More Flexible Forward-Deployment Schedules

The Navy's traditional means of maintaining forward-deployed presence had been the standard six-month deployment. Navy officials also concluded that orienting Navy readiness toward maintaining standard six-month deployments resulted in a fleet that offered insufficient flexibility for surging large numbers of naval forces in a short time to respond to major regional contingencies. Long-Duration Deployments with Crew Rotation (Sea Swap)

The Navy in recent years has experimented with the concept of long-duration deployments with crew rotation. Global Fleet Stations (GFSs)

The Navy is experimenting with a concept, first announced in 2006, called global fleet stations, or GFSs. For what kinds of ships should Navy use Sea Swap or multiple crewing? How will FRP and the forward-homeporting of additional ships affect the distribution of Navy ship overhaul and repair work?
The Navy has implemented new kinds of naval formations, more flexible forward-deployment schedules, and a ship readiness plan (called the Fleet Response Plan, or FRP) for surge-deploying several aircraft carriers in a short period of time to respond to contingencies. The Navy has also forward-homeported additional ships, experimented with long-duration deployments with crew rotation (which the Navy calls Sea Swap), investigated multiple-crewing of ships, and is experimenting with a new forward-deployment concept called global fleet stations, or GFSs. These actions raise several potential issues for Congress. This report will be updated as events warrant.