Navy Lost Nine Ships This Month -- On Paper
The Virginian-Pilot | Mar 11, 2015
The Navy's fleet shrank by nine ships this month -- at least on paper.
On the web page where the service lists its vital statistics, the official ship count dropped, unceremoniously, from 284 to 275 on March 2. But no vessels had been decommissioned, sold or sunk.
The change was the result of language inserted into the defense budget last month, changing the rules for how the Navy counts ships, according to a report in Defense News.
The number shift was the latest volley in a fight between the Republican-controlled Congress and the Obama administration over the size and state of the Navy.
Ship counting is a frequent political football. Over the past few years, the Obama administration has adjusted ship counting rules, allowing more ships to be counted as part of the fleet.
As for Navy leaders? They appear to be avoiding the subject.
So far in testimony to Congress, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and Adm. Jon Greenert, chief of naval operations, have not mentioned a specific ship count.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2015/03/11/navy-lost-nine-ships-this-month-on-paper.html?comp=7000023468025&rank=2
