
In testimony before members of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) lastThursday, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) official explained that his office found 37 percent of warfare certifications for U.S. cruiser and destroyer crews based in Japan had expired.John Pendleton, the director of Defense Force Structure and Readiness Issues at the GAO, said that this is partially the result of the Navy doubling ships based overseas since 2006. While that provides additional forward presence and rapid crisis response, the GAO…