The U.S. Navy is shifting routine carrier-maintenance work on USS Harry S. Truman’s upcoming refueling and complex overhaul to commercial contracts, ending the default reliance on sailors for supplementary shipyard duties.
The change, announced on 15 June 2026, is being driven by the Navy Quality of Service Cross-Functional Team and PAE Maritime’s In-Service Aircraft Carrier Program Office. It targets transportation, preservation and other non-rate tasks, with the aim of returning up to 1 million man-hours to the crew and cutting injury exposure during the RCOH at Newport News Shipbuilding. Five contracts have already recaptured about 690,000 labor hours, and five more are planned over the next five years.
The move signals a broader reset in how the Navy allocates labor across carrier overhauls, with readiness now set ahead of tradition.