Two US senators on February 26 introduced a bill aimed at helping the US Navy restore its surface force readiness.
The Surface Warfare Enhancement Act of 2018, introduced by Roger Wicker (R-MS), Chairman of the Senate Seapower Subcommittee, and John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, would address some of the root causes of declining readiness, which were outlined by navy and military officials in the most recent Strategic Readiness Review and Comprehensive Review.
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Among the measures proposed by the bill are requirements for the navy to conduct a “clean sheet” review of its organization and chains-of-command, putting a senior Senate-confirmed Navy civilian in charge of ship maintenance and giving the navy more time and flexibility to spend maintenance funds.
The bill would further see the navy deliver realistic baseline projections of sailors’ workloads and ship maintenance in addition to calling for the navy to keep records on watch standing and training completed by surface warfare officers. Other proposals include setting minimum at-sea and simulator-based training requirements to qualify for critical positions on the ships and equalizing manning between ships homeported overseas and at home.
“As we have seen too often in recent months, the significant shortcomings in our navy’s readiness can have disastrous results,” said senator McCain. “The ship collisions, including the USS Fitzgerald and USS McCain, degraded the capabilities of our fleet, cost hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, and – most importantly – took precious lives.
“The status quo is unacceptable. Congress must provide the funding and oversight required to keep our military safe in peace and effective in combat. I commend senator Wicker for his leadership on this legislation to improve the readiness of our Navy, and look forward to working together on these initiatives as part of the FY19 National Defense Authorization Act.”
“Overextended and undermanned ships, overworked crews, fewer officers with naval mastery, and confusing chains of command have contributed to a decline in our naval power. My legislation – based on the Navy’s own recommendations – is specifically designed to address these and other challenges,” senator Wicker said. “Although I have confidence in the Navy’s leadership, I believe Congress needs to play an active role in helping them to succeed in this endeavor.”
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Two US senators on February 26 introduced a bill aimed at helping the US Navy restore its surface force readiness. The Surface Warfare Enhancement Act of 2018, introduced by Roger Wicker (R-MS), Chairman of the Senate Seapower Subcommittee, and John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Servic
