WASHINGTON — Nearly two decades of conflict has degraded military readiness, according to the Government Accountability Office.
The report found that ground forces — the Army and Marine Corps — have improved, while sea forces have declined consistently.
The report says fatigue and crewing shortfalls are affecting the Navy's surface fleet.
And, the report says the Navy's ship maintenance backlog has grown to $1.8 billion, as its public shipyards deal with with poor infrastructure.
"What we have found is rather troubling," said GAO Director of Defense Capabilities and Management Diana Maurer. "And over a ten year period, maintenance delays went up and cannibalization also increased, while steaming hours went down."
Maurer told the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support that only two of 49 aviation systems met their annual mission-capable goals. She said one plane stood out.
"The F-35 program in particular suffers from a variety of sustainment woes," she said. "Fleet-wide, mission capable rates have declined every year since 2020. And the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps face substantial gaps between what it costs to fly the aircrafts and what they can afford."
And there appear to be no easy fixes.
The report says, "Looking to the future, DOD will have to balance rebuilding the readiness of its existing force with its desire to modernize."
The GAO made 130 recommendations. Over 100 have not been acted upon.