Op-Ed: With fewer ships and more missions, the Navy is forced to keep ships at sea longer in the Pacific | American Military News

Op-Ed: With fewer ships and more missions, the Navy is forced to keep ships at sea longer in the Pacific | American Military News:
"...With fewer ships, the Navy has been forced to curtail maintenance and training for Japan-based ships for years to meet operational commitments in the region.
As a result, ships like the USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain went to sea with expired training certifications and operated on waivers granted through the chain-of-command, as many ships of the Japan-based 7th Fleet had done for years.
...And this is a large part of not only the Navy’s problem, but the American military’s problem, as well.
The current U.S. Navy fleet is 20 percent percent smaller than it was two decades earlier, yet the ships are being deployed at the same rate, and often for longer periods.
These continuous deployments are especially true for forward based warships like the those assigned to the 7th Fleet.
...As it stands now, the only way to reduce the stress on the Navy is to reduce its operational commitments.  
However, doing so in an era of increased North Korean tensions, Chinese naval expansion and a steadily assertive Russia is not an optimal choice..."
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