THE US SIXTH FLEET AND THE CONVENTIONAL DEFENSE OF EUROPE
Published Date: October 1, 1976
This paper looks at the reasons the Sixth Fleet and its centerpiece weapon, the aircraft carrier, are in trouble. The issues addressed include the military and political problems the Fleet faces in a Mediterranean environment given Soviet military capabilities in both the land and sea areas of Europe; U.S. initiatives to retain the Fleet's viability; Fleet deployment alternatives; and some longer-term implications for NATO of a possible reduction in the carrier force in the Mediterranean.
