Duty Aboard the Littoral Combat Ship: ‘Grueling but Manageable’

The Navy will soon decide which version of the Littoral Combat Ship it will buy. Selecting the ship model, however, is only the beginning of what could be a long, arduous adjustment for sailors who will be serving aboard these new vessels.

Since it was conceived more than a decade ago, the LCS has survived a convoluted acquisition process and now appears to be on track to join the fleet. But these challenges pale in comparison to what it will take for sailors to make the transition from 200-crew frigates to an LCS that will be run by a crew of just 40.

“People ask me, ‘Is 40 the right number?’” says Cmdr. Kris Doyle, commanding officer of the USS Freedom’s Blue Crew. The Freedom is one of two competing designs. Following its maiden deployment earlier this year to South America and the Eastern Pacific, it has been at sea now for several months testing “operational concepts” for how the vessel could be used in the future.

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