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For more on naval transformation, see CRS Report RS20851, Naval Transformation:
Background and Issues for Congress, by Ronald O’Rourke.
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Order Code RS21338
Updated July 14, 2006
Navy Ship Deployments: New Approaches —
Background and Issues for Congress
Ronald O’Rourke
Specialist in National Defense
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
Summary
The Navy is implementing or experimenting with new kinds of naval formations,
more flexible forward-deployment schedules, forward-homeporting additional Navy
ships, and long-duration deployments with crew rotation (which the Navy calls Sea
Swap). These changes, which form a key part of Navy transformation, raise several
potential issues for Congress. This report will be updated as events warrant.
Background
As part of its transformation efforts,
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the Navy is implementing or experimenting
with new methods for deploying its ships overseas, including new kinds of naval
formations, more flexible deployment schedules, homeporting additional Navy ships at
forward locations, and long-duration deployments with crew rotation. Each of these
changes is discussed below.
New Kinds Of Naval Formations. The Navy previously organized itself into
aircraft carrier battle groups (CVBGs) and Amphibious Ready Groups (ARGs). An ARG
typically included 3 amphibious ships that together were capable of embarking a Marine
Expeditionary Unit (MEU), which is a force of about 2,200 Marines, their ground-combat
equipment, and an aircraft detachment. ARGs traditionally operated overseas in the
company of CVBGs. Navy officials believe this way of organizing the Navy no longer
offers sufficient flexibility for responding to the potential need for deploying significant
naval capability in several locations around the world at the same time. Navy officials
also believe that with the increasing capabilities of Navy ships, naval formations other
than the large CVBG/ARG combination can now be sufficient to perform certain
missions.
