A 2010 Pentagon-driven savings initiative prompted the Navy to recommend shutting down 2nd Fleet, which oversees the training and certification of East Coast units, and merging it with ever-growing Fleet Forces Command.
A leading independent defense spending analyst said there appear to be pros and cons to the move but that ultimately, Fleet Forces and the Navy must have felt the 2nd Fleet staff needed to be trimmed.
“In the grand scheme of the Navy’s efficiency savings, combining these two organizations is small potatoes in terms of the dollars it will free up,” said Todd Harrison of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington. “It’s fair to say that there will be upfront costs … and these costs may be higher than anticipated. It’s also fair to say that the savings anticipated may be less than expected, especially if it turns out they have to hire additional staff to pick up some of the workload.
As a result of the merger, “some important tasks could fall between the cracks, Harrison said. “That could happen if the staff is too overburdened with work or if the staff fails to prioritize truly important tasks over less important or unimportant tasks. But it is the job of commanders to make sure that doesn’t happen.”