Navy League of the United States Maritime Policy 2004 Synopsis

Preface

America’s role in the world is unique. It is at the center of alliances among states that believe in democracy and human rights. It is a force for international stability, a major element of the economic prosperity that benefits much of the world. It also is a force for peace in a turbulent era, guarding against those who would threaten the nation’s welfare, or that of its allies and friends.

In the post-Cold War era, the United States is the world’s solitary superpower, steadfastly opposing those who would achieve their ends through coercion or aggression. The security threats against the United States have changed markedly since the end of the Cold War. The rise of international terrorism underscores the need for fundamental change in U.S. defense strategy and resources. Our nation requires mobile forces that are more flexible, agile, and persistent in projecting power against enemies far different from those we faced little more than a decade ago.

Transforming America’s defenses for the 21st century will require a protracted commitment from our nation and its leaders. Transformation is not a goal for tomorrow, but an endeavor that must be earnestly embraced today. The challenges to our nation’s security and our way of life do not loom in the distant future. They exist now. America must respond with the requisite military force to protect our critical bases of operations at home and abroad, and project and sustain U.S. forces in hostile environments where access to key areas may be denied.

The Navy-Marine Corps Team

The Navy and Marine Corps provide the full spectrum of precise, responsive, and persistent combat capabilities to our nation’s nine combatant commands, including the Central Command, Pacific Command, and the Joint Forces Command.

The Navy’s carrier strike groups and expeditionary strike groups—the latter with embarked Marines—are forward-deployed, ready, and self-sustaining. They are the force of choice to deal with emerging crises around the world. The Navy-Marine Corps combat team maintains an array of capabilities to fulfill broad mission requirements such as surge capabilities and rapid, sustained power projection.

U.S. Navy

The Navy will continue to play a leading role in the global war on terrorism, in all of its manifestations, by contributing the requisite striking power to joint forces, strengthening deterrence with advanced technologies and increasing operational independence through sea basing. These are elements of Sea Power 21, the strategic vision of Adm. Vern Clark, chief of naval operations. The full realization of Sea Power 21 will require significantly increased procurement of ships and aircraft.

Given these requirements, the Navy League of the United States:

• Strongly advocates that the Navy’s active fleet be increased to, and maintained at, a level of at least 375 ships. The construction rate for new ships should be increased to 11 ships per year, and maintained at that level.
• Supports 15 aircraft carriers and their associated air wings, multiyear procurement of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet tactical aircraft, full development of the Joint Strike Fighter, and adequate funding for the C-40A Clipper multimission transport plane, as well as follow-on programs for the P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and the EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare plane.
• Supports an overall procurement program of 150 to 210 aircraft per year for the foreseeable future to compensate for heavy wear and tear on existing airframes and attrition due to combat and increased operations tempo.
• Advocates the development and construction of the DD(X)- and CG(X)-class ships as the multimission combatant classes of the future, and endorses continued procurement of DDG-51-class guided-missile ships until follow-on construction commences for DD(X).
• Supports the accelerated development and construction of a littoral combat force that will permit the Navy to expand its ability to operate in the battle space of the future. This includes the development of a class of high-speed, maneuverable, shallow-draft Littoral Combat Ships (LCSs) with modular mission payloads.
  Supports funding for missile defense development and deployment that allows full Navy participation in an integrated missile defense system through the mid-course phase of defenses based at sea. The mid-course portion of a missile defense system is the third of four phases of an attacking missile’s trajectory. Mid-course—the apex of a missile’s flight—occurs at about 1,200 seconds of flight time.
• Recognizes the need for such missions as fire support for forces ashore, mine warfare, antisubmarine warfare, and oceanographic ship programs, all of which will continue to be of importance to the Navy.
• Reaffirms the Navy’s primary role in the provision and protection of sealift for all the nation’s armed forces, and supports the Sea Basing concept in Sea Power 21. Sea Basing envisions the use of ships at sea as command centers and support bases from which warfare and other operations would be conducted. This repackaging of existing capabilities will provide the military with great flexibility to overcome political or physical barriers to access of the battle area.

To that end, continued robust funding is needed for combat logistics forces, including oilers, ammunition ships, and cargo carriers (T-AKEs), as well as large and medium-lift, roll-on/roll-off ships (LMSRs) to bolster the Maritime Prepositioned Force.

Also needed is adequate funding for integrated and interoperable systems of command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and information warfare (C4ISR/IW) to foster network-centric operations under a unified naval and joint strategy.

U.S. Marine Corps

The Marine Corps operates as Marine Air-Ground Task Forces (MAGTFs), integrated sea- or shore-based, combined-arms forces that include air, ground, and combat service support units under a single commander. Marine Expeditionary Units are the centerpiece of MAGTFs. These units are trained and equipped to operate and win in the full spectrum of combat operations including traditional ground warfare, amphibious warfare, intelligence and clandestine operations, and support missions.

In support of the ever-increasing demands on the Marine Corps’ combat capabilities, the continuing transition to expeditionary maneuver warfare and its two major components, sea basing and ship-to-objective maneuver, the Navy League of the United States:

• Supports continued development of the MV-22 Osprey. Recent missions in Central Asia and the Middle East serve to reinforce the immediate need for this capability for both the Marine Corps and U.S. Special Operations Command.
• Supports the acquisition of the Short Takeoff/Vertical Landing Joint Strike Fighter to replace the AV-8 and F/A-18 aircraft and further enhance the flexibility and versatility of our Marine Corps forces.
• Advocates the acquisition of the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle to replace the aging and costly Amphibious Assault Vehicle force.
  Supports the recapitalization of the workhorses of Marine Corps aviation, the KC-130J aircraft equipped with an improved aerial refueling system, the CH-53E heavy-lift helicopter, and the conversion of the UH-1 Huey and AH-1 Cobra helicopters to a four-bladed rotor system.

U. S. Coast Guard

The U.S. Coast Guard is the nation’s maritime multimission armed force. As such, it continues to carry out its long-established role in national defense as one of the five U.S. armed services. It provides unique capabilities and resources to the commanders of U.S. forces in foreign theaters of war.

The Coast Guard now faces the additional challenges of recruiting, training, and equipping a large number of new personnel, both regular and reserve, to meet new and increased responsibilities established by law to address the demands of homeland security.

Therefore, the Navy League of the United States:

• Supports the accelerated acquisition of the Integrated Deepwater System, to be completed in 10 to 15 years, in lieu of the originally scheduled 20-year time period. This is critical to the fulfillment of the Coast Guard’s expanded roles and missions for homeland security, in accordance with the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002.
• Recommends adequate resources for the Coast Guard so its other traditional missions, including enforcement of fisheries laws, drug interdiction, and alien migration interdiction, continue at or above historical levels while the service expands to fulfill homeland security functions.
• Supports the acquisition of resources necessary to promote Maritime Domain Awareness, providing Coast Guard operational commanders a complete situational picture far from our shores so potential terrorists can effectively be intercepted and neutralized as far out to sea as possible.
• Supports expansion of the Coast Guard Reserve force to 12,000 people by fiscal 2007.
• Supports continued funding for completion of the National Distress and Response System, now called Rescue 21. This program is essential to save the lives of recreational and commercial boaters on our nation’s inland and coastal waterways.
• Seeks to ensure the U.S. Marine Transportation System (MTS) remains adequate to conduct maritime commerce and provides sufficient capacity to support U.S. armed forces deployments. Adequate support includes advancing computer, communications, and navigation technologies to increase MTS productivity, safety, and security as well as improving marine terminal capacity and ensuring access to rail and road systems.

U.S.-Flag Merchant Marine

A strong U.S.-flag Merchant Marine is essential to support U.S. national defense and economic security interests. American sea power refers to the nation’s ability to use the seas for its own purposes. The U.S.-flag commercial and government-owned vessels, manned by more than 5,000 U.S. citizen mariners, played a significant and indispensable role in the strategic sealift support for Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The Navy-Marine Corps Sea Power 21 strategy—with increased requirements to support and sustain special operations forces, maritime coalition forces, and additional expeditionary strike groups—will need a robust combat logistics force and commercial sealift capability. More U.S. logistics support operations will be sea-based. To minimize reliance on foreign shore infrastructure requires a combination of current commercial maritime vessels (extra-large vessels or structures), in-stream cargo handling systems, and high-speed intra-theater feeder vessels.

In support of the U.S.-flag Merchant Marine, the Navy League of the United States:

• Supports the expansion of the Maritime Security Program in new legislation before the current law expires in September 2005.
• Supports the Jones Act governing domestic trade, as well as related maritime cabotage laws critical to America’s maritime infrastructure and, therefore, to U.S. national defense, homeland, and economic security. Under provisions of the Jones Act and related statutes, vessels that transport cargo and passengers between U.S. ports must be owned by U.S. citizens, built in U.S. shipyards, and manned by U.S. citizen crews.
• Supports funding for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and the federal programs at state maritime colleges and maritime industry training facilities.
  Advocates a strong Merchant Marine Reserve in the U.S. Naval Reserve. Steps should be taken to ensure the Merchant Marine Reserve program receives support and a high priority from the Naval Reserve community.
• Supports enforcement of the existing cargo preference laws as well as closing loopholes in those laws.
• Is committed to a strong Ready Reserve Force (RRF) of ships maintained by the Maritime Administration and ready for activation on short notice. The RRF has been a success story. Ships called up were available within four or five days after activation. The RRF should not be cut back. It comprises a mix of ships, not available in the commercial market, that are needed to meet surge military requirements.

Current Readiness and Encroachment

The recent actions to recapitalize readiness accounts cannot fully counteract nearly two decades of inadequate funding for spare parts for ships, aircraft, and munitions. The Navy League applauds the administration’s decision to spend more than $7 billion to upgrade readiness. The benefits of this investment included the high degree of availability of ships, aircraft, and other platforms during recent antiterrorism operations. Force readiness requires continuing attention because future national security challenges will not wait until production lines are retooled and in full production.

Future readiness also is linked to training on the high seas and at designated shore installations and sea ranges. However, access to and use of training areas has been curtailed by real estate development and unyielding environmental regulations. Overzealous environmentalists have, for years, employed excessive and unreasonable regulatory requirements to severely reduce the size of military training areas, diminish the opportunity for realistic training and force the sea services to sink or scrap surplus vessels. The Navy and Marine Corps are sensitive to local concerns and are responsible stewards of the environment. However, some of the resource protection laws invoked to diminish training never were intended to pertain to military operations.

The Navy League of the United States:

• Supports robust funding for the spare parts, sensors, weapon systems, electronics, and avionics systems and subsystems needed to ensure and maintain the technological superiority of Navy ships and aircraft of all types.
• Supports increases to the current readiness and maintenance accounts to maintain and modernize the Navy’s ships, aircraft, and shore facilities.
• Contends that there is no substitute for realistic live-fire training and urges continued congressional support of the Department of Defense Readiness and Range Initiative, a legislative effort to clarify some environmental laws, improve DoD access to military lands and enable the Defense Department to fulfill its commitment to military readiness and environmental stewardship.

Shipbuilding

The Navy League has, during the past few years, repeatedly noted the deepening crisis in naval shipbuilding. Recent and out-year budget plans fall far short of meeting national requirements. Coupled with previous deep cuts in shipbuilding programs, the lack of adequate funding continues to cause severe erosion of America’s shipbuilding infrastructure. Congressional actions to increase shipbuilding accounts in the FY 2003 and 2004 budgets were important initial steps to address the lowest Navy build rate in 50 years.

The Navy League of the United States:

• Believes that current build rate for ships is too low to sustain the industrial base and respond to operational requirements. Significant, sustained increases are required immediately in SCN (Shipbuilding and Conversion, Navy) appropriations to build and maintain the varied types of ships in the numbers required by our national security strategy and the heightened operational tempo that followed Sept. 11, 2001. The 21st century Navy will require an SCN budget of $14 billion per year comprised of $12 billion for new construction and $2 billion for conversions, small craft, and nuclear refueling.
• Supports the continuation and expansion of the Maritime Administration’s Title XI loan-guarantee program, which provides an impetus for U.S. shipyards to build ships for U.S. flag ship operators, and for foreign owners to build in U.S. shipyards.

Industrial Base

The Navy League is increasingly concerned about the deteriorating health of the nation’s vital defense industrial base that produces defense systems and weaponry for our forces. The defense industry is an integral partner in defending America’s national security interests. It must remain technologically innovative and economically competitive.

The nation benefits from a stable business relationship between the military services and defense contractors. It fosters advance planning, enabling industry to order in efficient quantities and support a highly skilled work force. This, in turn, bolsters industry’s ability to produce affordable weapons. A stable procurement process also abets industry efforts to preserve critical skills in a vital industrial sector.

Conversely, gaps in contract awards and low order quantities have, over time, led to a diminished array of skilled employees and key capabilities that are essential to the defense industrial base. The continued failure of the military services to adequately fund research, development, and procurement could adversely affect the ability of defense contractors to design, develop, and produce future weapons.

The Navy League of the United States:

• Encourages a more stable and predictable funding environment in which sea services and Congress provide industry with a definitive direction to develop strategic long-range plans. This will build confidence in the financial markets, generating funding for major capital investments needed to improve productivity, encourage the retention of skilled labor, and advance the manufacturing process.
• Supports the increased use of smart acquisition strategies, such as multiyear funding, advance procurement, block buys, and advance appropriations, as appropriate to provide program stability and reduce acquisition and life-cycle costs.
• Supports incentives to cut costs and reward companies that achieve significant savings, thus creating an environment in which high-performing companies can achieve returns on capital comparable to commercial enterprises of similar risk and capitalization.

Personnel Policies

The Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard have made strides to improve the pay and benefits of their personnel as well as provide family support. The Department of the Navy made a deliberate decision to recapitalize and substantially increase its spending on retaining, recruiting, and training.

The Navy, in particular, is enjoying the best manning in decades and, with few exceptions, achieves C-2 manning status—meaning units can substantially meet all demands with minor difficulty—for its deploying battle groups at least six months before deployment. The Marine Corps is experiencing similar successes.

It still is too early to say whether the Coast Guard has turned the corner on its retention and recruitment challenges, but recent increases in end strength, family support, and service training opportunities should increase retention.

Improvements in recruiting and retention are essential because the Coast Guard is under pressure to rapidly grow its force structure to meet the new challenges of homeland defense.

The Navy League of the United States:

• Supports adequate personnel and platforms to ensure reasonable operations and personnel tempo, thereby enhancing retention and readiness.
• Supports sufficient funding to ensure adequate resources are available for effective training and the upgrading of training through information technology.
• Supports active-duty pay raises across the board and additional targeted raises to mid- and senior-level enlisted and mid-level officers. Targeted raises will recognize educational advancements and increased responsibility, and help close the gap in comparability with private industry.
• Supports concurrent receipt of military retired pay and veterans disability compensation.

Conclusion

Maintaining highly capable sea services and a robust merchant marine will protect U.S. interests throughout the world. It will enhance the nation’s security and prosperity. The Navy League is committed to the education of the public, the media, and the executive and legislative branches of government about the continuing need for U.S. sea power, both naval and commercial.

The most important “reform” that can be made in the field of national defense is to provide adequate funding for America’s armed services, which today are the world’s greatest force for peace. The Navy League of the United States believes that to provide for the common defense is, and must always be, the most important responsibility of the federal government.