https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2017/12/14/trump-just-made-355-ships-national-policy/
Achieving a 355-ship Navy is now national policy, but the goal is still a long way off.
When President Trump signed the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act yesterday, it included a provision sponsored by Senate Seapower Subcommittee Chairman Roger Wicker and his House counterpart Rep. Rob Wittman that calls for the country to build up to 355 ships “as soon as practicable.”
The provision is contingent on the requisite appropriations, which means its anything but a sure bet.
“With his signature, President Trump has confirmed the United States’ resolve to meet the growing needs of our U.S. Navy,” Wicker said in a statement. “Building up our nation’s fleet is essential to protecting our national security and projecting American power around the globe.
“We are asking too few ships to do too many things, and today the President took a major step toward rectifying that problem.”
The so-called SHIPS Act doesn’t lock in any money or set any specific timeline, but is more a signaling of the Congress’s intent to work towards that goal. The provision will give proponents of a naval buildup something to hang their hats on as they push for the larger Navy Trump promised during the campaign.
“This is a helpful move, if largely symbolic,” said Bryan McGrath, a retired destroyer captain and consultant with The Ferrybridge Group.
The move by Wicker, R-Miss., and Wittman, R-Va., is a way of holding Trump accountable for his promises, McGrath continued.
“It’s interesting to see two stalwart Republican seapower advocates who feel the need to put this into legislation,” he said. “It’s a sign not only of uneven support from others on the Hill, but also a sign of growing impatience with the Trump administration’s vigor in following through on campaign promises.”
The 355-ship Navy has become an increasingly remote possibility as hope has begun to fade that Congress will ever find a solution to its self-imposed budget caps under the Budget Control Act.
Neither Congress nor the Pentagon have a path to a 355-ship Navy
Neither Congress nor the Pentagon have a path to a 355-ship Navy
The path to reaching a 355-ship Navy seems all but clear.
By: David Larter
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis testified earlier in 2017 that it would take 3 percent to 5 percent budget growth over inflation to support that kind of a buildup, something that would be impossible under the BCA.
A recent report by influential budget analyst Todd Harrison with the Center for Strategic and International Studies raised doubts about whether the Navy could even afford a 355-ship Navy, given that its struggling with ballooning costs for its current 277 ships.
The report showed that between the peak defense budget year, 1987, and 1997, the number of ships declined by 40 percent and the budget fell by about 35 percent. But between 1997 and 2015, the size of the fleet shrank another 20 percent, but the base budget grew by nearly 50 percent.
Analyst: With ballooning costs for a smaller Navy, can it really afford 355 ships?
Analyst: With ballooning costs for a smaller Navy, can it really afford 355 ships?
The Navy wants 355 ships but budget trends raise questions about whether the Navy could possibly afford to operate and maintain a fleet of that size, an influential defense budget analyst said Thursday.
By: David Larter