Fixing a Navy in crisis: A conversation with House Seapower Chairman Rep. Rob Wittman

Defense News: WASHINGTON — The summer of 2017 has seen two U.S. Navy destroyers sidelined by broadside collisions with slower commercial tankers, resulting in the deaths of 17 sailors.

The two collisions in the span of 65 days came in the wake of earlier inicidents in the year that saw one Japan-based cruiser running over a Korean fishing boat and another grounding in Tokyo Bay, spilling thousands of gallons of oil.

The incidents prompted the removal of the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet commander, Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin. They also triggered a fleetwide review led by Adm. Phil Davidson, head of Fleet Forces Command and a high-level review of safety practices in the fleet.

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