While Congress recently reviewed the U.S. Navy for operational failures, calling into question its performance, the Navy has attracted additional scrutiny for its purchase of a luxury bidet.
A requisition request obtained by The Washington Examiner shows that the Navy purchased a bidet for $553 from BioBidet in December 2021.
The remote-control operated bidet has a deodorizer, proximity sensor, heated seat, warm air dryer, massage, and oscillating spray options, according to a description of the item on the requisition request.
“Pamper yourself with a gentle, warm aerated stream,” a description of a BioBidet toilet seat states. “A convenient remote control allows you to personalize several functions including water temperature, pressure, and even offers a gentle cycling massage feature. Follow cleansing with a touch of a button for an adjustable warm air-dry while enjoying the comfort of a gently heated seat.”
Navy officials bought the luxury warm water sprayer for use on the USNS Yuma, in service since 2017. The ship is in a class called Expeditionary Fast Transport, which has a crew of 26 civilian mariners, “with airline-style seating for more than 312 embarked forces and fixed berthing for an additional 104.”
The purchase comes as a recent Congress-directed report followed “a series of high-profile and damaging operational failures in the Navy’s Surface Warfare community.”
The Navy incidents that kicked off the review are “a catastrophic fire on the USS Bonhomme Richard pier-side in San Diego, the collision of the USS McCain in the South China Sea, the collision of the USS Fitzgerald off the coast of Japan and the surrender of two small U.S. Navy craft to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy in the Arabian Gulf,” the report said.
"Perhaps the most concerning comment and consistent observation amongst interviewees was that the service does not promote or advance surface ship warfighting in a meaningful way," the report said. “Finding and sinking enemy fleets should be the principal purpose of a Navy."
It continued, "But many sailors found their leadership distracted, captive to bureaucratic excess, and rewarded for the successful execution of administrative functions rather than their skills as a warfighter.”
It recommended that the Navy “prioritize warfighting,” “get politics and media out of the wardroom,” and “eliminate distractions” among other things.
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