Tag Archives: FY 2017 Budget

As Navy Faces $848M O&M Shortfall, Picking What Maintenance To Skip Is Full Of Risk

As Navy Faces $848M O&M Shortfall, Picking What Maintenance To Skip Is Full Of Risk

Sailors assigned to amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) conduct maintenance during a ship's restricted availability (SRA) period in Sasebo on April 14, 2016. US Navy photo.

Sailors assigned to amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) conduct maintenance during a ship’s restricted availability (SRA) period in Sasebo on April 14, 2016. US Navy photo.

A mid-year review of Navy operations and maintenance funding found a $848-million shortfall, forcing the Navy to restrict flying hours, defer five ship maintenance availabilities until Fiscal Year 2017, defer continuous maintenance work for two amphibious ready groups and a carrier strike group – and nearly suspend work at the service’s largest regional maintenance center. Read More

UPDATED: Ash Carter Says House Defense Bill ‘Gambling With Warfighting Money,’ Path to Hollow Force

UPDATED: Ash Carter Says House Defense Bill ‘Gambling With Warfighting Money,’ Path to Hollow Force

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter speaks with reporters at theU.S. Air Force Academy after touring the campus in Colorado Springs, Colo., May 12, 2016. DoD Photo

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter speaks with reporters at theU.S. Air Force Academy after touring the campus in Colorado Springs, Colo., May 12, 2016. DoD Photo

This post has been updated with a statement from the Senate Armed Services Committee.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – Defense Secretary Ashton Carter says the House version of the Defense Authorization bill to shift money from emergency war spending to the base budget is gimmickry that is “gambling with warfighting money at a time of war.” Read More

Wrapup: HASC Passes FY2017 Defense Bill With Reagan-Era Spending Levels

Wrapup: HASC Passes FY2017 Defense Bill With Reagan-Era Spending Levels

USS George Washington (CVN-73) and its strike group in 2013. The House voted to refuel the carrier rather than decommission the ship. US Navy Photo

USS George Washington (CVN-73) and its strike group in 2013. The House voted to refuel the carrier rather than decommission the ship. US Navy Photo

The House Armed Services Committee this week passed a bill that gave the Navy and Marine Corps virtually everything they wanted in their procurement accounts – plus an additional $5.9 billion in a separate account – creating a Reagan-era defense bill for their Senate counterparts to accept or reject. Read More

HASC Bill Addresses Navy Fighter Shortfall, Depot and Shipyard Workforce Challenges

HASC Bill Addresses Navy Fighter Shortfall, Depot and Shipyard Workforce Challenges

 Aviation Structural Mechanic (Equipment) 2nd Class M. V. Volosko, assigned to the Pukin Dogs of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 143, places a canopy brace on an F/A-18E Super Hornet in the hangar bay of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) on June 17, 2015. US Navy photo.

Aviation Structural Mechanic (Equipment) 2nd Class M. V. Volosko, assigned to the Pukin Dogs of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 143, places a canopy brace on an F/A-18E Super Hornet in the hangar bay of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) on June 17, 2015. US Navy photo.

The Navy may get a boost in readiness through additional military construction to support aviation readiness and shipyard workforce growth, if provisions in the House Armed Services Committee’s 2017 defense bill pass, but the Marine Corps would not get any aviation readiness dollars above what the service requested in its February budget submission. Read More

UPDATED: HASC Proposes $20.6B In Shipbuilding, 4-Year Carrier Builds, Possible LPD-29

UPDATED: HASC Proposes $20.6B In Shipbuilding, 4-Year Carrier Builds, Possible LPD-29

Aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) sits pier side in the erly morning light at Newport News Shipbuilding in 2014. US Navy Photo

Aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) sits pier side in the early morning light at Newport News Shipbuilding in 2014. US Navy Photo

The House Armed Services authorizes $20.6 billion in spending for Navy shipbuilding programs, prohibits the inactivation of cruisers as part of the Navy’s proposed phased modernization plan, and calls for the Navy to build aircraft carriers in four-year periods instead of five, according to its version of the Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, released today. Read More