Transcripts For CSPAN Admirals Testify On Naval Warship Acci

CSPAN Admirals Testify On Naval Warship Accidents September 8, 2017

I call this joint hearing of the subcommittee of the house of Armed Services committee to order. We are here in honor of memory of the seven uss fitzgerald. Enate sailors and the 10 uss John S Mccain sailors. We are very grateful we have a mother here with us today. We send to you our give his sympathies and profound sorrow for your loss and appreciation for your sons service to our nation. I want to welcome our members to todays hearing. Recognizeespecially that we have with us the committee chairman, donald mac thornberry. He has been the leader of our ongoing efforts to mitigate our military Readiness Challenges and i want to thank him for his leadership and for being here today to hear about the challenges in limited by the tragic collisions in the pacific. To send a warm welcome to congresswoman Elizabeth Este from connecticut and congressman rodney davis from illinois. That ananimous consent member not a member of the committee be a lot to participate in todays hearing after all subCommittee Members and then full Committee Members have had an opportunity to ask questions. Is there an objection . Without objection, such members will be recognized the appropriate time for five minutes. As a begin today on the view readiness, underling problems the ships, ith have no doubt our navy remains the strongest in the world. But these tragic events reinforce our concern about the depth the Readiness Challenges the navy faces. Im concerned about the shortfalls in the pore structure and whether the sustained operational tempo of a reduced to 77 ship navy may have contributed to these events. I also believe the first responsibly of the government is to provide for the National Security for our citizens, to do for us will we cant do for ourselves. For ourespecially true sailors, soldiers, air force, and marines. Therefore as members of this committee, to better understand the Readiness Commission and the underlying problems of the navy and to chart a course that best assistance the navy in correcting deficiencies and shortfalls. We now ask the Senior Leaders of the u. S. Navy and Government Accountability office here with candid in your best judgment and advise us on the underlying problems associated with the uss fitzgerald and the uss john mccain and how to recover from these tragic events. This afternoon we are honored to moran,th us, admiral naval operations, rear admiral boxall, and mr. John pendleton, the structural issues on the u. S. Account ability office. I would like to know turn to Ranking Member, congresswoman met them but ill of long for any remarks we may have. Thank you for agreeing to convene this timely hearing. Particularly with regards to the seventh Fleet Operations in the indo Asian Pacific region. Chairman whitman and i recently returned from japan, where we visited and met with vice admiral sawyer and saw the damage to the uss fitzgerald firsthand. Thank you to our witnesses for joining us today. Andand boxall, i appreciated our meeting and look forward to the discussion. Critical to aiding our Oversight Mission on this committee. The recent mishaps of the uss fitzgerald and the uss john mccain resulted not only in significant damage to the ,essels, but also the tragic tragic loss of life of 17 american sailors. Earlier in the year, we saw two additional mishaps, avoidable as i understand it, also involving surface ships assigned to the seventh fleet. While investigations into the specific mishaps are still ongoing and the navy is in the midst of conducting two separate copperheads of reviews of surface Fleet Operations, i am interested to learn of the initial findings and the foundational challenges that need to be addressed to reverse the concerning trend that we are seeing with the readiness of our Forward Deployed naval services. Specifically, im interested to see what steps might be taken to ensure appropriate times are allocated for ship maintenance in the Forward Deployed naval forces model. And how the chain of command will be held accountable to ensure Navy Standards are being met. In addition to the training and the maintenance time, i will be interested to hear how the navy is investing in developing and utilizing nextgeneration Training Systems to maximize the efficiency and the effectiveness of this time. Navycommittee and the military answer civilian todership of two our sailors take appropriate actions to ensure the concerning factors are properly addressed. Points have been raised about how the deployed forces model in the pacific a lark as both stressed existing resources and highlighted gaps and efficiency in the manning of our vessels. The training of our sailors, and the maintenance of the fleet. Understanding a balance needs to be struck and a review of auster in the region is underway. Let me note that i believe maintaining a forward resins in the Indo Asia Pacific is critical to our security in the region. Powerr it be for projection, humanitarian assistance, bilateral and or otherral exercises, critical missions, the navy is able to rapidly react to contingencies only with Forward Deployed forces. However, these missions and our credibility are undermined if we are not able to effectively manage and operate the fleet. The navys deployment of significant capabilities overseas did not occur overnight and the pacific did not become a heavy traffic theater overnight. Im concerned the threat the request for resources and strategic prioritization of where to spend these resources has not properly reflected the operations, the maintenance, and the Training Needs of the fleet. Conclude byill stating that todays hearing and the navys ongoing investigations and reviews should be viewed as just a starting point. I hope we will have a continuous dialogue doing this committee and the navy on the issues. The Lessons Learned and specific actions that need to be taken to ensure the readiness of the surface fleet. I want to thank you, the witnesses, and i look forward to the discussion and mr. Chairman, i yield back. Thank you, Ranking Member. Outearn to the member of virginia, rob wittman for any remarks he may have. I want to welcome admiral oxall and admiral b i want to thank you for attending our hearing. , want to thank chairman wilson to hold this joint subcommittee hearing today. Nce we get to the bottom of this. Who may arrive at conclusions that require joint efforts from both our subcommittees and look forward to working with the derailment from South Carolina to resolve these potentially egregious underlying issues to our service navy forces. Further, ioceed any also want to recognize our special guest in the audience today, miss rachel eccles. On boardost his life the uss mccain a few weeks ago. Thank you for being here with us today and for the enormous sacrifice that you and your family have made for this country. We are here today to ensure [applause] yeah. [applause] we are here today to ensure that the navy and congress learns from these tragedies and makes the necessary changes. I what you to be assured that your sons life, given on behalf of this nation, was not given in vain. Naval warfare is inherently dangerous. As we continue to review the collisions of the uss fitzgerald and uss john mccain, it is important to note that even in a benign government, we send our sailors into precarious and oftentimes, deadly situations. Our nation asks much of our servicemembers and they never fail to deliver. I hope that todays hearing provides positive steps forward to ensure our sailors are provided the best training and the best ships to sustain their ,aily lives in a time of war prevail over our enemy. We can all agree our nation failed these 17 sailors and their families with these tragic collisions. Last week, i let a bipartisan additional delegation to visit the seventh fleet commander, vice admiral sawyer, and the sailors ported in japan. I was encouraged at their zeal and tenacity of the fleet even in the face of these difficult events. Nevertheless, i look forward to turning our attention to assess whether there are procedural issues that may have contributed to training readiness of our forces in the seventh fleet as reviews, two things are painfully obvious. The material condition and operational readiness of the ships are significantly degraded and not acceptable. Of our Largest Service combatants, the majority of deployed ships are not properly ready to perform their primary warfare areas. The negative trend Lines Associated with operational readiness of our deployed ships are deeply troubling. These negative Trading Trends interbedded to the lack of seamanship evident on the was as and the uss fitzgerald. Themselves,hips they suffered as navy hybridizes operational deployments over maintenance and modernization. This maintenance and trading model places sailors at risk and most likely contributed in part to the incidence we have witnessed with the seventh fleet. It is equally problematic that the navy intends to increase the number of four deployed ships over the next few years with no increase to the maintenance capacity in you could discuss in japan, thereby reducing the risk for our sailors. This decreasing reliance is a model that is not sustainable and needs to be significantly modified. We have also learned that many of our destroyers based out of japan are only to be deployed for no more than 710 years. However, we know the uss john mccain has been deployed to japan for over 20 years. Further, the uss fitzgerald and Curtis Wilbur and uss have each been deployed for over 12 years. The navy cannot manage the requirements of a fleet of just 277 ships. Have been outside the United States for too long and their material condition is in unacceptable state. I remain convinced that one of the large longterm fixes is to increase the structure and build the navy that our nation needs. A larger fleet would allow the navy to place last strain on hip, whichable s reduces the chance any sailor is placed in a hazardous environment. I support the need to adequately funded training and provide the fleet the time it needs to complete required maintenance and training. I think there are a number of each country factors that should be explored, including Navy Training models, impacts associated with the cap of ship parts, funding requirements for ship maintenance, incredibly high operational tempo endured the fleet specifically in the seventh fleet area of response ability, and also the operational failures that have occurred with the surface fleet. Each area deserves additional assessment. Riskavy model is rife with and this risk will increase in the future. The navy needs to offer an alternative model that meets them nations need for reduced risk to our sailors. I think chairman wilson to work with the subcommittee on this important issue and i yield back the balance of my time. Thank you chairman rob wittman. ,he settlement from connecticut congressman joe courtney, for his remarks. They can, mr. Chairman and to the admirals for their testimony today and i would like to recognize miss e ccles for putting a human subject on the topic we are discussing today. Thank you. The circumstances that bring us to todays hearing part table and tragic. As our lead witness pointed out , in the span of 65 days, 17 sailors were lost in ship collisions and accident on naval vessels. These were not limited occurrences but part of a disturbing trend of mishaps in the asiapacific region that since january has involved uss antietam, uss lake champlain, uss fitzgerald, and the mccain. To put that in perspective, these heartbreaking casualties are more than servicemembers that we have lost in the Afghanistan War zone in 2017. Two of those sailors are from my state of connecticut. The Compass Minerals estes thomas and estes is here today. Congressman estes is here today. Their families in the entire state of connecticut are mourning the loss of these two patriots and are watching the response of the navy and congress to fix this trend. Several reviews by the navy and secretary of the navy are underway to dig deep into this disturbing trend. Efforts and ie speak for my colleagues that we expect the navy to be fully transparent with our panels as these efforts move forward and that we will convene again as many times as needed to provide support to fix this problem. One, sectionle eight, clause 13 of the constitution is clear. It is congress is duty to provide and maintain a navy, which certainly needs a navy will a clipped adequately manned. Att doesnt seem to be clear this early stage that these incidents are a glaring manifestation of the increased demand being deployed on the navy vessels, particularly in the asiapacific region. We ask these Forward Deployed do hard work. S to conducted for operation in the south china sea. The fitzgerald was a pivotal player in providing needed presence in response to kim jonguns threats of missile test. These are not the kinds of ships and crews we can afford to lose to preventable mishaps. As my colleague, mr. Whitman, pointed out, when obvious response is to grow our flight and shorten the backlog of repairing maintenance for the existing fleet to take the pressure off the fleet from heel to toe operations of our operations like japan and spain. These two committees have pushed more aggressively on a bipartisan basis to add funding to Ship Construction and readiness than any other entity in congress. Accounts up the white house budget and pass for a bipartisan vote the biggest since 2008. We have work to do to complete the process and this hearing will increase the members determination to get the best ink highest outcome possible. Today is also about whether systems and policies need to be reliant to improve readiness. Concerns about systems and policies are not new. , and as ourreported witness will discuss, a growing number of our deployed vessels are operating without certifications. This trend has worsened since the last report in 2015 and this needs to be corrected. In 2010, the navy conducted a review by vice admiral philip which outlined shortfalls about surface readiness that are strictly relevant today and looking at these incidents in the larger state of navy fleet readiness. One of his priority recommendations includes clarifying who in the chain of command specifically has the ultimate say in whether a ship is manned, trained, and equipped to the level needed to safely do their job before being sent out on deployment. To put it another way, the certification process, which covers key competencies need to be reviewed and approved by an accountable decision maker. This recommendation raised by vice admiral delisle has not been addressed since the report cannot. We expect a lot from the navy for good reason. Our sailors are the best in the world and the sight of a navy vessel in a foreign port sends a powerful message of protection for a rulesbased order in the maritime domain. Those of sailors do what they need to do to keep the peace in the sea lanes of the worlds oceans free and open and return our sailors and family should expect their leaders that send them to see have done all they can to provide the resources they need to conduct their work safely and return safely. I hope the hearing will focus on the steps the navy will take to fulfill that expectation and what it needs from us here in the and all of the marvelous technology, the magnificent hardware we put together on these ships, and the power of our Weapons Systems are meaningless without world trained, skilled, patriotic sailors who are well led. You have my promise that we will get to the bottom of these mishaps. We will leave no stone unturned. Wheat will be accountable to you, to our sailors, and the american public. Stands withr navy miss Rachel Echols and all of vy families with our hearts broken, but determined to investigate thoroughly all of the facts, to address contributing factors, and to learn so that we will become a better navy at the end of this. We have an absolute responsibility to keep sailors safe from harm in peacetime, even as they prepare for war. Mr. Chairman, although we are 20 feet apart, there is between what we need to do from here on out. I look forward to your questions. Thank you, very much. We turn to the government of Accountability Office for your opening comments. Thank you. Members, chairman, thank you very much for having me here today. Unfortunately, grim circumstances bring us together. Mr. Chairman, i do not know what specifically caused the know the, but i do navy is caught between unrelenting operational demand and limited supply ships. The navy has been warning for some time that they have been keeping apace that keeping a pace that is unsustainable. Our body of work is also spotlighting risk associated the way the navy is managing the risk. Some of these risks present significant challenges in the ocks ofg bl o maintenance. In that report, we found that ships based in japan did not have dedicated training periods like u. S. Ships. Their aggressive deployment schedule gave the navy more presents, it is true, but it came at a cost, including detrimental effects on ship readiness. In fact, we were told the overseas base ships were so busy they had to train on the margin. It was explained toreadiness. Me that they had to squeeze training in when they could. Given the concerns we recommended to the navy, we carefully analyzed the risks that were mounting, especially given the plan to meet the demands. I think it is important to note the department of defense, on behalf of the navy, wrote the response to the report, and they concurred with our re

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