The Navy submitted a legislative proposal to lawmakers that would decouple authorities to buy used sealift ships contingent upon making progress towards designing and constructing a new class of auxiliary vessels, according to a senior Navy officer. Vice Adm. Ricky Williamson, deputy chief of naval operations for fleet readiness and logistics, yesterday told the House Armed Services subcommittees on readiness and seapower and projection forces about the provision. While the military regularly sends legislative proposals to Congress ahead of the annual defense policy bill being drafted, the Pentagon has not made public what provisions it submitted this year. The proposal "allows us better access to the used [ship] market so that we can continue to close the gap that has been identified in the previous studies," Williamson told reporters after the hearing. Williamson and officials from U.S. Transportation Command, the Maritime Administration and the Air Force were testifying yesterday to lawmakers about the state of sealift and mobility requirements. Lawmakers during the hearing pressed the officials on plans to recapitalize the surge sealift fleet, dozens of auxiliary vessels that would move Army personnel and equipment if a large-scale war broke out.
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