The Right Observation

In the last 48 hours, over 250 unique stories about the DDG-1000 have popped up across the country, and awareness is on the rise. The CNO has done what was once thought impossible, not only has he completely blown up the current shipbuilding plan, but the news has brought attention to both the Navy and shipbuilding, and all eyes are now on the CNO.

To Admiral Roughead's benefit, the confusion has Senators asking the right questions and demanding the right answers. This an excellent illustration of what we are talking about.

Some lawmakers disagree -- and have threatened to hold up funding for any surface combatants in the fiscal 2009 budget.

"The Navy has failed to provide Congress with any evidence of a sweeping change in requirements that would justify abandoning the DDG-1000 in favor of the less capable DDG-51," said Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat.

Senator Kennedy is asking the right questions and demanding the right answers with this comment. This is the right approach for the Senate, the most informative discussion for the industry, and the most enlightening way ahead for the American people. It is up to the Navy to provide the rationale, and we look forward to it.

We have no idea how Admiral Roughead intends to handle the situation, but we hold out whatever slim hope there is that the CNO, in creating this perfect storm, capitalizes on its new found attention and begins the national debate the Navy has been seeking since last October when they released the new maritime strategy. In effect, with no publicly disclosed resource strategy, the Navy can say just about anything and it would be new. Leadership is about seizing the moments that matter. That moment has arrived.