If the notion of a drawdown is seriously in the works, why - pray tell - is the Navy
building up a brand new brown-water patrol unit specifically for the purpose of deployment to Baghdad next year?
At this time next year, about 200 sailors will fill up small boats, man .50-caliber machine guns and watch for trouble along the waterways of Baghdad.
There's a catch, though: A t the moment, these sailors have no boats, no manuals and no past missions to call their own. Riverine Group 1 of the Navy's new river combat force based at Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base is starting from scratch.
They still are recruiting men and writing a fresh chapter on how to prepare for river fighting.
Sure. Cut education. Cut health care. Cut everything. But build a brand new brown-water navy just for one city that you claim to be leaving as soon as possible..... and a navy where there is no opposing sea force and anywhere you might be patrolling can be done just as easily from the air or ground.