The American Side of the Bargain
Virginia Democratic Senator Jim Webb is doing his fair share to keep the ROK-US alliance going strong.
Echoing comments Tuesday by the Navy's top officer, Adm. Gary Roughead, Webb called for increasing the size of the Navy's fleet beyond its current target of 313 vessels and strengthening maintenance and modernization projects by encouraging more free-market competition among contractors.
"Three hundred thirteen can't do it, I can't see, in the long run," Webb said. "We're building one (submarine) per year and the Chinese are building three per year. We need a strategy based on the United States being a maritime nation, and the United States should be a sea power."
With a current fleet of 280 ships, and only 109 under way, the Navy's fleet, Webb said, is at a 90-year low. During his tenure as Secretary of the Navy, Webb said he oversaw a fleet of 568 ships.
"Simply stated, we are decommissioning Navy ships faster than we are building them," he said. "It is imperative that we reverse this steady slide in shipbuilding."
He said industry, the Navy and Congress all bear responsibility to find ways to cut costs in shipbuilding, and shipbuilding facilities need a steady, reliable stream of work so they aren't forced to lay off workers during slow periods.
Let's not forget all that sealift capability!
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