### §8697. Battle force ship employment, maintenance, and manning baseline plans

(a) In General.—Not later than 45 days after the date of the delivery of the first ship in a new class of battle force ships, the Secretary of the Navy shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the employment, maintenance, and manning baseline plans for the class, including a description of the following:

(1) The sustainment and maintenance plans for the class that encompass the number of years the class is expected to be in service, including—

(A) the allocation of maintenance tasks among organizational, intermediate, depot, or other activities;

(B) the planned duration and interval of maintenance for all depot-level maintenance availabilities; and

(C) the planned duration and interval of drydock maintenance periods.

(2) Any contractually required integrated logistics support deliverables for the ship, including technical manuals, and an identification of—

(A) the deliverables provided to the Government on or before the delivery date; and

(B) the deliverables not provided to the Government on or before the delivery date and the expected dates those deliverables will be provided to the Government.

(3) The planned maintenance system for the ship, including—

(A) the elements of the system, including maintenance requirement cards, completed on or before the delivery date;

(B) the elements of the system not completed on or before the delivery date and the expected completion date of those elements; and

(C) the plans to complete planned maintenance from the delivery date until all elements of the system have been completed.

(4) The coordinated shipboard allowance list for the class, including—

(A) the items on the list onboard on or before the delivery date; and

(B) the items on the list not onboard on or before the delivery date and the expected arrival date of those items.

(5) The ship manpower document for the class, including—

(A) the number of officers by grade and designator; and

(B) the number of enlisted personnel by rate and rating.

(6) The personnel billets authorized for the ship for the fiscal year in which the ship is delivered and each of the four fiscal years thereafter, including—

(A) the number of officers by grade and designator; and

(B) the number of enlisted personnel by rate and rating.

(7) Programmed funding for manning and end strength on the ship for the fiscal year in which the ship is delivered and each of the four fiscal years thereafter, including—

(A) the number of officers by grade and designator; and

(B) the number of enlisted personnel by rate and rating.

(8) Personnel assigned to the ship on the delivery date, including—

(A) the number of officers by grade and designator; and

(B) the number of enlisted personnel by rate and rating.

(9) For each critical hull, mechanical, electrical, propulsion, and combat system of the class as so designated by the Senior Technical Authority pursuant to section 8669b(c)(2)(C) of this title, the following:

(A) The Government-provided training available for personnel assigned to the ship at the time of delivery, including the nature, objectives, duration, and location of the training.

(B) The contractor-provided training available for personnel assigned to the ship at the time of delivery, including the nature, objectives, duration, and location of the training.

(C) Plans to adjust how the training described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) will be provided to personnel after delivery, including the nature and timeline of those adjustments.

(10) The notional employment schedule of the ship for each month of the fiscal year in which the ship is delivered and each of the four fiscal years thereafter, including an identification of time spent in the following phases:

(A) Basic.

(B) Integrated or advanced.

(C) Deployment.

(D) Maintenance.

(E) Sustainment.

(b) Notification Required.—Not less than 30 days before implementing a significant change to the baseline plans described in subsection (a) or any subsequent significant change, the Secretary of the Navy shall submit to the congressional defense committees written notification of the change, including for each such change the following:

(1) An explanation of the change.

(2) The desired outcome.

(3) The rationale.

(4) The duration.

(5) The operational effects.

(6) The budgetary effects, including—

(A) for the year in which the change is made;

(B) over the five years thereafter; and

(C) over the expected service life of the relevant class of battle force ships.

(7) The personnel effects, including—

(A) for the year in which the change is made;

(B) over the five years thereafter; and

(C) over the expected service life of the relevant class of battle force ships.

(8) The sustainment and maintenance effects, including—

(A) for the year in which the change is made;

(B) over the five years thereafter; and

(C) over the expected service life of the relevant class of battle force ships.

(c) Treatment of Certain Ships.—(1) For the purposes of this section, the Secretary of the Navy shall treat as the first ship in a new class of battle force ships the following:

(A) U.S.S. John F. Kennedy (CVN–79).

(B) U.S.S. Michael Monsoor (DDG–1001).

(C) U.S.S. Jack H. Lucas (DDG–125).

(2) For each ship described in paragraph (1), the Senior Technical Authority shall identify critical systems for the purposes of subsection (a)(9).

(d) Definitions.—In this section:

(1) The term "battle force ship" means the following:

(A) A commissioned United States Ship warship capable of contributing to combat operations.

(B) A United States Naval Ship that contributes directly to Navy warfighting or support missions.

(2) The term "delivery" has the meaning provided for in section 8671 of this title.

(3) The term "Senior Technical Authority" has the meaning provided for in section 8669b of this title.

(Added Pub. L. 117–263, div. A, title X, §1026(a), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 2765, §8696; renumbered §8697, Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title XVIII, §1801(a)(39), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 685.)

#### **Editorial Notes**

#### Amendments

2023—Pub. L. 118–31 renumbered section 8696 of this title relating to battle force ship employment, maintenance, and manning baseline plans as this section.