{"id":41102,"date":"2018-01-30T20:59:23","date_gmt":"2018-01-30T20:59:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/01\/30\/growing-the-navy-requires-a-plan-to-save-money-congressman-says\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:57:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:57:06","slug":"growing-the-navy-requires-a-plan-to-save-money-congressman-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/01\/30\/growing-the-navy-requires-a-plan-to-save-money-congressman-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Growing the Navy requires a plan to save money, congressman says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our nation continues to address regional security challenges in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, including the contentious South and East China Seas and an increasingly belligerent North Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These challenges, along with those posed by Russia in the Mediterranean Sea and elsewhere, are a serious threat to the United States which must be met with strength, resolve and a realistic plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. Navy will continue to play a vital role around the globe to meet these challenges, but it cannot continue to do so under current conditions. Our Navy needs more ships<\/a>, more resources and more time to complete maintenance and training in order to operate at the necessary pace the nation requires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over recent days, Navy leaders have released several editorials and publicly commented about the challenges of a growing demand for Navy assets. Underlying these opinions is a recognition that the Navy is stressed to meet current requirements and that the demand for Navy forces should be tempered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1989, for example, the Navy often had 100 of its nearly 600 ships underway performing operations around the globe. Today, the Navy still maintains an average pace of 100 ships underway but only has 277 ships to accomplish the ever-increasing slate of missions. Facing this reality, we cannot continue to ask the Navy to do more with less \u2014 especially in terms of ships \u2014 and expect them to respond without consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\t