Vice Adm. Thomas Moore, chief of the Naval Sea Systems Command, has said the U.S. Navy needs to hire at least 2,000 additional civilian employees to help address the maintenance backlog at the service branch’s shipyards, Federal News Radio reported Monday.
Scott Maucione writes the employment of additional civilians would help address maintenance issues with the military branch’s fleet of 285 ships and increase NAVSEA’s workforce to approximately 36,000 employees.
“Today, we only deliver about 40 percent of our ships and submarines out of maintenance availabilities on time and that’s causing great stress for the fleet,†Moore said Monday at the Sea Space Symposium in Maryland.
Moore also cited the training of new hires as one of the factors behind delays in ship maintenance during a Senate hearing Wednesday.
“We’ve invested a lot of money in our training systems, so that a young worker can come in today and takes some about one to two years to the point that they can actually provide real wrench turning on the ship,†he told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the report added.
Her remarks came months after the Navy unveiled a new shipbuilding plan that seeks to increase the service branch’s battle force fleet to 355 ships within the next 30 years.
