Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
McCain’s command to Navy: Do better
Sea disasters draw senator’s scolding
WASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., scolded the Navy’s senior leaders Tuesday, demanding answers and accountability for a string of deadly and expensive accidents at sea that have exposed the service’s struggle to address leadership shortcomings and eroding safety standards.
“As leaders of our Navy, you must do better,” McCain, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Navy Secretary Richard Spencer and Chief of Naval Operations John Richardson during the outset of a hearing to learn what the service is doing to restore confidence in its surface warfare fleet, and to correct glaring questions about its commanders’ ability to hone seamanship and readiness during constant deployments.
During his opening remarks, McCain read aloud the names of family members whose loved ones were among the 17 sailors killed in two sea collisions this summer. Many attended as honored guests.
“Your presence here today reminds us of our sacred obligation to look after the young people who serve in our military,” McCain said, noting his personal connection with the USS John McCain, a guided-missile destroyer named after his father and grandfather.
The ship collided with an oil tanker in a bustling sea transit lane near Singapore, killing 10 sailors on Aug. 21. The USS Fitzgerald, a guided-missile destroyer, collided with a container ship in Tokyo Bay on June 17, leaving seven sailors dead.
“We will identify shortcomings, fix them and hold people accountable,” McCain said, shifting his focus to Spencer and Richardson.
Richardson shifted some blame to Congress, saying the pressure Navy commanders feel to meet high operational demands was exacerbated by “constrained funding levels and budget uncertainty,” which impedes training schedules and budgeting for new ships and modern weapons, the admiral said.
The Navy’s top officer said he can’t yet draw a direct link between those problems and the ship crashes, and instead said commanders are ultimately responsible for ensuring their forces are combat ready and operating safely and effectively.
“At the core, this issue is about command,” he said.
“I am accountable for the safe and effective operations of our Navy, and we will fix this. I own this problem,” Richardson, said. “I’m confident that our Navy will identify the root causes and correct them, and that it will be better in the end.”
Two other accidents, including another collision and a ship running aground in Tokyo Bay, have occurred this year. Three of the ships are assigned to the 7th Fleet, which is forward-deployed and has the task, among other missions, of defending against North Korean aggression and checking Chinese territorial expansion.
“It is simply unacceptable for U.S. Navy ships to run aground or collide with other ships — and to have four such incidents in the span of seven months is truly alarming,” said McCain. Speaking directly to Richardson, he said that some fixes could be done now, without long studies or review.
Sailors “should not be working 100 hours a week,” he said. “That’s common sense that doesn’t require a study.” He told Richardson to make immediate changes to reduce the strain.
During the hearing, McCain also noted that, with three of the ships involved in the collisions now out of service for months, “there are serious questions about our maritime readiness to fight in response to North Korean, Chinese, and Russian aggression.” Members of the Senate Armed Services committee were quick to pin some responsibility for the accidents on Congress, which has relied on stopgap spending measures for the past eight years, forcing the services to shift money from modernization and training accounts in order to fund current missions.
They said they believe that reductions in training time have contributed to the accidents.
Congress has to provide adequate funding to take care of service members, said Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D.
Spencer noted that over time Congress has added training and other requirements to the force, likening it to piling more and more rocks into a rucksack.
“No one is taking a rock out and the rucksack is getting pretty damn heavy,” he said.