CNO
Richardson just issued the most self-incriminating statement imaginable. The Government Accountability Office (GAO)
just issued a report on the submarine maintenance problems. (1)
… a recent
Government Accountability Office report that found the Navy has lost
more than $1.5 billion and thousands of operational days over the past
decade due to attack submarines caught in maintenance delays or sitting idle
while awaiting an availability. (1)
Soak
up those numbers … $1.5 BILLION and THOUSANDS of operational days lost
!!!!!!!!!!!
Did
you catch how long it’s been going on? -
From the quote, ‘over the past decade’.
CNO
Richardson’s reaction?
Richardson, in a
media call on Thursday during his Thanksgiving visit to USS Harry S. Truman
(CVN-75), told USNI News that he found “no surprises in that report. Every bit
of information in that is information we’re very, very aware of. (1)
So,
CNO Richardson, you have a massive, massive problem facing the fleet, you
weren’t surprised by any of it, and you’ve been “very, very aware” of it? So what in the hell have you been doing about
it besides sitting on your ass? Talk
about dereliction of duty! This is
incompetence on a massive scale.
CNO
Richardson’s statement is about as self-incriminating an indictment of his
incompetence as is possible to imagine.
What
does the GAO have to say about the Navy’s pathetic efforts?
The Navy has started
to address challenges related to workforce shortages and facilities needs at
the public shipyards. However, it has not effectively allocated maintenance
periods among public shipyards and private shipyards that may also be available
to help minimize attack submarine idle time.
So,
even after a decade or more, the Navy’s effort at a solution is feeble and
ineffective.
Why
does CNO Richardson still have a job?
______________________________________
(1)USNI
News website, “CNO: ‘No Surprises’ in GAO Report on Submarine Readiness
Challenges”, Megan Eckstein, 26-Nov-2018,
Only 1.5 billion over 10 years? Yeah..and my kid only took one cookie out of the cookie jar this morning.
ReplyDeleteSo what is the reasoning behind this? Are subs only allowed to get yard work done at Naval shipyards and the builders yards due to secrecy? How many private yards in the US have the actual capability to handle the maintenance/ overhauls but arent being utilized??
ReplyDeleteThe time and cost overruns that seem to be fairly standard fare for the Navy are ridiculous, and certainly need to be brought under control. Ships sitting pierside for months or even YEARS waiting for maintenance is somthing that is expected in a third world country, not here. Things have got to change...
The nuclear angle complicates the situation hugely. Safety regimens, compliance, etc.
DeleteEvery USN submarine is nuclear-propelled.
Agree fully with Kirby. 10 years, and only $1.5B seems far too cheap.
@Jj Abatie. I doubt civilian yards are going to be able to maintain a sub. I doubt its a good ideal you really do want the people doing the work to have background checks etc.
ReplyDeleteQuick thought. The acoustic tiles on the Virginia. You see pictures of them missing after a sea tour all the time and news stories about the issue have been floating about for years. I'm betting the Navy underestimated the amount of them they would have to replace/repair. But that looks like typical pentagon planning. Build the toys but not the infrastructure to sustain them. Building and keeping more yard capacity is well not sexy. And it would mean more people the navy hates that on ships why should they like in yards. Although you would think any congressmen would bite on jobs funding/new construction - I don't care about what party, that never fails to go over well back home.
Civvie yards shouldn't be working on subs. If you're racking up this much backlogged maintenance, that is a sign from God you have inadequate maintenance capacity. The hulls ain't getting any younger, and the maintenance will not decrease in volume or complexity.
ReplyDeleteReading between the lines; I have a feeling that the navy doesn't have enough shipyard/drydock/Depot capacity, and they don't want to admit it. The PowerPoint rangers want to keep "Rah Rahing" the efficiency, lean, and six-sigma slogans instead of cutting steel or pouring concrete or actually increasing the budget line.
Again. We are a nation of lions run by sheep. And more and more completely incompetent sheep.
ReplyDeleteWhen challenge for a person to get more power is the ability to not offend and climb the ladder then you get great ladder climbers.
Good sailors? Competent sailors and admirals? Not so much.
But great politicians and CEO's though.