How shrinking presence forces overwork carrier groups

On this account, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates's effort to reduce reliance on military intervention also narrowed the useful middle ground between civilian soft power and destructive military action. That middle ground includes naval presence, disaster relief, reassurance, coercive signaling, and even diplomacy hosted aboard warships. A warship can simply remain nearby, setting a visible ceiling beyond which escalation would draw a response. Without enough such ships, carrier groups must race between crises that do not require their full combat power. When escort numbers are also too small, those high-end forces accumulate wear and lose readiness before a major war begins.