NORFOLK, Va. — Sailors in the Navy's surface fleet still aren't getting enough sleep, according to a new report.
Two years after first exposing the problem, the Government Accountability Office says inadequate crew rest and fatigue are "an ongoing problem for the Navy."
The Navy determined that fatigue was a contributing factor in the fatal surface fleet ship collisions of 2017 in which 17 sailors lost their lives and the branch incurred hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to two destroyers.
A new report says surface force sailors continue to fall short of required sleep hours to this day.
For example, the report shows that the surface force-wide average of 5.25 hours of sleep obtained falls below the standard of sailors having at least 7.5 hours available to sleep per day.
The report notes that many ships are understaffed — and heavy workloads are a contributing factor to fatigue.
The document concludes: "Until the Navy addresses crew shortfalls on ships, sailors will likely continue to have problems getting adequate sleep."
"So, this lack of sleep presents a serious risk to ship operations and safety," said Cary Russell, a Director in the Defense Capabilities and Management Team at the GAO, during a 2021 interview with 13News Now.
Two years ago, the GAO made eight recommendations to help the Navy address fatigue.
But, as of this September, the department had implemented just four of them, leaving the GAO to conclude that "the Navy still has work to do on other issues we identified."