The U.S. Navy’s Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program will exceed $200 billion and take more than 50 years to execute, but the program is not regularly evaluated for its costs, risks and performance, according to a new Government Accountability Office report published Sept. 25.
The lack of oversight could lead to Congress making consequential decisions “based on incomplete information, thus risking billions in taxpayer dollars,” the GAO wrote in its report.
The findings come as the Navy undertakes a generational effort to improve poor conditions and outdated infrastructure at the shipyards in Norfolk, Virginia; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine; and Puget Sound, Washington. The four public shipyards are the focus of the multi-billion-dollar modernization program.
The GAO report did not specify which Navy officials are responsible for the missing evaluations or when the next program review is scheduled.
Capt. Hannah A. Kriewaldt relinquished command of Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair (SUPSHIP) Newport News on Sept. 18, handing over to Capt. Michael A. Sammataro in a combined change of command and retirement ceremony at Newport News, Virginia.
Kriewaldt led the command of more than 600 Navy civilian and military personnel, overseeing multi-billion-dollar shipbuilding programs including Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers, Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines, and Virginia-class attack submarines. The command is the Navy’s on-site technical, contractual and quality authority at Huntington Ingalls Industries–Newport News Shipbuilding, the sole U.S. facility capable of building nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.
During the ceremony, Rear Adm. Casey Moton presented Kriewaldt with her second Legion of Merit award. Rear Adm. Dianna Wolfson delivered the retirement address.
Kriewaldt, a 1999 Naval Academy graduate, served as chief engineer aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) earlier in her 27-year career.
Sources: DVIDS News · DVIDS News