Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and John McCain, R-Ariz., have introduced a bill that would implement changes to the U.S. Navy‘s surface fleet operations, USNI News reported Monday.The Surface Warfare Enhancement Act of 2018 was created in response to ship collisions that involved the USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain guided-missile destroyers in 2017.
The bill is based on the Navy’s Comprehensive Review of Recent Surface Force Incidents and Navy Secretary Richard Spencer’s Strategic Readiness Review, which were released following the incidents.
The proposed legislation seeks to address issues that contributed to the collisions, including an unclear command structure for the surface force as well as a high operational tempo in forward-deployed forces and surface warfare personnel.
The bill would direct the Navy Secretary to conduct a complete review of the Navy’s command and control structure and declassify the annual reports of the service branch’s Board of Inspection and Survey.
