STRUCTURAL AND PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF NAVY SHIP OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE BUDGETS 1999–2017

The Navy has been concerned recently with the readiness of the surface fleet. Because one driver of fleet readiness is the sufficiency of resources, this study examines the last 18 years of budgets that have the most direct impact on the readiness of the fleet. Both a quantitative and qualitative analysis was done of the budgets for Mission and Other Ship Operations (1B1B) and Ship Maintenance (1B4B). Quantitatively, the study compared projected and actual spending and the reported performance measures in both accounts. Qualitatively, the study examined the budget justifications and structure, compared to best practices in the literature. The results indicate that the Navy’s budget in both accounts has risen in real terms, and the Navy has consistently spent more than projected in both accounts. The higher spending mirrored a higher operating tempo, but lower numbers of maintenance availabilities. Those availabilities may have been more costly than originally budgeted because of the higher operating tempo or changes to fleet scheduling. The operations budgets do not report consistent performance measures, hindering trend analysis. Qualitatively, the justifications for the level of funding appeared to be consistent with the naval strategy and global operations. The study makes recommendations for strengthening the quality of budgets, citing the literature on best practices.http://archive.org/details/structuralandper1094559703Lieutenant, United States NavyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited