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Article: Save the battleships; The Iowa and Wisconsin are essential.(OPED)
- Article from:
- The Washington Times (Washington, DC)
- Article date:
- September 7, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 The Washington Times LLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: William L. Stearman, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
By denigrating the battleships through a misinformation campaign on Capitol Hill, the Navy has convinced both Armed Services Committee to donate our two reserve battleships, Iowa and Wisconsin, as museums. Should this maneuver succeed, our Marines will have no essential, lifesaving naval surface fire support (NSFS) for the foreseeable future.
This could cost us substantial American lives in inevitable future conflicts in the littorals where most of the world's population lives. As Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Michael W. Hagee once testified, the absence of NSFS places his troops "at considerable ...