WASHINGTON — Lawmakers expressed big concerns over years of performance problems at the nation's four publicly-owned Naval shipyards.
The misgivings were expressed as the House Armed Services Committee on Friday got a briefing on the Navy's $21 billion, 20-year Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Plan. It comes after years of poor marks for completing aircraft carrier and submarine repair jobs on time.
"When completed, our shipyards will be ready to services our fleet for generations to come," said VADM William Galinis, Commander,
Naval Sea Systems Command.
From 2015 to 2019, 38 of the 51 maintenance periods for aircraft carriers and submarines at the nation's four publicly-owned Naval shipyards were completed late.
It adds up to a staggering combined total of 7,424 days of maintenance delay. For aircraft carriers, eight of 18 repair jobs were finished on time; for submarines, only five of 33 jobs were completed on schedule.
Last August, the Government Accountability Office concluded that "the shipyards continue to face persistent and substantial maintenance delays that hinder the readiness of aircraft carriers and submarines."
The GAO said aircraft carrier maintenance periods that ended late exceeded their deadlines by an average of 113 days. The agency says submarine maintenance periods ending late missed their deadlines by an average of 225 days.
To say that lawmakers are alarmed would be an understatement.
"I have significant concerns about the organic industrial base's aging infrastructure and the capacity of these facilities to sustain the next generation of weapons systems and support the surge requirement," said Rep. John Garamendi (D-California) "The Government Accountability Office has found that more than half of the DoD's industrial base facilities are in poor condition, including all four public shipyards."
Added Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colorado) "The Navy has a particularly acute problem in this area. The GAO has assessed that all four public shipyards are in poor to failing condition with too few functional drydocks."
Galinis admitted there is room for much improvement.
"I will tell you in no uncertain terms we need now to expand the productivity capacity of our Naval shipyards, or, we may run the risk of not being able to perform the required work for our nuclear-powered fleet, principally our submarines and aircraft carriers a decade from now," he said.
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth was established in 1767 and is the Navy's oldest shipyard. It actually predates the United States Navy Department by 31 years. With 14,000 workers, it is Hampton Roads' fourth-largest employer.