IN PHOTO: U.S. Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ships steam in formation during their military manoeuvre exercise known as Keen Sword 15 in the sea south of Japan, in this November 19, 2014 handout provided by the U.S. Navy. Japan stepped up its role in large-scale war games with the U.S. this week, with one of its admirals commanding air and sea manoeuvres that the U.S. military described as the most complex ever overseen by the Japanese navy. The Keen Sword exercises involving more than 30,000 Japanese troops and 11,000 U.S. personnel come as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks a higher profile for Japan in the security alliance. Picture taken November 19, 2014. Reuters/Stringer

Defense News: Over A Weekend, US Navy 'Shrinks' By 9 Ships

WASHINGTON — Something odd happened to the US Navy a few days ago. Somewhere between February and March, the fleet lost nine ships.

The web page where the service lists its vital statistics — number of people, number of ships, etc. — showed a fleet of 284 ships as Feb. 27 came to a close. But on March 2, that same fleet was officially listed as 275 ships.

But no real ships were decommissioned, sold, sunk or otherwise disposed of. So what happened?

In a word, Congress.

WNU Editor: Unbelievable .... there are some things that you cannot just make up.