CDR Salamander - Can Maritime Power Recapture San Francisco Bay?

First of all, as we do, let’s go to the chart room to look at one of the most geographically perfect places on this planet to have shipyards and naval bases: San Francisco Bay.

As our nation faces again a challenge in the Pacific that necessitates an increased basing requirement on our West Coast, it is only natural we would look first at where nature provided us such a blessing.

From top to bottom, San Francisco Bay used to be covered thickly with naval bases, shipyards and everything else you would expect from a world dominating naval power. However due to a political climate hostile to both the military and industry, grasping developers, and the domination of green-eyeshade accountants over strategists and national-security-minded people, as we see a challenge on the other side of the Pacific not seen since Imperial Japan, the bay’s once potent military ecosystem is almost completely abandoned and derelict like some forgotten remains of a once great empire—which they might be. Either that, or like Hunters Point, a little aglow. In essence, not available for tasking.

It is easy to point out all the problems. Goodness knows, from this seat is makes for easy content, but it is much more difficult to come up with solutions.

Yes, to all the problems, but the requirement remains. If you can’t refurbish, claw back, restart, reclaim, or otherwise take back what the Jesus Jones Era took away—what do you do?

Is all lost?

No, not really. Head about 160T from Vacaville, and there you see a glimmer of hope, an option, an opportunity.

There is California Forever:

In July 2025, Congress appropriated $29 billion to strengthen shipbuilding in the United States. Soon after, Japan committed $550 billion in U.S. investments—including significant shipbuilding initiatives— while South Korea pledged an additional $150 billion dedicated specifically to shipbuilding.

With the focus for shipbuilding concentrated on the West Coast, California is uniquely positioned to capture these multi‑billion‑dollar investments and generate tens of thousands of high‑wage jobs—provided California acts with urgency to create a clear pathway for groundbreaking.

It’s time to build ships again.

It isn’t just shipbuilding, but an entire city on what is now a forgotten corner of California. Not some modernist nightmare, but what looks like a very livable new urbanist project.

California Forever’s Founder and CEO, Jan Sramek, has a solid vision that is new and refreshing. In essence, he is looking at a similar concept as business parks, but on a much more ambitious scale. Housing, infrastructure, zoning, regulatory approval, CF will prepare that ground for you. All it needs is for the businesses to show up and make it economically feasible.

Is it doable? Perhaps, but a lot of work needs to be done.

Spend some time bouncing around the website linked above. It is one of the more ambitious and imaginative answers to the West Coast problem of “where?”

Still, we are talking about California here. Let’s look at how the locals view it.

Did you notice part of the problem of sea blindness in the reporters’ script?

Next up from the locals is the view from Sacramento.

If you want to Make American Great Again, you need to do great things in great places.

I’m keeping this project in my scan.

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