SPECIAL REPORT: The Case for the Carrier

A Force for the Nation's Security

By VERN CLARK

Adm. Vern Clark is the Chief of Naval Operations.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's strategic review of military requirements for the future has ignited vigorous discussion. This analysis is an important step forward in formulating a revised National Military Strategy and for building a force that will keep our country secure.

For the nations that enjoy the mutually beneficial avenues of trade in our prospering global economy, there exists a common thread: free access to the world's shipping lanes. The United States Navy secures and maintains that access, and it has done so with vigilance for nearly 226 years. Yet, over the last 50 years, we have come to take for granted our command of the seas, and some have lost sight of its importance to both the United States and global prosperity.

As a nation bordered by two great oceans, reliant on the import and export of seaborne trade, we need the power and strength conveyed by a combat-credible fleet to protect our interests, and those of our allies and trade partners. There are quicker means of transporting goods, but none more efficient than the rivers, seas, and oceans of the world. Shipborne trade accounts for 99 percent of the volume and more than 80 percent of the value of all intercontinental commerce.

If the United States cannot move goods, it cannot sell them either. Even minor disruptions in shipping are costly and have long-term, wide- ranging global effects. The return on investment in sea power today is realized in protection of worldwide trade and in the economic consistency enjoyed in our local marketplace. To upset a world superpower like the United States, a nation must upset the U.S. economy--the ability to deliver goods and services. Future warfare wrought by any adversary will undoubtedly involve restricting such access to the global marketplace.

Our Navy, through its availability, flexibility, and staying power, is the best option available to the National Command Authority for ensuring freedom of the seas. The Navy sails anywhere, anytime--carrying forth the sovereignty of our great nation to the four corners of the earth. This continues to be our mission--today, tomorrow, and through the new millennium.

The United States Navy must continue to protect access and outpace the means of restricting it if it is to meet the demands of its mission. But it must also pay due attention to those methods that are proven and reliable. America's large-deck aircraft carrier, for example, is the most powerful, capable, and proven platform in the world. Built tough, with extensive defensive and offensive systems, aircraft carriers move rapidly and possess firepower capabilities unmatched by any other mobile power-projection platform.

Some recent press accounts question the survivability of aircraft carriers. Someday their vulnerability may outweigh their benefit, but that is not the case today, and it will not be true for years to come. In addition to maneuverability and firepower, the more important fact is that the carrier is part of a carrier battle group--the most combat-credible seagoing force in the world. The Navy's ships move quickly and autonomously--where they want, when they want. The range of weapons fired from Navy ships, previously measured in yards, is now measured in hundreds and thousands of miles. By forward- deploying this great reach, naval forces achieve rapid and timely response to any crisis.

The need for transformation is widely discussed. While 75 percent of our present hullforms will also be active 20 years from now, the Navy is, in fact, transforming itself today. The Navy must continue to employ emerging technologies to ensure its combat forces remain effective and survivable. Transformation is not just about hardware. It also involves innovation, agility, and--most importantly--the courage to think about things in new ways. People make experimentation work.

I remain proud to serve in the greatest Navy the world has ever seen. We face significant challenges in our future. What kind of Navy does the United States need? What does the nation want its Navy to do? What kind of Navy is the nation willing to build and maintain? These questions deserve rigorous and thorough discussion, because their answers will have profound implications for all Americans, and our friends and allies around the world, for generations to come.