Navy Readiness: Actions Needed to Improve the Reliability and Management of Ship Crewing Data
Fast Facts
The Navy has historically assigned fewer crewmembers to ships than are required to operate them safely. Such crewing shortfalls contributed to fatal Navy surface ship collisions in 2017.
The Navy uses data—called "fill" and "fit" metrics—to measure its crewing target levels and monitor personnel readiness. Fill metrics measure the number of personnel on a ship. Fit metrics measure the skills, experience, and specialties of personnel. However, we found that this data is not sufficiently reliable or transparent.
We recommended the Navy improve its data so that it accurately reflects the skills and experience of its personnel.
Highlights
What GAO Found
The Navy uses data to measure its crewing target levels and monitor personnel readiness. These data are called fill and fit metrics. Fill metrics measure the number of personnel onboard a ship. Fit metrics measure the skill, experience, and specialty skills of personnel. However, the data are not sufficiently reliable or transparent. Specifically, GAO found that the Navy applies some calculation rules to this data that result in counting some junior enlisted sailors as filling positions that require more senior-level sailors. For example, with one calculation rule removed, the number of fit sailors in positions linked to nuclear-powered ships fell (see figure). Until the Navy removes these calculation rules, it will continue to rely on data that does not provide an accurate understanding of the true extent of the skill and experience gaps across the fleet.
Example of Calculation Rules Included and Removed on Enlisted Sailor Fit Data as of May 2023
The Navy does not consistently use validated personnel requirements to inform decisions. Personnel requirements identify the sailor positions and the specific skill levels needed to perform the Navy's work. Navy Manpower Analysis Center (NAVMAC) determines and validates personnel requirements through periodic workload studies for ships to ensure these requirements reflect the right number and mix of positions needed to support Navy operations. These validated requirements should be used to inform funding decisions. However, GAO found that personnel requirements data in the Navy's authoritative system was sometimes lower and sometimes higher than validated requirements. Several issues contribute to limitations in the reliability of the Navy's requirements data. For example, Navy guidance does not clearly specify that only NAVMAC can validate changes to these requirements. As a result, the Navy may rely on unvalidated requirements during its annual process to inform funding decisions. Until the Navy updates relevant guidance to clarify what specific sources it can rely on to present validated personnel requirements, it cannot ensure that it is making decisions about personnel funding based on accurate information.
Why GAO Did This Study
Crewing ships with an adequate number of personnel who have the right skills and experience is vital for executing missions and mitigating risks. However, the Navy has historically assigned fewer crewmembers to ships than are required to operate them safely. Such crewing shortfalls contributed to the fatal Navy surface ship collisions in 2017.
A House Report includes a provision for GAO to review the Navy's ship crewing efforts. Among other things, GAO assessed the extent to which the Navy uses data that reflect accurate crewing levels and validates personnel requirements to make informed funding and crewing decisions.
GAO reviewed policies and guidance for crewing personnel to ships, compared and analyzed fill and fit metric and personnel requirements data from fiscal years 2018 through 2023, and interviewed Navy officials. GAO also conducted small group discussions with enlisted sailors and leadership from seven ships.
Recommendations
GAO is making 11 recommendations to improve the reliability and management of Navy ship crewing data. These include removing calculation rules that allow junior sailors to count as filling positions of senior sailors, and updating guidance to specify that only NAVMAC can validate changes to personnel requirements. In written comments, the Navy concurred with six recommendations, partially concurred with two, and did not concur with three. GAO continues to maintain that all of its recommendations are warranted.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of the Navy | The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command and Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet amend guidance to require documentation of the review process—to include the factors they consider—when determining whether enlisted crewing target levels should be adjusted. (Recommendation 1) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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| Department of the Navy | The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations—in coordination with the Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, U.S. Pacific Fleet, and Navy Personnel Command Career Management Department—removes the rules that allow junior sailors to count as filling positions of senior sailors in the Navy's fill and fit metrics, including when having to provide such data in certain reports to Congress pursuant to section 597 of the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2020. (Recommendation 2) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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| Department of the Navy | The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations—in coordination with the Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, U.S. Pacific Fleet, and Navy Personnel Command Career Management Department—reviews all business rules and source system data that inform the calculations for fill and fit metrics and aligns them across relevant documents for consistency to ensure the quality of data it uses to monitor ship readiness. (Recommendation 3) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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| Department of the Navy | The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations—in coordination with the Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, U.S. Pacific Fleet, and Navy Personnel Command Career Management Department—establishes thresholds for measuring Navy enlisted classification fill and fit metrics against funded positions and personnel requirements, and reports this information to Congress, when required to report pursuant to section 597 of the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2020. (Recommendation 4) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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| Department of the Navy | The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations—in coordination with the Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command and the Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet—updates guidance related to (1) personnel policies and procedures and (2) enlisted crewing target levels to clearly and consistently describe those personnel requirements and what they represent in TFMMS. (Recommendation 5) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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| Department of the Navy | The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations—in coordination with the Navy Manpower Analysis Center—updates guidance related to (1) personnel policies and procedures and (2) personnel management data elements and values to clearly and consistently reflect that only NAVMAC can validate personnel requirements for ships. (Recommendation 6) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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| Department of the Navy | The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations—in coordination with Navy Manpower Analysis Center—updates guidance concerning change requests—such as those made by budget submitting offices—to require that the Navy Manpower Analysis Center review and validate such changes when they concern personnel requirements data. (Recommendation 7) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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| Department of the Navy | The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations—in coordination with the Navy Manpower Analysis Center—reviews the quality of personnel requirements data in TFMMS to ensure that such data reliably and accurately represent validated requirements for use within the Navy, to include within Navy personnel systems. (Recommendation 8) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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| Department of the Navy | The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Integration of Capabilities and Resources updates relevant guidance to specify what documents represent validated personnel requirements that should be used when making decisions about what positions to fund for the upcoming budget cycle during the Program Objective Memorandum process. (Recommendation 9) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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| Department of the Navy | The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer develops and implements a timeframe to finalize the governance structure for the Business Mission Area for Navy's information technology. (Recommendation 10) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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| Department of the Navy | The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations—in coordination with Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Personnel, Manpower, and Training/Chief of Naval Personnel—develops and implements a timeframe to finalize governance structures for data and information technology management as the Navy continues to transform personnel systems—including ensuring all boards and forums are active; and documenting data processes to help ensure the quality and reliability of system data used to inform and monitor crewing levels, such as fill and fit metrics data. (Recommendation 11) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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