Congress Goes Powerpoint on Navy Readiness

In the hearing yesterday, there was a moment where Congressman Randy Forbes of Virginia went Powerpoint on the Navy. During the opening testimonies, the Navy went Powerpoint on Congress when explaining the Fleet Response Plan. These were the very interesting slides Rep. Randy Forbes used in his response. Click the images to read. From here.

In the last four years inspection failures for Navy ships have nearly tripled. Currently, 1 in 5 ships inspected is either unsatisfactory or unfit for combat. Since 2007 inspection failure rates have risen from roughly 8% to 24%. Yet, this year alone, the Navy faces a $367 million funding shortfall for ship maintenance.

On average, Navy deployed ships are forced to spend nearly 40% of their time with at least one major equipment or systems failure. Essential equipment or systems on Navy ships could include anti-air defenses, radar, satellite communications, or engines. Almost 40% of the time, deployed ships have at least one essential piece of equipment that has failed and prevents them from meeting a primary mission.

Over one-half of our currently deployed aircraft are not combat ready. Fifty-five percent of deployed Navy and Marine Corps aircraft are not fully mission capable. For every two aircraft sent on deployment, one of them cannot perform a critical mission for which it was deployed . Despite this, the Navy faces a nearly $100 million funding shortfall for aviation maintenance and logistics this year alone.

It was remarkable to me that Rep. Forbes kept apologizing to the two Vice Admirals for beating them over the head with the facts regarding Navy readiness. In my opinion, I think it would have been more appropriate for Navy leaders to apologize to Congress and the American people for being consistently below the stated readiness requirement.

When Congress asked the panel who in the Navy is responsible for Readiness, both VADMs were quick to point to ADM Harvey. Remember, Commander Fleet Forces Command is responsible for fixing these problems, while former Commanders at Fleet Forces Command who were simply voting present during the deteriorating surface ship standards are somehow not responsible.

For evidence, just look to the next CNO.