![]() But Australia’s strategic importance looms large because of its proximity to the Indian and Pacific oceans, as well as the world’s busiest shipping lanes, near the contested waters of the South China Sea. Navy, which has about 290 deployable ships and submarines, Australia’s fleet is small, with only 43 vessels. Navy declined to comment for this article.Ĭompared with the U.S. Officials at the White House and the U.S. Two of the admirals applied to work for the Australians within one month of their retirement from the military. Navy spent less than a week reviewing their paperwork before granting permission, the documents show. Government lawyers fought the release of the records, arguing that they were of little public interest and that disclosing basic details would violate the retirees’ privacy.įor three of the retired admirals on Australia’s payroll, the U.S. ![]() authorization to work for the government of Australia.īetween 20, the Navy received 95 applications from retirees to work for foreign governments - and approved every one, according to the documents that The Post obtained under FOIA. Records show that each of the six retired admirals followed the rules and received U.S. The law applies to retirees - generally those who served at least 20 years in uniform - because they can be recalled to active duty. military personnel as well as reservists must obtain approval from the Pentagon and the State Department before they can accept money or jobs from foreign powers. Navy and State Department under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to obtain documents that shed light on the admirals’ involvement. The Australian government has kept details of the Americans’ advice confidential. Key findings from The Post’s series on veterans’ lucrative foreign jobs End of carousel ![]() Some of the retired admirals have worked for the Australian government while simultaneously consulting for U.S. Navy officials have benefited financially from a tangle of overlapping interests in their work for a longtime ally of the United States. secretary of the Navy has been a paid adviser to three successive Australian prime ministers.Ī Washington Post investigation found that the former U.S. admirals have worked for the Australian government since 2015, including one who served for two years as Australia’s deputy secretary of defense. Navy officials whom the Australian government has hired as high-dollar consultants to help transform its fleet of ships and submarines, receiving contracts worth as much as $800,000 a person, documents show.Īll told, six retired U.S. The Americans are among a group of former U.S. Navy civilian leaders are playing critical but secretive roles as paid advisers to the government of Australia during its negotiations to acquire top-secret nuclear submarine technology from the United States and Britain. We are grateful for the unwavering support of the Navy and Congress in securing funding to avoid disruption of this critical program.Two retired U.S. As a result, Columbia’s design is more advanced than that of any previous submarine program. Kevin Graney, president of General Dynamics Electric Boat, commented: “Electric Boat has been making preparations for construction of the Columbia class for nearly a decade, including advancing the design of this critical Navy asset, hiring and training thousands of skilled tradespeople, modernizing our facilities and helping to bolster the supply base. The lead ship will be delivered to the Navy in 2027. GDEB recently reported that the design maturity for Columbia was almost 90% complete, nearly twice the level of design completion of the lead Virginia-class submarine when it started construction. The supermodules will then be transported by barge to the company’s Final Test and Assembly yard in Groton, Connecticut, where the components will be assembled into a complete submarine in a 200,000 square-foot facility now under construction specifically for the Columbia class. Construction of four of the lead vessel’s six ‘supermodules’ will take place at GDEB’s Quonset Point facility. GDEB will perform approximately 78% of the construction of the Columbia class submarines, and recently shifted the program to full-scale construction at the company’s manufacturing complex in Quonset Point, Rhode Island. They will have a life-of-ship fuel core that will power the submarine for its entire service life, eliminating the need for a mid-service refueling. These new vessels will be the largest submarines ever built by the United States, at 560 feet long with a displacement of nearly 21,000 tons. The Columbia program will replace the aging Ohio class of ballistic missile submarines. Navy for the construction and test of the lead and second submarines of the Columbia class, as well as associated design and engineering support. General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) has been awarded a contract by the U.S.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |