Don't sink the Navy's future

TheHill.com
Don't sink the Navy's future
BY STEVE COHEN, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 07/29/20 05:00 PM EDT 82THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL
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Don't sink the Navy's future
© Getty Images
It appears the United States is about to lose its first aircraft carrier since World War II. A Chinese missile didn’t sink the ship. Instead, the USS Bonhomme Richard caught fire while undergoing routine maintenance in San Diego. After four days of crews fighting the fire, the 844-foot amphibious assault ship is presumed to be a total loss. Fortunately, no lives were lost.

Sadly, we were not so lucky three years ago when two Navy destroyers, the Fitzgerald and the John McCain, collided with merchant ships in the Pacific. Those cost the lives of 17 sailors. The investigations that followed revealed a service suffering from inadequate training, poor staffing, and too little sleep.

The Fitzgerald and McCain disasters were emblematic of the serious problems facing the Navy. There were also a host of embarrassing personnel issues, ranging from criminal misconduct to the resignation of the Navy’s top admiral, to the Navy’s ability to design and build the ships it needs to defend the nation.