The Navy is facing some hard questions regarding the declining numbers and readiness of its surface fleet. This post actually puts the best face on a hearing that has not gone well for the Navy.

Coast Guard implications?

• I still see the Coast Guard making favorable references to “optimal manning,” but it has become a dirty word in the Navy resulting in deferred maintenance, poor morale, and declining readiness.
• This is why the Department of Homeland Security can’t blithely say the Coast Guard does not need new ships because the Navy can do those jobs.