Adm. Thomas B. Fargo is commander in chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet. In just the last few months, our nation has faced a daunting challenge--a threat so pervasive that free people and institutions around the world are endangered. The terrorist attacks of 11 September were not just attacks on U.S. citizens and U.S. cities; they were attacks on freedom, on liberty, and on democracy--all that our forefathers fought to protect. And, since it is clear that any open society presents essentially unlimited targets for terrorists, a coalition of free nations continues to bring war on the terrorists who still threaten our way of life.

This is no small task. The United States has had to bring to bear the full weight of our resources, the critical support of our allies, and the dedication and determination of our citizens in this global war on terrorism. Our diplomats and law-enforcement agencies, our economic institutions and intelligence agencies, as well as the U.S. military, have all been given a tremendous responsibility. And, while we have a long campaign ahead, results thus far have shown that we are up to the task--we will win this fight.

Throughout it all, the nation has called upon the Navy-Marine Corps team to do what it does best--and that is to protect Americans to the far corners of the earth. Whether it is helping to establish the enduring relationships that serve as the foundation for coalition operations in the war on terrorism, or directly attacking our al Qaeda enemies in Afghanistan, the Sailors and Marines of the U.S. Pacific Fleet (PACFLT) have done much to facilitate the success enjoyed so far by the joint and coalition forces waging this fight.

A Pacific Nation ... A Pacific Fleet

In February of this year, President Bush reaffirmed the importance of the Asia-Pacific region when he told the Japanese Diet: "America ... is a Pacific nation, drawn by trade and values and history to be a part of Asia's future." The reasons are compelling. To begin with, one-third of our nation's two-way commerce is with our trading partners in East Asia, making this region our largest trading partner in the world. Throughout the region there has been unprecedented growth in containerized shipping, in energy needs, and in the production and consumption of manufactured goods of all types.

Our bonds with the Pacific are not just economic ties; we foster, and enjoy, growing cultural ties throughout the region as well. Twelve million U.S. citizens, or more than 4.3 percent of our population, identify themselves culturally or ethnically with the Asia-Pacific region. When these factors are combined with our enduring relationships with democratic nations in the region and our mutual security interests, it is clear that the stability of the region is important not just to the United States itself, but to all Pacific nations.

The U.S. Pacific Fleet, the naval component for the commander in chief, U.S. Pacific Command (USCINCPAC), helps provide the stability so important to the Asia-Pacific region. Comprised principally of two sea-based warfighting commands--the U.S. Third Fleet and the U.S. Seventh Fleet--with more than 180 ships, 1,400 aircraft, and 280,000 personnel spread from the waters off the U.S. West Coast to the Indian Ocean, the U.S. Pacific Fleet is capable of conducting and supporting the full range of naval and joint missions called for by the Pacific Command.

At any given time, approximately half the fleet is underway either on deployment, conducting unit-level training, or participating in exercises with joint, coalition, or allied forces across the Pacific. In the U.S.-led war against international terrorism, the Pacific Fleet's long history of forward-deployed operations, and the unique attributes of U.S. naval power, have set many of the conditions that the United States, our coalition partners, and our joint military forces have relied upon for combat success.

Naval Power Essential

For those watching the war on terrorism closely, there is good reason why U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps forces have been front-page news so frequently, despite the fact that Phase One of the war has been conducted principally in a landlocked country like Afghanistan: The inherent flexibility, reach, precise lethality, and self-sustaining deployability of forwarded-deployed U.S. Navy and Marine Corps forces are critical to our joint-warfighting architecture.

It begins, of course, with being there. From the outset, the USS Enterprise and USS Carl Vinson Carrier Battle Groups (CVBGs) were in position near the most likely area of operations. Moreover, both CVBGs already were well-trained and fully combat-ready, making them ideally suited to conduct missions ranging from maritime-interdiction operations to joint power-projection strikes ashore. The Pacific Fleet's long history of routine deployments to the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf had previously established reliable logistic support at facilities in Diego Garcia, Singapore, Bahrain, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. As a result, credible U.S. combat power was already on the scene, ready to be employed immediately, and capable of sustaining itself indefinitely.

More importantly, the Navy's 10-year investment in improving its global reach and lethality was already resident in these battle groups. Vast improvements in precision weaponry and distributed firepower were on hand. Just 20 years ago, the USS Enterprise and the USS Carl Vinson themselves would have been the only ships in the two CVBGs able to project power ashore; in fact, every carrier escort then was committed to the defense of the carrier itself. Today, we have distributed offensive firepower to more than 150 surface ships and submarines Navy-wide. Their Tomahawk missiles can strike targets ashore at ranges greater than 1,000 nautical miles with unmatched precision and reliability.

Investments in New Capabilities

In addition, there have been extensive investments in and improvements to the capabilities of the carrier air wing itself. During Operation Desert Storm, only a dozen or so aircraft in a typical carrier air wing were capable of delivering

precision-guided munitions (PGMs); today, as demonstrated in the air strikes being carried out in Operation Enduring Freedom, about 50 carrier air wing strike fighter aircraft are PGM-capable. Each plane today can reliably attack two targets per sortie, whereas a decade ago we committed about ten planes per target. Moreover, additional Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) and the introduction of the Tactical Tomahawk (TACTOM) will enable us to improve our target-per-sortie rate significantly in the near future.

In another key operation in Phase One of the war, the Kitty Hawk Carrier Battle Group sortied from its forward homeport in Yokosuka, Japan, with a significantly modified air complement, to serve as an Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB) from which traditionally land-based joint forces could be launched deep into Afghanistan. The inherent capacity of the carrier's big deck provided the flexibility needed to adapt our joint operations totally outside the boundaries of other sovereign nations in the region and, at the same time, provided the type of command-and-control facilities necessary to support the "knowledge-superiority picture" and share it with the other joint and combined forces in-theater.

But the Navy's flexibility, reach, precision, and deployability do not begin and end with the CVBGs. The USS Peleliu Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and its embarked 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), and the USS Bataan ARG/26th MEU team, also demonstrated that they possess a wide range of the combat capabilities needed to wage war in an uncertain and extremely hostile environment. Their 600-mile assault--using their own organic ARG-MEU helicopters to secure Forward Operating Base Rhino near Kandahar--raised the bar for expeditionary operations and at a range greater than in any previous Marine Corps helicopter assault.

Of course, the Navy and Marine Corps team is just one element of our overall joint and coalition warfighting team. U.S. Air Force bombers, tankers, command-and-control, and airlift assets help get the total team to the fight; U.S. Army Special Forces and Navy SEAL (sea-air-land) teams guide precision weapons to their targets and engage the enemy in numerous other ways in the harsh terrain ashore. And there are still other examples that might be cited. In all of these operations the Navy's unique qualities and capabilities have been a significant enabler, not only to the joint force, but also to the development of successful coalition operations as well.

Building a Coalition

The value of the Navy in helping to set the stage for coalition combat operations also is reflected in the numerous support and operational contributions of U.S. friends and allies in the Global War on Terrorism. The worldwide coalition now actively engaged in that war is well represented by many nations from the Asia-Pacific region, a number of which have provided vital assets--including people, ships, and aircraft--to the U.S. Central and U.S. Pacific Commands. Each of these nations has been contributing in a unique and tangible way to the ultimate success of this global coalition war.

To a large extent, PACFLT's long-term Navy-to-Navy relationships have served as an important backdrop for other nations to provide support. Pacific Fleet exercises--e.g., Tandem Thrust, with Australian forces--help us resolve command-and-control issues and develop complementary tactics, techniques, and procedures. PACFLT's development of the Coalition Wide Area Network (COWAN) and its routine use with our friends and allies throughout the region also have improved the coalition's overall communications and collaboration capabilities.

As one result of previous Navy-to-Navy efforts, Australia has sent a detachment of aircraft to the U.K./U.S. Support Facility on Diego Garcia, combat troops to Afghanistan, and Royal Australian Navy (RAN) ships to the North Arabian Gulf. The RAN's participation in the U.N. maritime-interdiction operations regimen in the North Arabian Gulf perhaps best illustrates the value of the extensive interoperability capabilities, and of the trust, developed during several decades of shared service in wartime, exercises in the Pacific, and combined operations in areas such as East Timor. Exercises like the Third Fleet's biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) operations are a particularly valuable mechanism to ensure, among other things, that our logistics procedures and operations are compatible with those of our allies.

Friends and Allies

Dramatic progress in the U.S. ability to generate coalition support when the cause is just also is illustrated by Japan's unprecedented out-of-area deployment of its forces to support the war on terrorism. During the aftermath of 9/11, Japan formalized national antiterrorism measures and support, and also approved the deployment of a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) task force to the Indian Ocean to provide logistic support for the war. Additionally, Japanese Air Self-Defense Force aircraft have flown both logistics and relief flights to Pakistan. Just as importantly, they are now routinely providing force protection and logistic support for U.S. Navy and military installations in Japan.

Two of our other long-term Pacific Fleet partners, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Canada, have responded in similar fashion. ROK Navy ships and aircraft are providing logistic support and cargo lift for the war. Canada has ships forward-deployed in the North Arabian Sea, and ground troops in Afghanistan as well.

Singapore, which has been one of the staunchest supporters of our efforts in the theater, serves as another outstanding example of the support we have received from our coalition partners in the Pacific region. It has been a key logistics hub during Operation Enduring Freedom, and its own military stepped up their force-protection support during our ship visits there and also have provided ongoing support for the Strait of Malacca escort operation--both of which have proved to be essential to the success of the global war on terrorism.

Thailand and Malaysia, two nations with which we frequently conduct naval exercises, have stepped forward and made clear moves to combat terrorism. They also have provided logistic support and/or overflight rights, and have helped with the force protection of our ships and aircraft. The Republic of the Philippines is combating terrorism on its own soil, and the United States is providing training assistance in the Philippine Armed Forces' campaign against the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf terrorist group.

There are other benefits as well. More importantly, though, is that the long-term investments made by the U.S. Pacific Fleet in developing closer operating relationships with our allies through deployed exercises, and the development and creation of a common coalition network architecture, equate to real coalition capabilities at a time when we--and our allies--need them most. The dramatic improvements in our posture throughout the region have vastly improved our ability to operate together smoothly from the very outset of this difficult time of political crisis and combat operations.

Outstanding People: The Real Force Multiplier

It is easy to look at the video clips of PGM strikes in Afghanistan and mistakenly assume that advanced technology is the reason that the United States and its allies will eventually win the War on Terrorism--and any future conflict as well, for that matter. But the fact is that it is people--today, mostly the young men and women serving in the U.S. armed forces--who provide the real combat edge in our nation's combat capability.

Adm. David G. Farragut made much the same point as far back as the Civil War when he said: "I think the world is sadly mistaken when it supposes that battles are won by this or that kind of gun or vessel. The best gun or the best vessel should certainly be chosen, but the victory, three times out of four, depends on those who fight them." I could not agree more.

It is extremely important that our nation's naval and military leaders, uniformed and civilian, continue to recognize that the most important element in our overall readiness is the quality of our people. I have said on many occasions what I firmly believe--namely, that the leadership in the Pacific Fleet has two overarching priorities: (1) to maintain our readiness to fight--to protect our nation's interests to the far corners of the earth; and (2) to ensure and facilitate the personal and professional development of each man and woman in the entire command.

Our performance in Afghanistan is indicative of our readiness, but it is clear that the bulk of the credit must go to our people. The Sailors who make up our Navy today have much in common with the great generations of Americans who preceded them. They are unafraid of hard work, unmistakably intelligent, and supremely capable. They are a true cross-section of America--a generation of young men and women that is tested each and every day in a profession that remains inherently dangerous.

Answering All Bells

Sailors today are intensely interested in the readiness of their equipment as well. They want to do a good job--their goal is an "up" jet and equipment that is running well and ready to answer all bells. But to keep them ready--to compete for the right men and women in today's environment and retain them on active duty--our obligation is to help them reach that goal.

Today, we are committed to the quality-of-service issues that have the greatest resonance with Sailors. Substantial increases in pay and allowances for our people are important. The increases provided in recent years--and requested for the next fiscal year as well--come at a time when our nation is understandably reflecting daily upon the importance of those serving in uniform. We also are improving the quality of life for our people and their families through initiatives such as high-quality housing, personal development through education, and career planning that addresses family needs.

More importantly, it has become clear that a Sailor's experience in the workplace--his professional and organizational experience--is an even larger retention and readiness factor today than ever before. That is why quality of service is so important.

In order to remain ready--to compete for the right people in today's world--we must provide a top-quality workplace and the right leadership to our people. Quality of service is that and more; it is the right tools, training, and spare parts, and the time and information technology needed to help Sailors do their jobs. It also is a safe and professional working environment, and engaged leadership from top to bottom that encourages--and exudes--both excellence and commitment to our mission.

Our nation has always relied upon the naval service--particularly our forward-deployed, combat-credible expeditionary forces--to deter our enemies, reassure our partners and allies, and defend our interests in the far corners of the world. In the Pacific Fleet, we will continue to focus on this mission with increased clarity and renewed dedication.