McCullough: Fleet not able to go everywhere

[unhappycamper]

McCullough: Fleet not able to go everywhere
By Philip Ewing - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jan 14, 2009 18:05:00 EST

Today’s Navy is entering its most fiscally and operationally challenging era in decades, the service’s top requirements officer said Wednesday, as a consistently high demand from combatant commanders means the service doesn’t have enough ships to go all the places it wants.

There’s a “presence deficit” for U.S. naval forces across the globe, said Vice Adm. Barry McCullough, deputy chief of naval operations for integration of capabilities and resources. What’s more, the worldwide economic crisis and concurrent uncertainty about funding from Congress means the Navy will have a tricky time estimating the money it needs and the money it will get to pay for what McCullough called “the triangle of death” — people, operations and procurement.

“I’ve got a lot of people sitting on the fourth deck and the fifth deck in my wedge of the Pentagon, and they’re spinning like tops” working to account for all the factors, he said.

Even more uncertainty comes from anticipating the priorities of the incoming Obama administration and fluctuating fuel costs, McCullough said.

“Last July, I crawled under my desk when I looked at the cost of a … barrel of oil,” he said. Yesterday the price was about $41 a barrel, “so now I’m dancing on my desk. But I have no idea what it’s going to be next week.”


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/01/navy_SNA_capabilities_011409w/%2e



uhc comment: Want to know why there's a “presence deficit”? Check out my comments on --> http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=259x22673