From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov

Transcript for:  Recovering Navy and Marine Corps Readiness Will Take 
Time and Sustained Management Attention

Description: Video highlighting GAO’s findings on Navy and Marine Corps 
readiness featured in John Pendleton’s statement before the Senate 
Armed Services Committee on December 12, 2018.

Related GAO Work: GAO-19-225T: Navy and Marine Corps: Rebuilding Ship, 
Submarine, and Aviation Readiness Will Require Time and Sustained 
Management Attention 

Learn more: https://gao.gov/products/GAO-19-225T

Released: December 2018


[ GAO Logo appears and then fades to an aerial view of ships crossing 
the ocean ]  After more than a decade of conflict, [ Fighter jet moves 
down the runway of a ship and then takes off ] budget uncertainty, and 
reductions in force structure, the Department of Defense says it’s less 
ready to handle current and future operations.  

[ Clips play of personnel performing on the jobs tasks such as taking 
notes on a clipboard, throwing rope overboard, and fixing a metal chain 
] For the Navy, our work has found that maintenance and personnel 
challenges have a ripple effect on training and operations, making it 
more difficult to rebuild readiness.

[ Wide shot of ships in the ocean with the words “days of Maintenance 
Delays” over top while the a number climbs to over 27,000 as the 
narrator speaks ] For example, Navy shipyards haven’t been able to 
adhere to planned maintenance schedules, leading to over 27, 000 days 
of maintenance delays for U.S. aircraft carriers, surface ships, and 
submarines over a seven year period.
[ Images and videos of navy personnel and ships flash across the screen 
] Personnel and training challenges persist, as the Navy begins to 
address the manning and training shortfalls in the Pacific Fleet that 
contributed to the deadly collisions in 2017.  

For the Marine Corps, [ videos of personnel working on different tasks 
and doing maintenance work on aircrafts ] our work has shown that 
ground force readiness has improved and remained stable in recent 
years. But in both the Marine Corps and the Navy, aviation units are 
facing maintenance and personnel challenges. 

Our work has found that Navy and Marine Corps aircraft are aging, and 
maintaining them is both expensive and time-consuming. Getting the 
supplies needed to keep these fleets in the air is also difficult. 
Additionally, we have found that pilot and maintenance personnel 
shortfalls also make it hard to keep these older aircraft running. 

The F-35 program, meant to replace many aging aircraft, has its own 
maintenance challenges.

[ Helicopter takes off from platform of a ship with ships moving in the 
background as the words “45 open recommendations” comes across the 
screen ] Since 2015, we made 45 recommendations that DOD is in the 
process of implementing, but all remain open.

[ Different shots of activity on ships comes up on the screen with the 
words “GAO-19-225T” which then turns into “gao.gov” ] For more 
information on these recommendations to help the Navy and Marine Corps 
prepare for the future, check out our testimony at GAO.gov.