Our troops should get their first experience with live arms before actual combat. Our Fleet has gotten smaller, and the number of ships we deploy with each battle group has decreased. During this downsizing, demand for deployed battle groups and amphibious ready groups have remained steady at a minimum and in some cases have increased. Nonetheless, a carrier battle group routinely deploys today with fewer surface combatants than 10 years ago. Theater commanders have fewer assets to cover commitments, and must time-share assets among theater commanders, often leaving gaps in coverage.
Fewer assets mean more underway time per unit.
Increased utilization results in additional wear and tear on our ships and aircraft, requiring more maintenance. Sustained future naval readiness begins with a recapitalization program that delivers the right number of technologically superior platforms and systems for the fleet. Current DoD plans require an 8-10 ship per year build rate to sustain a QDR force. The actual numbers of ships in our plan is not sufficient to meet this need. The steady erosion of the service life of our platforms and equipment and lack of a viable recoup plan will eventually lead to a point where we will be unable to sustain our operational commitments.