Tag Archives: sequestration

Congressional Group Urges Navy to Maintain Ships

Congressional Group Urges Navy to Maintain Ships

Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Jonathan Greenert testifies before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies about the devastating affects of the continuing resolution and sequestration on military readiness. US Navy Photo

Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Jonathan Greenert testifies before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies about the devastating affects of the continuing resolution and sequestration on military readiness. US Navy Photo

A group of ten Congress members are urging the Navy not to defer maintenance of surface ships as part of the service’s plan to find money to cover mandatory budget cuts. Read More

New Defense Bill Puts Lincoln Refueling Back on Track

New Defense Bill Puts Lincoln Refueling Back on Track

USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) arrives at Newport News Shipbuilding for its 44-month refueling complex overhaul (RCOH) on March 28, 2013. HII Photo

USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) arrives at Newport News Shipbuilding for its 44-month refueling complex overhaul (RCOH) on March 28, 2013. HII Photo

USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) has arrived at Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Newport News Shipbuilding facility to begin its mid-life refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH), Naval Sea Systems Command officials told USNI News on Thursday. Read More

Opinion: History's Costliest Fleet Auxiliary

Opinion: History’s Costliest Fleet Auxiliary

Sailors' vehicles are parked on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) on March, 13 2013. US Navy Photo

Sailors’ vehicles are parked on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) on March, 13 2013. US Navy Photo

When in doubt about grave questions, reach for the classics. What would the likes of Alfred Thayer Mahan or Julian Corbett say about the fate of the big-deck aircraft carrier or nuclear carrier (CVN)? I suspect their ghosts would voice skepticism. Read More

CBO Report on DoD Reductions

CBO Report on DoD Reductions

From the March Congressional Budget Office report on Pentagon spending cuts: In 2013, the Department of Defense (DoD) faces an 11 percent reduction (after adjusting for inflation) in its base budget from the amount it received in 2012. (The base budget funds the department’s normal activi- ties but excludes overseas military operations like those in Afghanistan.) Under current law, the department’s bud- gets will increase by a cumulative total of 2 percent more than inflation between 2013 and 2021, still well below its funding in 2012 in real (inflation-adjusted) terms. Those limits are mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA), which capped annual funding for defense and nondefense agencies during that period. Read More

Navy DDG-51 and DDG-1000 Destroyer Programs: Background and Issues for Congress

Navy DDG-51 and DDG-1000 Destroyer Programs: Background and Issues for Congress

From the March 14, 2013 Congressional Research Service report:
The Navy’s FY2013 budget submission calls for procuring nine Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) class destroyers in FY2013-FY2017, in annual quantities of 2-1-2-2-2. The five DDG-51s scheduled for procurement in FY2013-FY2015, and one of the two scheduled for procurement in FY2016, are to be of the current Flight IIA design. The Navy wants to begin procuring a new version of the DDG-51 design, called the Flight III design, starting with the second of the two ships scheduled for procurement in FY2016. The two DDG-51s scheduled for procurement in FY2017 are also to be of the Flight III design. The Flight III design is to feature a new and more capable radar called the Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR). The Navy for FY2013 is requesting congressional approval to use a multiyear procurement (MYP) arrangement for the nine DDG-51s scheduled for procurement in FY2013-FY2017. Read More

Memo: Coast Guard to Cut Operations by 21 percent

Memo: Coast Guard to Cut Operations by 21 percent

Coast Guardsmen from Air Station Detroit and Station St. Clair Shores, Mich., conduct joint ice-rescue training on Lake St. Clair, Feb. 12, 2013. US Coast Guard Photo

Coast Guardsmen from Air Station Detroit and Station St. Clair Shores, Mich., conduct joint ice-rescue training on Lake St. Clair, Feb. 12, 2013. US Coast Guard Photo

The Coast Guard plans to reduce surface and air operations by 21 percent and defer depot level maintenance due to budget cuts, according to a February draft memo obtained by USNI News. Read More

No Furloughs at Arlington National Cemetery

No Furloughs at Arlington National Cemetery

A member of the U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard plays "Taps" during a funeral at Arlington National Cemetery on March, 8. US Navy Photo

A member of the U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard plays “Taps” during a funeral at Arlington National Cemetery on March, 8. US Navy Photo

Staff at Arlington National Cemetery will avoid furloughs this fiscal year reducing fears the cemetery would extend wait times for burials, Army National Military Cemeteries Executive Director Kathryn Condon told Congress on Wednesday. Read More