05-05-2025
Don't Build a Ghost Fleet
Commentary
The Trump administration seems serious about resurrecting a domestic shipbuilding industry and increasing the size of the Navy. Both are admirable objectives, and neither is possible without the other—assuming that Congress could put aside partisan trench warfare long enough to agree on a multi-year Defense appropriation. There is broad agreement that the Navy
The President's Executive
The Administration's focus of commercial ships and yards is fine: without a larger, more predictable flow of both commercial and Navy construction, shipbuilders won't be able to attract or retain a skilled workforce or have the right financial incentives to invest in new technologies and infrastructure. It is well documented that many of the recent Navy cost overruns were the result of frequent construction
No discussion of Navy shipbuilding delays or cost-overruns could survive a smell test without upfront acknowledgement of the Navy's complicity. Choose a construction program: the
Ford
, the LCS, the DG-1000, the new
Ever an optimist, I'm hoping that the Maritime Action Plan will rub off on the Navy. Whether it can evolve into a mini-Operation Warp Speed is unclear. But I believe the White House needs to take on one more challenge simultaneously, or the commitment to build more ships will be for naught: we must figure out how to man not only the new ships, but our existing fleet.
Related Stories
4/29/2025
4/23/2025
For years, the Navy has been unable to meet its recruiting goals. The Navy needs approximately 332,300 sailors and officers to man its current fleet of 295 ships. Because people retire and leave the service, the Navy
Staffing quasi-Navy ships is a problem too. The Navy has 61 U.S. Naval Service ships oilers, supply ships, transports, pre-positioned support vessels, two hospital ships—operated by the Military Sealift Command. Although owned by the Navy, they are crewed by civilians. Last summer, thee MSC
The Navy is not alone in its recruiting problems: the Army, Air Force, and Coast Guard have all been having trouble meeting their targets. So, while it is encouraging that the Navy has met its most recent recruiting numbers, lowering standards is not a smart nor sustainable strategy, especially for a fleet that continues to get more technologically complex.
Some observers argue that crewed ships and airplanes with actual pilots are a thing of the past; and given the difficulty in attracting young people to serve in the military, we should just go all-in on drones. But a larger number of unmanned aircraft and vessels are already part of mix for the fleet of the future, and that is not going to ameliorate the need for people to join the military.
Just as President Trump tasked his National Security Advisor to deliver a Maritime Action Plan within seven months, he (or Congress) should demand a similar plan on how we are going to get people to serve in the armed forces. Nothing should be off the table, beginning with whether we still want—and can deliver—an all-volunteer military.
One top newspaper editor I recently spoke with said his paper supports the return of the draft. A retired advertising executive complained to me about the inanity of the Navy's recent ad campaigns—'Can anyone explain what 'Forged by the Sea' means?'—but doubted a new tag line would be enough to connect with Gen Z'ers or the younger Gen Alphas who follow. And last week, a freshman at Yale called me to brainstorm about how to get support for mandatory national service. (He had read several articles I had
We need to build more ships, and we need to do so smarter, faster, and cheaper. But if we don't also figure out how to man them, we will be building a ghost fleet.
From
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
