NLUS Endorses Deepwater, NMD, 15 CVNs, Amphibious Triad, Rebuilding of U.S.-Flag Fleet, and Major Increase in Shipbuilding

By JAMES D. HESSMAN

The Navy League of the United States has formally adopted a 2001 Maritime Policy that urges major increases in funding for all of the nation’s armed forces, supports the deployment of a National Missile Defense (NMD) system "as soon as is technologically possible," calls for the rebuilding of the U.S.-flag Merchant Marine as "an urgent national-defense priority," expresses concern over "the still-expanding naval/military capabilities, as well as the frequently bellicose rhetoric, of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)," and endorses a broad spectrum of military, economic, and political measures that might be taken "to detect and deter acts of terrorism, including cyberterrorism."

Other sections of the League’s 2001 Maritime Policy statement:

• Praise the administration and Congress for enactment of last year’s "compensation triad"—but urge further increases in pay and quality-of-life benefits for "the men and women now in service—the finest ever to wear their country’s uniform."

• Specifically reject the administration’s "gapping" policy that leaves one or more "areas of potential conflict" inadequately protected (by a Navy carrier battle group, or CVBG) at least part of the time, and asserts that "15 aircraft carriers … rather than the 12 now in the active fleet and considered acceptable as a ‘prudent risk’ … are the minimum needed to meet U.S. national-security requirements."

• Advocate a major increase in Navy shipbuilding, to a rate of "no fewer than 10 to 12 ships a year," to rebuild the Navy’s active fleet to the size needed (360 ships, according to Navy budget documents for the next fiscal year) to meet all currently foreseeable requirements validated by the regional commanders in chief.

• Recommend "full funding" of the Coast Guard’s innovative "Deepwater" program, which envisions the replacement, modernization, and upgrading of the USCG’s "current physical inventory of cutters, aircraft, sensor and electronics/avionics systems, and shore facilities."

• Urge "accelerated" development and procurement of numerous Marine Corps platforms and weapon systems, including the AAAV (Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle), which—with the MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft and modernized LCACs (landing craft, air cushion)—will give the Corps the "amphibious triad" it needs for "successful execution of the OMFTS (Operational Maneuver From the Sea) strategy."

The Preface to the Maritime Policy provides an overview for what follows by reviewing some of the "major headline events" of the past year, including the changes of government in Russia and Syria, new allegations of Chinese espionage against the United States, and "the first meeting ever, in Pyongyang, of the current leaders of South Korea and North Korea."

The Preface also discusses some of the "lessons learned" in recent conflicts—the air war over Kosovo, for example—and suggests that several of those lessons are misleading at best and, if followed too rigorously, could lead to military disaster. It also sets forth the pros and cons of NMD deployment and the theory that improved trade relations with China will lead to greater "democraticization" of the PRC "… and gradually erode Beijing’s iron rule over all aspects of Chinese society."

"There are several other major defense issues of transcendent importance" that all Americans, particularly those "running for national office," should think about during the current election year, the Preface concludes. The national security policies enunciated by the candidates "might well determine the very future of mankind."

Following, under the major topic areas indicated, are brief summaries of other sections of the Navy League’s 2001 Maritime Policy statement:

Global Strategy: The deterrence of nuclear war remains "the No. 1 priority of the U.S. defense strategy." The key to implementation of this strategy is the Navy’s fleet of nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarines (SSBNs), "the most survivable leg of America’s strategic triad." A second priority, "rapidly increasing in importance" in an era when WMDs (weapons of mass destruction) are proliferating throughout the world, is "the design, development, production, and deployment of area, theater, and national missile-defense systems." A third "extremely important strategic goal" is the deterrence of regional conflicts. In most such conflicts forward-deployed Navy CVBGs and/or Navy/Marine Corps amphibious ready groups (ARGs) "already will be on the scene and in many areas of the world will be not only the nearest but also the only fully combat-ready forces available to the national command authorities."

To meet all reasonably foreseeable conflict contingencies the Navy League recommends, among other things:

• Increasing the size of the active fleet to the number of ships (360) "validated by the Joint Chiefs of Staff … as the minimum needed … to meet the peacetime requirements of the regional CINCs. Included in the overall total should be at least 15 aircraft carriers, 70 or more nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) and 14 Trident SSBNs, additional amphibious ships, and larger numbers of surface combatants, minesweepers, and both sealift and auxiliary ships than are now projected."

• "Sustained investments" in advanced technology and procurement, "in the quantities needed," of the high-tech systems required for combat success "on the network-centric battlefields of the future."

• Maintaining the U.S. Marine Corps, "the finest fighting force in the world," at its fully authorized strength and providing it the "advanced-technology weapons and combat systems needed to prevail in the asymmetric-warfare scenarios and urban-conflict battlefields … of the future."

• Full funding of the Coast Guard’s IDS (Integrated Deepwater System) and the rebuilding of the U.S.-flag Merchant Marine—"today the Achilles’ heel of the U.S. defense infrastructure."

Future defense budget requests, "and the defense appropriations bills enacted by Congress," the Navy League asserts, should “always” be based on "validated naval/military requirements rather than on predetermined budget ceilings and/or other political considerations, and … the defense funds appropriated [should] be allocated in accordance with the specific missions and responsibilities assigned to the individual services."

Missile Defense Systems: Because of the global proliferation of WMDs and ballistic missile delivery systems it has become "increasingly important" that the United States "be able to protect the American people and their allies from the certain future threat of missile attack." The WMD capabilities of such states as Iran, Iraq, and North Korea have grown rapidly in recent years and according to Secretary of Defense Willaim S. Cohen "will soon pose a danger not only to our troops overseas but also to Americans here at home." To meet that threat requires the rapid development and deployment of a layered and integrated network of theater, area, and national missile-defense systems. The Navy’s fleets of Aegis guided-missile cruisers and destroyers could be key building blocks in those systems, would protect against sea-based threats, and would serve as a "hedge" against "the failure, or destruction, of the single land-based site" now being considered for deployment.

The Navy League recommends increased funding for missile-defense technology, "proceeding as soon as possible with the deployment of an NMD system," additional funding for various Navy-specific missile-defense programs, and "ensuring that ABM (antiballistic missile) treaty obligations do not hamper the technological development, testing, and deployment of U.S. missile-defense systems."

Information Warfare Programs: Advanced-technology C4ISR/IW (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and information warfare) systems will be the key factors in determining how naval forces can be used to "influence, deter, and, if necessary, fight wars" in future times of national crisis. It is essential, therefore, that the Navy and its sister services possess "robust capabilities" in all of these systems—which must be "properly integrated into the nation’s warfighting arsenal as a true forcewide network of warfighters and systems, not as stand-alone, nonsynchronized systems."

The Navy League endorses the Network Centric Warfare (NCW) "conceptual framework" for the command and control of naval forces in the 21st century and supports adequate funding for the "integrated and interoperable … systems" needed to ensure combat success "under a unified naval and joint strategy." The NLUS also recommends the rapid development and fielding of "the infrastructure and technological systems"—e.g., the Navy and Marine Corps Intranet, Advanced Tactical Data Links, and Cooperative Engagement Capability—"needed to transform NCW … into an operational system of systems."

Space Programs: U.S. space systems already have become "an essential prerequisite to deterrence, combat success, military action, and everyday operations." They also are important to the functioning of the U.S. economy, and are "fundamental to sustaining U.S. global commitments." U.S. launch systems must be upgraded, however, "with the objective of reducing costs while at the same time improving capability, reliability, operability, responsiveness, and safety." The Navy League supports continued funding "for a healthy, robust U.S. launch industry" as well as for space-based infrared and other systems. Because the U.S. Navy is one of the nation’s "principal users" of space products, the NLUS asserts, it should and must play "a leading role in their development, deployment, operation, and control."

Terrorism and Its Price: Terrorism poses "a continued, and increasing, threat to domestic and global peace." That threat is exacerbated by the fact that a growing number of nations have demonstrated a willingness to "offer and sell arms of all kinds to rogue nations and terrorist organizations." Fortunately, all of the nation’s armed services possess certain capabilities that can be used to deter and/or counter terrorism.

The Navy League believes that "the provision of military support to civil authorities should continue to be a vital mission in homeland defense," that new initiatives are needed to "create and enhance U.S. capabilities to deal with the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction," and that military, economic, and political pressures should be "brought to bear on those individuals, groups, and nations responsible for international acts of terrorism."

The U.S. Navy: Because of the massive reductions in recent years of U.S. air and ground forces based overseas the Navy’s forward-deployed fleets have had to assume a greater share of the collective defense burden—which has been made even heavier by "the added responsibilities of peacemaking and peacekeeping" that have been assigned. In the last decade sea-based Navy and Marine Corps forces "have been called upon to respond in nearly three times the number of international crises as during the previous decade, when the … active fleet was nearly twice the size it is today." The "most critical ingredient" for combat success is still the Navy’s people—but they must be provided the equipment they need, in the quantities required, to meet currently foreseeable contingencies.

In addition to its strong endorsement of 15 CVBGs and an overall major increase in shipbuilding, the Navy League: (a) supports the conversion, "to an SSGN (nuclear-powered guided-missile submarine) configuration," of four older SSBNs no longer considered essential for strategic deterrence; (b) Endorses multiyear procurement of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and the Marine Corps’ MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, and overall procurement of 150 to 210 aircraft per year; (c) "Strongly advocates reinstating the full usage of the Island of Vieques for combined-arms live-fire training, and expresses serious concern that two of the Navy’s last three battle groups deployed overseas … [without] such training"; and (d) Supports additional funding for sealift, spare parts, maintenance, mine warfare and antisubmarine warfare, oceanographic and amphibious ship programs, and a broad spectrum of the "sensors, weapon systems, and electronics/avionics systems and subsystems needed to … maintain the technological superiority of Navy ships and aircraft of all types."

The U.S. Marine Corps: As it has throughout the nation’s history, today’s U.S. Marine Corps serves as "an effective force in being … during crises and conflicts and as … a flexible, mobile, and responsive tool for demonstrating American resolve and protecting U.S. interests worldwide through operations across the entire spectrum of conflict." To maintain the Corps’ current capabilities, though, its equipment must be modernized and upgraded. Greater emphasis must be placed on tactical mobility, on sea-based fire support, and on forward-based prepositioning.

The Navy League policy continues to be that the Marine Corps "must be manned, equipped, and maintained at its full statutory strength of three expeditionary infantry divisions, three aircraft wings, and three force service support groups." The Navy League supports additional funding for numerous platforms and systems the Marine Corps needs, including amphibious ships and craft, the Extended-Range Guided Munition and the Standard land-attack missile, new light and medium tactical vehicles, the LW-155 lightweight howitzer, and the short-range Predator anti-tank weapon.

The U.S. Coast Guard: The world’s premier lifesaving service, the Coast Guard plays an essential role both in national defense and in supporting the U.S. economy. Its already broad spectrum of duties and responsibilities have increased almost exponentially in recent years, however, and it is today "challenged on almost every mission front." Its people, and its equipment, are both overcommitted and overworked. The Coast Guard’s leadership has developed a cost-effective Deepwater program that over a period of 20 years would replace the USCG’s current obsolescent inventory of cutters, aircraft, and shore facilities, and restore the service’s ability to carry out all current missions and many others likely to be assigned in the near future.

The Navy League strongly supports full funding of the Deepwater recapitalization program, procurement of new "distress" systems, improved quality-of-life benefits for Coast Guard personnel, and additional funding for USCG maintenance programs.

Reserve Forces: Under the total-force concept all of the nation’s armed services "have been playing an increased, and increasingly important, role in support of the active-duty forces." In many naval/military warfare specialties, in fact, Reserve units "are the only components of the total force possessing the skills, equipment, and experience needed [for combat success]."

The Navy League supports the total-force concept and urges full funding of the FY 2001 budget requests for the Reserve components. The NLUS endorses the DOD policy of tasking National Guard and Reserve units "with the immediate mission of making local [reservists] … available to respond to terrorism, missile attacks, and/or natural disasters." The League also supports the DOD plan "to evaluate the feasibility of maintaining at least one major Reserve complex in each of the 50 states … to continue the important exposure of the Reserves, and of naval/military recruiters, to the American people."

The U.S.-Flag Merchant Marine: In peacetime, 95 percent or more of America’s two-way trade cargo is carried by privately owned merchant ships. In time of war, 95 percent or more of the equipment and supplies needed by U.S. armed forces overseas is delivered by ship. The U.S.-flag Merchant Marine therefore plays an essential economic as well as national-defense role—but today carries only a minuscule share of the two-way U.S. international trade. For economic, national-security, and environmental reasons a viable and economically robust U.S.-flag Merchant Marine is essential and must be rebuilt.

The Navy League opposes legislative or other changes that would weaken the Jones Act or "related maritime cabotage laws," supports continued funding of the Maritime Security Program, endorses development of "a technologically advanced, secure, efficient, and environmentally sound U.S. Marine Transportation System comprising waterways, ports, and intermodal connections," and supports "the additional budgetary and legislative measures that are needed … to maintain a viable, robust U.S.-flag Merchant Marine."

The NOAA Corps: The Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration carries out "a broad spectrum of environmental science missions essential not only to the safety and well-being of American citizens and to the functioning of the U.S. economy, but also to the effectiveness of the nation’s armed forces—particularly the U.S. sea services." The Navy League supports "all budgetary measures necessary" to enable NOAA’s Commissioned Corps to carry out its missions, including the provision of accurate nautical charts, updated surveys of the nation’s coastlines that identify dangers to navigation, and "the real-time observation and forecasts of water levels, currents, and weather conditions in the nation’s ports, harbors, and coastal areas."

Military Personnel—Quality of Life: Several important pay and quality-of-life initiatives were proposed by the administration and enacted by Congress that help ensure that overall military compensation is "fair, competitive, and effective" both in recruiting and in retaining "the numbers, quality, and skill mix of the men and women needed by all of the nation’s armed services." Additional short- and long-term efforts are still needed, though, including upgraded housing, improved health care, and other quality-of-life benefits.

The Navy League supports additional pay increases "to further close, and eventually eliminate, the still large gap that exists between military and civilian pay." It also supports: (a) a range of other benefits for current active-duty personnel, and for military retirees; (b) personnel policies "that ensure maintenance of a professional work environment … free of discrimination and artificial barriers"; and (c) "all appropriate steps that can be taken … to maintain a reasonable and sustainable operating and personnel tempo, particularly when overseas deployments are involved."

Youth Programs: A very high percentage of today’s high-school graduates "cannot meet the qualifications for entrance into the nation’s armed forces." This is a major national problem of particular concern to the armed forces, all of which need well-educated and technically proficient men and women to operate and maintain the advanced-technology systems that will be key to success on the "electronic battlefields"of the future.

The Navy League encourages public and private-sector support for such recognized youth programs as "the disciplined, drug-free/gang-free Naval Sea Cadet Corps/Navy League Cadet Corps, and the Navy’s NJROTC," all of which focus on developing the qualities of character and leadership in America’s young people. The NLUS supports increased emphasis on instruction in mathematics and the physical sciences, and a focus on excellence "in all areas of the education and training of America’s youth." The League opposes Federal funding or other support to schools "that deny recruiters access to their students or which otherwise discriminate against the armed forces of the United States."

The Industrial Base: Several innovative RBA (Revolution in Business Affairs) initiatives and other "reform" efforts of various types have demonstrably improved the working relationships between the U.S. armed forces and the nation’s defense industries. The "precipitous cutbacks" in defense spending that have taken place over the last two decades, however, have led to numerous mergers and consolidations, have "significantly reduced the number of prime contractors available," and have created a defense industrial base that is no longer as competitive as it was. For national-defense and economic reasons both, it is essential to maintain, and sustain, a base that is technologically innovative, economically viable, and responsive to naval/military needs both short- and long-term.

The Navy League supports "the increased use of series production and/or multiyear procurement," increased reliance on COTS (commercial-off-the-shelf) systems and components, greater cooperation between government and industry "in the RDT&E (research, development, test, and evaluation) phases of a program as well as in the production of weapons platforms and equipment," and, most important of all, the sustained investments in acquisition and RDT&E needed to sustain the economic health of the nation’s defense industries.

U.S. Shipbuilding Programs: The U.S. shipbuilding industry, a unique component of the industrial base of special importance to the sea services, is in dire straits. Naval shipbuilding was reduced drastically during the 1990s, and the orders for U.S.-flag merchant ships have been few and far between. The result has been a continuing erosion of America’s shipbuilding infrastructure, the loss of numerous skilled workers who cannot quickly be replaced, and a major reduction in the number of system, subsystem, and component manufacturers. Another concern is a major legislative and environmental impasse that has developed and that has prevented the scrapping or transfer overseas of almost 250 ships that have no useful service life left.

The Navy League supports major increases in funding for Navy and Coast Guard shipbuilding as well as the continuation of several initiatives designed to help the U.S.-flag Merchant Marine remain at least modestly competitive. The Navy League again proposes, moreover, that a "Blue Ribbon Task Force" on shipbuilding be appointed "to investigate the most efficient and cost-effective ways to maintain the shipyards and shipbuilding infrastructure needed … [to support] America’s armed forces."

The 2001 NLUS Maritime Policy statement, approved at the 17 June Annual Meeting of Members during this year’s Navy League National Convention in Philadelphia, is based on the Resolutions presented at the meeting by Resolutions Committee Chairman G. Donald Steel and concludes with the following summary of the general principles that the Navy League has followed since its founding in 1902:

The Navy League is committed to persuading, through education, not only the senior leadership in both the executive and legislative branches of government but also the media, and the American people, that the most important "reform" that can be made in the field of national defense is to provide adequate funding for America’s armed forces, which are today the greatest force for peace in the entire world.

To protect U.S. interests overseas, and to maintain global stability, the men and women now wearing America’s uniform need, and deserve, equipment that is not only of the highest quality but is also immediately available in the quantities required to enable them to carry out all of the missions they have been assigned. National-security decisions should not be budget-driven but made on the basis of validated naval/military requirements.

To provide for the common defense is, and must be—always—the first and most important responsibility of government.

The full text of the Navy League’s 2001 Maritime Policy statement will be posted in the near future on the Navy League’s web page http:www.navyleague.org/legislative/preface.htm