Navy leaders last week defended their decision to retire the carrier USS Truman decades ahead of schedule to fund other preferred new technology projects, Military.com reported.
In a House Armed Services Seapower subcommittee hearing, lawmakers pressed the Navy to explain the decision detailed in the 2020 defense budget request.
Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.), a retired Navy surface-warfare officer, raised concerns of commanders in the Middle East and Europe who have requested more carrier presence.
“We’re not meeting that forward-deployed presence, so how can you justify further reducing the carrier presence?” she asked.
Officials said funding for refueling the carrier’s nuclear core would be better directed toward new cutting-edge projects, including unmanned ships.
“It was more of an investment decision,” Vice Adm. William Merz, deputy chief of naval operations for warfare systems, said.
Last week On Base reported that Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan told the Armed Services Committee early retirement of the USS Truman was debated within the Pentagon for more than a year before the decision was made and that it is “reversible.”
Navy photo of USS Truman by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Scott Swofford
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