The Navy may be shedding all its frigates by the end of next year, but the ships are still busy and in high demand — creating a dilemma for the Navy over which ships will pick up their missions.
Yesterday India and the United States kicked off the 2014 Malabar naval exercise, the latest in a series of joint exercises going back over two decades, with the Japanese navy participating as well. This serves as an opportunity for the United States to demonstrate its commitment to naval engagement in the region, to reassure nervous allies in the face of an expansionist China and to refocus the U.S.-India relationship, which is widely seen as off track.
Three authorities on naval warfare argued July 25 that the Navy needs to dramatically revise its operational concepts and acquisition policies to make the surface fleet more capable and relevant to the rapidly changing and increasingly dangerous global security environment.
If the U.S. military were starting fresh, I would begin by designing a new personnel system. I would put more money into the forms of compensation service members value most, such as basic pay, while promising less in deferred benefits, such as pensions and health care. I would also rethink the antiquated officer-enlisted divide, allow for mid-career hires at ranks commensurate with skills and not require service members to relocate as often since many have spouses with careers of their own.
Todd Harrison of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments says the move is another indication DOD plans to submit its 2016 proposal above the Budget Control Act caps. “I think DOD made a lot of hard choices to fit within the caps for FY15, and they have not found many partners in Congress to help them enact those choices,” he tells Morning D. “There is a sense now that the department has done its share of the work and it’s up to Congress to do its part by either raising the caps or making some hard choices itself.”
Many leathernecks might argue there’s no such thing as a bad day inside the United States Marine Corps — but even they might also admit there have been better times than this.
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