Ed. Note: President George W. Bush last year appointed the Hon. Gordon England for a second term as Secretary of the Navy to serve as the civilian head of the Navy and Marine Corps’ leadership team. Having spent a career in the defense and aviation industries prior to entering federal service, Mr. England possesses a rare blend of technical skill and management expertise.
The following remarks are extracted from a recent address to a forum in Virginia Beach, Va., in which the Secretary addressed the Navy’s position on the War on Terror.
As guest speaker in a recent symposium, I was asked to respond to the question “Ready or Not? How Do We Respond with Ready Forces to the Right Place and the Right Time to Win the Next War?”
Frankly, I am intent on winning this war … the War on Terror, a war that could be with us for generations.
Terrorists don’t care about their victims’ nationality or religion. Radical Islamic extremists kill innocent men, women and children of every race and all faiths, including Muslims. Because of their ruthlessness, they represent a tremendous threat to our security and economy.
This war is about time, speed and information. Being timely, agile and quick to react to robust intelligence must be inherent in America’s naval forces. Never before have these attributes been so necessary to our planning, our operations and our need to sustain readiness.
To be relevant in this war, Naval forces will need to provide more immediate, persistent combat power … to seize the initiative rapidly in Joint operations, to fight efficiently and to regroup quickly.
The Operational Availability Study, directed by the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff, Gen Peter Pace, USMC, and the Joint Requirements Oversight Council led to the metric “10-30-30,” which defines the goal for speed of response, time to act and reset.
The Fleet Response Plan, Sea Swap, Sea Basing and Sea Warrior are giant steps in the right direction, and we continue to bring these programs to fruition. Our Chief of Naval Operations, ADM Vern Clark, and the Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen Mike Hagee, are emphasizing these initiatives throughout the Naval services, with the Secretary of Defense and with the Congress.
Our ability to react quickly to rapidly changing world conditions has vastly improved over time. As an example of timeliness, past and present, in Vietnam, an entire carrier strike package was able to hit only 23 targets. In Operation Desert Storm, this capability rose to 162 targets. Today, we are able to effectively target and strike 680 aimpoints with a single carrier strike package. By 2008, that number will rise to more than 1,000 targets per aircraft carrier strike.
Though these figures are impressive, important questions arise — do we know the targets to hit? Do we hit them quickly enough to achieve the maximum effect? Do we need to continue to increase our strike capability? Do we need more focus on improving intelligence? These important questions demand a response and need continued attention.
Security and Economic Development
Winning the War on Terror also will require building relationships and developing our economic base.
Security and economic development are effectively two sides of the same coin. Security is certainly needed for economic development, but long-term economic development is needed to maintain a satisfactory level of security. The insurgents and terrorists who oppose our efforts to bring peace to Iraq understand this very well — as do we. As a result, President Bush is deeply committed to providing a secure economic and community environment in Iraq, and we have committed vast amounts of manpower and material to achieve that end. Peace and prosperity are not ordained, but earned.
Civilized societies share the overarching goal of economic development as they enjoy the benefits of freedom and liberty. Freedom-loving people everywhere want to improve the lives of their sons and daughters, and healthy economic development is a cornerstone to a safer and better world.
Improving Communications
We need to strengthen our channels of communication with other navies of the world. The rapid and accurate flow of information is the foundation of reliable and useful intelligence. We need to more effectively link our terrorist-related intelligence with the appropriate law enforcement and immigration agencies. We’ll also need to develop new and better concepts to deal with rising Islamic militancy throughout the world. All of this requires original thinking, energetic and creative leadership and hard work. Though we are making progress on all fronts, there is so much more that needs to be done.
Preventing our enemies the use of the sea to transfer arms, or to move components of weapons of mass destruction, drugs or other contraband is an endless challenge. Just as we use the seas to defend our national interests, our adversaries likewise seek to use the sea to advance their objectives. We must keep the lines of communication and commerce open, particularly in specific and critically important areas such as the Straits of Malacca and Hormuz, where passing military and commercial vessels are particularly vulnerable.
None of this is possible without global relationships … and this is where the Naval services traditionally excel. Those who serve at sea share bonds that transcend borders. Even during the height of the Cold War, certain maritime traditions overcame tensions with the Soviets. Traditions such as the safety of those who sail the world’s oceans, respect for a nation’s sovereignty and respect for established navigational standards are shared by mariners regardless of the flag they fly. We need to continue to reach out to those who depend on maritime commerce to strengthen old bonds and to build new ones.
Our ability to maintain maritime dominance is increasingly important in fighting the War on Terror. The security of our airports has tightened dramatically since September 11, as has that of our nation’s ports and waterways. But there is much more to be done. Terrorists have already demonstrated their willingness to exploit the seas with attacks on our ships, such as that on the destroyer USS Cole (DDG-67), and their links to piracy and smuggling.
The Maritime Domain
One initiative in combating terrorism recently begun is to improve our awareness of the Maritime Domain, the entire spectrum of our relationship with the sea. We need to know more specifically what is coming ashore through our ports of entry and elsewhere. To achieve this we need a superior method of intelligence collection and analysis and a means to share this information with global partners. We need better coordination across government agencies including the National Security Council, Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, the Justice Department and others.
A Layered System of Defense
With this heightened awareness and visibility, we have devised an active, layered system of defense that incorporates not only the Maritime Domain, but space and cyberspace as well. Hand in hand with increasing the awareness of the importance of the Maritime Domain, President Bush initiated the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) just over a year ago, and more than 60 countries have pledged their support.
Working together with our partner nations’ navies, customs and intelligence services, PSI has conducted numerous boardings to combat the shipments of weapons of mass destruction and their components, together with other arms-related trafficking.
People Are Key to Victory
Our Navy is ideally poised to help extend the nation’s defense perimeter at sea and everywhere we operate.
The most important dimension of this war is our people and leadership. Many believe the only constant is change, but that is not completely accurate. There is at least one indisputable constant … the importance of our people. Our magnificent men and women in uniform are dedicated to preserving liberty, but they are not the only ones defending our way of life. In factories, shipyards and flight lines, our civilian partners are toiling every day to do what they can to protect the cause of freedom. Though we are blessed with the most modern technology anywhere in the world, none of this is worth anything without skilled, motivated people and effective leadership.
America has a 229-year tradition of defending freedom and liberty, both for us and for those around the world who need help. This is what America does best, and it’s a part of our heritage and our character.
Defending liberty has a high price. In Iraq, many brave American fighting men and women have been wounded or killed in action, and many have suffered injuries from nonhostile accidents. Their courage inspires us all. It is a privilege to serve with patriots of all descriptions, in uniform or in civilian life, who work every day to take care of America.
God bless you all.