House Seapower chairman: Early aircraft carrier decom is a non-starter

https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2019/02/28/house-seapower-chairman-early-aircraft-carrier-decom-is-a-non-starter/

House Seapower chairman: Early aircraft carrier decom is a non-starter

By: Joe Gould and David B. Larter    20 hours ago

The head of the House Armed Services Committee’s seapower subcommittee told Defense News Thursday he would block the early decommissioning of the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman when it comes before congress this spring. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., told reporters he there was no chance the measure would be endorsed in his subcommittee this year during the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act markup. “This is really a 2021 issue in terms of timing, when the Truman has to go into its refueling,” Courtney said. “So I think in terms of it getting any endorsement in the seapower mark this year I think is zero.”

Courtney’s comments come on the heels of a Breaking Defense report that the Pentagon was planning to cancel the Truman’s planned 2024 mid-life refueling and decommission the carrier in an effort to save $30 billion over 25 years. The Navy has to plan for major carrier midlife overhauls years in advance. If the Navy were going to cancel Truman’s overhaul, the service would have to make the decision soon.

But the Truman is too young to pull out of service, Courtney said. “The Truman is only about 25 years old which in [terms of] an aircraft carrier is actually pretty young,” he said. "So, we just approved a two-carrier block buy in September. So to do that and then reduce the size of the carrier fleet seems like a contradictory policy, as far as I’m concerned."
(snip)