Navy Creates Riverines, Landing Unit To Lighten Marine, Army Force Load

Sea Power, Aug 2005 by Klamper, Amy, Burgess, Richard R

The Navy is re-creating the riverine warfare capabilities that it has largely shunned since the end of the Vietnam War and is establishing a naval infantry battalion as a means of taking some of the expeditionary load off of the heavily tasked Marine Corps and Army forces, and to stabilize use of reserve forces.

The Navy plans to establish an active-duty riverine squadron by fiscal year 2006, followed by two reserve riverine squadrons by 2008. The capability will more than fill a void caused by the disbanding of the Marine Corps' single riverine company.

A Navy official said "the Navy should own that capability" and that Adm. Vern Clark, outgoing chief of naval operations (CNO), "was looking to make these things happen fast."

As he left office, Clark also approved initiatives to create a Navy expeditionary combat battalion and bolster civil affairs capabilities. Many of the initiatives, also approved by the new CNO, Adm. Michael G. Mullen, are intended to further shape the force for fighting a 20-30 year global war on terrorism.

The initiatives were published in a July 12 memorandum from Vice Adm. Albert T. Church III, director of the Navy staff.

The Navy plans to stand up an expeditionary combat battalion - 600-700 sailors - in fiscal year (FY) 2007.

"We're looking at some capability less than SEALs and some capability more than [found] in our master-at-arms force that guards our bases," a Navy official said, adding that under the concept - still in development - the force could be filled by sailors who may not qualify for the SEAL community but could meet stringent requirements for expeditionary combat operations ashore.

"We need to create a sailor with a bayonet in his teeth, ready to go ashore and mix it up," the official said.

The expeditionary combat battalion could be deployed, for example, on amphibious ships and used in direct action against light opposition to stabilize a crisis on a small island.

"We're not looking to supplant the Marine Corps and the Army in the fight on the tip of the spear in Iraq and Afghanistan," the Navy official said. "We are looking for ways to relieve pressure on them outside of Iraq and Afghanistan" in the maritime domain.

The Navy currently has 6,000-8,000 sailors on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan, the official said.

The Navy also intends to establish a provisional reserve civil affairs unit in FY 2006 and a reserve civil affairs battalion by FY 2007 to institutionalize the work being done as a matter of course by Navy Seabee construction battalions and other units.

The Navy staff also will be refining the concept of the Navy expeditionary training team, a unit scheduled for activation in FY 2007, with the skills, language capabilities and cultural training to aid foreign navies in upgrading their capabilities and effectiveness, particularly against terrorism.

The Navy's only two helicopter combat support (HCS) special squadrons - reserve units that support special operations and provide combat rescue capabilities, and have deployed detachments continuously to the Middle East since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom - will become integrated active-reserve units, in a manner similar to the manning of the two helicopter mine countermeasures squadrons. The official said the HCS units have reached the legal limit of their mobilization, and that active-duty pilots and crews will augment the squadrons to enable the Navy to continue to deploy them.

One of the initiatives will be the formation of a maritime intercept operations intelligence team that will begin training next month. Team personnel will be trained to join boarding parties to quickly exploit intelligence onboard ships. The Navy official said the service already is deploying a biometric capability, using fingerprints and facial photos to crosscheck during boardings with the FBI database in near real time.

The initiatives will be reflected in the September budget change submission to the Office of the secretary of Defense. The Navy will have to take the manpower requirements for the new forces out of its existing forces, "to the extent possible," the directive memo said.

Senate May Rally In Defense Of JASSM

House and Senate lawmakers are expected to face off in the coming weeks over a nearly $150 million House-proposed cut to Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, or JASSM. In June, the full House approved the House Appropriations Committee's recommendation to cancel the missile after it failed two tests earlier this year. The House bill provides only $2 million to terminate JASSM, which is manufactured at Lockheed Martin's missile facility in Troy, Ala.

But the missile, which provides significant standoff range to protect Air Force and Navy aircrews from hostile air-defense systems, is not expected to go down without a fight.

Last year, the Senate Appropriations Committee, which includes Alabama Republican Richard Shelby, supported the program. And the Senate Armed Services Committee's version of the fiscal 2006 defense authorization bill included $150.2 million for 300 JASSM missiles, an amount touted by Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-AIa.