A Big Challenge for the Navy: The U.S. Navy faces significant challenges, including a shortage of sailors and shipyards. Recruiting and retaining personnel has become difficult, leading to operational and safety concerns.

More Problems: The Navy's shipbuilding capabilities are also in decline, with only a few shipyards remaining, and issues like rising costs, material shortages, and workforce problems exacerbate the situation.

What Next? The Navy is struggling to maintain its fleet, and without addressing these logistical challenges, building up a sufficient naval force seems unlikely.

It Isn't Just Ships That Are the Problem – The U.S. Navy Needs Shipyards And Sailors

Nearly a decade ago, in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, several Republican Party (GOP) candidates were quick to note that the U.S. Navy's fleet size was the smallest since World War I. The issue hasn't gotten any better and combined with a shortfall in recruiting goals, concerns about its ability to maintain operational standards and safety have been raised, especially as Washington is trying to help prevent the war in Gaza from escalating while looking to deter China in the Indo-Pacific.

Then there is the fact that Russian warships have made repeated port-of-call visits to Cuba and Venezuela. To say the U.S. Navy is stretched thin is an understatement.

Not Enough Sailors

The sea service, like the United States Army and United States Air Force, has struggled in recent years to meet recruiting goals. The issue has gotten so bad that it has already relaxed some education requirements, including no longer requiring a GED or high school diploma, while last year the U.S. Navy allowed recruits in two divisions "limited access" to mobile devices during designated periods of training to boost morale.

The U.S. Navy had a 2023 enlistment goal of 37,700, yet, it brought in just 31,834. For 2024, the U.S. Navy had raised the bar to 40,600 – as it is set to reach a total strength of 337,800. Earlier this year, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a warning that the U.S. Navy has been forced to assign fewer crewmembers to ships that are required to operate them safely, and such crewing shortfalls have contributed to accidents. The watchdog group found that U.S. Navy vessels are heading out to sea with just 84 percent of the enlisted sailors that should be deployed to the vessels.

Recruiting has been an issue, but so too has been retaining those already in uniform.

In June, it was announced that the U.S. Navy was easing the physical fitness rules for some active-duty service members. Though sailors shouldn't plan on loosening their belts, the Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS) will now allow sailors who fail two fitness assessments in a row to stay in the Navy, and have an opportunity to try again, provided their commanding officer agrees.

“It is unclear if these will be enough to resolve the issues,” warned Irina Tsukerman, president and geopolitical analyst of Scarab Rising, Inc.

"Current numbers are barely sufficient to sustain existing fleet, with the lowest number since World War I," she told The National Interest. "The U.S. Navy is struggling to meet recruitment goals, and the highly specialized aircraft carriers, such as the nuclear-powered ones, are an even tougher call to meet. Without implementing a form of conscription, there is no current plan to supplement the falling numbers."

Building the Future Fleet is Another Problem

The other problem now facing the United States Navy is that the country simply lacks the shipyards to build and maintain a sizeable fleet, and it will also likely get worse before it gets better.

"I feel alarmed," Eric Labs, a naval analyst at the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) told The Associated Press earlier this month, and he added that U.S. Navy shipbuilding is in a terrible state. "I don't see a fast, easy way to get out of this problem. It's taken us a long time to get into it."

The United States once had a dozen shipyards, now it has a handful. Even before the pandemic, the industry was struggling, and it continues to suffer.

"Regarding overall problems with vendors in this field, 95 percent of the vendors have faced challenges due to rising costs from inflation, while 79 percent have experienced raw material cost increases of at least 7 percent," explained Tsukerman. "More than one in ten (91 percent) of vendors surveyed said they faced challenges as a result of material availability or delivery, and 76 percent said they directly experienced an increase in the amount of time it takes to build and deliver their products."

 Sailor Shortage Just Part of the Problem

The lack of facilities is just part of the problem. Even if the United States were to suddenly open additional facilities to build and maintain the fleet, it wouldn't have the trained workers. The shortage of talent is as great – and perhaps even worse – than what the U.S. Navy is facing. There aren't enough bodies to operate the ships, and there aren't enough bodies to build them.

"Workforce issues also remain a serious problem, as 85 percent of the firms said they continue to face challenges in hiring, training, and retaining their respective workforces," Tsukerman added. "Moreover, 32 percent said that workforce-related challenges have had a detrimental impact on their ability to fulfill contracts. So unless these logistical challenges are met, the hope of building up a sufficient fleet of top-of-the-line nuclear-powered aircraft carriers is not likely to actualize."

The U.S. military has responded to the recruiting shortages by offering bonuses and other financial incentives to recruits as well as to those in uniform to "re-up." The shipbuilding industry is also paying more, but this may just be pushing the problem down the road – or river in this case. It won't solve the long-term problems, which is how this began. A permanent solution could be decades in the making – the question is whether the U.S. Navy can tread water that long.

Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].

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