Vice President Mike Pence told crew members assembled Tuesday aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman that the White House has dropped plans for its early retirement, The Hill reported.
Pence made the announcement while the carrier is in port in Virginia.
“I know that the future of this aircraft carrier is subject of some budget discussions in Washington, D.C.,” Pence said. “As we continue to fight Congress to make sure that our military has the resources you need to accomplish your mission, President Donald Trump asked me to deliver a message to each and every one of you on the deck of the USS Truman. We are keeping the best carrier in the world in the fight. We are not retiring the Truman.”
During a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing Tuesday Chief of Naval Operations Nominee Adm. Bill Moran spoke in support of retiring the carrier, as planned in DOD’s fiscal 2020 budget request. He said he backs the decision to scrap the carrier halfway through its lifespan to fund new technology, including unmanned ships.
The nuclear-powered USS Truman is scheduled for a mid-life refueling process in 2024, but the Pentagon had announced plans to cut its fleet from 11 carriers to 10, retiring it early as a cost-saving measure. The Truman was commissioned in 1998.
Navy photo by Seaman Maria Llanos
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