{"id":14350,"date":"2017-09-06T21:40:03","date_gmt":"2017-09-06T21:40:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/09\/06\/new-evidence-of-dismal-readiness-among-navys-japan-based-ships\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:47:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:47:40","slug":"new-evidence-of-dismal-readiness-among-navys-japan-based-ships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2017\/09\/06\/new-evidence-of-dismal-readiness-among-navys-japan-based-ships\/","title":{"rendered":"New evidence of dismal readiness among Navy\u2019s Japan-based ships"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Readiness among the crews of Japan-based cruisers and destroyers has plummeted in recent years, leaving nearly 40 percent of crew warfare certifications expired as of June, according to a government watchdog group slated to testify before Congress Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than two-thirds of the lapsed crew certifications  \u2014 including those for mobility-seamanship and air warfare \u2014 had been expired for at least five months, according to a copy of a Government Accountability Office testimony to Congress obtained by the Military Times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis represents more than a fivefold increase in the percentage of expired warfare certifications for these ships since our May 2015 report,\u201d GAO Defense Capabilities and Management Director John H. Pendleton\u2019s testimony read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Navy\u2019s Japan-based 7th Fleet has been the target of scrutiny and criticism since the August collision of the destroyer John S. McCain with an oil tanker, which followed the Fitzgerald\u2019s June collision with a cargo ship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In total, 17 sailors died in the McCain and Fitz disasters. The commanding officer for 7th Fleet was relieved of command shortly after the McCain collision.<\/p>\n\n\n\t