Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has discussed changes in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps during his eight-year term during an event hosted by the Defense Writers’ Group, DoD News reported Friday.
Jim Garamone writes Mabus said he put 86 ships under contract to address the decline in fleet size to 278 ships in 2008 from 316 in 2001.
Mabus noted the Navy worked to reduce ships costs and achieve 60 percent non-fossil fuel use ashore, which puts the service branch five years ahead of its goal to use 50 percent non-fossil fuel both onshore and afloat by 2020, Garamone reported.
He traveled 1.3 million miles in the past eight years to meet with sailors and Marines as well as allies across the world, according to the report.
Mabus said sequestration and other budget imperatives led to a delay in required yardwork for ships and that the Marine Corps and the Navy could take years to recover from budget challenges.
