European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 27, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                An Fa-18 roars toward a Carrier Takeoff. The Carrier Fleet is at the Center of the debate Over the size of the  new foes detente budget cuts Navy by Erik Eckholm new York times one american aircraft Carrier and its menacing Convoy of warships plied the Northern arabian sea. In the persian Gulf several Navy frigates and destroyers monitored the traffic of Oil tankers. A second earner Bailie group Laden with warplanes and missiles visited Italy on a tour in the Mediterranean. A third Carrier Armada was returning to san Diego after conducting exercises in the Western Pacific while a fourth was in port in Japan. In the Caribbean Navy frigates aided the Effort to halt illegal drugs. Prowling the seas were some 30 to 35 attack submarines tracking the soviet submarines and warships they would pursue in War or perhaps spying on the navies of China India or Brazil. And 15 to 18 other undersea vessels carried enough Long Range nuclear missiles to destroy the soviet Union. It was a typical Day in peacetime for the . Navy which rules the oceans and wants to keep it that Way. Quot we Are the leading maritime Power in the world and Well need to control the seas regardless of what happens in Moscow said Secretary of defense Dick Cheney in a recent speech. But detente and the budget crunch Are bringing the Navy under harsh criticism from some experts who Challenge the service s current mix of forces and its hallowed methods of operation. They argue that the Navy like the other services must make a greater contribution to the Quot peace dividend a than the Pentagon has proposed and that it could save More Money by changing some of its ways. For example sen. Sam Nunn the Georgia Democrat who is chairman of the Senate armed services committee takes Issue with the Navy s policy that virtually All deployable ships must be Able to get under Way within 10 Days. He Calls it Quot increasingly unnecessary and  keeping an Active naval presence abroad has enormous support among leading military experts. But Many ask Why cheaper alternatives to the costly Carrier groups cannot be used in a number of instances to Quot show the Flag Quot or fight. The Navy is also under attack within the Pentagon. The air Force competing for Ever scarcer military dollars argues that it can strike Distant targets with land based aircraft that Are far cheaper to maintain Page 16 a than the Navy s cumbersome Carrier groups. The debate has entered largely on the number of aircraft carriers the Navy should operate the size of the attack submarine Force and the need for a costly new Model and the role of Reserve forces. At the heart of the discussion is a More Basic question How often and with what forces does the United states want to patrol the seas the Navy maintains warships usually a Carrier group almost continuously in four areas considered to be Quot key crisis hubs Quot a the Western Pacific around Asia the Indian Ocean and persian Gulf the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean and the Caribbean. Quot its of great political value to show a fairly continuous presence on the High seas Quot said Gen. Colin l. Powell chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. Quot through port Calls and exercises with friends in the Region the . Shows it is remaining engaged in the Western Pacific and remaining engaged in the  indeed the Navy argues that its Distant parading of warships is More vital than Ever. To support its position it cites global political turmoil terrorism the proliferation of advanced arms rising american dependence on overseas goods and markets and new concerns like illicit drug traffic. Despite the relaxation in tensions with the soviet Union the persistence of Large soviet naval forces plus these other concerns add up to Quot business As usual Quot for the Navy adm. Carlisle . Trost the chief of naval operations said in a recent speech adding Quot the need for Forward deployed naval forces in sufficient numbers with Superior capabilities has not  a but critics say the reduced Odds of War with the soviet Union surely demand changes in forces and practices. Quot this Navy was justified by the plan to bring War to the soviet Union said Barry m. Blechman a military expert at the Henry l. Stimson Center a research group in Washington under former Reagan plans were Laid for a 600-ship Navy including 15 Carrier Battle groups four battleships and 100 attack submarines. The goal in Case of War was to go on the offensive against the soviet Fleet at Home and take command of the oceans. Our buildup was based on the need for maritime superiority in five Heaters simultaneously a said John f. Lehman ii Secretary of the Navy under Reagan. Since then while the soviet Union has not the stars and stripes significantly reduced its Navy it has Cut Back on overseas operations. More significant critics say the likelihood of conflict is vastly reduced. Taking a cautious approach the Navy warns that soviet intentions can change much faster than the United states could replace scrapped warships. The Navy has 549 ships but two battleships and two of the 14 Active carriers will go out of service and the total number of ships will fall to 488 by 1997, according to plans painfully drawn up by the Navy to meet its share of Pentagon cuts presented to Cheney. Some experts favor reducing the Navy a vessels to 400 ships or in the most far reaching proposals to fewer than 300. Such plans would Force the Navy to become much More of a Home based service that responds to crises. Some think the Navy has the political support to avoid such drastic cuts. Many experts including Lehman and Nunn instead favor shifting More vessels into the reserves. A decision Central to the future shape of the Navy and the size of its budget involves the number of Carrier Battle groups. These account for More than one third of the $100 billion budget of the Navy and Marine corps. Carrier groups floating arsenals of advanced weaponry have been a favorite tool of presidents because their very presence can project american Power abroad. A menacing armadas visibility deters foes from hostile acts Navy officers say. And if Force is judged necessary a limited air strike can be launched avoiding the lasting political entanglements that often bedevil invading troops. In the last two years carriers were used to strike at iranian vessels after an american ship hit a mine in the persian Gulf to stand off the South korean coast e.5ympc 9ames to discourage disruptions by the North koreans and to sail toward Lebanon in support of hostages held by captors who had killed one american and were threatening to kill More. T me Pentagon budget guidelines the Navy says it will reluctantly give up two of its 14 Active carriers no decision can recover the $14 billion Cost of constructing the surface warships and aircraft in a Battle group which typically includes the Carrier 86 aircraft two cruisers four destroyers Supply ships and often one or two attack submarines. But taking a group out of service could save much of the annual operating expense estimated by the congressional budget office at $500 million for a typical , May 27, 1990