COMMENT & DISCUSSION

摘要

THE NAVAL REVIEW called out Forward-Deployed Naval Forces (FDNF) by homeport and by hull. Though FDNF-Japan ships in Yokosuka, Sasebo, Rota, Guam, and Saipan were all mentioned, the section for FDNF-Bahrain only included the ten patrol craft (PCs) that are homeported here. In fact, FDNF-Bahrain includes four mine countermeasures ships (MCMs) and four Coast Guard PCs as well. The MCMs provide Fifth Fleet the capability to combat the mine threat that exists in both the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Aden. I am confident that the omission of the MCMs was in error and I wanted to bring it to your attention. The current surface MCM force often is overshadowed by emerging technologies but continues to carry the full burden of this mission area for the surface fleet.