The Navy will get slightly smaller, pare some ships and try to wring at least $1.3 billion a year from cutbacks in its installations in order to save money for its day-to-day operations and modern weapons, the service's top admiral says.
Reducing spending that is meant to keep Navy ships properly maintained and ready to go to war also is not the answer to the Navy's budget squeeze, Adm. Jay Johnson said Monday."I'm not going to compromise the readiness of the force. I don't think we can do that. It's dangerous," said Johnson, who became chief of naval operations in August after the suicide of Jeremy Boorda.
The Navy has 409,000 active duty men and women, and expects to reduce that to 390,000 over the next several years. Its 352-ship fleet will drop to roughly 340 ships, Johnson said.