CNO: More ships to be forward-deployed: Greenert's plan says the Navy is on track to maintain an average of 36 ships at any point in the Middle East by 2020, from an average of 22 today. In large part, that's due to an increase in the number of forward-based ships, from 95 to 115, by 2020.
The Navy is also on track to station seven LCSs in the Persian Gulf, stationed in Bahrain on a rotational basis by 2020.
The service is also going to begin deploying a coastal patrol ship to Southern Command, which includes Central and South America, and expects to deploy at least one joint high speed vessel per year to Africa and one to South America.
Greenert called this an "innovative, low-cost and small-footprint" approach to providing presence in the areas.
The JHSVs, civilian-crewed high-speed ferries that can be configured to carry Marines and heavy equipment, would also be used to provide additional presence in Europe.
