4 Hampton Roads-based ships on Navy’s decommissioning plan, including 1 past its 35-year service life

With a new Congress, the Navy is trying again with its proposal to shrink the fleet as part of its “divest to invest” approach.

The Navy unveiled its Fiscal Year 2024 budget in mid-March, announcing it plans to decommission 11 aging warships. Of those on the chopping block, four are based in Hampton Roads — two guided missile cruisers, the USS Leyte Gulf and USS Vicksburg; and two amphibious dock landing ships, the USS Gunston Hall and USS Tortuga.

In divesting the decades-old warships, the budget would secure nine new vessels. But the idea of shrinking the fleet at a faster rate than growing it is a hot-button topic among Virginia Congress members.

Rep. Rob Wittman R-1st District) said Monday that he is “adamantly opposed” to the Navy’s proposal to retire more ships than it will build in fiscal year 2024. He asserted that China is on track to surpass the capabilities and capacity of the U.S. in the next few years.

“I am deeply concerned with the Department of Defense’s willingness to accept near-term risk by divesting existing platforms without replacements,” Wittman said.

Wittman also voiced his concerns during the House’s Armed Services Committee hearing last week. The Congressman quoted former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who famously stated, “You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.”

“I am having a hard time seeing where we are going. I am not a mathematician but I want to know how you do addition by subtraction?”

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin defended the Navy’s plan, stating it is about quality over quantity.

“We don’t want to have to continue to invest to maintain aircraft and ships it that are costly and provide headwinds,” Austin began before he was interrupted by Wittman.

“With all due respect, quantity has a quality all its own. ... My concern is if we don’t do both capability and capacity, we are going to find ourselves in incredibly challenging places,” Wittman said.

Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-2nd District) echoed Wittman Tuesday in a statement.

“Now is not the time to retire ships that have not reached the end of their service life. Our Navy is the best fighting force in the world, but we must ensure we have the number of ships needed to take the fleet to the fight,” Kiggans said.

Contributing to long-term problems with Naval infrastructure, Kiggans said, were the closings of half of the Navy’s public shipyards in the 1990s. And in January, four drydocks, including the only West Coast drydock capable of repairing aircraft carriers, were closed due to seismic activity.

“We must ensure we continue to invest in our shipbuilding and ship-repair industries. That must be a top priority in our defense budget this year and every year,” Kiggans said.

This is not the first time the Navy has sought to decommission warships. In the last budget cycle, four cruisers that had either reached or surpassed their expected 35-year service lives were retired.

Only the Vicksburg, which is facing retirement again, was spared. The 32-year-old cruiser is undergoing an overhaul at BAE Systems in Norfolk.

“Retiring vessels like the Vicksburg that haven’t reached their retirement age yet is a huge mistake — it decreases the size of our Navy and wastes taxpayer dollars,” Kiggans said.

The Navy tried to decommission the Gunston Hall and Tortuga, which are 35 and 34, during last year’s budget cycle. But the 117th Congress — a government trifecta held by the Democrats — blocked the effort.

Although Republicans won control of the House in 2022 elections, Wittman said the reaction to the Navy’s proposal would not be different.

“The composition of Congress has changed in the 118th, but the threats facing the U.S. military have not,” Wittman said.

But if history serves as an example, the USS Leyte Gulf is likely to be decommissioned in the coming year. At 38, the cruiser is three years past its expected 35-year service life.

“Ships should be retired when they are past their service life. This is a practical decision that is best for the fleet and our sailors,” Wittman said.

Wittman and Kiggans said they would like to see some ships repurposed, rather than retired, so as not to subtract from the fleet during the years it takes to build new warships.

Caitlyn Burchett, caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com