How naval shrinkage can leave a fleet without a useful role

A fleet concentrated on a few forms of conflict can invite an opponent to choose a different one. It can also become unsuited to a later government's foreign policy. Cable warns that gradual reductions in size and function can eventually cross a threshold at which the remaining organization cannot sustain its purpose. In his hypothetical example, a government abandoning nuclear weapons or disengaging from NATO might need more conventional naval capability, yet inherit a fleet designed almost entirely around deterrence, submarines or anti-submarine warfare. Rebuilding that fleet would then compete with proposals to give its resources to the Army and Air Force instead. His case for flexibility includes changing policy at home as well as the actions of an enemy.