Despite positive steps taken by Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Mike Mullen, shipbuilding remains in a critical state. By fencing the Ship Construction Navy (SCN) budget and laying out a 30-year ship construction blueprint, the CNO has taken two dramatic steps essential to stability and efficiency for both the Department of the Navy and the industrial base. However, there are serious problems in the execution of this plan. If these problems are not recognized and resolved soon, shipbuilding will slide back into a morass of unrealistic expectations and budget overruns that will lead to inadequate force structure. We see several problems.
