The Afloat Maintenance Command: Organizational and Funding Issues in Navy Ship Maintenance, Repair, and Modernization

The goal of current Navy surface ship maintenance and repair strategy is to sustain readiness and to maximize both combat capability and the amount of time ships are available for employment during their lifetime. The established organizational framework of the Navy to perform this task includes a complex array of activities that are effective overall, but at the expense of efficiency. The current drawdown in budget resources requires that the goals of ship maintenance and modernization be met with improved efficiency. The Afloat Maintenance Command is a proposal to restructure the existing maintenance hierarchy. Improvements in the process of maintenance and modernization are incorporated in the Afloat Maintenance Command through the elimination of redundancies in capabilities and the improvement of funding flows to enhance organizational efficiency and effectiveness. This thesis will provide an overview of the Afloat Maintenance Command and its possible organization in consolidating assets from existing maintenance activities. Additionally, funding alternatives for the Afloat Maintenance Command will be developed and assessed.