Navy secretary admits crisis in U.S. defense stockpiles: 'Decision to arm ourselves or arm Ukraine'
By jdheyes // 2023-01-16
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We have been reporting for months now that U.S. military arms stockpiles were getting low -- dangerously low -- thanks to the deep state's decision to send arms to Ukraine as it fights off a Russian invasion. And throughout the months that our own war stocks were being depleted, we were being told by the Biden regime that there was nothing to worry about, that America could defend itself if need be. But suddenly, someone in Joe Biden's administration has broken ranks, so to speak, and come forward with the truth; we must stop sending so much war material to Ukraine because we are running the risk of running out of ammo, literally. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro told a naval warfare conference last week in Arlington, Va., that at some point within the next six months, the regime (and Congress) will face a decision -- either continue to arm Ukraine or remain armed ourselves for a war that is likely coming with China. According to a report by Defense One: The secretary was asked to respond to comments made at the conference by Adm. Daryl Caudle, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command. Caudle, the reporter said, worried that “the Navy might get to the point where it has to make the decision whether it needs to arm itself or arm Ukraine, and has the Navy gotten to that point yet?” Del Toro replied, “With regards to deliveries of weapons systems for the fight in Ukraine…Yeah, that's always a concern for us. And we monitor that very, very closely. I wouldn't say we're quite there yet, but if the conflict does go on for another six months, for another year, it certainly continues to stress the supply chain in ways that are challenging.” The Navy secretary went on to say that Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks has been working “very closely with [the defense] industry, to motivate them to find out what their challenges or obstacles are to be able to increase their own production rates.” “It's obvious that, you know, these companies have a substantial pipeline for the future,” Del Toro said. “They now need to invest in their workforce, as well as the capital investments that they have to make within their own companies to get their production rates up.” Translation: If our defense sector does not start boosting production and the regime continues to send tens of billions of dollars worth of weapons to Ukraine, our own fighting forces will be hard-pressed to come up with an adequate supply of weapons and ammunition to defend our own country. That said, the Navy's weapons stockpiles are not being taxed too much, which is good because China has fielded a substantial navy itself, the largest fleet in the world, and U.S. naval weapons will be needed. Most of what is being sent is coming from Army stockpiles, though U.S. officials recently announced they would send Ukraine some Sea Sparrow missiles. “I'm not...talking about what it’s doing to me, I'm talking about of course, we're going to help a country—deliver the stuff we need—so they can win that conflict against Russia and it's not going to destroy and set me back into the dark ages,” said Caudle, going on to rip the defense industry for using the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to miss weapons delivery deadlines. “I’m not as forgiving of the defense industrial base. I’m just not,” he said. “I am not forgiving of the fact that you’re not delivering the ordnance we need. All this stuff about COVID this, parts, supply chain this, I just don’t really care. We’ve all got tough jobs.” Defense One added: Caudle specifically mentioned torpedoes and Standard Missile-6 interceptors being late. Deliveries of the SM-6, which are made by Raytheon Technologies, have been slowed, in part, due to problems getting the rocket motors from Aerojet Rocketdyne, a key supplier. “We’re talking about warfighting and nation security and going against a competitor here and a potential adversary that is like nothing we’ve ever seen and we keep dilly dallying around with these deliveries,” the admiral said. “I don't see good accountability and I don't get to see good return on investment from the government [side], I really don't.” Sources include: DefenseOne.com ZeroHedge.com
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