CHESAPEAKE BAY (Sept. 24, 2019) Military Sealift Command large, medium-speed roll-on/roll-off vessel USNS Gilliland (T-AKR 298), participates in a group sail during Turbo Activation. Turbo Activation is a large-scale sealift readiness exercise series, which rapidly activates a mix of Military Sealift Command and U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration ships on the East, West, and Gulf Coasts. The exercise provides an assessment of the readiness of U.S. sealift forces, while also stressing the underlying support network involved in maintaining, manning and operating the nation’s ready sealift forces. (U.S. Navy photo by Jennifer Hunt/Released)
In September, the command held a “turbo activation” exercise, activating more than 30 transport vessels with no notice to assess their ability to get ready for operations.
“We kind of confirmed what we knew. The readiness of the fleet today is not where it needs to be,” Army Gen. Stephen R. Lyons told an Atlantic Council panel in Washington yesterday.
Through the Military Sealift Command, Transcom relies on about 125 civilian-crewed surface vessels averaging about 50 years old to replenish Navy ships, conduct specialized missions and transport personnel, cargo and supplies.
“It’s very hard to conduct service-life extensions on a ship that is that old,” Lyons said. “What we are finding is the money that is provided against it is woefully insufficient to come back out of the shipyard in a ready status.”
Lyons said he thinks purchasing used ships to augment the fleet is a good solution to the problem. “Congress has granted us the authority — granted the Navy the authority — to purchase seven used ships on the open market,” he added.
By the end of this year or the beginning of the next fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1, the Defense Department expects to buy the first two of those used vessels, followed up with two or three more, the general said.
The president’s budget proposal will be released next month; following that, Lyons and other leaders within the U.S. military will testify on Capitol Hill to explain their portions of that budget proposal. The general said he expects he’ll ask Congress for money for used ships, rather than new ones.
“What I’d like to see is more money to accelerate the used-buy move ahead,” he said. “I frankly think the ‘new buy’ piece is going to be very, very difficult for the Navy to go after. My own personal view is the faster we can move to demonstrate good faith in what the Congress gave us to do, the faster we can demonstrate that this is a viable way to move forward.”
BY C. TODD LOPEZ, DOD NEWS