NORFOLK, Va. (WVEC) -- A year after 2 at-sea mishaps claimed the lives of 17 sailors, there are big problems for the Navy's surface fleet.
Defense News reports that a three-month internal review conducted by senior U.S. surface fleet leaders found some, or significant concerns, with the ship handling skills of more than 8 out of 10 of its junior officers.
The report said many junior "SWO's" struggled to react decisively to remove their ship from danger when there was an immediate risk of collision.
House Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee chairman Rob Wittman tells 13News Now, he is "concerned."
In a statement, he said, "The Navy is taking steps in the right direction... I am going to continue to drive toward accountability and providing solutions to the systemic problems that face the surface warfare community today."
Retired Navy captain and former destroyer c.o. Joe Bouchard said there is blame to go around.
"Ultimately, if there are problems with junior officers, ship-handlers, there's a problem with the commanding officers," he said. "Either they are not upholding standards when they issue officer of the deck certification letters, or they are not paying proper attention to the watch standers."
Bouchard adds Congress has some culpability here. After years of sequestration and continuing resolutions, instead of regular, predictable defense budgets, he said training and readiness certainly suffered as a result.
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