President Trump has taken the contest over the Strait of Hormuz beyond blockades, shipping lanes, and naval power. Speaking in Garden City, New York, he declared that once the United States finished defeating Iran, he would “pretty soon” designate the strait as American territory. He reinforced the point by noting that the United States controls…
Steam or Electromagnetism? The Navy’s Carrier-Catapult Debate
President Trump has ordered the Pentagon to prepare a plan for replacing the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, better known as EMALS, with traditional steam catapults aboard the future USS Doris Miller. The same directive calls for replacing the carrier’s electromagnetic weapons elevators with hydraulic systems. Despite some of the broader headlines, Trump hasn’t ordered sailors…
The “Golden Fleet,” Deism, and the Perils of Designing a World You Refuse to Govern
The U.S. Navy’s so-called Golden Fleet initiative sketches a vision that is at once ambitious and revealing. At the surface level, the story is about ships: numbers, readiness, industrial capacity, and the strategic anxieties of an increasingly dangerous world. But beneath the steel and spreadsheets lies a deeper question about how America understands power, responsibility,…
Why America’s Naval Move in the Caribbean Deserves Both Support and Scrutiny
When President Trump ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group into the Caribbean to combat narco-terror networks, the world took notice. The decision—backed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth—wasn’t just a routine show of force. It was a declaration that America will no longer tolerate cartels poisoning our children, destabilizing our neighbors, and infiltrating…
Shields Up, Anchors Down: A Look at the One Big Beautiful Bill’s Defense Provisions
As we continue wading through the legislative leviathan that is the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, it’s time to steer away from social spending and chart a course into deeper waters: defense spending. Buried within this multi-trillion-dollar behemoth is a powerhouse provision that allocates nearly $150 billion to shore up America's national defense. Now, this…
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