{"id":14667,"date":"2019-02-28T23:41:34","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T23:41:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/02\/28\/heres-what-big-navy-says-its-doing-to-fix-the-surface-fleet\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:06:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:06:09","slug":"heres-what-big-navy-says-its-doing-to-fix-the-surface-fleet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/02\/28\/heres-what-big-navy-says-its-doing-to-fix-the-surface-fleet\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s what Big Navy says it\u2019s doing to fix the surface fleet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the wake of twin 2017 collisions that killed 17 sailors, the Navy has implemented most of its reforms designed to fix the surface fleet, according to an update<\/a> posted online by officials this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Navy has accomplished 91 of 117 tasks that stemmed from two Navy-wide reviews and other watchdog reports into accidents involving the guided-missile destroyers Fitzgerald and John S. McCain in the western Pacific, officials indicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ongoing efforts of the Readiness Reform Oversight Committee are being overseen by Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Bill Moran<\/a> and Under Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly<\/a>, and have involved immediate fixes as well as longer-term and abstract goals such as changing the sea service\u2019s culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne year in, it would be na\u00efve to believe we are close to completing RROC\u2019s work,\u201d the Navy\u2019s online update states. \u201cHowever, due to the efforts of many professionals around the fleet, we are currently safe to operate and a more effective Navy than we were a year ago.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go here<\/a> to read the full list of reforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the accomplishments the Navy points to as signs of progress, Risk Assessment & Mitigation Plans, or RAMPs<\/a>, were cancelled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RAMPs allowed ships to still get underway using waivers, even if vital certifications had lapsed, one of several issues that plagued the Fitzgerald before its fatal collision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Navy\u2019s update notes that all 7th Fleet ships underwent Ready-for-Sea Assessments<\/a>, or RFSAs, to maintain proper manning, training and equipment status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fifteen of 18 warships assigned to Japan were graded as ready for sea duty in the past year. The remaining three \u201cwere immediately sidelined for additional training and maintenance prior to getting underway,\u201d the update states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRFSAs are now required prior to a ship\u2019s first underway period following a period of maintenance and represent a cultural norm that empowers and encourages Commanders to prioritize safety and communicate any concerns they have about readiness to operate before heading to sea,\u201d according to this week\u2019s status report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adm. John Aquilino<\/a>, head of U.S. Pacific Fleet, told Congress this week<\/a> that he has withheld ships from deployment recently when they were not ready to get underway.<\/p>\n\n\n\t