Navy Rebuilding

Archive Report

Debate About Naval Strength

Shaping the Future Navy; Election-Year Issue

The united states navy, neglected during and immediately after the Vietnam War, is embarked on a rebuilding program that will determine the shape of the American fleet for the rest of the century and beyond. It is hardly surprising that the Navy—its size, its strength vis-a-vis the Russian fleet and its ability to protect American interests abroad—has become an issue in the 1976 presidential campaign. Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a former submarine officer, told New Jersey voters on June 5 that he favored “an aggressive shipbuilding program with concentration on quality and mobility” to counter a Soviet naval buildup.

President Ford's Republican challenger, Ronald Reagan, has accused the administration ...

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