‘The Power of Teamwork’ — Not Just a Catch-Phrase

Now more than ever, teamwork is a powerful element of our efforts to make the best use of defense resources and keep our nation secure. Teamwork is a force multiplier that is central to virtually every activity of the sea services, from hardware acquisition to tactical operations.

The Marine Corps and Navy have integrated their tactical air squadrons to improve effectiveness, remove 497 airplanes from the inventory and save $1 billion during their “Future Years Defense Plan.” Over three decades, the savings will mount to $30 billion as the services avoid the purchase of unneeded aircraft.

The Coast Guard has teamed up with Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin to run the Integrated Deepwater System that includes the purchase of new fleets of cutters, patrol aircraft, unmanned surveillance planes, and intelligence and communications systems. Deepwater is on budget, generally on schedule and adapting quickly to changes mandated by the rapid deterioration of existing ships and planes that need immediate repair or replacement.

The Navy has integrated several ship maintenance organizations, including naval shipyards, port engineers and technical support centers, into a single command that will use enterprise resource planning to create, for the first time, the flexibility to support continuous maintenance aboard ship. This SHIPMAIN program is a vital element of the Navy’s efforts to establish a fleet able to surge quickly to world hot spots.

Congress is supporting efforts of the sea services and industry to obtain greater value for tax dollars through multiyear purchases of hardware, such as Sikorsky’s MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter and Lockheed’s KC-130 tanker and transport plane for the Marines. The Navy alone has tallied multiyear savings of $2 billion over the last five years.

In Iraq and Afghanistan, coalition members work daily to stabilize new governments and curtail the attacks of terrorists.

The Marine Corps is relieving some Army units in Iraq, and our sea services are cooperating to bring forth the Sea Basing concept that will promote tighter integration of the military and lead to greater operational independence in the dangerous years ahead.

These achievements illustrate the rationale for the theme of this year’s Sea-Air-Space (SAS) Exposition: “The Power of Teamwork.”

Teamwork has been the bedrock of our nation since that revolutionary moment almost 228 years ago when 13 disparate colonies banded together to deal with threats to their security. A member of the Continental Congress, Benjamin Franklin, forecast our future as he stepped forward on July 4, 1776, to sign the Declaration of Independence, saying: “We must indeed all hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.” That rings true today as we recapitalize the fleet and reshape our forces to deal with vicious, unpredictable foes and maintain access to every part of the globe where our interests are at risk

This year, as always, the focus of the SAS is the modernization of our sea services. The primary purpose of our exposition is not to praise technology for its own sake, but to underscore the importance of making the right choices about our future. A key factor in the protection of our nation is the adroit projection of power whenever and wherever the president calls upon the military to deploy.

The SAS exposition remains the single best opportunity for meaningful dialogue with all the parties that have a stake in ensuring that our maritime forces remain equal to the demands of the global war on terrorism and our overall national security requirements. SAS will be the first public forum for the fiscal year 2005 forecast of Coast Guard, Navy and Marine Corps requirements and resources planning. It will include a focus on recent military operations with former Fifth Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Timothy J. Keating leading a discussion of Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard contributions to the coalition effort in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The dozens of top national security and military officials on the agenda include Navy Secretary Gordon R. England, Homeland Security Deputy Secretary James M. Loy and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vern Clark.

Scheduled April 6-8 in Washington, D.C., the Navy League’s SAS is much more than another exposition. It is a gathering of all who believe in “The Power of Teamwork” to sustain and foster the maritime forces of our nation.

Sheila M. McNeill, National President