Navy in need of 6,200 at-sea sailors

WASHINGTON, DC – The Navy is short some 6,200 sailors to meet at-sea requirements for its fleet. The gap could be exacerbated as the Navy adds new ships, Adm. Chris Grady - head of U.S. Fleet Forces Command - told a combined hearing of the House Armed Services readiness and seapower and projection forces subcommittees. Those sailors will, in part, be used to add crews to each surface ship, after the Navy had had gone to a lower “optimal manning” crew size to save personnel costs, he said. In 2012, the number of crew on a DDG was 240. In 2017, it’s about 270, and is to be “funded back up very close to the original size of a guided-missile destroyer in 2023 at about 318,” he said. According to the written testimony submitted, from Grady and Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. John Aquilino, the missing sailors are from the mid-grade and senior enlisted ranks and would take years to train and put aboard ships. There was no set of specific billets identified, but rather needed across platforms. The number could grow as the Navy adds ships to the fleet and personnel needs rise, Grady said. Growing sailors fast enough with technical skills to operate a 355-ship fleet is to be a major challenge for the sea-service and a key focus of the Navy’s ongoing surface reform effort. (Source: USNI News 02/26/19)