Health of the US Amphibious Fleet: What the Optimized Fleet Response Plan Means for the Amphibious Mission?
Abstract
The Global Combatant Commanders and the Marine Corps should accept that the Optimized Fleet Response Plan is a necessary response to the material conditions of the amphibious fleet; the Joint Force needs to find ways to minimize the impact of 0-FRP on the amphibious mission, and the Department of Defense and Congressional leaders needs to determine the correct type and number of amphibious ships needed to meet the National Security Strategy. (Discussion:) The Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Sean Stackly, testified in 2014 in front of the Senate Subcommittee on Seapower that amphibious ships are "the workhorse of the fleet." Since the end of the Cold War, the US amphibious fleet has seen increased activity, not less; however, the number of amphibious ships the Navy is required to maintain reflects neither current GCC requests nor EF-21's new vision. (Conclusion:) The process that the US Pacific Fleet and US Fleet Forces commanders approved--in 0-FRP--is a long overdue recognition that doing more with less over an extended period of time has an enormously negative effect on the Navy's heavily capitalized ships; operations in that environment also negatively affects the morale of the sailors stationed aboard those ships and the ship's maintenance cycles.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 06, 2016
- Accession Number
- AD1176192
Entities
People
- Dante L. Mack
Organizations
- Marine Corps University