“Army officials stated that these low mission capable rates, along with the smaller size of the watercraft fleet after divestment, hinder operational readiness and the ability to meet mission requirement,” the report said.
After the temporary pier mission ended — the pier was only operational for roughly 20 days in total with a cost of $230 million — the military requested civilian contractor support in bringing the Army’s vessels back to the US.
The US military said four of its vessels, supporting a temporary pier built to deliver aid to Gaza by sea, had run aground in heavy seas.
The GAO report also said the Army is considering leasing civilian watercraft to bolster its existing fleet and moving all of its watercraft to the Pacific.
Ultimately, the Army watercraft is “how the ground force, the Army, gets to war,” Butler said.
Persons:
“, ”, Cynthia Smith, Smith, ” Col, Dave Butler, Randy George, ” Butler, Oren Ziv, Army “, Christine Wormuth, Wormuth, Butler
Organizations:
CNN, US Army, “ Army, Army, Getty, GAO, Army Futures Command, US Army Pacific, Pacific Command
Locations:
Gaza, Pacific, Ashdod, Japan, Hawaii