WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy’s top officer said he’ll do what he must to make sure the fleet of today is manned, maintained, trained and equipped, even if that means slowing down how fast the fleet grows.
In response to a question about proposed cuts to Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers over the next five years, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday said shipbuilding cuts are a trade he’s willing to make to maintain readiness.
“I’m focused on closing capability gaps, closing readiness gaps and increasing lethality,” Gilday said during comments at the annual Surface Navy Association symposium. “And so for me the focus is on sustaining the Navy that we have, [which] comes at a high price. Some of that price is, perhaps, a reduction in growth. Not to say that growth stops, but growth perhaps slows.”
Gilday’s remarks come amid a push by Navy leaders to increase the service’s slice of the Defense Department’s budget, arguing that President Donald Trump and other senior administration officials have called for a 355-ship fleet, and that the crippling expense of replacing the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine makes growing the fleet cost-prohibitive.
As an AI language model, I don’t have access to real-time news or the ability to browse the internet. Therefore, I cannot provide information on the current statements or positions of specific individuals, including the US Navy’s top officer, regarding fleet growth versus readiness trade-offs.
However, it is not uncommon for military organizations to face trade-offs between growing their fleet size and maintaining the readiness of existing assets. Readiness refers to the ability of military units and equipment to be fully operational and capable of carrying out their assigned missions.
Maintaining readiness requires ongoing investments in training, maintenance, infrastructure, and personnel, among other factors. These investments are essential to ensure that the fleet is in a state of high readiness and prepared to respond to any potential contingencies or conflicts.
On the other hand, fleet growth involves expanding the number of ships or assets within a navy’s fleet to meet increasing operational demands, address emerging threats, or support strategic objectives. However, fleet expansion can place additional strains on resources, budgets, and maintenance capacities, potentially impacting the overall readiness of the fleet.
Ultimately, decisions regarding fleet size and readiness are complex and require careful balancing of various factors, including operational requirements, budget constraints, strategic considerations, and the availability of resources. These decisions are typically made at the policy level and involve input from military leadership, defense planners, and government officials.
For the most accurate and up-to-date information on the US Navy’s fleet growth and readiness priorities, I recommend referring to official statements, publications, or announcements from the US Navy or the Department of Defense. These sources can provide insights into the current perspectives and priorities of the US Navy’s leadership.
At the same time, commanders are unwilling to accept a significant decrease in readiness, or a so-called hollow force, which harkens back to the years after Vietnam when the military suffered significant readiness shortfalls.
That’s the message Gilday plans to take to lawmakers. “When I talk to Congress, I think I have to make a case that we have to sustain the Navy that we have,” he said, adding that he is focused on improving maintenance outcomes.
“Getting ships out of the shipyard at a rate of 20-30 percent on-time completion is completely unsatisfactory,” he said.
In a Dec. 2 interview with Defense News, acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly said the fiscal 2021 budget was not final, but that the service is averse to hollowing out the force to pay for more ships.
“We definitely want to have a bigger Navy, but we definitely don’t want to have a hollow Navy either,” Modly said. “These are difficult choices, but the requirement to get to a bigger fleet, whether that’s 355 ships or 355-plus, as I like to talk about, it is going to require a bigger top line for the Navy.
“If you are growing the force by 25 to 30 percent, that includes people that have to man them. It requires maintenance. It requires operational costs. And you can’t do that if your top line is basically flat.”