you go somewhere else. There is a Little bit of cat and mouse  a Carrier Battle groups fighter aircraft anti air missiles and anti submarine capabilities offer Good Protection said adm. Carlisle . Trost the chief of naval operations. An aircraft carriers compartmentalized Hull design modern firefighting systems and highly trained damage control teams make it. The least vulnerable ship Ever built Trost has said. But Carrier Battle groups done to sit and hide from the enemy Allen said. Instead they use their tremendous offensive capability to take the fight to the enemy. A Navy Carrier Battle groups offence is designed to engage the enemy at the longest possible Range. Carrier Battle group dispersal formation i a a j a typical Carrier Battle group formation May occupy 56,000 Square Miles. As an example this Carrier group is shown dispersed Over a similar area of the Eastern United states. 1 strikes Chicago Indianapolis St Louis Atlanta Bat air patrol stations Pittsburgh Jfe Teigh to intercepts Albany . Detroit Cincinnati Knoxville Tenn Columbia to Jfe Boston carriers Washington Richmond a. Baltimore my. Anti air warfare ships Philadelphia Harrisburg a Clarksburg . Norlock a Tretton . Dover Deis amps Susan Harris several years ago in a presentation to Congress the Navy said the ships of a typical Battle group formation might occupy an area of about 56,000 Square Miles a Region As Large As much of the Eastern United states. In this example the carriers were located in Washington . Richmond. A. And Baltimore. Ships guarding against an air threat to the carriers were arrayed from Trenton ., in the North to Norfolk va., in the South. The threat loomed in the West so other screening ships were positioned As far West As Harrisburg pa., and Clarksburg . The Carrier Battle group kept interceptor aircraft stationed above Raleigh. N.c., and Pittsburgh. These aircraft would be Able to conduct intercepts throughout a vast area reaching from Northern new England to South Carolina and As far West As Detroit. The goal of fighter aircraft is to intercept and destroy aircraft before they can launch air to surface missiles. Generally such intercepts Are supposed to occur about 300 Miles from the main Carrier Force. While operating behind this protective screen the carriers would be Able to launch air strikes against targets As far to the West As Chicago and St. Louis. A Carrier Battle group entered on a single Carrier the Forrestal for example May consist of from eight to 16 ships depending on whether it is operating in a period of Low or High tension. These ships some several Hundred Miles from the Carrier provide a second line of defense against air threats. They include guided missile cruisers and destroyers. The new generation of Ticonderoga class Cruiser using the Aegis shipboard weapon system can automatically track Large numbers of targets and launch multiple surface to air attacks simultaneously. Closer to the Carrier arc anti submarine warfare ships. They Are aided in their role by ship based helicopters and Shore based p-3 Orion aircraft. Hunter killer subs also join in the search for enemy submarines. A we arc very capable in Battle. I Feci that we have a very very Strong capability against any threat from anybody a said capt. Tim Thomassy the Forres talks skipper. A i really done to see a whole lot of difference Between our capability in being Able to defend ourselves against a nuclear threat As compared with a conventional threat. The Way it is delivered is generally the same. The Only difference is the size of the Boom when it gets  Thomassy added a i won t try and sit Here and Tell you that there in t a Chance that some of those weapons could get through. They  but he feels a overs comfortable in our  a a we have strength in depth out Here with our air Wing. We have our Speed and Maneule ability. Mobility is our big asset and we have the air Wing that can take the weapons to the  the skipper said. A the submarine is my largest concern. Do 1 feel vulnerable to it  Thomassy said. A we Are not vulnerable to the Point that they subs Are assured of getting us. But the capability is certainly there. The threat is certainly  Allen also is confident of a Carrier Battle group s ability to defend itself or offensively engage a threat. Quot we Are going to  Allen said. Quot there is no doubt in my military mind that we Are going to win. I Don t enter fights that i want to  a amps Gary Miller capt. Tim Thomassy Quot. Strength in depth