The naval war in Iraq is now history. In fact, Task Force History, a group of historians and other professionals skilled in interview and collection, is already on board ships, at headquarters, and at other command nodes gathering first-hand recollections, documents, photographs, and artifacts. As a result, the Iraq war may well turn out to be the best-documented naval conflict ever. That is good not only for obtaining the lessons learned but also for resolving the budget wars that are sure to follow.
While the bombs are exploding and the missiles are flying and the troops are advancing, money seldom is an overwhelming concern, but when quiet returns, the cries for cutbacks and economies take center stage. After every conflict, ships are laid up, construction is halted or slowed, munitions inventories are not replaced, and personnel are discharged hastily. Only after the Spanish-American War were things different, largely because of the intervention of Theodore Roosevelt. This time, there is no Theodore Roosevelt. We are coming out of a conflict where the foes of the future are hard to identify, and we are returning to an era when the cry for transformation (meaning "do it less expensively") will rise again. To the active-duty naval professional will fall the task of maintaining the fleet we know will be required in the not-too-distant future.
It is the professionals who fought and supported those who fought who will have to fight again—this time in the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill. They will know best what worked and what did not, but some things seem obvious:
- Embedding reporters worked; they brought the U.S. public closer to its military. In an era during which so few Americans, especially politicians and decision makers, have served in the military, embedded reporters showed us the professionals we have in our defense and that those in uniform are not militaristic and autocratic ogres but, rather, just like the kids next door.
- "Sea Power 21" worked. Sea Shield enabled uninterrupted flow of Army troops, Marines, and logistics to the theater and gave early warning to Patriot batteries. Sea Basing relieved the pressure on tiny Kuwait and provided a basing alternative when other nations refused cooperation. Sea Strike came in the form of carrier aircraft and Tomahawks operating in all weather from a relatively safe rear area. Nor was Sea Strike limited to one theater; aircraft and cruise missiles came from the Mediterranean as well as the Gulf. ForceNet tied it all together and connected Navy units with the other Coalition forces.
- Aircraft carriers and the aircraft that flew from them worked. The strike aircraft, including the EA-6B electronic warfare and the E-2C airborne early warning aircraft, were key factors in the success of the air war. Unfortunately, the Enterprise (CVN-65), Kitty Hawk (CV-63), and Constellation (CV-64) are all more than 40 years old, and even the Nimitz (CVN-68) has been in commission for 35 years. With the exception of the F/A-18E/F, our aircraft are old and increasingly expensive to maintain, especially the EA-6B. We must stay on track with CVNX-type carrier upgrades, the F-32 (Joint Strike Fighter), and the EA-18G Growler. The aerial refueling problem must be solved to support aircraft flying long ranges to targets. There are too many demands for those airborne gas stations and not nearly enough assets. And with 60% of their air crews in the Reserve and Air Guard, some solution must be found for people overuse else there will be no Guard or Reserve.
- The Tomahawks launched by our cruisers, destroyers, and submarines seemed to work well, but even one missile going astray into a neutral territory or a nontargeted area is one too many. Either more reliable guidance or some sort of command destruct, or both, is essential. A huge percentage of the inventory was expended. Tubes and magazines must be refilled immediately, for we know not whence the next threat comes.
- Amphibious ships in numbers unprecedented since World War II delivered Marines, soldiers, and others and their gear and then stood by with outstanding support.
- SEALs, Seabees, and intelligence seemed to work well, although we probably need more.
- The USNS Comfort (AH-20) and its 1,000-bed hospital again proved its worth. Other Navy medical personnel, especially those with the Marines, were heroic. So were Navy chaplains with the Corps. Those whose job it is to clear naval mines worked indefatigably, but the technology still falls far below the need. It should not have taken that long to clear the waterway to Umm Qasr. One wonders whatever happened to systems such as Magic Lantern that once showed so much promise.
Despite some shortfalls and looming problems, Navy forces did outstandingly well in the Iraq war. Those who were there and those who support them can be exceedingly proud, but the battle is not over. The Navy cannot rest on its laurels. The budget cutters and the naysayers and even those who are taking a misguided path to transformation will rise again. It is now up to those who fought and supported the war to study the lessons of their own experience and the lessons recorded by Task Force History, then use those lessons to stem the tide of retrenchment, sure to be upon us before we know it.
Vice Admiral Dunn commanded all naval air forces of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, the worldwide forces of the Naval Reserve, and the Naval Military Personnel Command. Most of his flying was in carrier-based jet attack and fighter aircraft. He is president of the Naval Historical Foundation.