In a war, there’s a few key things you never want to run out of.
The first is ammo, obviously. No bullets and no missiles means no battles, and no victories.
And the second? It’s painfully obvious, but often ignored. You need people to shoot those guns, and win those victories.
And if you’re shorthanded? Well…you’re screwed. Which, in a nutshell, is the short version of a report the government put out about the Navy recently.
Because if you don’t have enough men, you can’t fight a war. And given the threats from Kim Jong-un, and encroaching Russian planes – and ships – it’s reasonable to assume that not having enough sailors is a serious, serious problem.
We have that problem.
The Conservative Tribune reports:
A startling report published this week by the U.S. Government Accountability Office revealed that the U.S. Navy has been understaffing its portside ships, leading to sailors feeling overstressed and overworked.
“Sailors consistently said that there were fewer crew members in port than during deployment, because sailors were attending training and taking leave, or because the Navy was prioritizing the manning of ships on deployment over ships in port,” the report read.
“Both officers and enlisted personnel told us that ship crews are stressed and overburdened during in-port periods because they must stand watch and cover the workload of multiple sailors.”
If you missed it, there’s something here worth noting – the sailors that are asked to do all the extra work? They’re the ones just coming home from deployment. Which means they’re the ones coming home from a mission, or war.
And that just doesn’t sit right with me. ‘Hey, thanks for serving our country – now please reward yourself with the extra workload of three other men!’
That…just doesn’t compute.
The report from the government identified the original problem. And it was – no surprise – politicians.
The Navy “began reducing crew sizes” 16 years ago to increase efficiency. However, the pencil-pushers have clearly taken things too far.
To remedy this situation, the GAO recommended that the Navy “reassess the standard workweek” … and “identify the personnel costs needed to man a larger fleet.”
In short, figure out how many men you need, and how many hours they’ll work. They might have saved themselves some time by just asking someone in the private sector.
Given the threats we now face around the world, a functioning and top-notch Navy is critical. And we can’t do that without more men.
It sounds like Trump’s administration just added a bunch of new jobs.
Source: Conservative Tribune
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