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The head of the US Navy has ordered a “deep dive” into the readiness of ship readiness after the USS Boxer faced significant deployment delays due to maintenance and readiness issues.
Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the Navy’s top official, announced this initiative following the amphibious ship USS Boxer’s prolonged deployment delay, which concluded last week. This examination aims to uncover valuable insights and improve the overall readiness of amphibious ships.
“I think there’s some good lessons learned with Boxer. Overall, we’re going to learn a lot through this deep dive, where we can really understand what are the challenges with amphib readiness,” Franchetti said during her address to reporters at the Navy’s annual Sea-Air-Space conference. The investigation into these issues was initiated in February, led by three-star admirals from the Navy’s operations and plans and policy offices. Franchetti expects initial recommendations by May, which will help shape the direction of the in-depth review.
Delays and mechanical issues have plagued the USS Boxer, with reports indicating poor leadership as a contributing factor. These issues kept the Boxer in port for months beyond its scheduled deployment. The ship had also undergone an overhaul to retrofit its nearly 30-year-old flight deck to accommodate the new F-35B Lightning II strike fighter, which took longer than anticipated.
This comes as the USS Wasp experienced potential delays and an engineering breakdown, which also led to the trigger of a total review. Adm. Franchetti said, “We’re seeing some potential delays on Wasp.… We’re trying to look ahead to make sure that we can; I want to say … nip this in the butt.”