LCS commanding officer fired amid pivotal US defense budget negotiations

The Pentagon's multibillion dollar Littoral Combat Ship program was dealt another damaging blow Friday after the commanding officer of the USS Freedom was relieved of his command

While Cmdr. Michael Wohnhaas was ultimately held responsible for engine damage sustained during Freedom's deployment in the Pacific this July, his firing sheds new light on the frailties of the long-suffering LCS program and offers congressional detractors fresh ammo to ditch the project as negotiations for the country's defense budget reach a pivotal stage.

The Naval Surface Force Pacific (SURFPAC) said in a press release that the commanding officer's departure was because of a "loss of confidence in his ability to effectively lead and carry out his assigned duties."

"The loss of confidence followed an investigation into the facts and circumstances surrounding damage to the ship's number 2 main propulsion diesel engine that occurred in the operation areas off the coast of southern California on July 11," the SURFPAC release said. "No final decision has been made yet on the options for follow-on repairs to Freedom related to the July 11 engineering casualty." 

Even though the LCS Freedom was built in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the news will also trouble the Alabama-based Austal as it will also be caught up in discussions surrounding the 2017 National Defense Appropriations Act taking place on Capitol Hill over the next month. Although the bill has passed every year since 1963, it comes with intense negotiations between members of the House and Senate, who are scrambling to ensure that defense manufacturing and military bases in their state and districts are not cut back or scrapped altogether.  

Congressional heavyweights such as Arizona Republican John McCain, who heads the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), have taken issue with the ships design, durability, combat ability, usefulness and overall cost. In mid-September, McCain and ranking Democrat on the SASC, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, said that the $29 billion LCS project must undergo major changes or risk losing their support for future purchases.

In total, the LCS class has suffered five engineering issues over the last year, furthering scrutiny on the entire program. In light of the problems, Navy top brass ordered a stand down of all LCS engineering in August and ordered all engineers on the ships to re-train and re-certify. The move was applauded by McCain and Reed, but did not go far enough.

McCain and Reed suggested reducing the days the vessels deploy overseas, reducing the chances of major reliability failures and crew fatigue. The suggestion means that the LCS would deploy for less than 50 percent of their projected 25-year service life,

"Until these actions are taken, we will have significant concerns about supporting the procurement of additional LCSs," Senators McCain and Reed, wrote Navy officials on Sept. 15 in a letter obtained by Bloomberg News.

Current budget levels allows for 12 LCS vessels or frigates to be procured from 2018 through 2025. The House Armed Services Committee and its Senate counterpart have approved two requested for the upcoming 2017 budget, while a third was added by Congressional appropriators. So far, eight vessels in a total 40-vessel program have been delivered.