The Washington Times reports that the Navy is testing a program which replaces some sailors aboard ships with civilians, starting with the Miscellaneous Command Ship USS Coronado (AGF-11).
Though the top command, weapons and other key positions are reserved for military personnel, civilians outnumber military sailors on the San Diego-based Coronado 153 to 117. The size of the crew is also significantly smaller about 200 fewer than usual.
Officers say the crew reduction was possible mainly because of the experience the civilians bring with them. Though most Navy ships carry many young sailors still learning how to do their jobs, the civilians aboard the Coronado are seasoned mariners who often can do the work of several trainees.
The thrust of this story seems to be that this is the first step in a grand plan to drastically reduce manpower aboard ships by replacing Navy sailors with civilians. I have my doubts that this will become widespread.
This program won't be used on any cruiser, destroyer, frigate, aircraft carrier, submarine or any other truly combatant vessel, which I would imagine would include the various types of amphibious ships. They're going to do their best to keep the civilians out of harm's way. With a ship like the Coronado, this isn't much of a change, since the only weapons on the ship are two Phalanx CIWS installations, which are the last line of defense against air threats. Even with a 100% Navy crew, the Navy always kept this puppy away from the action. So if the program is limited to vessels that are unlikely to engage in combat operations, that only leaves a fairly narrow slice of the Navy's ships.
In looking into this, I discovered some amusing history. The transition of the Coronado from all Navy to mixed manning initially entailed a decommissioning and transfer to the Military Sealift Command, where she became USNS Coronado (T-AGF-11). Then someone realized that, as a Command Ship, she had to be able to conduct belligerent operations under international law. So they moved her back to the Navy, and re-commissioned her USS Coronado (AGF-11). Oops.
More information about the Coronado may be found at the Unofficial US Navy Site, run by a couple of young Germans, the official site for the USS Coronado and at the Global Security site.
Update:James Joyner found the same article.
