1. United States
2. Maine
3. Letter

I am writing to express my utter disbelief over the decision to abandon the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) on our carrier fleet and revert to steam catapults.  What’s next on the agenda for “Team Steam”? Are Senators Susan Collins, Roger Wicker, and Tom Cotton planning to mandate wood-fired paddleboats and coal-burning ironclads for the 21st-century Navy? Re-engineering half-built modern carriers like the USS Doris Miller to fit obsolete 1950s technology will cost taxpayers billions, cause massive schedule disruptions, and require hundreds more sailors at a time when the Navy is already facing severe staffing shortages. Meanwhile, China’s newest carriers are sailing forward with electromagnetic launchers, ready to dominate the high seas while we waste fortunes retrofitting backwards.  This micro-managing madness feels like a tragicomic parody of Hitler’s final days—desperately micromanaging weapon designs, overriding engineers, and ordering radical mid-production overhauls on projects like the Horten stealth wing while the war effort crumbled around him. We need cutting-edge defense capabilities, not nostalgic steampunk hobbies enforced by executive decree. Please stop this multi-billion-dollar boondoggle before “Team Steam” drags our military straight back to the 19th century I am writing to express my utter disbelief over the decision to abandon the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) on our carrier fleet and revert to steam catapults.  What’s next on the agenda for “Team Steam”? Are Senators Susan Collins, Roger Wicker, and Tom Cotton planning to mandate wood-fired paddleboats and coal-burning ironclads for the 21st-century Navy? Re-engineering half-built modern carriers like the USS Doris Miller to fit obsolete 1950s technology will cost taxpayers billions, cause massive schedule disruptions, and require hundreds more sailors at a time when the Navy is already facing severe staffing shortages. Meanwhile, China’s newest carriers are sailing forward with electromagnetic launchers, ready to dominate the high seas while we waste fortunes retrofitting backwards.  This micro-managing madness feels like a tragicomic parody of Hitler’s final days—desperately micromanaging weapon designs, overriding engineers, and ordering radical mid-production overhauls on projects like the Horten stealth wing while the war effort crumbled around him. We need cutting-edge defense capabilities, not nostalgic steampunk hobbies enforced by executive decree. Please stop this multi-billion-dollar boondoggle before “Team Steam” drags our military straight back to the 19th century I am writing to express my utter disbelief over the decision to abandon the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) on our carrier fleet and revert to steam catapults.  What’s next on the agenda for “Team Steam”? Are Senators Susan Collins, Roger Wicker, and Tom Cotton planning to mandate wood-fired paddleboats and coal-burning ironclads for the 21st-century Navy? Re-engineering half-built modern carriers like the USS Doris Miller to fit obsolete 1950s technology will cost taxpayers billions, cause massive schedule disruptions, and require hundreds more sailors at a time when the Navy is already facing severe staffing shortages. Meanwhile, China’s newest carriers are sailing forward with electromagnetic launchers, ready to dominate the high seas while we waste fortunes retrofitting backwards.  This micro-managing madness feels like a tragicomic parody of Hitler’s final days—desperately micromanaging weapon designs, overriding engineers, and ordering radical mid-production overhauls on projects like the Horten stealth wing while the war effort crumbled around him. We need cutting-edge defense capabilities, not nostalgic steampunk hobbies enforced by executive decree. Please stop this multi-billion-dollar boondoggle before “Team Steam” drags our military straight back to the 19th century.