PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

A Perfect Partnership

Welcome to this special 2001 SAS edition of Sea Power--which, like its predecessors, is designed both to complement the Navy League's annual Sea-Air-Space Exposition and to provide Navy League members and other readers an in-depth report on some of the most important sea-service procurement and RDT&E (research, development, test, & evaluation) priorities in the current budget and outyears FYDP (future-years defense plan).

The theme of the 2001 SAS, "A Perfect Partnership," was selected to reflect the very close working relationship between the nation's armed services and the U.S. (and allied) defense industries. Except for a few special weapons and platforms, the United States has always--from the Revolutionary War to the present--depended on the private sector to design and build the ships, aircraft, ground vehicles, weapons, and other equipment needed by the nation's armed forces. It was that partnership that made the United States the "arsenal of democracy" for the entire Free World and made possible the U.S. and allied victories in World Wars I and II, the Korean War, and the Gulf War.

That same partnership will be increasingly important this year and for the foreseeable future as the administration first develops and then implements a new national-defense strategy to meet the formidable and extremely complex challenges, and threats, facing the United States and its allies in an era when so many nations are building, or buying, nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) as well as cruise missiles and other delivery systems.

Which is precisely why the Joint Chiefs of Staff have been so insistent, and consistent, in telling Congress that, despite the end of the Cold War, the world is a much more dangerous place today than it was 10, 20, or 30 years ago. They are not being alarmist in saying so, and they back up their testimony with hard evidence: Russia may no longer be "the second" superpower, but it still possesses thousands of nuclear warheads and is beset by constant political turmoil that conceivably could lead to civil war. Moreover, Russia is flagrantly selling missiles, surface ships, submarines, and weapon systems of all types to powers in Asia and the Middle East that are overtly hostile to U.S. economic and political interests. China has been steadily improving the combat capabilities of its land, sea, and air forces and has been increasingly bellicose about the friendly, and vital, relationship between the United States and Taiwan. The biggest danger here is not a global war but the potential for a relatively limited and narrowly drawn theater confrontation in the South China Sea--where U.S. technological superiority might possibly be trumped by the overwhelming number of ships and aircraft that Beijing could deploy at the very outset of a crisis.

North Korea is reviving its nuclear program and continues not only to improve its missile capabilities but also to sell missiles to various nations in the Middle East. Pakistan seems intent on developing nuclear weapons and has just acquired a submarine capable of firing nuclear missiles. Iraq is a question mark, but not an enigma--Saddam Hussein is a sworn enemy of the United States and is capable of any grievous folly that, no matter what harm to his people, does not jeopardize his own safety or political power.

These are but a few of the hard realities that must be factored into the new U.S. defense strategy. The immediate challenge facing the Navy League and like-minded organizations, therefore, will be to help educate the new administration, members of Congress, and the American people about the continuing need for a strong U.S. national-defense program, with particular focus on the forward-deployed sea services that in times of crisis will be the first fully combat-ready forces available to the commander in chief. 

President Bush has already taken action, as he promised last year he would, to help improve military pay, family housing, and other personnel benefits. The more difficult decisions lie ahead, though. In readiness, for example, which has been ragged in spots in recent years. In operating tempo, which has been far too high for far too long and, on some occasions, for purposes not clearly explained to the American people. 

The most important decisions, though, will be in the areas of current readiness, procurement, and RDT&E, all of which have been severely underfunded for many years. The needs here have been so well-documented--by the Congressional Budget Office and the Congressional Research Service, by numerous DOD advisory bodies, and by such credible nongovernment organizations as the Heritage Foundation and the Center for Strategic and International Studies--that an early supplemental this year is thoroughly justified, and should be followed by additional major increases for at least another five years or more. 

The truth is, "A Perfect Partnership" is not just a slogan, and does not simply describe the relationship between the nation's armed forces, the U.S. and allied defense industries, and the Navy League. It also describes the more important relationships between the president and the American people, and between the nation's commander in chief and the fine young men and women in today's armed forces who serve under him.