How the post-Cold War drawdown shed nuclear expertise

The peace dividend affected trained people as well as ships and shipyards. A viewer describes the services' different approaches to rapid manpower reduction after Desert Storm, including slower recruiting and early-retirement offers in the Navy. On USS Florida, fifteen of twenty sailors in one machinery division reportedly filed for early retirement before the next patrol. Replacing three quarters of that division meant losing a concentration of nuclear training and operational experience at once. The example shows that specialist expertise cannot be regenerated as quickly as a budget line can be restored.