Our Sea Power 21 Vision Are on the Right Vector

Our Sea Power
21 Vision Are on the Right Vector
Defense Subcommittee Hearing on the FY05
Budget for the Navy and Marine Corps: Testimony of Admiral Vernon
E. Clark,
U.S. Navy, Chief of Naval Operations
Before the Senate Appropriations
Committtee. Washington D.C., March
10, 2004.
Part I
Mr. Chairman
and members of the Committee, I appreciate this opportunity to appear before
you. I want to express my gratitude for the substantial investment you have made
in making this Navy the best Navy the nation has ever seen.
Your Navy is
built to take credible combat power to the far corners of this earth, taking the
sovereignty of the United States of America anywhere we need to take it and at
anytime we choose to do so. It is capable of delivering the options this nation
needs to meet the challenges of today and it is committed to the future
capabilities the joint force will need to win throughout the 21st
century.
It is a
wonderful time to be a part of this Navy and a great privilege to be associated
with so many men and women - active and reserve, uniformed and civilian –
committed to the service and defense of this nation. I speak for all of our men
and women in thanking you for your exceptional and continuous support.
- I: Your
Navy Today – Projecting Decisive Joint Power Across the Globe
Your Navy's
performance in Operations Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Iraqi Freedom (OIF) last
year proved – more than anything else – the value of the combat readiness in
which you have invested. It demonstrated the importance of the latest technology
in surveillance, command and control and persistent attack. It highlighted our
ability to exploit the vast maneuver space provided by the sea. Most
importantly, it reaffirmed the single greatest advantage we hold over every
potential adversary: the genius of young Americans contributing their utmost in
their service to this nation.
This past
year, the fleet produced the best readiness levels I’ve seen in my career. We
have invested billions of dollars to training, maintenance, spare parts,
ordnance, flying hours and steaming days accounts these last few years, and that
investment resulted in the combat ready response of more than half the Navy to
operations worldwide.
Seven
aircraft carriers and nine big deck amphibious ships were among the 164 U.S.
Navy ships forward deployed last spring in support of OEF and OIF and
contingencies worldwide. The Military Sealift Command sailed and chartered more
than 210 ships and moved 94 percent of the nation’s joint and combined
capability to the fight. We also deployed three Fleet Hospitals, a Hospital
Ship, 22 P-3 aircraft, 25 Naval Coastal Warfare detachments and we mobilized
more than 12,000 reservists.
OIF and OEF
were the most joint operations in our history and they have provided the best
possible opportunity to dissect, study and analyze some of the limiting factors
and effects of how we fight. Beyond the mere numbers, these operations confirmed
that we should continue to pursue the capabilities that enhance our power
projection, our defensive protection and the operational independence afforded
by the sea.
While we
recognize that we must continue to challenge all of our assumptions in a variety
of scenarios, our lessons learned indicate that the capabilities-based
investment strategies, new war fighting concepts and enabling technologies we
are pursuing in our Sea Power 21 vision are on the right vector. Let me give you
some examples.
• The reach,
precision and persistence of our Sea Strike capability added lethality to ground
combat engagements in Afghanistan and Iraq. The joint surveillance and attack
technologies and processes that we have already put in place forced enemy combat
formations to either disband and desert or be destroyed in place by precision
weapons. Navy aviation generated more than 7000 combat sorties in support of OIF,
sometimes flying joint missions with land-based Air Force tankers more than 900
miles from their carriers. Surface combatants and submarines struck targets
throughout Iraq with more than 800 Tomahawk missiles. The initial deployments of
new F/A-18E/F Super Hornet squadrons greatly extended our range, payload, and
refueling options. And we will realize more of these capabilities in the future
through the conversion of the first of four Trident SSBNs into the SSGN
conventional strike and Special Operations Forces platform.
• USS HIGGINS
(DDG 76) provided early warning and tracking to joint forces in Kuwait and
southern Iraq to help warn forces and defend against the threat of theater
ballistic missiles. This tracking-only capability demonstrated the initial
potential of extending Sea Shield defenses to the joint force. In a sign of
things to come, we advanced our missile defense capability with another
successful flight test of our developmental sea-based defense against
short-to-medium range ballistic missiles. USS LAKE ERIE (CG 70) and USS RUSSELL
(DDG 59) combined to acquire, track and hit a ballistic test target in space
with an SM-3 missile in support of the Ballistic Missile Defense program. This
was the fifth success in six tests.
Our OIF mine
warfare efforts cleared 913 nautical miles of water in the Khor Abd Allah and
Umm Qasr waterways, opening 21 berths in the Umm Qasr port and clearing the way
for operations in the littoral areas of the Northern Persian Gulf and for
humanitarian aid shipments into Iraq. These operations included the use of the
High Speed Vessel X1 (JOINT VENTURE), Navy patrol craft and six unmanned,
autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) directly from our science and technology
(S&T) program in the littoral for special operations and mine clearance
operations, and gave us important insights into our vision for both future
littoral and mine warfare concepts and capabilities.
• We
projected joint combat forces across the globe with greater speed and agility
than we have ever done in the past. Along with our number one joint partner, the
United States Marine Corps, we put more than 60,000 combat-ready Marines ashore
in Kuwait in 30 days. The Navy’s Military Sealift Command delivered more than 32
million square feet of combat cargo and more than one billion gallons of fuel to
the nation's war fighters in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. We
were able to sustain the strategic and operational flexibility afforded by Sea
Basing to generate a three-axis attack on Iraq from our dispersed aircraft
carriers, surface combatants and submarines in the Red Sea, the Mediterranean
Sea and the Persian Gulf.
We forged
ahead in our shipbuilding investments. We awarded three preliminary design
contracts for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), leading to the construction of the
first LCS in FY05. We selected the baseline design for the DD(X) 21st Century
multi-mission destroyer, launched SAN ANTONIO (LPD 17), christened VIRGINIA (SSN
774) and began fabrication of MAKIN ISLAND (LHD 8) and LEWIS AND CLARK (T-AKE
1).
• In OIF, we
were able to know more, decide faster and act more decisively than ever before.
Our three-axis, multi-platform attack from the Persian Gulf, Red Sea and
Mediterranean Sea - as well as the geometric increases in striking power,
defensive protection and speed of maneuver generated by our joint forces - is
made possible by the power of joint command, control, communications, computers,
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR). Fully eighty percent of
targets struck with precision ordnance were unknown at aircraft launch. We
developed and installed CENTRIX and COWAN networks to enhance joint and
coalition interoperability on all of our deploying ships, and we also
promulgated the FORCEnet campaign plan, defining the architecture and standards
that will help us further integrate warriors, sensors, weapons, and platforms.
These
accomplishments this past year have taught us more about who we are and where
we’re headed. We know that the combat power of the truly joint force is much
more than the sum of the services’ contributions. We understand the value of
readiness and the importance we must place on improving the fleet’s ability to
respond and surge with decisive combat power. We relearned the lesson that over
flight and basing is not guaranteed; our dominance of the maritime domain and
our consequent ability to quickly deliver an agile combat force is a priceless
advantage for our nation. And we reaffirmed that our people are now, and always
will be, the root of our success.
Readiness,
advanced technology, dominance of the maritime domain, and the genius of our
people - these are our asymmetric advantages. They are the core of our Sea Power
21 Navy and we intend to accelerate these advantages over the coming year. We
are in a position to continue to build upon and recapitalize these strengths, to
innovate and experiment, and to push the envelope of operational art and
technological progress. Our ability to project persistent, sovereign combat
power to the far corners of the earth now and in the future depends on it.
In last
year’s statement, I discussed principally the advantages brought by advanced
technology and the vast maneuver area of the sea in our Sea Power 21 vision.
This year,
I’d like to spend a few moments on the efforts we’ve taken to improve our other
advantages: our readiness to respond to the nation’s defense needs and the tools
we’ll need to ensure the right people for our Sea Power 21 Navy.
Today’s naval
forces and personnel are superbly trained and well provisioned with ordnance,
repair parts and supplies. They are ready earlier – for a longer period of time
- and they are deploying at a higher state of readiness than ever before. In
short, the Navy the nation has paid for is truly ready to accomplish its
missions and it is more ready to do so than I’ve ever seen it in my career.
I mentioned
the results; in OIF, we surged more than half the fleet to fight half a world
away. The combined power of our forward presence forces and those that we were
able to surge overseas helped keep our enemies on the run. This conflict and our
analysis of future campaign scenarios make it apparent that the readiness of
both our forward forces and the forces that must surge forward will be
critically important to our future. It is no longer good enough to be able to
surge just once every ten years or so.
The war on
terrorism and the unpredictability of the global security environment make this
an immediate imperative. The nation needs a Navy that can provide homeland
defense and be both forward and ready to surge forward to deliver overmatching
and decisive combat power whenever and wherever needed. We are committed to do
so.
With this in
mind, we launched the Fleet Response Plan (FRP) this past year. The FRP resets
the force in a way that will allow us to surge about 50 percent more combat
power on short notice and at the same time, potentially reduce some of the
personnel strain of forward rotations.
In simplest
terms, rather than having only two or three CSGs forward-deployed and properly
equipped at any one time - and an ability to surge only a maximum of two more -
the FRP enables us to now consistently deliver six forward deployed or ready to
surge Carrier Strike Groups (CSGs) almost immediately, plus two additional CSGs
in the basic training phase in 90 days or less. This FRP capability is commonly
known as six plus two.
To do this,
we have fundamentally reconfigured our employment policy, fleet maintenance,
deployment preparations and fleet manning policies to expand the operational
availability of non-deployed fleet units. We have shifted the readiness cycle
from one centered solely on the next-scheduled-deployment to one focused on
returning ships to the right level of readiness for both surge and deployed
operations. The net result is a fleet that is more ready, with more combat power
- more quickly - than was possible in the past.
Our forward
rotations remain critically important to our security, to strengthening
alliances and coalitions, and to the global war on terrorism. But it is clear we
must make these rotations with purpose, not just to fill the calendar.
For example,
implementing the new Proliferation Security Initiative to counter weapons of
mass destruction as a tool for terrorists and their sponsors is likely to
involve the use of forward naval forces in maritime interdiction. Additionally,
we plan to be ready to establish Initial Missile Defense operations using
forward-deployed ARLEIGH BURKE class guided missile destroyers and their AEGIS
systems in Long-Range Tracking and Surveillance roles. And of course, we will
continue to provide Combatant Commanders with the combat-credible, rapidly
employable forward forces required for the nation’s defense.
But at the
same time, we recognize that our ability to rapidly surge significant additional
combat power and provide a range of joint employment options is critically
important to the swift and decisive combat operations that must be our future.
The FRP allows us to do just that. We have an obligation to accurately assess
the readiness needs and create the resources necessary to support this FRP
capability. This has also been a major focus this past year.
Readiness is
a complex process. It is much more than a count of our end strength, our
ordnance and spares, and the number of hours and days spent training. It is the
product of our ability to deliver the required effects needed to accomplish the
mission. We know too that readiness at any cost is unacceptable; as leaders we
must achieve and deliver the right readiness at the right cost.
The
Integrated Readiness Capability Assessment (IRCA) was developed for the FY05
budget to more carefully examine our readiness processes. Starting with our new
FRP operating construct, we took a hard look at everything that we needed to
have on hand and what we needed to do to deliver the required combat readiness
for the nation’s needs.
The IRCA
assessment helped us understand the collective contributions of all the
components of readiness, accurately define the requirements, align the proper
funding and provide a balanced investment to the right accounts. It improved our
visibility into the true requirements and it gave us a methodology to assess and
understand both acceptable and unacceptable risks to our current readiness
investments.
The end
result is this: we have carefully defined the readiness requirement. We have
identified areas where we can streamline or cease activities that do not add to
readiness. And we have requested the funds our commanders need to create the
right readiness for FY05. I ask for your support of this year’s current
readiness request as we’ve re-defined these processes and already taken
acceptable risks. We will deliver the right readiness at the right cost to the
nation.
These
improvements to our operational availability of forces and the associated
readiness elements will not be made on the backs of our people.
We have a
smart, talented cadre of professionals who have chosen a lifestyle of service.
Our ability to challenge them with meaningful, satisfying work that lets them
make a difference is part of our covenant with them as leaders.
A new
operating concept like the Fleet Response Plan could not be made if we still had
the kind of manpower-intensive mindset to problem solving we had even five years
ago. But today, thanks to your sustained investment in science and technology
among others, we have already realized some of the advancements in information
technology, simulators, human system integration, enterprise resource planning,
web-enabled technical assistance and ship and aircraft maintenance practices
that can reduce the amount of labor intensive functions, the training and the
technical work required to ensure our readiness.
These
advances speak to our larger vision for our Sea Power 21 Navy and its Sea
Warrior initiative. Our people are today’s capital assets. Without them, all the
advanced weaponry in the world would sit dormant. But at the same time, it is
the effects they deliver that are the true measure of their contribution to
readiness and capability.
We have long
had a force stove-piped into active and reserves, uniformed and civilian, sea
and shore, and enlisted and officer components, all with work driven largely by
the limits of industrial age military capabilities, personnel practices,
technology and the organizational models of the day.
In today’s
era, when we have whole corporations bought or sold just to capture the
intellectual capital of an organization, we recognize that our human resource
strategy must capture the talents and efforts of our capital as well. Our vision
for the future is a more truly integrated workforce wholly committed to mission
accomplishment. This must include a total force approach that can functionally
assess missions, manpower, technology and training and produce an
enterprise-wide resource strategy.
The
principles of this strategy are clear. We will capture the work that contributes
to mission accomplishment. We will define enterprise-wide standards. We will
leverage technology to both enhance and capitalize on the growth and development
of our people. We will streamline organizational layers. We will instill
competition. And we will incentivize the talents and behaviors needed to
accomplish the mission.
There is
still much to study and discuss as we develop our total force approach in the
months and years ahead, but we can already see that the application of these
principles will help us more accurately define our manpower requirement and lead
us to a smaller workforce in the future.
The benefits
are enormous. Our people will be powerfully motivated and better educated and
more experienced in the coming years. They will be properly equipped to
maintain, operate and manage the higher technology equipments that are our
future. Our combat capabilities will continue to grow.
We must be
committed to building a Navy that maximizes the capability of its people while
minimizing the total number in the manpower account. Manpower is never free; in
fact, manpower we do not truly need limits both the true potential of our people
and the investments needed to transform our combat capability for the future.
Our
developing human resource strategy will likely require changes in the way we
recruit, assess, train, manage and balance the workforce in the years to come.
Sea Warrior of course, is crucial here. Last year’s authorization of the
National Security Personnel System (NSPS) is very important to such an effort as
well. The NSPS Act authorized a more flexible civilian personnel management
system that allows DoD to be a more competitive and progressive employer. The
Navy has volunteered to be in the first wave of conversions to NSPS because it
will facilitate the kind of competition and performance we need in the 21st
century.
In the near
future, we will need to look at improving the two-way integration of our active
and reserve force. At a time when our ability to surge is more important to the
nation than ever, we must ensure our Navy reserves have the kind of future
skills, front-line equipment, training standards and organizational support that
will facilitate their seamless integration into required combat and support
structures.
Most
importantly, I believe we will need the kinds of flexible authorities and
incentive tools that will shape the career paths and our skills mix in a way
that lets us compete for the right talent, not just within the Navy, but with
all the nation’s employers as well.
In the months
ahead, I will continue to discuss with you our developing human resource
strategy and the kinds of authorities we’ll need to deliver on it.
We are
beginning to realize the powerful war fighting capabilities of Sea Power 21. Our
culture of readiness and our commitment to developing a 21st Century workforce
will help us employ those transformational capabilities to achieve unprecedented
maritime power.
- III. Our
FY05 Budget Request
This past
year our Navy’s budget request continued our effort to sustain our current
readiness gains, deepen the growth and development of our people and invest in
our transformational Sea Power 21 vision while harvesting the efficiencies
needed to fund and support these three critical priorities.
This year we
intend to:
• Deliver the
right readiness at the right cost to support the war on terror and the nation’s
war fighting needs,
• Shape the
21st century workforce and deepen the growth and development of our
people,
• Accelerate
our investment in Sea Power 21 to recapitalize and transform our force and
improve its ability to operate as an effective component of our joint war
fighting team.
At the same
time, we will continue to pursue the Sea Enterprise improvements that make us a
more effective Navy in both FY05 and beyond. Our Navy budget request for FY05
and the future supports this intent and includes:
• Nine (9)
new construction ships in FY05, including construction of the first
transformational destroyer (DD(X)) and the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), the
acceleration of a SAN ANTONIO Class Amphibious Transport Dock Class ship from
FY06 to FY05, and one SSBN conversion and refueling. Our request this year
includes the following ships:
o 3 ARLEIGH
BURKE Class Guided Missile Destroyers (DDG)
o 1 VIRGINIA
Class submarine (SSN)
o 1 SAN
ANTONIO Class Amphibious Transport Dock (LPD)
o 2 Lewis and
Clark Class Dry Cargo and Ammunition ships (T-AKE)
o 1 21st
Century Destroyer (DD(X))
o 1 Littoral
Combat Ship (LCS), and
o 1 SSBN
conversion/refueling
The
investment plan across the future year’s defense plan (FYDP) also includes three
Maritime Prepositioned Force (Future) (MPF (F)) ships and advanced procurement
for an MPF (F) aviation variant. While our build rate dips to six ships in FY06,
this is a reflection of a shift in focus to the next generation surface
combatants and sea basing capabilities. We have also assessed the risks and
divested several assets that have high operating costs and limited technological
growth capacity for our transformational future; this includes decommissioning
two coastal mine hunter ships, and the accelerated decommissioning of the
remaining SPRUANCE-class destroyers, SACRAMENTO Class Fast Combat Store Ships
and the first five TICONDEROGA-class guided missile cruisers in the future
year’s plan.
• Procurement
of 104 new aircraft in FY05, including the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet, the MH-60
R/S Seahawk and Knighthawk Multi-mission Combat Helicopter, the T-45 Goshawk
training aircraft and the Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey among others. We continue to
maximize the return on procurement dollars through the use of multi-year
procurement (MYP) contracts for established aircraft programs like the Super
Hornet and we have increased our research and development investment this year
in the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), the EA-18G Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA)
aircraft and the broad area anti-submarine, anti-surface, maritime and littoral
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capable Multi-mission
Maritime Aircraft (MMA).
• Investment
in transformational unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) like the Long-Term Mine
Reconnaissance System, and unmanned aviation vehicles (UAV) such as the Broad
Area Maritime Surveillance UAV and the Joint – Unmanned Combat Air System. The
budget also requests funding for experimental hull forms like the X-Craft, and
other advanced technologies including the Joint Aerial Common Sensor (JACS).
• A 3.5
percent basic pay raise, and a reduction in average out-of-pocket housing costs
from 3.5 percent to zero, allowing Sailors and their families more of an
opportunity to own their own homes and have more of a stake in their
communities;
• Investment
in housing and Public-Private Ventures that will help eliminate inadequate
barracks and family housing by FY07 and enable us to house shipboard Sailors
ashore when their vessel is in homeport by FY08;
• Readiness
investment that supports the Fleet Response Plan (FRP), including sustained
funding for ship and aircraft operations, aviation depot maintenance, and
precision guided munitions. This includes improvements in ship maintenance and
training scheduling to maximize surge capabilities.
-
Delivering the Right Readiness at the Right Cost
To me, the
“right readiness” is the return on your investment in the Navy. Readiness is the
catalyst that brings combat power to bear whenever it is needed. Achieving
readiness at any cost however is not good for the nation. This year’s request
accurately defines our readiness needs, assesses the risks to our investment and
- as requested - will deliver the resources necessary for leaders in the Navy to
create the required readiness.
• Ship
Operations and Flying Hours requests funds for ship operations OPTEMPO of 51.0
days per quarter for our deployed forces and 24 days per quarter for our
non-deployed forces. We have properly funded the flying hour account to support
the appropriate levels of readiness and longer employability requirements of the
FRP. This level of steaming and flying hours will enable our ships and air wings
to achieve the required readiness over the longer periods defined by the Fleet
Response Plan, and as a result, it will improve our ability to surge in crisis
and sustain readiness during deployment.
• Ship and
Aviation Maintenance. We have made significant improvements these last few years
by reducing major ship depot maintenance backlogs and aircraft depot-level
repair back orders; improving aircraft engine spares; adding ship depot
availabilities; ramping up ordnance and spare parts production; maintaining
steady “mission capable” rates in deployed aircraft; fully funding aviation
initial outfitting; and investing in reliability improvements.
Our FY05
request continues to improve the availability of non-deployed aircraft and meets
our 100 percent deployed airframe goals. Our ship maintenance request continues
to ‘buy-down’ the annual deferred maintenance backlog and sustains our overall
ship maintenance requirement. We are making great strides in improving the
visibility and cost effectiveness of our ship depot maintenance program,
reducing the number of changes in work package planning and using our continuous
maintenance practices when changes must be made.
• Shore
Installations. Our Facilities Sustainment, Restoration and Modernization (SRM)
program remains focused on improving readiness and quality of service for our
Sailors. While our FY05 Military Construction and Sustainment program reflects
difficult but necessary trade-offs between shore infrastructure and fleet
recapitalization, the majority of the SRM trends are very good. Facilities
sustainment has increased in FY05. Our budget request keeps us on a course to
achieve the DoD goal of a 67-year recapitalization rate by FY08, achieve DoN
goals to eliminate inadequate family and bachelor housing by FY07 and provides
Homeport Ashore Bachelor Housing by FY08. We are exploring innovative solutions
to provide safe, efficient installations for our service members, including
design-build improvements, and BRAC land sales via the GSA Internet.
Additionally, with the establishment of Navy Installations Command, we have
improved our capability to manage our dispersed facility operations, conserve
valuable resources, establish enterprise-wide standards and continue to improve
our facility infrastructure.
• Precision
Guided Munitions receive continued investment in our FY05 request with emphasis
on increasing the Joint Stand-Off Weapon (JSOW) baseline variant, Joint Direct
Attack Munition (JDAM), and Tactical Tomahawk (TACTOM) inventory levels, while
the JSOW penetrator variant enters full-rate production. We have also entered
into a Common Missile program with the U.S. Army to replace the aging inventory
of TOW, Maverick and Hellfire missiles. Joint partnerships with the Air Force
and Army in several of our munitions programs continue to help us optimize both
our inventories and precious research and development investments and will
remain a focus for us in the future.
• Training
Readiness. We continue to make significant strides in this critical area. In
FY04, the Congress supported two important programs to advance our training
readiness. First, you endorsed the Training Resource Strategy (TRS), to provide
more complex threat scenarios and to improve the overall realism and value of
our training. Additionally, you funded the Tactical Training Theater Assessment
and Planning Program to provide for a comprehensive training range sustainment
plan. Our FY05 budget continues this work. We are working to make the Joint
National Training Capability a reality. We have established a single office to
direct policy and management oversight for all Navy ranges as well as serve as
the resource sponsor for all training ranges, target development and
procurement, and the Navy portion of the Major Range Test Facility Base (MRTFB).
•
Environmental Readiness. In the last two years, Congress has provided
significant legislative relief from encroachment and environmental requirements
by amending the Endangered Species Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the
Marine Mammal Protection Act. These amendments help to balance environmental
stewardships and realistic military training. We will continue to focus the use
of our ranges on military training, and remain committed to our environmental
obligations through integrated natural resource management plans. We will make
every effort to protect marine mammals while ensuring our Sailors are properly
trained and our transformational systems are properly tested. We look forward to
demonstrating our ongoing commitment to environmental stewardship.
- B.
Shaping the 21st Century Workforce
At the heart
of everything good in our Navy today is this: we are winning the battle for
people. Higher quality recruits, historic retention rates, innovative incentive
pay pilots, reduced attrition, competitive reenlistments and detailing, and
outstanding leadership in the ranks has made this the highest quality workforce
the Navy has ever seen.
In 2003
specifically, we exceeded all of our aggregate retention goals for the third
straight year; our recruiters reached their quotas for the 28th consecutive
month; we reduced attrition another 10 percent from FY02 levels; and, through
decommissioning older, manpower-intensive platforms, improving training and
employment processes, and more efficient infrastructure organization, we have
reduced gaps at sea to less than 1,000, down from 18,000 gaps just six years
ago.
These
accomplishments will help us develop the 21st Century workforce we’ll
need for our Sea Power 21 Navy. As our Navy becomes more high tech, so must our
workforce. Our people will be a more educated and experienced group of
professionals in the coming years, and we must properly employ their talents. We
will spend whatever it takes to equip and enable these outstanding Americans,
but we do not want to spend one extra penny for manpower we do not need.
As part of
that effort, we continue to pursue the kind of new technologies and competitive
personnel policies that will streamline both combat and non-combat personnel
positions, improve the two-way integration of active and reserve missions, and
reduce the Navy’s total manpower structure. To that end, we are proposing a FY05
Navy end strength reduction of 7,900 personnel.
Part II
We will use
existing authorities and our Perform to Serve program to preserve the
specialties, skill sets and expertise needed to continue the proper balancing of
the force.
We intend to
build on the growth and development momentum of the last three record-breaking
years. We are fully committed to ensuring every Sailor has the opportunity and
resources to successfully compete. Our goal remains attracting, developing, and
retaining the most highly skilled and educated workforce of warriors we have
ever had, to lead the 21st century Navy.
As I
testified last year, Sea Warrior is designed to enhance the assessment,
assignment, training and education of our Sailors.
Our FY05
budget request includes the following tools we need to enhance mission
accomplishment and professional growth:
• Innovative
personnel employment practices are being implemented throughout the fleet.
Optimal manning experiments in USS BOXER (LHD-4), USS MILIUS (DDG 69) and USS
MOBILE BAY (CG 53) produced revolutionary shipboard watch standing practices,
while reducing overall manning requirements and allowing Sailors to focus on
their core responsibilities. The fleet is implementing best practices from these
experiments to change Ship Manning Documents in their respective classes.
Optimal manning means optimal employment for our Sailors.
We have our
fourth crew aboard USS FLETCHER (DD 992) and our third crew aboard USS HIGGINS (DDG
76) in our ongoing Sea Swap initiative. This has saved millions of dollars in
transit fuel costs and increased our forward presence without lengthening
deployment times for our Sailors. FLETCHER and HIGGINS will return to San Diego
this year after a period of forward deployed operations of 22 months and 17
months respectively. We will continue to assess their condition and deep
maintenance needs to develop and apply lessons learned to future Sea Swap
initiatives.
• Selective
Reenlistment Bonus (SRB). Targeted bonuses such as SRB are critical to our
ability to compete for our highly trained and talented workforce both within the
Navy and with employers across the nation as well. Proper funding, adequate room
for growth and the flexible authorities needed to target the right skills
against the right market forces are important to the shape of the workforce.
This program specifically targets retention bonuses against the most critical
skills we need for our future. We ask for your continued support and full
funding of this program.
• Perform to
Serve (PTS). Last year, we introduced PTS to align our Navy personnel inventory
and skill sets through a centrally managed reenlistment program and instill
competition in the retention process. The pilot program has proven so successful
in steering Sailors in overmanned ratings into skill areas where they are most
needed that the program has been expanded. More than 2,400 Sailors have been
steered to undermanned ratings and approved for reenlistment since the program
began last February and we will continue this effort in 2005.
• Assignment
Incentive Pay (AIP) is a financial incentive designed to attract qualified
Sailors to a select group of difficult to fill duty stations. AIP allows Sailors
to bid for additional monetary compensation in return for service in these
locations. An integral part of our Sea Warrior effort, AIP will enhance combat
readiness by permitting market forces to efficiently distribute Sailors where
they are most needed. Since the pilot program began last June, more than 1,100
AIP bids have been processed resulting in 238 Sailors receiving bonuses for duty
in these demanding billets. We ask for continued support of this initiative.
•
Professional Military Education (PME). We are taking a more comprehensive
approach to the education of our people than we have done in the past. We are in
the process of developing a PME continuum that integrates general education,
traditional Navy-specific Professional Military Education (NPME), and Joint
Professional Military Education (JPME) curricula. This will allow us to develop
a program that fully incorporates all aspects of our professional and personal
growth and development training needs. Improvements so far include establishing
networks with civilian educational institutions, developing new degree programs,
and establishing partnerships with other services’ institutions. We are also
expanding opportunity through distance learning and the Internet. We are
committed to broadening the professional and intellectual horizons of both our
officers and our enlisted men and women to prepare them to operate tomorrow’s
fleet and assume key naval and joint leadership roles.
• Human
Performance Center (HPC) has been established to apply Human Performance and
Human System Integration principles in the research, development and acquisition
processes. In short, the HPS will help us understand the science of learning.
They will ensure training is driven by Fleet requirements and they will focus
requirements on the performance needed to carry out our missions. This will
eliminate potential performance and training deficiencies, save money and help
us improve our readiness.
• The
Integrated Learning Environment (ILE) is the heart of our Revolution in
Training. ILE is a family of systems that, when linked, will provide our Sailors
with the ability to develop their own learning plans, diagnose their strengths
and weaknesses, and tailor their education to support both personal and
professional growth. They will manage their career requirements, training and
education records. It will match content to career requirements so training is
delivered at the right time. Most importantly, these services will be provided
anytime, anywhere via the Internet and the Navy-Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI).
We are taking
advantage of every opportunity to accelerate the tools we need to develop our
21st Century workforce. The improvements and pilots that Congress has supported
– including bonuses, pay table adjustments, retirement reforms, better medical
benefits, and our Sea Warrior initiatives – are having the desired impact. Your
support of our FY05 request for a 3.5 percent basic pay raise, for our efforts
to transform our manpower structure in some fundamental ways, and for a
reduction in average out-of-pocket housing costs from 3.5 percent to zero will
have a direct effect on our ability to properly size and shape the 21st
century workforce that is our future.
- C.
Accelerate Our Investment in Sea Power 21
As I
testified last year, Sea Power 21 defines the capabilities and processes that
the 21st century Navy will deliver. We now have an opportunity to accelerate the
advantages that our vision for a joint, netted and sea-based force provides this
nation, thanks to the tremendous investments that you have made in our battle
for people, in the quality of service for each of our Sailors, and in readiness.
This year, we
will pursue distributed and networked solutions that could revolutionize our
capability. We will focus on the power of Sea Basing and our complementary
capability and alignment with our number one joint partner, the U.S. Marine
Corps. We will sustain a robust science and technology program, and we will
exploit investments made in joint research and development wherever possible.
For example,
we are urgently pursuing technical advances to support our Sailors, Soldiers,
Airmen and Marines in Iraq. The Naval Sea Systems Command and the Office of
Naval Research are working closely with all services, government agencies,
industry, and academic and government laboratories to identify, test, and deploy
promising technologies that can counter improvised explosive devices (IEDs),
snipers, suicide bombers and other force protection threats. We are also
pursuing other quick-reaction technology initiatives such as persistent
wide-area surveillance using small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, blue force tracking
technology, body armor and extremity protection. We are committed to ensuring
that the joint force on the ground is as equipped as they possibly can be to
accomplish their mission.
Our highest
priority programs within each of the core capability sets that define our Sea
Power 21 vision.
Sea Basing is
the projection of operational independence. Our future investments will exploit
the largest maneuver areas on the face of the earth: the sea. Sea Basing serves
as the foundation from which offensive and defensive fires are projected -
making Sea Strike and Sea Shield a reality. Sea Basing capabilities include,
Joint Command and Control, Afloat Power Projection and Integrated Joint
Logistics.
Our intent is
to maximize our sea basing capability and minimize as much as possible our
reliance on shore-based support nodes. To do this, we will make doctrinal,
organizational and operational changes mandated by this concept and by the
underlying technology that makes it possible. We have an opportunity here, along
with the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Army, to reexamine some of the
fundamentals of not only how we move and stage ground forces, but how we fight
ashore as well. Our highest priority Sea Basing investments include:
• Surface
Combatant Family of Ships. As I’ve already testified, the power of joint forces
in OIF was in the synergy of individual service strengths. The same concept
holds true within the Navy itself. We seek the synergy of networks, sensors,
weapons and platforms that will make the joint force greater in combat power
than the sum of the individual parts. Development of the next generation of
surface combatants as “sea frames” - analogous to “air frames” - that are part
of a modular system is just such an endeavor.
The surface
combatant family of ships allows us to dramatically expand the growth potential
of our surface combatants with less technical and fiscal risk. To bring these
concepts to life and to take them –- and the fight –- to the enemy, we have
decided upon three entirely new ship classes. The first to premier will be the
Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) in 2007. The advanced strike destroyer (DD(X)) will
follow in about 2011. And just a few years after the first DD(X), the keel will
be laid on the first CG(X), the next class of cruiser designed from the keel up
for theater air and ballistic missile defense.
Our research
and development efforts and experimentation with high speed and theater support
vessels like SWIFT, and the X-Craft later this year, are helping us reduce our
technical risk and apply important lessons in hull design and mission modularity
to the development of the surface combatant family of ships. DD(X)is the heart
of the family and will spiral promising technologies to both CG(X) and LCS in
the future. I will discuss each one of these ships in more detail below.
• CVN 21 is
the centerpiece of the Navy Carrier Strike Group of the future. It will bring
transformational capabilities to the fleet, including a new electrical
generation and distribution system, the electro-magnetic aircraft launching
system (EMALS), a new/enlarged flight deck, weapons and material handling
improvements, and a crew reduction of at least 800 personnel. It will be able to
generate higher daily and sustained sortie rates than our NIMITZ-class aircraft
carriers. Our FY05 request of $979M in research and development and procurement
funding continues the development of CVN 21 and several critical technologies in
the lead ship, including the EMALS prototype and testing already ongoing in
Lakehurst, New Jersey. Construction of the CVN 21 remains on track to start in
FY07.
• CVN 70 RCOH.
The FY05 budget provides advanced procurement funds for the USS CARL VINSON (CVN
70) RCOH, now scheduled to begin in FY06. CVN 70 has sufficient reactor fuel for
one additional deployment. This action makes the best possible use of CARL
VINSON’s remaining fuel capacity and improves shipyard work loading.
• MPF(F).
These future Maritime Prepositioning Ships will serve a broader operational
function than current prepositioned ships, creating greatly expanded operational
flexibility and effectiveness. We envision a force that will enhance the
responsiveness of the joint team by the at-sea assembly of a Marine
Expeditionary Brigade that arrives by high-speed airlift or sealift from the
United States or forward operating locations or bases. These ships will off-load
forces, weapons and supplies selectively while remaining far over the horizon,
and they will reconstitute ground maneuver forces aboard ship after completing
assaults deep inland. They will sustain in-theater logistics, communications and
medical capabilities for the joint force for extended periods as well. Our FY05
request accelerates the lead MPF(F) from FY08 to FY07 to reflect our emphasis on
Sea Basing capabilities.
Sea Strike is
the projection of precise and persistent offensive power. The core capabilities
include Time Sensitive Strike; Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance;
Ship to Objective Maneuver; and Electronic Warfare and Information Operations.
We are
already investing in impressive programs that will provide the capabilities
necessary to support Sea Strike; these include the following FY05 priorities:
• DD(X). The
technology engine for the Fleet, DD(X) is the centerpiece of a surface combatant
family of ships and will deliver a broad range of capabilities. This advanced
multi-mission destroyer will bring revolutionary improvements to precise,
time-critical strike and joint fires and our Expeditionary Strike Groups of the
future.
Transformational and leap ahead technologies include an electric drive and
integrated power system; an Advanced Gun System with the high rate of fire and
precision to reach almost 8 times farther and command more than 110 times the
area of our current five inch capability; the new Multi-Function Radar/Volume
Search Radar suite; optimal manning through advanced system automation, stealth
through reduced acoustic, magnetic, IR, and radar cross-section signature; and
enhanced survivability through automated damage control and fire protection
systems. DD(X) is an enabler both technically and operationally. This seaframe
will also reduce our seagoing manpower requirements and will lower total
ownership costs.
This program
will provide a baseline for spiral development of technology and engineering to
support a range of future seaframes such as (CG(X)). It will also enable the
transformation of our operations ashore. Imagine an Army or Marine rifleman on
the ground and Navy Petty Officer at sea looking at the same real-time picture
of enemy troops encamped at a municipal airport. With the push of a button, the
rifleman sends targeting coordinates to the Petty Officer in a DD(X) more than
50 miles offshore. Within a few minutes, rounds from the AGS start falling on
the airport with incredible accuracy. That kind of on-demand, persistent
time-critical strike will revolutionize our joint fire support and ground
maneuver concepts of operation and it will free our strike fighter aircraft for
more difficult targets at much greater ranges.
DD(X)’s
all-electric drive, called the Integrated Power System (IPS), will not only
drive the ship through the water, but will also generate the kind of power
capacity that will enable eventual replacement of the Advanced Gun System (AGS).
When combined with the physical capacity and volume of the hull form, DD(X)
could lead us to revolutionary technologies from the naval research enterprise
like the electromagnetic rail gun and directed energy weapons. The fact that
rail guns do not require any explosives will free up magazine space for other
mission areas. This capability is projected to be a reality in the 2015 to 2018
timeframe. DD(X) will be in service for decades after that; having the kind of
growth potential to install those kinds of technologies dramatically lowers our
future development costs.
The funding
profile for DD(X) supports the 14,000-ton design and the S-Band Volume Search
Radar (VSR). Lead ship detail design and construction are planned to start in
FY05.
• JSF. The
Joint Strike Fighter will enhance our Navy precision with unprecedented stealth
and range as part of the family of tri-service, next-generation strike aircraft.
It will maximize commonality and technological superiority while minimizing life
cycle cost. The JSF has just completed the second year of a 10-11 year
development program, and is experiencing a variety of typical challenges that
affect System Development and Demonstration (SDD) program schedule and cost.
Additional design work is required to address technical issues, primarily weight
projections. The budget therefore realigns $5B from procurement appropriations
in FY05 through FY09, and Low Rate Initial Production was deferred one year to
FY07. The JSF remains vital to our future. It will give us the range,
persistence and survivability needed to keep our strike fighters viable for
years to come.
• SSGN.
Funding is included in FY05 to continue the SSGN conversion program. Our future
SSGN capability will provide covert conventional strike platforms capable of
carrying 150 Tomahawk missiles. The SSGN will also have the capacity and
capability to support Special Operations Forces for an extended period,
providing clandestine insertion and retrieval by lockout chamber, dry deck
shelters or the Advanced Seal Delivery System, and they will be arrayed with a
variety of unmanned vehicles to enhance the joint force commander’s knowledge of
the battlespace. The inherently large capacity of these hulls will enable us to
leverage future payloads and sensors for years to come. We still expect our
first SSGN to be operational in 2007.
• EA-18G.
Last year, you initiated funding at our request to replace the aging EA-6B
Prowler with the EA-18G Airborne Electronic Attack aircraft. Increased EA-6B
usage in 2003 has resulted in wing center section or outer wing panel fatigue
for some 43 EA-6B aircraft, making your support last year critical to our
ability to dramatically accelerate the recapitalization of the nation’s only
joint electronic attack capability. Using the demonstrated growth capacity of
the F/A-18E/F, the EA-18G will quickly recapitalize our Electronic Attack
capability at lower procurement cost, with significant savings in operating and
support costs; all while providing the growth potential for future electronic
warfare (EW) system improvements. It will use the Improved Capability Three (ICAP
III) receiver suite and provide selective reactive jamming capability to the war
fighter. This will both improve the lethality of the air wing and enhance the
commonality of aircraft on the carrier deck. We begin purchasing airframes in
FY06 and will achieve initial operating capability in 2009.
- Sea
Shield is the projection of layered, global defensive power.
Sea Shield
will enhance deterrence and war fighting power by way of real-time integration
with joint and coalition forces, high speed littoral attack platforms setting
and exploiting widely distributed sensors, and the direct projection of
defensive power in the littoral and deep inland. Sea Shield capabilities
include, Homeland Defense, Sea and Littoral Control, and Theater Air and Missile
Defense. Our highest priority Sea Shield programs this year include:
• Mine
Warfare Programs. We intend to field a set of unmanned, modular Mine
Counter-Measure (MCM) systems employable from a variety of host platforms or
shore sites to minimize our risk from mines and sustain our national economic
and military access to every corner of the globe. Our future MCM capability will
be faster, more precise and organic to both Expeditionary and Carrier Strike
Groups and will ultimately remove both the man and our mammals from the
minefield. Within the FYDP, we expect to reduce the time that it takes to render
sea mining ineffective by at least half of the time that it takes us today.
Our FY05
budget request includes funding to realize organic mine warfare capabilities in
one Strike Group this year, while maintaining the funding necessary for a potent
and dedicated Mine Countermeasure (MCM) force. We have also requested an
increase of $167M across the FYDP for mine warfare programs, to include unmanned
vehicles such as the Long-Term Mine Reconnaissance System (LMRS) to provide a
clandestine mine reconnaissance capability from our LOS ANGELES-class
submarines, and the Remote Minehunting System on ARLEIGH BURKE-class destroyers
(DDGs 91-96). Both of these programs are scheduled to reach Initial Operating
Capability (IOC) milestones this year. Future introduction of the Littoral
Combat Ship (LCS) with mine warfare mission modules will improve the ability of
Strike Groups to neutralize mine threats in parallel with - not in sequence
before - other operations. • Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The role of LCS is to
provide access to joint forces in the littorals; a capability gap we identified
as a result of the 2001 Quadrennial Defense Review. During the past year and a
half, considerable campaign analysis and fleet battle experiments have
demonstrated that naval forces need better ways to fight mines; small, fast,
highly armed boats; and quiet diesel and advanced air-independent propulsion
submarines operating in shallow waters. The performance of U.S. Navy Patrol
Craft and the experimental HSV-X1 Joint Venture in the Iraqi littoral was
critical to the early detection and destruction of the Iraqi mine threat. The
same kind of capability needs to be delivered in a fast, maneuverable,
shallow-draft platform that has the survivability to operate independently. LCS
will have these characteristics, along with self-defense, navigation, and
command-and-control systems.
LCS will be
built from the keel up to be a part of a netted and distributed force, and will
be the first ship designed with FORCEnet as a requirement. The main battery of
LCS will be its off-board systems: manned helicopters and unmanned aerial,
surface and underwater vehicles. It is the off-board vehicles - with both
sensors and weapons - that will enter the highest threat areas. Its modular
design, built to open-systems architecture standards, provides flexibility and a
means to rapidly reconfigure mission modules and payloads. As technology
matures, the Navy will not have to buy a new LCS platform, but will upgrade the
mission modules or the unmanned systems.
LCS also will
have an advanced hull design and be significantly different from any warship
that has been built for the U.S. Navy. Detail design and construction of the
first LCS Flight 0 ship is planned in FY05. The LCS requirements process is
tailored to support the rapid delivery of two flights (Flight 0 and 1) of ships,
using an evolutionary, “spiral” acquisition approach. The spiral development
process allows time-phased capability improvement for ship and mission systems.
This incremental development and delivery strategy supports the ship’s
accelerated acquisition schedule, diverse threat and capability requirements,
and dynamic levels of technology push/pull. The ship’s modular, open design will
also enable lifecycle adaptability and affordability. Four LCS’s have been added
since last year’s budget plan was submitted.
• Missile
Defense. Our Navy is poised to contribute significantly in fielding initial sea
based missile defense capabilities to meet the near-term ballistic missile
threat to our homeland, our deployed forces, and our friends and allies. We are
working closely under the authority of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to
deliver this much-needed capability to the nation’s Combatant Commanders. Our
sea-based missile defense programs experienced tremendous success on the test
range this year, scoring two of three intercepts. Continued development and
testing will support Initial Defensive Operations beginning in the fall of 2004,
with select ARLEIGH BURKE-class destroyers providing Long Range Surveillance and
Tracking to the nation’s capability late this year.
•
Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) – Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS).
We significantly increased this year’s research and development funding for the
Multi-Mission Aircraft to recapitalize our 1950’s–era Lockheed “Electra” based
P-3 force. Our acquisition plan was further refined this past year with the
integration of the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance–Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (BAMS-UAV)
program into the overarching Maritime Patrol and Armed Reconnaissance
requirement. This lethal combination of manned and unmanned reconnaissance
aircraft will recapitalize our maritime patrol anti-submarine warfare,
anti-surface warfare and armed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance
capability. We also developed a robust sustainment plan for the current P-3
fleet that includes special structural inspections (SSI) and kits that extend
P-3 service lives by a minimum of 5,000 hours. This SSI program will replace,
correct or modify our current P-3 force to ensure that they do not prematurely
reach the end of their fatigue life before we achieve Initial Operating
Capability (IOC) of the MMA in 2013.
•
VIRGINIA-class submarine (SSN-774). The first ship of this class was christened
last year and will commission in 2004. This class will replace LOS ANGELES-class
(SSN-688) attack submarines and will incorporate new capabilities, including
unmanned vehicles, and the ability to support Special Warfare forces. It will be
an integral part of the joint, networked, dispersed 21st Century Fleet. Our FY04
budget funded the first of five submarines under the multi-year procurement (MYP)
contract authorized by Congress last year. The second submarine of the MYP
contract is funded in FY05. Approximately $240M in economic order quantity
advance procurement is funded in FY05 in support of this contract.
• CG
Modernization. Funding for the TICONDEROGA-class cruiser modernization continues
in FY05. The Cruiser Modernization Program is a mid-life upgrade for our
existing AEGIS cruisers that will ensure modern, relevant combat capability well
into this century and against evolving threats. These warships will provide
enhanced area air defense to the joint force commander. These modifications
include installations of the Cooperative Engagement Capability, which enhances
and leverages the air defense capability of these ships, and an ASW improvement
package. These converted cruisers could also be available for integration into
ballistic missile defense missions when that capability matures. Our first
cruiser modernization begins in FY06.
FORCEnet is
the operational construct and architectural framework for naval warfare in the
joint, information age. It will allow systems, functions and missions to be
aligned in a way that will transform our situational awareness, accelerate speed
of decisions and allow naval forces to greatly distribute its combat power in a
unified, joint battlespace. FORCEnet provides the world-class IT tools that we
need to continue to be the world-class Navy.
Programs that
will enable the future force to be more networked, highly adaptive,
human-centric, integrated, and enhance speed of command include:
• Navy Marine
Corps Intranet (NMCI). NMCI is operational and providing commercial IT services
for more than 300,000 DoN employees and two Combatant Commanders. This
initiative, as part of our FORCEnet strategy, is providing a single, secure
shore-based network and will link with our tactical networks to provide
end-to-end collaboration within the DoN and across the joint community. FY05
funding of $1.6B provides for NMCI operations and, at the same time, continues
transition of the remaining legacy IT networks to NMCI enterprise network
services. This past year, with the help of the authorizing language you
provided, the NMCI program finalized a full partnership agreement with the
Defense Information Systems Agency for operations and provisioning.
• Mobile User
Objective System (MUOS). The new MUOS Satellite Communications (SATCOM) program
will increase DoD Narrowband UHF SATCOM capacity by roughly 1300 percent over
current capabilities. MUOS is a $6.4B joint interest program, and it supports a
particularly important “Comms-on-the-Move” capability for handheld terminals,
aircraft, missiles, and UAVs in urban and heavily wooded terrain. We plan to
reach the Initial Operating Capability milestone in 2009, with Full Operational
Capability in 2013.
• Joint
Aerial Common Sensor (JACS). We have partnered with the Army in the Joint Aerial
Common Sensor development program in our pursuit of a replacement for the aging
EP-3 airborne information warfare and tactical signals intelligence (SIGINT)
aircraft. JACS will provide multi-intelligence strike targeting data and Signals
Intelligence capabilities, and will include a Synthetic Aperture Radar, Ground
Moving Target Indicator, Electro-Optical and Infrared Sights, and Measurements
and Signature capabilities. These will be coupled with automatic/manual data
fusion. Our FY05 request includes $25M for this program.
• Joint
Tactical Radio System (JTRS). JTRS will be the wireless “last tactical mile”
component of the Global Information Grid (GIG) and will transform Navy’s
tactical communications systems by incorporating Internet Protocol (IP)
communications over multi-spectral radio frequency (RF) media. JTRS is a
software programmable, multi-band, multi-mode family of net-workable radios,
capable of simultaneous voice, data, video communications and mobile ad hoc
networking. Our FY05 request includes $56M for JTRS.
• Deployable
Joint Command Control System (DJC2). DJC2 is the SECDEF and CJCS priority C2
transformation initiative. DJC2 will provide a standing, fully deployable,
scaleable, and standardized command and control (C2) capability to the Regional
Combatant Commanders (RCC) and Joint Force Commanders. DJC2 responds to the need
for joint, deployable C2 capability, with first RCC delivery to PACOM in FY05.
DJC2 is an enabler for the Standing Joint Force Headquarters concept being
developed by Joint Forces Command (JFCOM). DoN is Lead Component for the
acquisition program, and we ask your support for the $81M we’ve requested in
FY05.
- D.
Improving Effectiveness
As I’ve
testified, your Navy today is the most capable and most ready Navy in our
history, thanks in large part to the support of the Congress and of the American
people. But, I believe that we can do better – that, in fact, we must do better
- as stewards of the public trust in determining not just how much we should
spend on programs, but how those defense dollars are spent. This is especially
true today because of the strategic challenges posed by the ongoing global war
on terrorism, because of our need to recapitalize aging, Cold War-era
infrastructure and capability, and because of the burgeoning technological and
operational changes that will dramatically alter the way we fight.
Revolutionizing the way in which our defense dollars are spent presents
opportunities to increase our effectiveness, both now and in the future.
Sea
Enterprise is focusing headquarters leadership on outputs and execution, and is
creating ideas that will improve our productivity and reduce our overhead costs.
Its key objectives are to:
- Leverage
technology to improve performance and minimize manpower costs
- Promote
competition and reward innovation and efficiency
- Challenge
institutional encumbrances that impede creativity and boldness in innovation
-
Aggressively divest non-core, under-performing or unnecessary products, services
and production capacity
- Merge
redundant efforts
- Minimize
acquisition and life-cycle costs
- Maximize
in-service capital equipment utilization
- Challenge
every assumption, cost and requirement
Department of
the Navy senior leadership is actively engaged in tracking the execution of
ongoing Sea Enterprise initiatives totaling approximately $40B, and identifying
$12.4B in cost savings and requirements mitigation across the Future Years
Defense Program (FYDP). We are committed to efficiency and productivity
improvements that will generate the savings necessary to augment our investment
stream and implement our Sea Power 21 vision - delivering the right force, with
the right readiness, at the right cost. Specific highlights of these fiscal
transformation initiatives include:
• Right
Readiness. Along with the Fleet Response Plan, we have also initiated processes
ashore that will generate a more effective force. As just one example, we have
established a single shore installation management organization, Commander, Navy
Installations (CNI), to globally manage all shore installations, promote “best
practices” development, and provide economies of scale, increased efficiency,
standardization of polices, and improved budgeting and funding execution. This
initiative is anticipated to save approximately $1.2B across the FYDP.
• Right Cost.
We’ve taken a hard look at our “level of effort” programs to maximize return on
taxpayer investment. This year’s effort generated $2B in future savings in
programs not supported by specific performance metrics in force structure,
readiness or cost benefit. In addition, we focused on streamlining our
organizations and processes as a means to harvest efficiencies and control
costs. Innovative programs like SHIPMAIN and the Naval Aviation Readiness
Integrated Improvement Program are aiding in developing and sharing best
practices, streamlining maintenance planning and improving performance goals in
shipyards, aviation depots, and intermediate maintenance activities. We also
reorganized the Navy Supply Systems Command, including the establishment of the
Naval Operational Logistics Support Center to consolidate transportation,
ammunition and petroleum management. We will continue to look for additional
opportunities in this area while leveraging the gains already made.
• Right
Force. We believe transformation to our future force must include improving our
buying power. To improve upon our force structure, we’re divesting non-core,
redundant, under-performing, and outdated products and services. We are using
multi-year procurement contracts and focusing where possible on economic order
quantity purchase practices to optimize our investments. An excellent example
lies in the F/A-18E/F multi-year procurement contract that anticipates
procurement of 210 aircraft while saving us in excess of $1.1B across the FYDP.
We also recognize the need to transform our single greatest asymmetric
advantage, our people. The upcoming year will focus on ensuring we not only have
the right number, but the right mix of military, civilian, and contractor
personnel to accomplish the mission at the lowest possible cost. You’ve given us
a tremendous tool to enhance our flexibility in this area, the National Security
Personnel System, and we plan to take full advantage of it.
Building on
prior efforts, I’m dedicating a significant amount of personal time to
conducting execution reviews with leadership at the major commands across the
Navy because, as I see it, leadership engagement in execution is an essential
step to achieving our Sea Enterprise objectives. These reviews have provided me
the opportunity to focus on the intricate details of the organizations while
ensuring commanders are aligned with the vision and direction in which we are
steaming. We focus on ways to swiftly move from strategy to implementation, as
well as innovative ways to reduce costs and return resources to the enterprise
for reinvestment.
In 2005, the
Navy will continue to pursue product and process efficiencies and the
opportunities to be more effective while improving our war fighting capability.
Harvesting the savings for recapitalization is a vital part of that effort, and
we will continue to balance the benefits of new productivity initiatives against
operational risks. Our intent is to foster a culture of continuous process
improvement, reduce overhead, and deliver the right force structure both now and
in the future.
For us,
winning the Global War on Terrorism remains our number one objective - - and
victory is the only acceptable outcome. To achieve this, we are accelerating the
advantages we bring to the nation.
The Fleet
Response Plan will improve upon the operational availability of fleet units,
providing forward deployed forces for enhanced regional deterrence and
contingency response, while at the same time, retaining the ability to rapidly
surge in times of crisis.
We are
investing in enhanced war fighting capability for the joint force, using the
extended reach of naval weapons and sensors to reach farther and more precisely
with striking power, and deliver broader defensive protection for joint forces
ashore and fully leverage our command of the sea.
We are
creating a personnel environment that attracts, retains and relies upon
creative, effective and competitive people. We are investing in the tools, the
information technology and the training that delivers more meaningful job
content to them because it is they who offer us our greatest advantage.
The support
of Congress is vital to our readiness today and to building the Navy of tomorrow
- I thank you for your dedicated efforts and support.
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