Sub standard. (Citings).Strange as it is that the U.S.S. Greeneville, with an entire ocean at its disposal, could pick the exactly wrong spot to surface, what's truly unreal is the fact that the U.S. maintains a huge sub fleet for no discernible reason--at least until political realities are factored in. First, it is not at all unusual for bands of civilians to get the full, thundering joyride treatment in Uncle Sam's war machines, a la the Greeneville's would-be charity golfers. After all, these "show the flag" missions generate good P.R., and good P.R. counts toward bigger budgets. In the Pacific fleet alone, more than 11,000 civilians took part in 238 trips aboard Navy ships. Next, even though the threat of Soviet subs that could launch missiles just minutes from U.S. cities has disappeared, taking with it the Pentagon's rationale for spending billions building 60-odd attack subs, the military-industrial complex mil·i·tar·y-in·dus·tri·al complex n. The aggregate of a nation's armed forces and the industries that supply their equipment, materials, and armaments. Noun 1. that churns out subs has not. Two even bigger, better attack subs are already under construction, with at least seven more planned. To help justify all that spending, the Pentagon has devised a new job description: Submarines will be intelligence-gathering sneaks, lurking See lurk. (messaging, jargon) lurking - The activity of one of the "silent majority" in a electronic forum such as Usenet; posting occasionally or not at all but reading the group's postings regularly. near world hotspots ready to lob (1) See BLOB. (2) (Line Of Business) Refers to people, job titles and product lines, all of which pertain to a specific product or service area of the business. a cruise missile cruise missile, low-flying, continuously powered offensive missile designed to evade defense systems. Although the German V-1 (1944) was a simple cruise missile, the cruise missile did not realize its potential until the 1970s, when the United States sought to or two into the fray fray 1 n. 1. A scuffle; a brawl. See Synonyms at brawl. 2. A heated dispute or contest. tr.v. frayed, fray·ing, frays Archaic 1. To alarm; frighten. 2. . A more inefficient use of subs is hard to imagine. But it isn't hard to imagine that the $7 billion the program will generate for places like Newport News, Virginia Newport News is an independent city in Virginia. It is on the southwestern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending to its mouth at Hampton Roads. The origin of the unusual name of "Newport News" is unclear. , is a very efficient way to win political support in Congress. This, it seems, is the sub fleet's real mission: a jobs program. |
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