Comment Re:US Military Uses Oil Like a Smaller Country (Score 2) 228
we're building more aircraft carriers because they have to be replaced. Enterprise was just retired after 50 years and is being decommissioned. The Kitty Hawk class are all retired now. Nimitz is 42 years old -- yes, its keel was laid in 1968 and it entered service in 1972. It takes 4-5 years to build one of these floating cities. There may be 10 of them (not counting Enterprise and Ford); but, one is usually in the yard being refit (15 year overhaul cycle -- Lincoln is currently in the yard) and there are several in port at any time. It takes 10-12 of them to support Naval operations worldwide. The rest of the world has basically stopped using aircraft carriers, because they're expensive. The U.S. uses them for force projection and as a platform for operations of all types, including disaster relief. Oh, and aircraft carriers run on renewable energy -- they have a pair of nuclear reactors in the hull.