Carrier infrastructure needs durable public legitimacy

Carrier infrastructure and training must survive long periods in which the public sees no peer war at home. That long absence of direct attack can encourage a 'wars of choice' outlook in which military action appears discretionary. Fear is a poor foundation for public support because warnings lose force when the worst case does not arrive on schedule. The pre-First World War 'We want eight' campaign instead appealed to national pride in the Royal Navy. A comparison with political rhetoric around the National Health Service illustrates how repeatedly describing a valued institution as endangered can eventually erode confidence in it. Electoral language can have long-term institutional consequences even when it succeeds in the short term.