Navy/Marine Corps team to revolutionize naval warfare

All Hands, July, 2004 by Walter T. Ham, IV

The Navy/Marine Corps team will revolutionize naval warfare with the programs funded in the FY05 budget, according to Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) ADM Vern Clark during a House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing this spring.

"The budget lays out our future in the form of the Littoral Combatant Ship (LCS), DD(X) [next generation destroyer], CVN 21, the Joint Strike fighter; unmanned vehicles in the air, on the surface, and under the sea; the Virginia-class submarine, SSGN [guided-missile submarine], and an array of advanced aircraft," said Clark.

Among these platforms, the CNO singled out DD(X) as playing a critical role in the transformation of the Navy.

"I don't believe there is a program out there that is more vital to changing the way warfare in naval services is going to be con ducted in the next 50 years than DD(X)," said Clark. "You want an enemy to have to work hard to deal with you, and that's why you want to build a ship like DD(X) that has a radar cross section of a fishing boat."

Testifying together with the CNO and Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Michael Hagee, Secretary of the Navy Gordon England said the FY05 budget lays the foundation for the future naval force.

"This is a critical budget year for the Department of the Navy," England said. "This year, we did establish a future course for our naval forces to respond to and defeat future threats."

In addressing future amphibious platforms, Clark stressed the importance of the Maritime Prepositioning Force (Future) (MPF(F)) and the Landing Helo Assault (Replacement) (LHA(R)). The CNO said these new amphibious capabilities will change the way the Navy/Marine Corps team fights together.

"MPF(F) and LHA(R) will define how the Navy and Marine Corps team works together in the future," Clark said. "This new concept for the Navy/Marine Corps team will take the next step in expeditionary warfare, producing the kind of quick response and global reach capability that will revolutionize the way we fight as a team for this nation."

The commandant thanked the representatives for supporting the Navy/Marine Corps team, and visiting Sailors and Marines on the point.

"This support is really critical to ensuring that we remain an expeditionary force that is most ready when the nation is least ready," Hagee testified.

The CNO said the Fleet Response Plan (FRP) and Sea Swap are two of the many initiatives the Navy is exploring to maximize operational capability and availability, while providing the best value for the nation by producing the right readiness and delivering the right capability at the right cost. The Navy may soon implement the Sea Swap program on a forward deployed Expeditionary Strike Group.

Clark said FRP and Sea Swap both increase the Navy's flexibility, but he repeated his commitment to six-month peacetime deployments.

"That means you rotate the crews because we made a commitment," Clark said. "In peacetime operations, we're committed to six-month deployments. In war, we'll do whatever we need to do to meet the needs of the nation."

"You have to keep a healthy rotation because people have lives," Clark added. "Sailors enlist, but families reenlist, and we haven't forgotten that."

As the Navy transforms to face the threats of the 21st century, the CNO reiterated his commitment to invest the necessary resources in the growth and development of Sailors who serve in it.

"We have a better quality Navy and Marine Corps team today than at any time since I've been serving," Clark said. "They believe in the importance of what they are doing today, and they are responding to the signals and support that our citizens are sending to them."

For more on SECNAV, go to www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ people/secnav/secnavpg.html

For more on CNO, go to www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ cno/.

For more on the commandant, go to www.usmc.mil/cmc/ 33cmc.nsf/cmcmain.

JOC Walter T. Ham IV, who is assigned to the public affairs office, Chief of Naval Operations.