In this file photo, USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) transits the Pacific Ocean in late May. (U.S. Navy/MCC Christopher E. Tucker)
The Warzone/The Drive: Have Mercy! The US Navy Now Wants To Retire One Of Its Two Hospital Ships
The Navy's two hospital ships are expensive to operate and maintain, but offer capabilities found in no other Navy in the world.
Faced with growing difficulties sustaining and modernizing its existing fleet, the need to address the underlying issues behind a spate of deadly accidents and other controversies, and a desire to increase the total number of ships in its inventory, the U.S. Navy has many different priorities to balance when it put together its latest budget request. But at least one part of its new, broad plans, includes a decision to retire one of its two unique hospital ships, possibly as early as the end of 2019, a move that has already rankled some members of Congress.
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WNU Editor: This is a mistake.
