Navy, Marine Corps Unfunded Lists Draw Appropriators' Gaze

Sea Power, Apr 2004 by Klamper, Amy Svitak, Keeter, Hunter C

The military's "unfunded" lists have gone to Capitol Hill. The military services deliver their unfunded priorities lists to Congress each year, highlighting the disparity between their true funding needs and the annual Pentagon budget submission.

The lists, which detail projected shortfalls in the forthcoming fiscal year, are an unofficial Washington ritual driven by the venerable ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, Ike Skelton, D-Mo., who calls on the service chiefs to submit their unfunded requirements shortly after the administration's budget is sent to Congress in February.

The lists are often disparaged among senior Pentagon leaders, but they never fail to attract attention from certain lawmakers with a stake in the department's myriad funding programs.

Last month, the Navy and Marine Corps revealed a combined $3.83 billion shortfall in 2005 funding for critical programs, one of which piqued the interest of Republican Sen. Thad Cochran, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee.

The Mississippi senator's constituency gives him a vested interest in naval and maritime projects, including the Navy's planned LHA(R) amphibious assault ship, for which the service identified a $250 million shortfall in 2005. During a subcommittee hearing last month, Cochran took issue with the funding gap and the effect it will have on the LHA(R), which is slated for delivery in 2013. Cochran told the Navy's top two officials he was worried the construction delay would increase the cost of the program and potentially jeopardize its future, which observers expect to involve Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Miss., where the Navy has historically built its amphibious warships.

Gordon R. England, Secretary of the Navy, said his plan to begin construction of the ship in 2007 had slipped by one year due to lack of funds. He explained the Navy is required to fully fund the program in any given year, and that, "frankly, we did not have the resources to do that."

Cochran said the delay could harm the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base, which has been hit hard by the Navy's post-Cold War transformation and a decline in the number of ships it plans to acquire.

"It does leave us with a problem right now in terms of the yard, because we would like to start at least advance procurement," England said.

In addition to the LHA(R), the Navy needs $ 141 million to replace Tomahawks expended in Iraq and $23 million to move intelligence information faster and to deploy more linguists to Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pentagon's $401.7 billion budget for 2005 did not include money to cover costs associated with ongoing operations in those countries.

Relying on the Kindness Of Congressional Appropriators

Other lawmakers with pet projects include Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican concerned with the Navy Department's reliance on congressional adds to fund modernization of its lightweight, large-caliber Mk45 gun. Overhaul of the naval surface ship gun takes place at an ordnance station in Louisville, Ky., a depot that was privatized in 1996 and distributed between United Defense, Hughes Missile System Co., the local government, and a small federal workforce.

"The Navy's request today contains no provision for Mk45 gun modification," McConnell said during a hearing last month.

The Mk45 is designed to hit shore targets. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Michael W. Hagee told McConnell the Marines "like that gun," but that while the service's near-term precision naval surface fire support is inadequate, it can't afford to pay for its modernization. Naval precision fires are an essential part of the service's power projection capabilities. In addition to the Mk45, efforts to upgrade these capabilities include development of an advanced gun system (AGS) and extended-range guided munitions.

During the hearing, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vern Clark backed Hagee, asserting, "I do not have all the resources I'd like to have." But he noted that even with the forthcoming AGS, "we expect this gun is going to be around for a long time."

UAV Quandary: To Compete, Or Not to Compete?

Top Navy officials say they may compete a contract for the service's maritime surveillance drone, though the Navy already is planning to use two Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to demonstrate its broad area maritime surveillance (BAMS) capability.

England is considering whether to sole-source the BAMS UAV to Northrop Grumman Corp., which makes the long-range, high-altitude Global Hawk. An alternative is to compete the contract among a variety of UAV manufacturers. Any competition is sure to garner attention from Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, who is proud of the Coast Guard's recent success in using General Atomies' Predator B drone for maritime border patrol off the coast of his state.

However, if the Navy did choose Global Hawk it could cash in on joint research and development with the Air Force, a concept not lost on Air Force secretary James Roche, a former Northrop executive, and Chief of Staff Gen. John jumper. Both men urged the service to consider a sole source for Global Hawk in February letters to their Navy counterparts.