CommunityEditor
03-06-2008, 07:22 PM
The top leaders of the Navy and Marine Corps are united behind the idea of building two more San Antonio-class amphibious transport docks than originally planned, they told a Senate panel Wednesday. But they didn’t ask for the money for the ships because they didn’t think they’d be funded.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway and Navy Secretary Donald Winter appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee defense subcommittee, which reviewed the Department of the Navy’s fiscal 2009 budget request.
Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., pointed out that the Navy had moved $1.6 billion out of its budget request this year — money he said could have been used to pay for a 10th LPD 17. Why, he asked, hadn’t the service requested the money for the new ship?
“When we put together the plan for our shipbuilding plan for the future, balancing all other requirements that the Navy is doing and other future needs we have, the decision to submit the plan as it’s currently constructed — with the seven ships in there — and hold off on the 10th LPD, I believe was the best way forward to apportion the resources we have and still fulfill the needs of building the fleet for tomorrow,” Roughead said.
Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., pointed out that Conway had said his ideal number of ships was 11 and asked why the Navy wasn’t accommodating that number, given that the Marine Corps is growing its end strength by more than 22,000 Marines, and Conway has said he wants to recapture its “expeditionary flavor.”
Roughead and Conway told senators they’d had some “very productive discussions” and were united in supporting 11 San Antonios and generally accommodating the sea-transit needs of a plussed-up Marine Corps.
“The Navy has been forthcoming in trying to stretch some rubber bands to satisfy our needs,” Conway said, alluding to a plan to extend the service lives of some older gators.
Winter acknowledged that the LPD requirement “has become a significant issue” for both the services. The first San Antonio was plagued with delays and builder’s mistakes, and more than two years after it was commissioned, the ship still has yet to sail for its first deployment. In 2007, Winter sent a letter to shipbuilder Northrop Grumman complaining about “mismanagement” in the project.
Senators also asked for details about the Joint High-Speed Vehicle, the high-speed catamaran ferry that the Navy and Army want to move troops and equipment quickly inside larger operational theaters, and about the Littoral Combat Ship, which Winter and Roughead insisted was still a top priority even after the ships’ ballooning costs and construction delays.
Article: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/03/navy_morelpds_030608w/
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway and Navy Secretary Donald Winter appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee defense subcommittee, which reviewed the Department of the Navy’s fiscal 2009 budget request.
Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., pointed out that the Navy had moved $1.6 billion out of its budget request this year — money he said could have been used to pay for a 10th LPD 17. Why, he asked, hadn’t the service requested the money for the new ship?
“When we put together the plan for our shipbuilding plan for the future, balancing all other requirements that the Navy is doing and other future needs we have, the decision to submit the plan as it’s currently constructed — with the seven ships in there — and hold off on the 10th LPD, I believe was the best way forward to apportion the resources we have and still fulfill the needs of building the fleet for tomorrow,” Roughead said.
Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., pointed out that Conway had said his ideal number of ships was 11 and asked why the Navy wasn’t accommodating that number, given that the Marine Corps is growing its end strength by more than 22,000 Marines, and Conway has said he wants to recapture its “expeditionary flavor.”
Roughead and Conway told senators they’d had some “very productive discussions” and were united in supporting 11 San Antonios and generally accommodating the sea-transit needs of a plussed-up Marine Corps.
“The Navy has been forthcoming in trying to stretch some rubber bands to satisfy our needs,” Conway said, alluding to a plan to extend the service lives of some older gators.
Winter acknowledged that the LPD requirement “has become a significant issue” for both the services. The first San Antonio was plagued with delays and builder’s mistakes, and more than two years after it was commissioned, the ship still has yet to sail for its first deployment. In 2007, Winter sent a letter to shipbuilder Northrop Grumman complaining about “mismanagement” in the project.
Senators also asked for details about the Joint High-Speed Vehicle, the high-speed catamaran ferry that the Navy and Army want to move troops and equipment quickly inside larger operational theaters, and about the Littoral Combat Ship, which Winter and Roughead insisted was still a top priority even after the ships’ ballooning costs and construction delays.
Article: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/03/navy_morelpds_030608w/