Toggle open close On November 30, 2020, the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) decided to forego replacement or repair of the severely damaged USS Bonhomme Richard following a days-long fire during the previous summer. The obvious rationale was easy to digest: $3 billion for a new ship was too much compared to $30 million over a year’s time to decommission the ship.REF However, easily missed in the Navy’s press statements was the compounding rationale of limited shipyard capacity even to consider repair or replacement. This is a troubling admission given that the Navy must grow to meet the rapidly rising combined challenge of China’s and Russia’s navies.