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November 15, 2004
[Have an opinion about the issues discussed in this article?
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By Scott Schonauer, Stars and Stripes European Edition
NAVAL STATION ROTA, Spain - A highly touted Navy program that swaps
crews at sea may offer some benefits, but a new congressional report
shows that trial runs have also produced poor sailor morale and
ship maintenance problems.
The Government Accountability Office reported last Wednesday that
the service also has not backed up its claims that rotating crews
is a cheaper and better way to do business.
Investigators determined the Sea Swap Initiative could take a long-term
toll on ships and dropped a heavy workload on crews. Many sailors
in each of the focus groups complained about poor morale and quality
of life because they had to spend more time maintaining the ships.
Crewmembers aboard patrol coastal ships, for example, complained
that they could not have any port visits because they were too busy
tackling maintenance issues.
Sailors aboard the USS Higgins and patrol coastal ships disliked
the swap so much that they reported "a strong desire to not participate
on any more crew rotations implemented like their most recent experience,"
the report said.
The GAO found that re-enlistments were generally lower on guided-missile
destroyers that swapped crews compared with similar Pacific Fleet
ships that didn't swap crews, but the Defense Department wrote that
the Navy found "significantly different" figures.
The report said rotating crews is a possible alternative to the
traditional way of sailors leaving and returning with their ships.
But investigators recommended that the Navy do a better job evaluating
the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of swapping crews, establish
standard procedures for rotations and make sure commanders share
"lessons learned." The Defense Department agreed with the suggestions
and cited how changes would be made.
While senior Navy officials have sung the praises of Sea Swap as
a way to save money and slash personnel, the latest report mirrored
an earlier study by the Center for Naval Analyses, a federally funded
research and development group.
The center found that swapping crews had been successful, but the
Navy should address morale and maintenance problems. Surveys showed
that 84 percent of the crews who handed over their ship to another
crew said participating in the swap was worse than expected.
The Navy started rotating crews about two years ago, when three
Spruance-class destroyers began the first phases of the first rotation.
The Sea Swap Initiative involves deploying one ship for 18 months
or longer and rotating crews. Here's how it works: Instead of crews
driving the ship back to the United States after a deployment, they
fly home and a new crew is flown in to replace them.
By eliminating long transit times, the Navy says crews will have
more time to execute their missions. The Navy has tested the concept
with smaller ships but is looking at expanding the program to larger
ships such as amphibious assault ships.
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