Mine Warfare The threat posed by cheap and readily available mines will persist for the foreseeable future. The Navy has taken significant steps to improve the training and readiness of its mine forces and to improve their coordination at the operational level. Countering the mine threat is not merely a function of increased funding and training. The Navy must, and will, be innovative and explore a variety of tactical and technological alternatives as well. The Department of the Navy has a comprehensive Mine Warfare Plan which addresses deep and shallow-water mine countermeasures, leverages international mine countermeasures capabilities, identifies research and development issues, enhances mine avoidance, and delineates mine programs. To streamline its forces, the Mine Warfare Command will assume operational control of all mine warfare forces, both surface and aviation. Additionally, a NavyMarine Corps group has been working to identify effective counters to mines and obstacles in very shallow waters. All 14 ships of the MCM-1 AVENGER class will be in commission by Fiscal Year 1994, and ten ships of the MHC-51 OSPREY class have been appropriated. These ships, working together with MH-53E mine countermeasures helicopters, Explosive Ordnance Disposal units, and Navy Special Warfare units are a firm foundation for our mine countermeasures force of the future. Operations in Kuwait provided important lessons in the area of land mine warfare. The Marine Corps augmented its organic minesweeping capability in Southwest Asia with additional mine rakes, plows, and rollers. Marine land mine warfare initiatives include combat mobility vehicles, mine detection laser technology, magnetic countermine systems, additional mine plows, distributed explosive mine neutralization systems, armored combat earth movers, and area mine clearance systems. A Commitment to Total Force Naval Reserve The Navy mobilized over 21,000 reservists in Operation Desert Storm. These men and women performed superbly and made a significant contribution to the overall military effort. While over half of the naval reservists recalled were involved in health care both at home and abroad, the Naval Reserve also provided at least 65 percent of the Navy's minesweeping, naval control of shipping, advanced base construction (Seabees), and Military Sealift Command capability. Over 90 percent of our cargo handling in theater was provided by navel reservists. As United States troops began returning home, more than 6,700 of the naval reservists activated for Operation Desert Storm continued to serve in the Persian Gulf, supporting the massive logistics effort needed to bring home our troops and their equipment. As the likelihood of full mobilization decreases, the Naval Reserve is being reoriented and equipped for crisis response. In addition, naval reservists will make greater contributions to peacetime operations and contingency support. Other units--those envisioned for use in full mobilization--will be maintained in states of flexible readiness, building proficiency by hands-on support (training-in-kind) to the active force. Medical treatment, repair of the shore establishment, tactical air adversary squadrons, and electronic warfare squadrons are areas under consideration as cost-effective and innovative concepts for the Naval Reserve Equipment transfer and modernization continue with weapon system upgrades, acceptance of C-130 aircraft, and planned introduction of Coastal Mine Hunters (MHC). Additionally, we are continuing with the Innovative Naval Reserve initiative announced last year, and have begun the redesignation and transfer of eight KNOX class frigates as FFTs. Marine Corps Reserve This past year, the Marine Corps Reserve celebrated its 75th anniversary. Proving the validity of Marine Corps integrated training and exercise programs, 55 percent of the Selected Marine Corps Reserve and approximately 6,300 Individual Ready Reservists were mobilized. More than 13,100 Marine reserve combat troops deployed to Southwest Asia during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Marine Corps reservists not only deployed to the Gulf area, but also assumed worldwide Marine Corps commitments. Reserve Marines supported regular forces in humanitarian relief efforts after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines and typhoon-related destruction in Bangladesh. Reservists participated in international training exercises conducted in Japan, Korea, Honduras, and Norway. At home, reserves helped the United States Border Patrol's drug interdiction program along the United States southwestern border. The Marine Corps has carefully designed its total force structure to make greater use of the capabilities and strengths of the Selected Marine Corps Reserve. The reserves will augment and reinforce the active component in conflicts requiring sustained operations. Adjustments to the reserve force structure are planned in consonance with changes in active force structure. The Marine reserves will remain ready, relevant, and capable. Medical Operation Desert Storm demonstrated our department's total force approach to medical support. Our hospital ships and fleet hospitals, together with 11,500 medical personnel assigned directly to the operating forces, provided the most sophisticated medical capability ever deployed. During the Persian Gulf war, medical reservists provided direct operational support to deployed Navy and Marine Corps units, augmented the active duty crews of the two deployed hospital ships, and "back filled" health care facilities in the United States. Fifty-two percent of all naval reservists recalled to active duty were medical personnel. Today, Navy medical personnel are playing a major role in the implementation of the Department of Defense Coordinated Care Program, which is designed to maintain a quality health care delivery system while improving access and cost effectiveness. The goal of this program is to maximize use of military hospital and clinic capacity in coordination with local networks of preferred health care providers. These providers will deliver care under negotiated, reduced CHAMPUS costs. The Department of the Navy plans to get the most value for its health care dollars by carefully managing and exploiting the full range of available options. The Department is emphasizing health education and related organizational, social, economic, and health care interventions designed to improve or protect the health of Sailors, Marines, and their families. The goal of the Navy Health Promotion Program is to improve and maintain the highest levels of unit readiness by concentrating on increased individual fitness and by minimizing health risks and disabilities. Management Defense Management Report (DMR) The Department of the Navy has made significant progress in implementing Defense Management Report (DMR) initiatives. The Department has made organizational changes and is pursuing the Department of Defense and internal Department of the Navy cost savings initiatives. Efforts to consolidate oversight, enhance accountability of Program Managers and Program Executive Officers, and reduce infrastructure costs have improved management and produced significant savings. The Department has moved to implement 57 cost saving initiatives which focus on consolidating activities with similar functions, streamlining organizations, and reducing overhead and maintenance costs. Implementation of the cost saving initiatives is on track and will produce the planned savings goals. As part of the DMR's continuing management improvement process, the Navy and Marine Corps will continue to search for improvements and efficiencies. Shore Facilities The Department's system of shore bases and facilities continues to provide the full spectrum of logistic support needed by the Fleet and Fleet Marine Force. However, the age of those facilities is increasing, as is their backlog of maintenance and repairs. The Department intends to address these issues to ensure that piers, runways, and utility systems continue properly to support Navy and Marine Corps operational forces, and to ensure that our personnel support facilities provide a high quality of life for our people and their families. Environment The Department of the Navy environmental program has identified these objectives: Integrate environmental awareness into all planning, management, and operations. Restore past hazardous waste disposal sites and comply with ongoing environmental requirements. Control future environmental damage by minimizing waste and preventing oil spills or hazardous material contamination. Contribute to the health of the marine environment and manage natural resources found on Navy and Marine Corps installations. Conduct community outreach in support of the Department of Defense and the Environment Initiative. Significant efforts are in place to support these goals. The Navy and Marine Corps have programmed funding for compliance requirements and are designing appropriate environmental training for Department personnel Plastic waste discharged from ships has been reduced by 70 percent, and recycling programs are reducing the solid waste sent to local landfills and incinerators. The Navy and Marine Corps have developed community relations programs for each installation undergoing hazardous waste site restoration to ensure that local communities are fully informed of all actions. The Department has established active programs on many Navy and Marine Corps installations to protect and restore wildlife habitats. It is also working with the Department of the Interior to identify all wetlands. NAVY ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION PROGRAM FULL COMPLIANCE WITH EPA DEFINED CLASS I AND CLASS II REQUIREMENTS. FULL COMPLIANCE WITH ANTICIPATED CLEAN AIR ACT REGULATIONS. INTENSIVE MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIAL. • PHASE OUT OF OZONE DEPLETING SUBSTANCES (CFCS AND HALONS) ELIMINATION OF PLASTIC WASTE DISCHARGE AT SEA. • MANAGEMENT OF OILY WASTES. • DEVELOPMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP METHODS. • COMMUNITY RELATIONS EFFORTS. Conclusion As United States national security policy evolves, so does the Nation's naval policy. The Navy and the Marine Corps are committed to providing quality naval forces with the readiness and capability to defend national interests worldwide, shape and influence global developments, and support the National Military Strategy. The Department of the Navy is determined that naval forces in America's future will not be the dangerously inadequate "hollow forces" that bave inadvertently resulted from some defense realignments in the past. The Department is determined, furthermore, to provide those forces at a cost that is consistent with the fiscal priorities of the Nation. The Department's plan for the future of American naval forces has a carefully defined direction, and it has momentum. The United States Navy and Marine Corps will have the quality and capability to meet new and continuing challenges to the safety of the United States, its interests, and its friends. STATEMENT OF ADM. F.B. KELSO II, CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS Senator INOUYE. Admiral Kelso. Admiral KELSO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the opportunity to appear before this committee and I thank you for your strong support of our Navy. I am happy today to tell you that the American sailor is holding up well in this world of great change. These bright, disciplined, and dedicated young men and women remain on station in those strategic areas which require our continued efforts to maintain peace and stability. They are also helping to deter terrorism, stop the drug trade, and provide humanitarian assistance. We ask a great deal of them and they continue to deliver. I recently visited Navy commands in the Mediterranean, the Persian Gulf, and the western Pacific. Our people are hard at work, with a new focus, after the cold war. They are working to maintain stability and peace in the region. They are also exercising with friendly and coalition naval forces. Our experiences in Desert Shield and Desert Storm validated our policy of working with coalition forces in combined operations. We continue to support the unified CINC's. Central Command still tasks naval units to enforce U.N. sanctions, and as of this morning, we have intercepted over 13,000 ships and we have boarded over 3,600 ships. Naval force levels in the Arabian Gulf and Red Sea are five times what they were when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. They will remain at this level for some time to come. It is through this forward presence that the Navy and Marine Corps provide the on call crisis response capabilities required by the national military strategy. You have an outstanding naval force and you should expect no less, sir. But this is not the Navy of just 2 or 3 years ago. I want to brief you on the scope of changes we have made, as well as their impact over the next several years. A CHANGING NAVY In the 1980's we designed a 600-ship Navy to meet a global threat. I am certainly not lamenting the fact that we no longer have that requirement. Winning the cold war confirmed the wisdom of the decisions we made, and the Congress supported, to achieve a more peaceful world. But now the world has changed and we are changing with it. |