I think it came into vogue with 1979 Desert Eagle attempt to get American hostages out of Iran.
But you’re right, when you don’t have a war but you have operations, you need a cool name for them.
I think it came into vogue with 1979 Desert Eagle attempt to get American hostages out of Iran.
But you’re right, when you don’t have a war but you have operations, you need a cool name for them.
As a believer in American primacy, I want the United States to be able to dial up or dial down the level of violence in any conflict, anywhere in the world. Hence, I support super-carriers.
I’m also open to the idea of building smaller carriers, on the order of what Europeans build, or even more robust MAGTFs able to launch S/VTOLs platforms for limited engagements.
And, I support the diversification and hardening of bases around the world (i.e., the reopening of the airfield at Tinian and explorations to expand basing rights in South East Asia), since it moves the eggs into multiple baskets, which is especially important when going against PLA ballistic missile capabilities.
Special Access Programs have codenames that have zero bearing on the item to which they relate, nor do covert operations.
Big to-dos (Enduring Freedom, Desert Storm) etc., usually have political agendas associated with the names (i.e., garnering domestic or international support), hence the need for a name that is 1) romantic and 2) bears some relation to the activity being executed.