Alaska Senator Asserts Navy Secretary Violated Shipbuilding Law

gCaptain.com ^ | April 18, 2023 | Captain John Konrad

[Hootowl99]

In a heated Senate Armed Services Committee hearing today, Alaska’s Senator Dan Sullivan accused the Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Carlos Del Toro of breaking a critical shipbuilding law that legally requires the Navy and the Department of Defense to build a specific number of ships. The recent fight over amphibious warship procurement, as reported in a previous gCaptain article, played a significant role in the argument presented by Senator Sullivan.

This comes two weeks after Congresswoman Betty McCollum – ranking member of the powerful Defense Appropriations Subcommittee – told Del Toro and Chief Of Naval Operations Admiral Mike Gilday that the failure to include icebreakers in the recent navy budget request was “not a good answer admiral”…

…The hearing centered around the 31 amphibious warship requirement, an issue that has sparked a public dispute between the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps over the Navy’s decision to drop a planned purchase of a San Antonio-class amphibious warship from its 2024 budget. The core issue lies in the lack of a long-term vision for naval shipbuilding by the Pentagon’s political leaders, which has led to disputes between the Navy and Marine Corps over force building.

[Hootowl99]

The Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Navel Operations were st a Senate hearing and were raked over the coals by the pretty good Senator from Alaska (not Murkowski). The issue was the Navy actually reducing ships at a faster rate than they were building new ones.

This issue goes beyond the Marine and Navy fireworks. Other interests thoroughly at odds with the Navy re. shipbuilding include the Coast Guard, Naval sealift and US Merchant Marine sealift components. In summary, the Navy is treating a legal requirement as a discretionary suggestion.

In addition, the law mandates a minimum number of amphibious ships to support Marine operations. Instead of building up to this mandated by law minimum amphibious ship requirement, the Navy is actually reducing their numbers. The Navy and Marines may be going to war with each other?

My opinions….. Should ship procurement, building and commissioning be removed from the Navy and shifted to private management? Something like the way National Laboratories are managed under contract? Something else?

[Seruzawa]

Since so many new ships are worthless maybe a hiatus on it is called for. No point in building ships that can’t be used.

[M Kehoe]

Somebody didn’t get their 10 percent.

5.56mm

[ViLaLuz]

0bama 2.0 leveling the playing field (allowing China to rise)?

[Glad2bnuts]

So how is America progressing on the hypersonic missile systems our enemies have? Instead of build a wall to keep them out, or sending money to surrogates in Nato, how about we concentrate on making Americans safer and more powerful? IF China and Russia both have hypersonic delivery systems for their warheads, whether chemical or nuclear, clearly we are facing a metaphorical 16 inch Missouri battleship gun, using an AR 15. We can kill a few of them, they can decimate us.

[M Kehoe]

Bi.

I can’t answer any of your questions.

I’m just a nobody.

5.56mm

[Hootowl99]

Excellent point you make. Case in point…. The littoral combat ships and the Zumwalt class destroyer.

The littoral ships continued to be built even though there were unresolved problems related to the interface between the gas turbine and diesel engines. In addition, the antisubmarine module IIRC was a bust and not available. The antiair module was functional but didn't have the magazine capacity to operate in littoral waters unsupported.

The Zumwalt’s destroyer's claim to fame was was based on a rail gun with outrageous range at equally outrageous low cost per round. A technological bust.

[FlingWingFlyer]

Carlos del Toro? Couldn’t the demented pedophile find an American for the Navy Secretary job?

[Jimmy Valentine]

They need to get rid of the Zumwalts and the littoral ships which are useless. No more carriers. Cruisers are of best utility for protecting sea lanes.

[FlingWingFlyer]

Since Pedo Demento has foreigners running the entire U.S. Government they should be required to pay their “fair share” of taxes.

[BobL]

Take that She (and Putin)!!!!

We don’t need no ships in our navy for we are AMERICA!!!

[Glad2bnuts]

I knew that there can be no actual answer to my poser. In general, I hate war and our government interfering in other countries business in a warlike manner. I just want an America as the most powerful, peaceful and richest population we can have.