Spee5 the hearing of the Readiness Forces subcommittee of house and Armed Services committee come to order to honor the 17 sailors lost in the uss fitzgerald. Fitzgerald, hernandez, martin, rigby, and the ten uss mccain sailors, bushnell, drake, echoes, thinly, hoagland, ingram, lopez, smith, palmer and each one is so special and i know every person here. Over the course of the past six months the subcommittee has met to understand the factors that led to the gruesome and tragic incidents with the surface ship resulting in the death of 17 sailors. We remain confident in the is the most powerful in the world. But it is not alone in the responsibility as the secretary mentioned in august it is in unpredictability that makes us rigid we cannot deal with new and revealing threats. We know enemies are not standing still. Passing another temporary measure compounds the negative impacts for the military some of those are highlighted by the certification gaps necessitated by increased operational demand. Speaker ryan has been clear and outspoken to promote the critical for a robust defense appropriations bill. The primary responsibility of the government is to provide for the National Security of its citizens especially if sailors soldiers airmen and marines. Therefore it is our responsibility to better understand the readiness situation in the strategic readiness review are informing to correct those inefficiencies to announce additional actions for personnel separate from military actions the committee remains concerned that Senior Officers that created those conditions and those individuals who repeatedly have wafers with the ability to globally resource Operational Requirements are not held accountable today the chief of Naval Operations are here to testify to the strategic readiness review and the hearing on Surface Warfare and our main concern over the process to correct any shortfalls in improve accountability i hope todays hearing will address these concerns i would like to turn to the Ranking Member for any remarks that are decided to make. Thank you for convening this hearing and also to secretary spencer to be here today. Following several mishaps each directed separate parallel reviews the strategic readiness review are important steps to address the challenges our navy is facing today. However actions speak louder than words and we must ensure those recommendations are promptly considered and acted upon with the readiness prevent a repeat of those tragedies in 2017. It is the first opportunity to discuss the recommendations however the oversight will not and with todays hearing and hope members can continue a frank and open dialogue with the leadership to implement these reviews and recommendations. Without question my colleagues with greediness the most powerful fleet in the world however in the light of recent global events around the world we must ensure the is properly manned and trained and equipped to conduct of the conditions that may be asked of them. As highlighted by those four incident of 2017 the lack of emphasis on ship maintenance and training has chipped away at the overall readiness and one element i am concerned about is ship maintenance specifically for those operating in the pacific. Over the past several years to engage leaders regarding the requirements of the western pacific and specifically in the drydock capabilities and capacity. The navy identified capacity issues in japan. To our witnesses and look forward to how the navy plans to address the ship repair capacity issue to improve the material condition of the fleet. Furthermore other forward to hearing how that plan will align with the president s 2018 National Strategic strategy to maintain a military presence capable to deter anyone necessary to defeat any adversary balanced with an Economic Strategy to rejuvenate the domestic economy. In addition we must also ensure the Surface Warfare officers and sailors to receive adequate training to perform those missions asked of them. So to express concerns of the chain of command without facing career ending repercussions when they are tasked with the vision they feel their ship or crew were not properly trained for. This is a management issue to address and to that end i look forward to hearing your plans for sufficient time if allocated for training and maintenance to pillars with the navys surface readiness. It is a long journey to return to those levels but i do assure you this committee will try to help you where we can. Similarly we will not hesitate as we perform the oversight rule. The navy is in good hands and i look forward to stay updated on the progress of your work to restore readiness across the fleet and i look forward to your testimony. I thank you and i yield back. I now turn to the gentleman from virginia for any remarks he may have. Things to secretary spencer to be part of a needed and productive process to make sure we are making the unnecessary course changes so a noted Navy War College professor wrote article entitled watches the watchers of the United States navy . Expressing concern of the lack of accountability for structural problems and indicated the navy is quick to cite in your leaderships loss loss of confidence in commanding leaders but circumspect when assessing fault to the system that drove these officers to seek the normalization of deviation. This culture to hold the Commanding Officer accountable is apparent with the decision announced to bring them and other officials before the article 32 hearing negligent homicide. While i agree they should be held accountable i am convinced equally we need to reform the system that drove the officers to avoid additional incidents to reduce future normalization of deviation. They have taken a good first step to address these areas that there are a multitude of other issues to be reviewed include organization reform, meaning deficiencies, readiness and reform. While that review identifies those problems it is time to take those full steps that were identified 15 years ago to flatten the organization and reactivate that second fleet 18 and emphasis on credibility it is time we consolidate to co locate the threestar type commanders and for congress to and restrictions to allow the navy to reorganize i am disappointed with the naval forces concerning the disparity with the different ship classes i do not understand why those are the worst more manned forces they need to be the best with regard to training i am concerned as the ships are more challenging to operate the community has a generalist preference that contributes to the Surface Warfare malaise it is time we adopt specialist similar to Aviation Community and should require Surface Warfare officers to specialize and allow those Junior Officers time to develop basic skills the navy should consider those milestones similar to the commercial sector to improve the pipeline to ensure Navy Officers are provided basic navigation and engineering skills it is time we start to take the process seriously to correct those problems serving as a process i am concerned the report fails to provide a reasonable perspective of those consequences with underfunding the readiness accounts they should be prepared to publicly articulate the maintenance to be sure those forces are maintained with a confident work force to have the capacity to maintain the fleet it is time we routinely rotate back to the United States with significant challenges but i am confident can write the Surface Forces but as to the question watches watchers i will ambiguously answer this committee will drive to accountability to provide solutions to the problems that face the Surface Warfare community. We will watch the watchers. I yield back the balance of my time. Now to the gentleman from connecticut for his remarks. Thank you to secretary spencer for your presence here today on your review of last years navy ship collision. This is the fourth engagement on this topic of the highest urgency with those that occurred in 2017 and for those members it strikes home and in connecticut to sailors lost their lives. Given this it is the duty of all of us to ensure the sailors and the ships for tragedy in the future. At the annual symposium last year held on the potomac those that discuss the challenges they faced in maintaining readiness with the simultaneous training and operations and long hours most powerful comments describe the system they are not even understood the rest they want the risks they were taking he asked himself i am certified for my physician but do i know what im doing . Another officer when considering that the appointment ask are we good or are we just lucky . This is far beyond a particular venue ship it is Management Training of the forces. Because of that Strategic Review for those reforms that are needed it is clear many are in the process lamented internally in realtime layer urge you to continue that implementation a top priority to keep the families updated on your progress. Other recommendations need action and for example is that congress has contributed to those systemic readiness issues with the defense appropriation bills that strips the need be from those functions under a single command they have allowed the unusual situation to continue in the specific fleet to determine when they are ready to deploy separate from the rest of the fleet and as a result this allows the ships to be deployed without meaningful plans to meeting full risks while there is disagreement about the best command and Control Surface it is clear that limitation is a hindrance to the readiness of the fleet even before these collisions Congress Seriously consider changes to this restrictive language and in 2016 the house voted unanimously to remove the provision completely but later restored in the senate. It is my hope we can work on a bipartisan basis to remove these restrictions to see the effort through the end and your effort is invaluable. Also to restore budget stability we need to move forward in a timely manner with those combat ready ships rather than running language because of the cr. It appears this week the number is likely to grow nine out of 13. Hardly the roadmap and then to have bold new institutional change we owing to the memory of the sailors and their families and those for deployed sailors asking am i just lucky . I ask unanimous consent nonsubcommittee members being asked to participate after they all had an opportunity to ask questions is there any objection . So the members will be recognized at the appropriate time for five minutes. We now turn to use secretary for your briefing. Chairman, Ranking Member and distinguish members of the committee thank you for having us here today to talk about our review and forward. I would be remiss if i did not start by saying we should keep the sailors lost on the fitzgerald in our thoughts and prayers going forward. Over the past year the Surface Fleet continues to operate around the globe with a Strong Demand signal for National Security and at the same time those operations have led to some tragic losses. They demand we take time to study and understand and make course corrections with the most valuable resource which is people. We lost 20 sailors in the pacific last year the loss of any sealer is a tragedy all of us stand in solidarity and support of fellow sailors and families i am here today is the responsible one to be accountable for the most valuable resources to direct change to correct the issues identified in the analysis of those intolerable events. The comprehensive and strategic readiness review to identify those factors the comprehensive review focused on the causal factors and underlying conditions of the tactical and operational levels. To have broader systemic and root causes. The strategic readiness review found that working relative of those aimed at achieving shortterm goals. And to accept those deviations which translates into higher risk can become normalized and compounding accumulated risks. So as we move forward successes not obtained overnight we are working closely with the team to implement those recommendations. And then with that inability so to work through those Implementation Plan and as we do so we are addressing issues and and control, operation manning in training governance and culture and learning. With those corrective actions are within my authority to implement but some will require coordination with the office of the secretary of defense and congress. The most important step you could take now to help us restore is stable and Adequate Funding we must be able to count on reliable resourcing to operate safely and efficiently despite these challenges i want to assure you the Navy Marine Corps team is the most capable and lethal force in our arsenal and to stay that way means to seize every opportunity to improve and we are committed to do so standing with the families of the fallen and the repeated request good must come out of the is true throughout the enterprise on a daily basis. You must act to grow in a sustainable manner i look forward to working with you to do so. Thank you in equity now turn to admirable mom admiral richardson. Thank you and to distinguish members of the subcommittees. Thank you for the opportunity for that unified action plan with a comprehensive review secretary spencers readiness review. As triumph and tragedy we consistently deployed 60000 sailors around the globe to protect americans from attack to enhance the Economic Prosperity would even as we achieve these successes the Navy Experience experienced five serious incidences of those dedicated sailors. That these tragedies were due in large part in the failures of leadership. And we all went to the fallen sailors and activeduty sailors to support us to quickly apply these is what we are doing. So on the finding of the comprehensive review of the fleet forces command. Already acting on the 58 recommendation so to establish the oversight board. And those that remain in progress like command and control, training equipment and certifications. And i am responsible. To prevent sailors from achieving safe operations at sea. So of japan and Uss Theodore Roosevelt Strike Group in the persian gulf. It is clear to me these do not define your navy. It would be a grave or lethal mistake to underestimate with that corrective action are already having a positive impact but there is more work to do to get that done and learning from mistakes and share those insights across the board to improve across our best every day to do as a secretary said with a sense of urgency by dedicating our hearts and minds as the safest navy a favorite partner for friends and allies the most lethal navy in the world and before i close i cannot testify without mentioning toxic and corrosive effects of those continuing resolutions of the budget control act getting after the work we have to do for that defense makes everything harder in on a scale of one through ten but on behalf of sailors and Navy Civilians thanks to the congress and the subcommittee for your continued support to give us the nation mom the navy our nation needs a look forward to working with you and pass it back to the secretary. With the brief behind closed doors i have met with the team on the committee would it be worthwhile to do with two or three minute overview . That would be helpful. Please proceed after the accident occurred the cnl and i decided to take the path to immediately set up a review of the tactical and operational areas that we had to investigate. I took it upon myself to say go higher to see if we can go after the systemic causes. We engaged former chairman of the defense business board that they looked at 30 years of data with our present date of play with systemic issues. We looked out side and this is an interesting point to incorporate people those that sail on the seas that they had a series of events that were unproductive for them so they reexamined and came out the other side as a poster child according to the merchant marine academy. We also talk to those that had events happen in the arctic and they went the same path coming out the other side. Boeing and increasing capacity also were running into areas hurting Human Resources and put a plan in place to come out the other side. Bp north america we know about deepwater horizon. What is the common link . Organizations that have cathartic events that threaten them. We called them up and asked if they would help us with our analysis and they were more than forthcoming to send all the assets we needed and all the plans. We didnt need them but wanted to speak to the people who went through the journey from the cathartic event to the plan. One of the people we incorporated was the mayo clinic. It is interesting they have been doing studies they looked at longterm complex operations in the operating room to improve the outcomes organ transplant seven or eight hours and that traditional mindset was the chief surgeon would raise his or her scalp all are you ready . Here we go and start working along the way that the professional teams in the room the anesthesiologists were all working one step behind so there wasnt a door open to say we are falling behind or we need a minutes. They decompress the whole culture where the lead surgeon would lift up his or her knife to say is everybody with me . And say are we still all together that environment for communication was wide open with direct applicability from the bridge, Engineering Department to incorporate that into the study. Twentythree recomme