Seapower - August 2009

in Newport News, Va., and General Dynamics’ Electric Boat outfit in Groton, Conn.

The Navy could opt instead to divvy up the conventional shipbuilding and nuclear work on the CG(X)s between the four yards or concentrate all the work on the ships at Newport News and Electric Boat, amounting to a significant loss for Ingalls and Bath.

Regardless of how they handle it, any option would “have significant potential implications for workloads and employment levels at each of these shipyards,” according to a May Congressional Research Service report.

tion and meeting the needs of the Navy in an age of stagnant budgets.

Referring to yet another challenge — piracy on the high seas — Mabus said, “It’s not going to be an easy issue, but it’s one that we and our partners, our allies, the international community take very seriously and will continue to take it very seriously.”

The 60-year-old Mabus was a surface warfare officer in the Navy from 1970 to 1972 and was governor of Mississippi from 1988 to 1992. He spent much of the past year on the campaign trail for Obama.

Bills Would Allow Navy
To Drop to 10 Carriers

In their versions of the fiscal 2010 defense authorization bill, the House and Senate Armed Services Committees have agreed to give the Navy authority to temporarily decrease the number of aircraft carriers in the fleet from 11 to 10.

Doing so will allow the Navy to retire USS Enterprise, the oldest nuclear-powered carrier, in fiscal 2013, before it commissions Gerald R. Ford in 2015.

The move provides significant relief for the Navy, which has argued that keeping Enterprise in service beyond 2012 would cost more than $2 billion and tie up more than 2,000 personnel who could be assigned elsewhere.

It also marks a significant turnaround for lawmakers, who have twice rejected the Navy’s request for a temporary waiver allowing the service to retire Enterprise before Ford comes online, arguing that it would be operationally risky to have only 10 carriers in the fleet.

President Barack Obama nominated Mabus earlier this year and the Senate confirmed him May 19. He was sworn in at a private White House ceremony one day later so he could begin his job immediately.

The Navy Yard event was attended by more than 500 people, had two traditional 19-gun salutes and, in honor of the former Mississippi governor, played the Ole’ Miss fight song. Mabus succeeded Donald Winter.

“Our Navy and Marine Corps are extremely fortunate to have him at the helm,” Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the audience.

As secretary, Mabus is tasked with managing an annual budget around $125 billion and nearly 900,000 people. In his acceptance speech, Mabus promised to take care of service member’s families.

Mabus told reporters after the ceremony that he was moved by the “incredible opportunity” he was given as Navy secretary.

He said there are a lot of challenges facing him, but the biggest are shipbuilding, aircraft produc-

GAO: Alternatives Analysis
Recommended for V- 22

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended that the secretary of defense “require a new alternatives analysis of the V- 22 [Osprey tiltrotor aircraft] and determine how cost-effective it is in meeting the Marine Corps medium-lift needs.”

In a May report, “Assessments Needed to Address V- 22 Aircraft Operational and Cost Concerns to

Ray Mabus Sworn In As Navy Secretary Ray Mabus was officially sworn in as the 75th secretary of the Navy June 18 at the Navy Yard in Washington.

U.S. NAVY

An MV-22B Osprey from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263 (Reinforced), 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, takes off from the flight deck of multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Bataan during routine flight operations in support of maritime security operations in the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet area of responsibility.