HASC subcommittee mark moves to keep amphibious ships, cruisers

US lawmakers raised no official objection to the decommissioning of LCS USS Jackson . (Michael Fabey)

In its National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year (FY) 2024 mark, the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee detailed its desires during a 13 June hearing of the mark to retain most of the vessels the US Navy (USN) is seeking to decommission soon.

The USN's FY 2024 budget proposal sought to decommission 11 ships: Whidbey Island-class dock landing ships USS Germantown (LSD 42), USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44), and USS Tortuga (LSD 46); Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers USS Vicksburg (CG 69), USS Antietam (CG 54), USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55), USS Cowpens (CG 63), and USS Shiloh (CG 67); Independence-class littoral combat ships (LCSs) USS Jackson (LCS 6) and USS Montgomery (LCS 8); and Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS San Juan (SSN 751).

“Our mark exercises the independent judgement of our members and our expert staff regarding ship retirements,” Democratic Connecticut Congressman Joe Courtney, the subcommittee ranking member, said during the hearing. “Specifically, the mark prohibits the decommissioning of three Whidbey Island-class dock landing ships and two Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers before their expected service life.”