House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Hearing
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Chairman Frelinghuysen and Ranking Representative Visclosky, and members of the committee, today I have the privilege of appearing to discuss posture and readiness for the fifth time on behalf of the men and women of the
The architects of our Constitution recognized the inherent value of the
This year we celebrate the Bicentennial of
These options are far greater than just waging war, although the
Strategic Context in 2013
Throughout the past year, the
In recent years we have had a range of examples which illustrate what our
A few months ago when Typhoon Haiyan moved toward our allies in
Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief missions are an important contribution our
These examples demonstrate that for the
Today's Priorities
Four key factors make our global presence and global action possible. These four factors - People, Platforms, Power and Partnerships - have been my priorities during my tenure as Secretary and they must continue to receive our focus looking ahead.
Each of these four priorities contributes directly to the
People - Supporting our Vital Asset
In 1915, my predecessor, Josephus Daniels testified before
Our equipment - the ships, submarines, aircraft, vehicles, weapons and cyber systems; everything that our Sailors and Marines operate - are technological marvels and the most advanced in the world. But they only exist thanks to those who design, build and procure them. And they would be useless without those who sail and fly and operate them. The people are the real marvel. They are what gives
Those in uniform have seen ever lengthening deployments. The average number of days that ships are underway or deployed increased 15% since 2001. In 2013 the
Our civilian personnel have been tested as well. We literally could not put our fleet to sea without these committed and courageous individuals. The horrific attack at the Washington Navy Yard in September cost the lives of twelve devoted public servants left two physically injured and intangible scars across our workforce. Just days later, as soon as they were permitted, most of their colleagues on the Navy Yard returned to work, committed to their mission despite three years in which they received no pay raises and were subject to furloughs. Two weeks after the shooting our
A concrete demonstration of our support for our Sailors, Marines, and civilians are their pay and benefits. Military pay and benefits continue at a competitive level, and in some skill areas are better than those found in the private sector. The promise of a military retirement is a key element of the covenant we have with the men and women who serve our country for an entire career. We must safeguard that promise for today's Sailors and Marines. However, we also have to realize that the growth rate in military compensation must be controlled. Our Sailors and Marines chose to serve their country out of duty and patriotism, not just for the money. We must ensure that we support our active duty personnel by giving them the resources and tools they need to do their jobs, as well as their well-earned compensation.
We support the sensible and fair reforms to compensation and benefits introduced in the President's budget. We look forward to considering the complete review being conducted by the
Today's demanding environment will require the most resilient force that our
The initiative is influencing Sailors and Marines around the world. In particular, we are working to counter the challenges of suicide, sexual assault and alcohol-related incidents. These tragic occurrences not only impact the resilience of our Sailors and Marines, they also directly impact the discipline of the force and degrade combat effectiveness.
We remain resolute in our efforts to minimize suicides and we are striving to understand the root causes and contributing factors that lead to suicide and suicide-related behavior. We want an environment in which Sailors and Marines are comfortable coming forward when they feel they may harm themselves, or when they know of a shipmate contemplating harm. Over the past few years we have introduced a number of initiatives including the Navy Operational Stress Control (OSC) Program to help build personal resilience, promote peer-to-peer support, enhance family support, and enable intervention up and down the chain of command. We have also added additional Mobile Training Teams who travel to units around the world to teach these skills and foster a sense of community. Our suicide prevention teams examine each incident for insights and data to inform our programs and we apply those lessons to help improve our training and policy.
Sexual assault continues to be an "insider threat" with serious impacts on the
Another key element is our effort to strengthen the expertise and increase the resources of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and our Judge Advocates to investigate and prosecute sexual criminals. We have also focused some of their training on advocating for victims. We continue to conduct regular voluntary anonymous surveys in order to learn as much as possible about perceptions and the factors influencing decisions to report or not report sexual assaults
We continue to work to curb alcohol abuse and reduce the number of alcohol-related incidents which can end lives and careers. There has been a downward trend in alcohol related incidents which continued in 2013 as we saw yet another reduction in cases of DUI and alcohol related behavior. We attribute this in part to dynamic media and education campaigns and directed-actions for irresponsible use of alcohol. We have also instituted limits to the shelf space available for the sale of alcohol at
Another positive development in 2013 was the significant strides the
The
Platforms - Building the Future Fleet
The Marines, Sailors and civilians are the heart of our force, but what enables them to do their job are the ships, submarines, and aircraft in our fleet. As I noted earlier, we have the most advanced platforms in the world and we must constantly work to maintain that technological advantage. However, at a certain point quantity has a quality all its own.
The very nature of the
It is important to understand how we got to our current fleet size. On 9/11, the fleet stood at 316 ships. By 2008, after one of the largest military buildups in American history, that number had dropped to 278 ships. In the four years before I took office as Secretary, the
Some of the
When I took office, many of the
In the past five years we have turned shipbuilding around by promoting acquisition excellence and integrity as well as aggressive oversight. We have been rebuilding the Department's core of acquisition professionals. Our focus is on everything from requirements, to design, to construction efficiency, to projected total life cycle costs. We emphasized firm, fixed-price contracts over the cost-plus contracts that can inflate costs. We introduced initiatives to spend smarter and more efficiently through competition, multi-year buys, and driving harder bargains for taxpayer dollars. I have made it clear to industry that
But along with those harder bargains and expectations I made a commitment to our industry partners that the Department will do three things to keep up our end of the relationship. First, we must build stable designs without major changes during construction. Second, if a new advanced technology comes along after construction has started; it must wait until the next block of ships. Finally, we will offer a realistic shipbuilding plan so that the number, type, and timing of building would be transparent and offer some stability to the industry.
In today's fiscal environment maintaining and increasing the fleet size will require sound management, innovative solutions, and continuing to seek out efficiency in our acquisition system.
The FY15 Shipbuilding Plan projects that we will reach 300 ships by the end of the decade. This plan maintains a force that is balanced and flexible and focuses on critical technologies. It is designed to be able to prevail in 21st century combat situations, including anti-access, area-denial environments, and to be operationally effective and resilient against cyber attacks. In 2013 we awarded two
2013 saw a number of significant milestones for our new platforms and our research and development programs. Our interim Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB) USS PONCE continued to develop operating concepts for future AFSB's and Mobile Landing Platforms (MLPs). The next generation destroyer
The deployment of Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) USS FREEDOM to the Pacific is an important milestone in the LCS Program. The deployment tested the ship and its key operating concepts, overcame first-in-class challenges, and provided the
Our aviation and weapons programs are just as important to our ability to project power and provide presence as our shipbuilding. In May Admiral Greenert and I stood on the deck of
The at-sea testing of a directed energy weapon system was also an important development. These new systems can give the
During difficult fiscal times it may be tempting to target research and development programs for savings. However, that kind of thinking is short sighted. These programs, and our entire research and development establishment from the
Power - A National Security Issue
Power and energy are central to our naval forces and our ability to be in the right place, around the world. It is what we need to get them there and keep them there. The
Energy is a national security issue and can be, and is, used as a geostrategic weapon. Even with domestic oil production up, imports declining, and new oil and gas reserves being discovered, energy is still a security concern and military vulnerability. One reason for this is that oil is the ultimate global commodity, often traded on speculation and rumor. In the aftermath of the chemical weapons attack in
In 2009, I announced five energy goals for the
Under a Presidential Directive, the
We also continue to develop our energy efficiency through research and development of more efficient propulsion systems, shore-based power management and smart-grid technology, and conservation measures. For example, in the past year the Naval Facilities Engineering Command's Engineering and
The
Partnerships -
For the last seven decades American naval forces have deployed around the world to be, as
In times of economic uncertainty it is more critical than ever to protect the stability of the global system. As 90 percent of worldwide trade moves at sea, this system, and the sophisticated set of international rules and treaties on which it is based, has become central to our global marketplace. However the efficiency and intricate interdependencies of a "just in time" economy place the system at risk from the destabilizing influences of rogue nations, non-state actors, and regional conflicts.
Providing security for free trade and freedom of navigation across the maritime domain requires more capacity than any single nation can muster. The
A recent Naval History and Heritage Command study titled "
In the past year, we continued to develop the strength of our partnerships across the globe. Engagement between the leaders of the world's naval forces is a critical component of building those human connections. Because of this, our senior uniformed leaders and I have traveled extensively to meet and consult with our peers.
Many nations have a longstanding territorial view inward, which caused them to focus overwhelmingly on land forces in the past. But in today's globalized world they recognize that they now have to face outward. They are looking to the
In 2013 we conducted the largest exercise of the year in the Arabian Gulf, the International Mine Countermeasures Exercise (IMCMEX). With representatives from 41 countries, including 6,600 sailors on 35 ships, the world's navies cooperated to help promote regional stability and address the global challenge of mine warfare. Also this past year,
Some of our exercises are smaller and more focused, like Obangame Express 2013 which occurred this past spring in the Gulf of
These are just a few examples of literally hundreds of operations, engagements, and exercises that the
But our partnerships mean a great deal more than our alliances and friendships around the world.
Recently, the Chief of a
FY15 Budget Submission
PB15 continues to build the fleet of more than 300 ships we will have by the end of this decade. This fleet will include established and proven platforms which we are currently deploying, next generation platforms, and new advanced weapons, sensors, and payloads. Guided by operational concepts like Air Sea Battle, the experiences of more than ten years of war, and the lessons from our war-gaming and studies, the
Supporting our Sailors and Marines is a vital part of our budget request. We have increased spending on high priority Quality of Service programs, including increased career sea pay to help incentivize sea duty. We have also modestly increased spending on Quality of Life programs including on-base housing. But these initiatives must be balanced to ensure our Sailors and Marines have the resources and equipment they need to complete the mission. Across the FYDP we will add funds to improve Quality of Work issues like training support and improving the availability of spare parts so our Sailors and Marines remain the most knowledgeable in the world and have the tools they need to do their jobs. We protect programs that support our Sailors or Marines when they need help. This includes sexual assault incident response and training, suicide prevention, and family support programs. We remain committed to our military-to-civilian transition assistance and work to ensure that our veteran employment programs offer the best opportunities to capitalized on the knowledge and skills of transitioning Sailors and Marines.
Maintaining undersea dominance is vital to the
Continued production of proven platforms for the fleet is a key element in this budget and across the Future Years Defense Plan (FYDP). We will continue to build two
This budget also procures new and advanced platforms that will take our fleet into the future. We will build LCSs and AFSB, and continue to introduce Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSV) and MLPs to the fleet. This will provide modular and mission focused capabilities around the world, while helping to meet the presence requirements of the fleet. In aviation we will continue production of the new P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft across the FYDP, deploying new squadrons, as well as the F-35 Lightning II for both the
Unmanned platforms and systems will be an important part of the future
We will continue to fund our energy programs with this budget by moving forward with the biofuels program under the DPA, as well as continuing our sea and shore based efficiency programs. This budget includes
This budget includes funds to maintain our presence in the
PB 15 also represents the platforms and payloads necessary for increasing operations in the
In our FY15 budget we include funding to support the movement of more of our ships and units forward as the most effective and cost-efficient means of maintaining our global presence. Forward based, stationed, or operating ships all provide presence at a significantly lower cost since one ship that operates continuously overseas provides the same presence as about four ships deploying rotationally from homeports in
It is our duty to spend the tax-payers' dollars wisely, and it is a duty that we take very seriously in the
The FY15 budget request for the
Conclusion
This year we commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Battle of
From the halls of Montezuma to Point Luck and the waters around Midway, our Sailors and Marines have demonstrate that kind of dedication and daring time and again. They, and our
Today we face a dangerous and challenging world. Rising powers and maritime territorial conflicts threaten freedom of navigation and the free trade of today's global economic system. Terrorist organizations continue to proliferate around the world. Political instability threatens to break into violence in numerous regions.
For 238 years our Sailors and Marines have been there when the nation called and we must endeavor to ensure that we are there for the future. Difficult times pose difficult questions, and the Commandant, CNO and I look forward to answering yours. The continued support of this committee is essential in ensuring the
Read this original document at: http://docs.house.gov/meetings/AP/AP02/20140325/101924/HHRG-113-AP02-Wstate-MabusR-20140325.pdf
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