The U.S. Navy currently suffers from failures in mission readiness that include maintenance backlogs, decaying shipyards, crew fatigue, and supply chain bottlenecks, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) set out in a report Tuesday.
The sea service’s readiness consequently suffers to a greater degree than the other service branches, the report warned, as Beijing flexes its seagoing power in the South China Sea and elsewhere.
Stars and Stripes reports the GAO assigned a “readiness rating” for the domains of air, sea, ground and space based on data from fiscal years 2017 through 2021.
Only the sea rating decreased for both resource readiness and mission capability readiness during that period.
The report was made public at the same time it was revealed the U.S. Navy confirmed a “drag queen influencer” is now used as one of its “digital ambassadors” to attract recruits, as Breitbart News reported.
Resource readiness ratings measure the status of personnel, equipment, supplies and training, while mission capability readiness ratings measure whether a unit can accomplish its designed missions, the report states.
Ground readiness increased in that pair of measurements, while air and space readiness had mixed ratings.
The U.S. Navy was plagued by worsening ship maintenance backlogs over that five-year period for 10 classes of ships reviewed by the GAO.
The congressional auditors declared the report is a worrisome assessment given the crucial role the U.S. Navy would play in any potential conflict with China.
“The 10 ship classes we reviewed face a litany of maintenance and supply challenges related to the age of the ship, shortages of trained maintenance personnel, and diminished manufacturing sources for parts, among others,” the report states.
“According to program officials, these challenges affect operational availability and the costs required to sustain those ships.”
Sailors and Federal firefighters combat a fire onboard USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) at Naval Base San Diego, July 12, 2020. Earlier a fire emergency was called aboard the ship while it was alongside at Naval Base San Diego. Local, base and shipboard firefighters responded. USS Bonhomme Richard is going through a maintenance availability, which began in 2018. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Christina Ross)
The GAO said a Navy estimate of funds needed to clear its maintenance backlog totalled $1.7 billion for surface ships and almost $100 million for aircraft carriers.
Admiral Mike Gilday, chief of naval operations, told a House panel last month some ships are “manned, they’re trained, they’re equipped” and ready for combat operations.
But overall, he said, “I’m not satisfied with where we are with respect to maintenance and readiness of the force. It does need to improve.”
Read the full GAO report here.