In the belief that “Vietnam will not be the last such outbreak to threaten the security interests of America”, the Navy is blueprinting a “radical overhaul in the structure of its fleets.” “The U.S. Navy is thinking in terms of an American fleet for the mid-1970’s which could support ground forces up to 100 miles inland without the construction of costly shore installations requiring enormous numbers of troops to defend.”
These task forces would be built around 21 fast, nuclear-powered attack carriers supported by either catamarans or what the Navy calls “surface-effects ships” – or possibly both. A catamaran is a twin-hulled ship connected by a platform, popular for its stability, space and speed. The surface-effects ship, while small, is able to ride over land and water on a cushion of air generated by fans. Helicopters would be used to airlift troops, supplies and heavy tanks ashore in the ship-to-shore operations.
In the interest of “operating independence”, the task forces of the future would be deployed from bases owned outright by the U.S. or acquired under agreements which preclude any sort of joint control with another nation. Military-base agreements subject to another nations jurisdiction are often too fragile to provide continual protection for U.S. interests.
The network of sea bases necessary for such worldwide protection include the existing naval base at Guam and a proposed base at “Island X!’ west of Australia.
The Navy would also like to take over the unpopulated atoll of Diego Garcia in the Chagos Archipelago. Great Britain gave the U.S. the right to fortify Diego Garcia last December, and the location (northeast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean) would provide the opportunity to service the Indian subcontinent, East Africa, the oil-rich middle East and Australia and New Zealand. It would also provide Naval control of the sea lanes through the Suez Canal and around the Cape of Good Hope. The atoll is outside easy range of enemy bombers based on the Asian mainland and the lagoon is large enough to hold the entire Pacific Fleet. The Navy believes it can cover the Southern Atlantic and the Caribbean effectively out of Puerto Rico and Guantanamo.
