When I was in the Navy, we always refueled out to sea while under way. It was never heard of refueling in port. I think what has happened is that there are not enough refueling ships to take care of our fleet. Too many have been taken out of service and sometimes scrapped. This is the reason why the USS Cole had to refuel in port; it’s too bad it was in a hostile place.

For some time, we have been hearing of military installations closing down. I get an uncomfortable feeling every time I hear about it. I wonder if we are making ourselves more vulnerable to war and an easy take.

Opening military installations and building new refueling ships cannot be done overnight.

Donald Bickford

Orland