The U.S. Navy is struggling to sustain its combat surface ships despite receiving $1 billion more from its original budget proposals for maintenance, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.
Published on Friday, the GAO review said the Navy faced several ship maintenance issues, such as limited spare parts and a shortage of qualified personnel. The problems were observed notwithstanding the $24.9 billion allocated for the service’s maintenance expenses during fiscal years 2020 through 2023.
Persistent Ship Sustainment Challenges
The study focused on 149 non-nuclear surface vessels that the Navy operates as of 2024, including destroyers, cruisers and amphibious assault ships. GAO said the warships encountered “persistent sustainment challenges” during the covered period.
Notably, the problems plagued the Navy even as it reported obligating over 99 percent of the $25.9 billion it secured for ship sustainment activities at the end of the fiscal year 2023. The accountability office pointed out there were instances when the Navy was forced to postpone maintenance.
GAO Recommendations
To address the issues, GAO submitted 46 suggestions to the Navy, including documenting the factors when determining whether enlisted crewing target levels should be adjusted and reporting on the annual evaluation of operational, technical and economic risks associated with deferred ship maintenance. To date, the military branch is making progress toward implementing 12 of the GAO recommendations.
