It's a grim situation for those charged with maintaining the surface fleet. Operating at a high operational tempo and not getting enough maintenance dollars as it is, the Navy will see outright cancellations of availabilities - or shipyard maintenance periods - for ships beginning in the coming months if the budget situation is not resolved. Despite an ongoing continuing resolution (CR) - which caps spending at prior-year levels and bans new starts - the Navy has been able to conduct most of the maintenance it had planned in the first and second quarters of fiscal 2013. But if a budget does not get passed and the Navy has to deal with a year-long CR - as well as automatic, across-the-board budget cuts from sequestration - things could get ugly.
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