Editor’s
Note
Change is constant. And the pace of change increases exponentially. That
is the message written between the lines of this month’s lead story
about fundamental change under way throughout the Navy. Fourteen years
after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Navy continues to reconstitute
itself to deal with a fast-changing array of threats to the nation’s
security. The current goal: to build and deploy a new Navy for the 21st
century.
This is not solely a shipbuilding project. The ships to be built are
reflective of a philosophical evolution under way within the service.
In a special report (p. 10), we note that the Navy is redefining its operational
concepts and managerial processes to create a future fleet with greater
capabilities, new missions and warfighting requirements that were not
on the horizon when the Cold War drew to a close.
These changes come as the size of the service continues to shrink. In
a summary of the 2004 guidance by Adm.Vern Clark, chief of naval operations
(p. 32), Managing Editor Richard R. Burgess reports that Clark once again
calls for billet reductions throughout the fleet, determining that greater
efficiency — and lower payrolls — will help pay the cost of
recapitalizing the Navy. Clark already had reduced the force by 22,000
people.
Also in this issue, Special Correspondent Margaret Roth reports (p. 17)
on the promises — and challenges — inherent in the new LPD
17 San Antonio amphibious transport dock ship, and Associate Editor Hunter
Keeter covers (p. 27) the forthcoming transfer of some responsibility
for resources planning from Washington to the Navy’s operating units.
On page 29, we talk with Rear Adm. Jay M. Cohen, chief of naval research,
who believes that scientists who do not fail occasionally are just not
trying hard enough. The basic purpose of Navy research efforts is discovery
and invention, says Cohen, especially on projects focused in key areas
such as underwater weaponry, underwater acoustics, naval architecture,
and expeditionary warfare. “These things are absolutely critical
to the naval battlespace, [and] if we don’t invest in them no one
else will,” Cohen said. He has created a “Swampworks”
to “invest in high-risk … game-changing initiatives that any
rational program manager would not propose. … I desire that these
programs have a 90 percent failure rate. That is what I want. I want one
in 10 of these projects to be successful; but that one in 10 should represent
a fundamental change in warfare, as we know it.”
In this issue, we introduce a new “Washington Report” (p.
6). With an improved format, shorter articles and forward-looking coverage,
it is designed to provide insightful reporting and analysis about the
people, issues and events that are priorities for Sea Power readers.
Also this month, seasoned defense journalist Amy Svitak makes her initial
appearance on our masthead as a Sea Power correspondent. Now a staff writer
for CongressDaily, the respected Washington newsletter, Svitak is renowned
among Washington’s defense cognoscenti for her coverage of national
security issues on Capitol Hill.
We hope you agree that these changes make your magazine more readable
and vibrant. As always, thanks for reading Sea Power.
Richard C. Barnard
Editor in Chief
We are eager to get your feedback. Contact me at rbarnard@navyleague.org
or by mail at Sea Power, 2300 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Va. 22201-3308. |
