The Real Truth Behind Keeping Aircraft Carriers Ready to Fight

Rear Admiral Doug "V8" Verissimo, Commander Naval Air Force Atlantic, rejoins the channel for another in-depth conversation about where the U.S. Navy aircraft carriers are and what it takes to keep the fleet ready for the next world crisis.
Captain Marvin "Starvin'" Scott, Commander Carrier Air Wing 3 AKA "CAG" joins Mooch at the NAS Oceana Air Show to offer deep intel about how the wing flew and fought in the Red Sea during the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower's most recent deployment.
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[@Kyzyl_Tuva]

Great episodes Ward. More people need to know about what it takes to keep America safe.

[@SimDeck]

Oh Man! 8 month tours. That sucks. I did a 3 year operational deployment with the British Army but every 3 months they let us play with parachutes, scuba diving kit and drinking in warm places to refresh. 8 months solid on a boat has to be tough.

[@TheTsunamijuan]

Example of a good leader here. Not afraid to work hard, Appropriately acknowledges the teams, and personnel that made it happen. Not full of himself... I can see why his subordinates are willing to work so hard to make his vision reality.

[@greg5023]

The reactor controls LPO, an E6, ran my sub's reactor refueling in 79 and 80.

[@rp1645]

Thank you for doing that job in the Nuclear reactor area. 😊 Got the pleasure of going to USS Nevada (SSBN-733) in drydock at Banger 😊 then me and my son got to do the Dive in Hood Canal when the USS Alabama (SSBN-731) came back from their Sea duty's 😊 this was prior to 9-11 😊

[@greg5023]

@@rp1645 Thank you for the note. You've been on as many subs as I have. A month after I got out of the Navy the brand new USS Houston (688 class sub) visited the city of Houston and I took family and friends on a tour and even ran into an old shipmate. When I reported aboard my sub and found out we were going to be in the shipyard for two years for refueling, I couldn't believe it. The early subs were refueled less than ten years after they were launched. My boat's original reactor core was from Westinghouse and when we refueled we got an improved design, long-lasting GE core. The Los Angeles class subs started getting long-life cores at construction in the mid-80s. These are the 688-i (improved) subs that go thirty years without refueling.

[@ValentinaRosas-i4q]

This deserves way more views!

[@terencerucker3244]

Give it some time, most of us at still at work! Wish I was there at the show! Good memories.

[@Towbie442]

@ValentinaRosas-i4q we are blasting on our discords and our social media so more likes and subscribers are inbound hot from the DCS community

[@RK-kn1ud]

THIS IS A SPAMBOT

[@jodymaley3674]

Very interesting interview. Helpful definitions for those who don't speak initials

[@darrencorrigan8505]

Thanks, Ward.

[@Jollyrogerdoc]

I caught your not so Freudian slip with VF-84 and VFA-103. Good show. Bravo Zulu

[@chuckwhitson654]

What about the oiler situation?

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

Towed to Oman for repair.

[@JRichardsonBoston]

8-9 months is also rough on retention. Recruiters need to be honest from the start that 6 months out aren’t the norm anymore.

[@andrewdrednaught]

Yep, admiral filibustered on that one.

[@pogo1140]

The US needs to be able to deploy 3 carriers to a given combat area for 3-6 months while still having 2 carriers in the Atlantic, Med, Pacific. The US needs 16 full deck carriers.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

@@pogo1140 You are dreaming..... we can't support that. We can't afford it. We can't manage it. We can't escort them. We can't have that many air wings.

[@stevebland8298]

Great conversation! My son's first deployment was on the Truman (CVN-75). We had the opportunity to tour the Truman in Norfolk. Quite the ship!

[@gregknipe8772]

love the flight views as they boom past your studio. brilliant!!

[@macnachten8822]

Without the logistics to provide jp-5, beans, bullets and bandages...ya better flatten the enemy in one go. Because we all can see that the logistics just isn't there...just look at the Persian Gulf and the grounded replenishment ship...it's the only one in the region, which means the logistics just isn't available...Ward, go ask Sal, he'll inform you of the peril we are actually in.

[@HandyMan657]

Such pessimism. Have some faith in our nation's abilities. And Sal does not know all. Just saying. Be well.

[@anthonyhitchings1051]

The logistics aspect is very real - if the shit really hits the fan we only get one chance to win without subsequently losing.

[@Adam.NavyVet]

Love your Navy focused Content Ward. Keep stuff like this coming. Awesome work and interesting topics Sir. Go Navy. Fly Navy…

[@edwardcook7673]

If you are going to run 8.5 month deployments, RCO Ike again. You are going to need more sailors and bird farms.

[@robbutler1947]

Fabulous interview. This is Mooch at his best. Let the Admiral answer the questions. Let the expert shine, and shine he does. But Mooch is the guy creating the tone and tempo of the interview. Anyone listening to this has to be in awe of the capability and competence of the United States Navy. Two experts on display. Makes me proud to be an American.

[@DinsDale-tx4br]

Look at that Chemistry ... God Bless America 🙂 M7HBN

[@DaveSoCal]

Looks like back down to 10 carriers in about 4-5 years. I recommend going CV-67 to South Korea with $2Billion in a box and ask to refurb w/in 2 years. Midway is 20 years older but does look better but ‘67 is more stable and bigger. Install LED lights to reduce power needs , here’s .02cents

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

@@DaveSoCal those ideas make no sense at all.

[@DaveSoCal]

@@WALTERBROADDUS I’m just a casual observer and no expert and congratulations you’re the first to say that ! BUT with a 7-10 carrier build cycle and the shipyards getting further behind drastic actions should be take. Look at what the navy did in WW2 with the Wolverine and Sable.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

@@DaveSoCal We have just retired 4 Cruisers this Summer. None have been to sea in 10 years. 40% of the SSN force needs repair. 17 Naval Sealift Command ships lack enough crew to sail. The Nimitz is due to retire. The poor Coast Guard can't even get a new Icebreaker. That kind of force you dream about is never going to happen. Not in our current fiscal situation.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

@@DaveSoCal the Kennedy is due for scrapping. Still here Philadelphia awaiting her turn. Believe Kitty Hawk is already in progress.

[@Mikell-h2c]

Kennedy is years away from deployment. This guy can spin it anyway he wants.

[@GintaPPE1000]

Ike is also years away from retirement, so why is that a problem?

[@jeffpowell6224]

What's your background for this assessment?

[@Mentaculus42]

This one seemed to have a lot of “spin” that was obvious. Kinda makes one wonder.

[@Mikell-h2c]

@@jeffpowell6224 the US Navy is in serious decline it suffers from old equipment, old leadership old ideas aircraft carriers are the USS Arizona on December 6, 1941. They’re just sitting ducks. The Navy needs a complete makeover bottom to top. I’ll sign off with three words littoral combat ships.

[@malekodesouza7255]

“The world is rather tumultuous right now…”. Truer words never spoken. I miss 2016-2020.

[@Syndr1]

Hi Ward, not sure I want to know the Real Truth. 👍

[@WardCarroll]

That’s what you get here. 😎

[@Riverplacedad1]

Not if Miss Word Salad is in charge. You can only be as good as those folks running the show

[@Mentaculus42]

Isn’t “Word Salad” a prerequisite along with being a political animal to get to that level ‽

[@Riverplacedad1]

@@Mentaculus42not sure if it’s that or the missionary position. My God I’m 70 now and I thought Jimmy Carter was bad. What’s this country coming to?

[@nvus2758]

As a former Tin Can sailor ('75-81) out of Mayport we ran with the Forestall and Sara. I tip my hat to Airedales. Don't know how you do it; living on a huge ship, not knowing all your shipmates, the noise and constant commotion. Used to watch flights ops from afar. Amazing work. Bravo Zulu guys. FTM2, USS Tattnall (DDG-19)

[@zaffo757]

Keeping maintenance on schedule and having the contractors complete on time is beyond NAVSEA

[@bobbysenterprises3220]

All I'll say is I hope they aren't using fram filters on any us navy ships or equipment. Good interview.

[@GunBuddy08]

Good to hear his optimism. Thank you for sharing this interview Ward. 🇺🇸

[@vhostovich]

The style or episode is your absolute best. Thank you and the armed forces very much!

[@johngeorgegately7402]

Outstanding interview. Thank you Ward

[@RonLWilson]

One can sleep better at nights knowing that we have people like that looking out for the rest of us!

[@billbrockman779]

I think it’s easy to take this for granted. Thanks for showing some of what’s behind it.

[@maureencora1]

We Have Carriers & U.S. Marines. We Are the Best. Semper-Fi.

[@yellowcubdriver9545]

Keep it up Fox News Ward!

[@alphalunamare]

Ditto what M7HBN said.

[@Luckyduck10]

Would you be able to review the real truth behind the “incident “ for lack of a better word, where the CO was fired for C-19 action. I am not sure if this is something you can address. I remember hearing about it at the time.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

I don't know what more truth you want. He was not in line with Administration policy. So he got fired.

[@Luckyduck10]

@@WALTERBROADDUS that’s what the media told us.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

@@Luckyduck10 what else is there to tell?

[@da9pauly]

Miramar air show is this weekend

[@GintaPPE1000]

Good to hear the Navy is finally planning around longer deployments. Whether it should be the new norm or not, acknowledging reality sucks is the first step to creating a solution. We continued to pretend 6 months was the norm for much longer than anyone wants to admit.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

It's not a good thing. And it's already hurting morale extending deployments for officers whose terms are up.

[@ThunderChasers]

outstanding!

[@markwray3905]

Thanks for posting 😊

[@Tigger_34]

People always ask”Why would you run for or want to become POTUS. Having these battle groups at you beck and call is a major reason. POWER on POWER!! You are literally the big kid on the block. God bless our service men and woman!!!

[@HandyMan657]

We had a power-hungry wanna-be dictator already, let's hope for no repeats.

[@MichaelDewey-n7u]

Excellent overview!

[@Adam.NavyVet]

The Great “Gray” Fleet protecting Peace through projecting power and readiness. Go Navy. Fly Navy…

[@jamesfinley1075]

If you're gonna mention US Naval assets, use the American "gray," not the British "grey."

[@Adam.NavyVet]

@@jamesfinley1075 typo mistake. Maybe autocorrect .

[@Towbie442]

Thanks again for bringing us this awesome content

[@WardCarroll]

Thanks for the support!

[@mburton2402]

What's the status of the Reagan?

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

Cvn 76 just got a New Captain and New homeport. Bremerton, WA. They are going in for 17 months of refitting in March, 2025.

[@WardCarroll]

Mentioned in the episode.

[@michaelklein8105]

A big steel box in the middle of the ocean that can be taken out with a million dollar drone A thing of the past

[@chrismaggio7879]

Looks like someone has been listening to too many Chinese broadcasts... The older carriers may be a bit more vulnerable, but the new ones have a bubble like no others. They wouldn't send a big steel box unprotected, and both the escorting/specialized ships and her own reactive weapons, plus CAP and airborne assets, can withstand more than you can even imagine.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

@@michaelklein8105 rather overplaying things.

[@anthonyhitchings1051]

@@chrismaggio7879 The survivability of modern carriers has never been tested in a major conflict. Let alone a nuclear conflict.

[@HandyMan657]

Amazing that a Captain was fired for trying to help his crew. I hope we never see decisions like that again, or have a commander in chief who would agree to such decisions. Thank you for another top notch interview, Ward. Take care.

[@MrCPPG]

This is just the "real truth" he can talk about.

[@Chilly_Billy]

I wish we had a better look at the Super Bug with Chinese markings sitting behind Ward.

[@alexseiler7788]

An amazing amount of candid and genuine raw information. Your content is a tremendous resource.

[@papatango2362]

1st!!!

[@JSFGuy]

And, what can you do?

[@JSFGuy]

Wish screw tube would give me a notice. Everything set to all so.

[@frankleespeaking9519]

Are you talking about the ads? Yeah this sucks

[@JSFGuy]

@@frankleespeaking9519 No subscription notification video posted. Some channels I get a notice others I don't. I'm a red member so I don't have ads.

[@frankleespeaking9519]

@@JSFGuy got it

[@Iwishiwasanoscarmeyerweiner]

Never fight uphill, me Bois.