1.   Indeed, the average miles per gallon of the American fleet have actually declined because of the popularity of SUVs and minivans.

2.   Japan proceeded to attack the American fleet and seize the Philippines, Guam, Wake Island, Singapore and other valuable lands on the Pacific Rim.

3.   Now the Pentagon, citing the Persian Gulf war, has punctured the myth that the expensive American fleet is needed for national defense.

4.   On the West Coast, aggressive fishing by American commercial fleets and weird weather patterns take the rap, deservedly or not.

5.   Off the Okinawan coast, the Gods of the Divine Wind -- the Japanese suicide pilots -- are attacking the American fleet.

6.   The American fleet of aircraft carriers was out to sea at the time, and it would prove to be a key component of the war in the Pacific.

7.   The American maritime fleet has been badly hurt by subsidized foreign competition, and its backers say it deserves help because it could be needed in a war.

8.   We crossed the coast in the gathering dark where an American fleet lay waiting offshore to receive us.

9.   NAVSEA handles engineering and building for the American fleet as well as acquisition projects.

10.   The aircraft carrier USS Enterprise and five escort ships have joined the American naval fleet operating in Gulf waters, a U.S. Navy spokesman said Tuesday.