Could America deal with another WWII size war today?

[Mike Russell]

Originally Posted by tec

Do we have enough Navy to go off to a few other locations and still keep enough here to defend America?

Yes. It's not so much the number of ships we have and what's currently deployed, but the capabilities of each ship. Deployed battlegroups could be cut down in size to provide further coverage for ConUS. Also, you must keep in mind that no other country has such an advanced naval force as ours...the closest is Britain and they're nowhere near as large. We have also kept some ships in "mothballs" that can be returned to duty in short order...including our battleships.

edited to add: Don't forget we have the Coast Guard as well. Their job is geared more towards defense of the ConUS, where the Navy is made for foreign conflict.

[Mike Russell]

Now my 2 cents on the original question. As we are today, I don't think the US is prepared for another global war.

Our industries are "globalized" and are not rooted in any one country. So, this begs the question, would they support the war effort or refuse and sit back to see where the best profits could be made?

Our troop force strength is low compared to past times (thanks to Klinton), so we would have to institute a draft. With the modern climate, there would be a lot of dodgers/objectors. America has grown soft IMO, and the general public (which the draft would consist of) would not be up to the task. Like most of our politicians, the general public tend to flip-flop on topics/ideals from day to day...I'm not sure they could sustain under the type of mental and physical duress that is caused by combat, especially extended combat. The "right to know" mentality would also hinder their integration into effective combat units, where you know only what you need to know to get the job done.

Regarding ICBMs, Nuclear warhead Tomahawks, etc...I don't think the American public has the stomach for their usage unless they were used on us first. I also don't think the US government has the balls to actually use one, they prefer the deterrant approach with them.

If we were invaded, I think there would be very high death tolls. I think most of the people would respond like sheep, wondering where their sheep dogs are only to realize that they've mostly neutered them. Most of the people that would have the strength of mind and strength of will to institute a good guerilla warfare campaign against invaders would already have been drafted and would be off in other theatres.

I think another global war would cause some serious damage to our country. Especially if all or most of Central & South America were part of our enemy (they could flood our Southern border and probably make some pretty good penetration into our country). Our government would probably collapse in on itself, because they've all been working for their own agendas for so long, they wouldn't know how to work together, or they wouldn't be able to understand what kind of actions would be needed as they've gotten really touchy-feely, PC, and soft. I'm not saying we wouldn't come out on top, but it would be hard and we would need our allies to pull it off.

[airbornerangerboogie]

If attacked we would and always have had the resolve to win. It's only when the politicos get involved that we lose.

[einheit 13]

Originally Posted by tec

Do we have enough Navy to go off to a few other locations and still keep enough here to defend America?

A long cigar shaped underwater craft creeps to within 100 miles of an 'enemy' coast.....multiple tomahawks launch from vertical tubes, we still have horizontal launch capability too...alot of missles can be fired from an SSN attack sub. If we really want to get serious, we send in a Boomer....SSBNs mean the jokes over, time to die! And we have quite a few subs I might add, and they can destroy or make alot of real estate 'uninhabitable' for a long time to come....then don't forget the MAU ships and planes...Coasties, Naval reserve units and ships. The only thing that would hurt us would be monies for the materials of war and the fact that there is a large amount of foriegn owned US companies in the US....Kinda like what Germany went through in WW1...they pretty much went broke when the Russians joined the war. And then as far as allies.....remeber NATO had 3 roles when it was formed...to keep Germany down, Russia out, and the US in.....the former WARSAW pact nations still out number us in war weapons and availible manpower. And with our current administration stirring up crap with Putin and this missle defense garbage.....who knows....they're still pissed about Clinton stepping in during the Balkans war since the Sovs had historically been the 'protectors of the slavic states'. And they still don't like us for backing the 'White Russians' with munitions and troops during thier revolution, and stepping in during the Crimean War-the biggest war any country had fought before WW1...and the first form of 'modern warefare' that set the stage for WW1 and WW2 (which was a continuation of WW1 in Europa)....Remember, we have NEVER won any major battle alone since the War in the pacific when 90% of fighting, logistics, and manufacturing was on our shoulders....I guess it depends on who the aggressor is and who allies with them....

[beardman2]

yes we can. We were not ready before we entered WWII. If I remember correctly we went from the worlds 9th largest army pre pearl harbor to the 1st by the time they hit the beaches on D-day. I can't for the life of my find the exact figures now.

Remember we were attacked on Dec 7 1941 but didn't actually go to war until June 6 1944. My pacific history is way short but from some timeliness I was looking at it looks like the major stuff in the pacific (as far as invasion) started sometimes after D-day.

[einheit 13]

Originally Posted by beardman2

yes we can. We were not ready before we entered WWII. If I remember correctly we went from the worlds 9th largest army pre pearl harbor to the 1st by the time they hit the beaches on D-day. I can't for the life of my find the exact figures now.

Remember we were attacked on Dec 7 1941 but didn't actually go to war until June 6 1944. My pacific history is way short but from some timeliness I was looking at it looks like the major stuff in the pacific (as far as invasion) started sometimes after D-day.

Actually, the 2nd......Russia fielded the largest Army the world had seen, but most don't consider 'conscripts' part of the regular army...everyone in Russia during the Great Patriotic War was a soldat...they lost more soldats than we feilded in Europe.....and they were mobilizing troops to fight the Japanese, till we dropped the bomb, the first time....

And you're right, we decided to fight in Europe first since, strategically and logistically, it was easier to do since our allies were closer. Our War in the Pacific started in '43 and we really started rolling in '44

[beardman2]

I had a nagging feeling Russia was the biggest but like I said I couldn't find the info. Thanks for clearing it up.

[cjive134]

You could beat the US Navy with the right tactics and equipment. Remember this story?:

http://www.freepress.org/departments...ay/9/2005/1237

[jtkratzer]

no, well, let me take that back. if it was another holocaust, maybe. but not another war to save a country or something like that. the weak-kneed and general gutlessness of the population would be up in arms and crying a sob story to the government.

evil prevails when good men do nothing, and right now, i get the feeling that way too many politicians and citizens would rather do nothing than do what's right and it's sad and pathetic.

[Jmanwit]

Originally Posted by Mike Russell

If we were invaded, I think there would be very high death tolls. I think most of the people would respond like sheep, wondering where their sheep dogs are only to realize that they've mostly neutered them. Most of the people that would have the strength of mind and strength of will to institute a good guerilla warfare campaign against invaders would already have been drafted and would be off in other theatres.

Thats right. I never though about that. I told myself that I would defend the homeland, but I know that I would go if drafted no questions asked.