History Student Writes on ‘Cuts’ to Littoral Combat Ship

History graduate student Steven Wills authored “Secretary Carter’s Memo and the LCS” Dec. 23 at warontherocks.com.

Steven Wills

Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter’s recent memo to Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus detailed cuts to the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) in order to pay for a collection of new and legacy platforms and payloads. The memo has drawn wide interest and generated much speculation about the future of the LCS. Despite this cut, LCS opponents should not yet be too jubilant. Secretary Carter expressed satisfaction with the LCS in his memo, and the program continues forward with a robust 40 units as opposed to the planned 52.

Read the rest of his post.