Thread by @GsmittySmith

Former National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien (@robertcobrien) honored this evening alongside #LA Mayor Eric Garcetti (@ericgarcetti), Admiral Michelle Howard (@honoronline) and UPS (@UPS) by the National Museum of the Surface #Navy at the Battleship #IOWA (@ussiowa)…

Here are highlights from O’Brien’s speech, where he spoke to specific issues regarding the #Navy and measures our nation can take on the diplomatic and economic fronts to preserve our liberty in this new era of great power competition…

“First, we need a 355 ship Navy, and we need it now.   As former PACOM Commander Admiral Davidson stated, the next decade is the period of maximum danger for a conflict with China, especially over Taiwan.”

“Quantity matters in the fleet if we are to deter the PRC and other adversaries.  Thus, the idea that we should “divest to invest” now makes no sense.  Right now, citing budget constraints, the Navy plans to rapidly decommission its 22 Ticonderoga class cruisers in years ahead.”

“It would cost $500m to repair and modernize each of the Ticonderogas giving them a significant ship life extension.  This cost is far less than the $3.5b it would take to replace them on a per ship bases.”

“This is just one example of how divesting to invest is a bad idea and will lead to a significantly smaller fleet during the very window that we require a larger navy to deter the People’s Liberation Army Navy.”

“Second, we must add range to our Navy.  That means we deploying hypersonic missiles that can be launched from sea.  Our adversaries have already tested and deployed such weapons.  We must do so as well.”

“And, that doesn’t mean putting a few hypersonics on our three Zumalt class destroyers as a demonstration. It means retrofitting all of our destroyers, over time and starting with the Flight One Burkes, to carry hypersonic missiles.”

“The other place we need range is off the decks of our carriers.  Our current jet fighters cannot take the fight to the enemy or operate close enough to our allies without putting our carriers and their 5,000 person crews at risk.”

“We no longer have the F-14 Tomcat or A-6 Intruder to project air power at a distance. Thus, we must deploy unmanned tankers for our naval aviators and unmanned long range strike UAVs to add punch to our carrier air wings.”

“As some of you saw at the time, I took heat as the National Security Advisor for visiting our shipyards in #NewHampshire, #Maine, #Wisconsin and #Virginia and for pushing the Pentagon to implement the President’s promise to the American people to build a 350 ship navy.”

“I undertook these efforts because a strong navy is not just a naval service issue. Indeed, it is not even a Pentagon issue.  As a maritime nation with two great oceans on its border, the strength of the US Navy is, by definition, a national security issue.”

“The greatest challenge to liberty and to the freedom of the seas today is in the Indo-Pacific and is posed by the Chinese Communist Party and its naval arm, the PLAN.”

“Retired Admiral James Stavridis (@stavridisj) suggests we help turn Taiwan into a “porcupine” that would require China to mount a difficult amphibious landing and sustain a prolonged counterinsurgency to subdue.  I agree.”

“First, Taiwan has hundreds of millions of dollars in military equipment on order. We need to speed up the delivery of those weapons.”

“Second, the U.S. and its European allies should provide Taipei with significant quantities of the Naval Strike Missile. These missiles in Taiwan’s inventory would seriously threaten any Chinese amphibious force.”

“Third, Taiwan should acquire Quickstrike air-dropped sea mines from the U.S. The understanding that Taipei is capable of creating a denied-access zone in the Taiwan Strait would hamstring any Chinese amphibious planning.”

“Finally, Taiwan must improve its trained military reserve. A Swiss-modelled well-armed civilian population could turn any invasion of Taiwan into a lengthy and costly affair.”

“Recall that one of the key rationales of both the Biden and Trump Administrations for ending operations in Afghanistan was to focus on great-power competition in the Indo-Pacific.”

“To show the US means what it says a significant portion of the troops that had been in Afghanistan should actually be redeployed to the Pacific. Stationing troops at Robertson Barracks in Australia, on Guam, in HI, or in AK would demonstrate DC meant what it said about pivoting”

“As Secretary Blinken (@SecBlinken) acknowledged this week, negotiations to renew the compacts of free association with Palau, the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia must be completed soon.”

“These islands are close U.S. friends and require our continued association and economic assistance. The compacts, in turn, give the U.S. military unfettered access to a vast swath of the Pacific.”

“American Samoa has no persistent US military presence, and its waters—as well as those of neighboring countries—have been ravaged by illegal, unreported and unregulated Chinese fishing.”

“Stationing a Coast Guard cutter at our old naval base in Pago Pago would bolster the safety fellow Americans.”

“Supporting law enforcement in the neighboring independent countries of Tonga and Samoa through Coast Guard ship rider agreements would show real U.S. commitment in the region.”