Why the US Navy has 10 ships, 130 aircraft and 9,000 personnel in the Mediterranean

[soryang]

1. It used to be the rule to have two carriers in the Med

Now it's the exception. With the virtual collapse of the large Russian Mediterranean fleet that patrolled there during the cold war, it really isn't necessary any more.

One can question the survivability of allied fleets in the Black Sea. It's really the nuclear umbrella and the threat of nuclear war that protects these ships in such a small vulnerable area in Russia's backyard. While presence may be reassuring to the small states in the region, somehow it isn't so comforting and secure a notion as some would like to think.