Costly Programs, Rusty Ships, and My State Syndrome

Highlights from this morning's Secretary of the Navy Confirmation Hearing

This morning John Phelan testified at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee for the role of Secretary of the Navy.

SECNAV was an early member of the president’s cabinet in this Republic but in the past century has seen the position eroded, first as a result of the National Security Act of 1947 which eliminated SECNAV from the Cabinet and the 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Act which stressed joint over service-specific priorities. In the latter case, we see the result that SECNAV and other service chiefs are on the backburner on confirmation. At least with Phelan, we should see confirmation than we have since 1981.

Herewith some highlights of the hearing:

• SASC Chair Roger Wicker (R-MS) notes problems with shipbuilding: we're promised growth but the fleet shrinks.

• SASC Ranking Member Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) started with noting Phelan's lack of familiarity with the Navy. Earlier, I posted on Substack about the various backgrounds for all Secretaries of the Navy. Interested in how he'll learn about acquisition and the issue of labor shortages

• Phelan’s opening statement:

  • stretching deployments causes stresses; renewed quality of life issues; shipbuilding; restore operational readiness. incorporating emerging technologies

  • Among priorities he noted incorporating emerging technology. This is going to be a big one given the years, sometimes decades it takes to get systems fielded.

• Wicker:

  • 1st question: how to improve recruiting

    • Phelan: recruiting numbers are up because of President’s victory and return to warfighting ethos; 250th anniversary of the Navy/Marine Corps is an opportunity; do things better digitally for outreach; learn from the Marine Corps - they’ve used the same advertising agency for 30 years; show the benefit of serving

  • 2nd question: if we threw a zillion dollars we couldn’t build without an industrial base; how are we going to fix it

    • Phelan: I’ll visit the shipyards. Take best practices from them and foreign yards, opportunity zones, incent the private sector by telegraphic demand. Training and apprentice programs to make sure your skilled labor doesn’t leave as soon.

• Sen. Reed: how will you get submarines back on track

  • Phelan: Columbia is the most important nuclear deterrent. I need to look at root cause analysis of delays…We need to create more competition in components through incentives and working with private sector.

  • 2nd question on labor reduction (70,000+ people). Title X requires no civilian workforce employee can be fired unless SECNAV investigates on basis on [several factors]

    • Phelan: I will follow all laws, all lawful orders. I am not privy to the actual cuts. I think the shipbuilding force is critical. I suspect in some shipyards we have labor shortages.

• Sen Fisher: on shipbuilding, would you be open to expanding shipyards for nuclear ship production and ammunition:

  • Phelan: yes

• Sen Fisher: what steps for ensuring stockpiles are available

  • Phelan: create more of a manufacturing base and plants; we’re at a dangerously low level of stockpiles; I’ll work with you and the committee and congress.

• Sen Shaheen (D-NH) (represents Portsmouth Naval Shipyard,): SECDEF’s memo asking for proposals to cut by 8% every year…no exemption for maritime industrial base

  • Phelan: take money away from non-lethal to lethal programs; ships and subs are lethal activities…

• Sen. King on maintenance: benchmark ships against MAERSK and cruise lines. Would like to see metric on drydock time

  • Phelan: POTUS has texted me about rusty ships and ships in the yards.

• Sen. King: on directed energy and hypersonics, I’ve never had a good response from an admiral.

  • Phelan: hypersonics is a key component to defense and we’re behind. Directed energy recently the Navy executed a successfully delivery against drones.

• Sen. King: next destroyer program DDX is follow on to DDGs (built in Maine), design is separated and then building is expensive; it has faltered

  • Phelan: notes some 800 people designing a ship

• Sen. King: mentions building a parking garage and child care center

• Sen. Ernst: the navy didn't want or need Littoral Combat Ships. We built billions on ships that have been mothballed and couldn't survive. But what about backlogs to reduce them?

• Sen Rosen (D-NV) wants Nevada ranchers to be compensated for their land near Fallon Air Base

  • Phelan: I have appreciation for multi-generational owners of land. I’ll look at this

• Sen. Sullivan: biggest challenge is PLAN size; can you keep an eye on the amphib fleet (cites readiness report from GAO). Can you commit to coming to Alaska?

  • Phelan: yes

• Sen. Peters (D-MI): asks about Constellation frigate delays with delivery in 2029 vice 2026; a good portion of the blame squarely on the Navy (not industry); how will you work with them for Constellation

  • Phelan: “this program is a mess”; most of what I’ve seen/read is requirement creep

• Sen Peters: Michigan Manufacturing Initiative is targeted for demand signal of thousands of new workers in Great Lakes region; how will you use Submarine Industrial Base funding for it?

  • Phelan: If confirmed, I’ll look into that to make sure subs are done on time and budget

• Sen. Scott shows big photo of rusty DDG and asks him for his thoughts: Phelan: would you want to go on that ship?

• Sen Warren: LCS has been bogged down with maintenance and when breaks happen, sailors can’t do it because defense firms won’t let them have access to information so contractors fly out; is this efficient

  • Phelan: it doesn’t sound like it to me

• Sen. Banks: have you thought about the Navy Reserve and how important it is and strengthen it

  • Phelan: we need to look at, strengthen, and make better; it’s been an afterthought; used with efficacy in USMC and elsewhere

• Sen Blumenthal (D-CT): asks about firing about top military leaders based on political loyalty like ADM Franchetti (asks if Phelan has spoken to her or intends to); do you agree that she is dedicated and distinguished record

  • Phelan: yes

• Sen. Banks: have you thought about the Navy Reserve and how important it is and strengthen it

  • Phelan: we need to look at, strengthen, and make better; it’s been an afterthought; used with efficacy in USMC and elsewhere

    • (as a retired USNR O-5\ I had thoughts like this older one: "All Sane Men Believe in Reserves")

• Sen. Kelly (D-AZ): China has 5,000 merchant ships, we have 80; thanks for mentioning my SHIPS act

• Sen. Hirono traditionally asked if the witness had committed sexual assaults or made financial settlements about his committing assaults

• Sen. Hirono: Navy is building a drydock for submarines at Pearl at $4.5B but best buy another $800M increase last year. Ensure drydock is on time and on budget

  • Phelan: I look forward to visiting with you there and you have my commitment

• Sen Rounds: it costs twice as much to build a ship in the US as elsewhere; can you use AI

  • Phelan: I think there will be ways to potential reduce change orders and increase speed of production; we need to look at 3D printing for parts

• Sen. Kane (D-VA): a report this morning at 10am from GAO on Shipbuilding and Repair, cites p. 67: problems unchanged over past decade, battleforce not sufficiently modernized…the navy continues to expect different performance outcomes; in discussion w/ Potus what are his priorities and why you’re the best

  • Phelan: shipbuilding is a priority; missing is sense of urgency, it’s “kumbaya” and waiting for a crisis to ignite things; that’s a dangerous place to be. I will bring urgency, setting up feedback loops, accountability, rewarding good performance. You have to develop a strategy and a vision that drives a force goal and make it affordable. What legacy systems no longer matter. What other conflicts that inform us.

Of all the questions posed, I give the nod to Sen. Tim Kaine. In a confirmation hearing, tensions can be high or interests parochial, but Kaine asked the right question (before asking about Virginia issues): what are the President’s priorities for you and why are you best person to do that? He gave Phelan a chance to respond, Phelan addressed the questions.

Confirmation hearings should be job interviews like that and, yes, Senators can get into specifics to understand a candidate's (or in this case a nominee’s) knowledge and not the testy, controversial, sometimes shouting matches that some of become. Thanks to Sen. Kaine for approaching it that way.