U.S. Naval Decline

The U.S. Naval Institute recently posted some interesting figures on America's Naval Decline-

At the conclusion of the Gulf War in 1991, the US Navy had in commission some 529 ships, a total that included 22 mine warfare vessels, 61 amphibious ships, and 112 auxiliary units, those unglamorous platforms so critical to any sustained land or naval campaign. Today, the US Navy has fewer than 290 ships in commission. Of these, the numbers of mine warfare vessels, amphibious units, and auxiliaries, have shrunk to a fraction of the 1991 totals. Additionally, this diminished force is now devoid of any substantial naval gunfire capability so vital to successful amphibious operations. As older (sometimes “old” has meant “very capable but expensive to operate”) ships are decommissioned, few new vessels with similar capabilities have replaced them.

The article can be found here, which advocates a "1000" ship navy composed of allied warships.

http://blog.usni.org/?p=554