BULLHORN #73      
5 JUNE 2010 

ANAers,

There have been many events of late – and many articles regarding issues that should
be close to all of us.  The compilation of all fills far too many pages to fill one BULLHORN
so we shall try to pick the best – the most pertinent – and put them in a couple of issues of
the BULLHORN over the next few days.

VRespy,

Dutch

Dutch Rauch

Secretary/Treasurer

Association of Naval Aviation, Inc.

A 501(C)(3) not-for-profit organization

1446 Waggaman Circle

Mclean, VA 22101

svwindmills@erols.com

http://www.anahq.org/

 “…to educate and encourage an interest among the general public as to the importance of Naval Aviation in the defense of
the United States and its allies….”

mural design by Laser Imaging & Design with permission

 

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The most important event of all is one of remembrance of sacrifice beyond measure by those
countless men who gave so selflessly for our freedom - The Battle of Midway, 4 – 7 June 1942.

 

The following is from the Navy History and Heritage Command web site at
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/midway/midway.htm:

“The Battle of Midway, fought over and near the tiny U.S. mid-Pacific base at Midway atoll, represents the strategic high water mark of Japan's Pacific Ocean war. Prior to this action, Japan possessed general naval superiority over the United States and could usually choose where and when to attack. After Midway, the two opposing fleets were essentially equals, and the United States soon took the offensive.

Japanese Combined Fleet commander Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto moved on Midway in an effort to draw out and destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet's aircraft carrier striking forces, which had embarassed the Japanese Navy in the mid-April Doolittle Raid on Japan's home islands and at the Battle of Coral Sea in early May. He planned to quickly knock down Midway's defenses, follow up with an invasion of the atoll's two small islands and establish a Japanese air base there. He expected the U.S. carriers to come out and fight, but to arrive too late to save Midway and in insufficient strength to avoid defeat by his own well-tested carrier air power.

Take a look at the wealth of information at both that web site and one of their others at http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq81-1.htm - all so all of us may better understand and value their sacrifice – and the heritage of Service and freedom those sacrifices have given us.

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INDEX

 “Where are the carriers?”

NEW COMMANDING OFFICER

Centennial of Naval Aviation  Foundation Web Site

Flag Officer Announcements

VRC-40 50^TH Anniversary

BLUE ANGELS 2-YEAR 2010 – 2011 SCHEDULE

Marine Corps    So long  Battle Phrogs

recent articles ON FORCE composition, acquisition and budget issues

Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul

Navy Flying Warrant Officer Program Milestone

 

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ARTICLES                              ARTICLES                                 ARTICLES

 

We are reminded, “Where are the carriers?” 

The Dong A Ilbo (Seoul, Wednesday, June 2, 2010) has article on the forthcoming naval exercise to be conducted by U.S. and South Korean forces.

Excerpt: Seoul and Washington had originally planned to conduct their joint drill in late June or early July, but advanced the schedule by about a month. Analysts in and out of the South Korean military say both sides seek to pressure the North at a time when Seoul is close to referring the Cheonan sinking to the U.N. Security Council and international sanctions on Pyongyang are inevitable.

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US Nuke Carrier to Arrive in S. Korea for Drill

 

JUNE 02, 2010 18:29 

The U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George Washington will reportedly arrive in the Yellow Sea early next week for a large-scale anti-submarine drill with the South Korean Navy.

A diplomatic source in Seoul said Tuesday, “The USS George Washington of the U.S. Navy`s 7th Fleet will depart from its base in the Japanese port of Yokosuka around Saturday,” adding, “Since it takes about two days to reach the Yellow Sea from there, the carrier will arrive in the Yellow Sea early next week for a large-scale anti-submarine drill jointly with the South Korean Navy.”

Washington decided to deploy combat troops from the 7th Fleet to stage a military protest in
response to North Korea’s sinking of the South Korean naval vessel Cheonan March 26.

The source said, “After agonizing over which unit of the 7th Fleet to mobilize, the Pentagon
decided to dispatch the aircraft carrier, the core force of the fleet’s combat capability, given
that the operation is intended to protest the North Korean attack.”

"The George Washington will form a battle fleet of an aircraft carrier to comprise an Aegis cruiser and Aegis destroyer to participate in the drill.”

Seoul and Washington had originally planned to conduct their joint drill in late June or early July, but advanced the schedule by about a month. Analysts in and out of the South Korean military say both sides seek to pressure the North at a time when Seoul is close to referring the Cheonan sinking to the U.N. Security Council and international sanctions on Pyongyang are inevitable.

In the exercise, the submarines of the two allies will likely maneuver and conduct a reciprocal
search (tracing) operation before the tracked submarine emerge from the water to simulate a situation of being attacked and destroyed. The navies of the two nations will also likely hold a drill in which they consider a deserted vessel as an enemy ship and have a submarine fire a
torpedo at it.

A Seoul military source said the drill will entail a bombing exercise in which a destroyer launches a mine to destroy an enemy submarine underwater.

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NEW COMMANDING OFFICER – Patriot Squadron, Boston

Robert Odams is the newly elected Commanding Officer of the ANA Patriot Squadron 47 of
Boston Massachusetts.
Address: 105 Lake Street,

Wrentham, MA, 02093

508/384-8042, jeannebobodams@verizon.net.

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The Centennial of Naval Aviation Foundation has launched their web site at  http://navalaviation100.org/

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Flag Officer Announcements

                 Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates announced that the President has made the
following nominations:

                 Navy Vice Adm. William E. Gortney for reappointment to the rank of vice admiral and assignment as director, Joint Staff, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.  Gortney is currently serving as commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Central Command and Commander, 5^th Fleet, Bahrain.

Vice Admiral William E. Gortney
Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command

Vice Admiral Bill Gortney graduated from Elon College in North Carolina, earning a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science in 1977. He entered the Navy as an aviation officer candidate, received his commission in the United States Naval Reserve in September 1977 and earned his wings of gold in December 1978.

U.S. Naval Central Command / U.S. 5th Fleet / Combined Maritime Forces is Gortney’s third command tour in the U.S. Central Command area of operations, supporting Maritime Security Operations and combat operations for Operations Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Iraqi Freedom (OIF). His first was Carrier Air Wing 7, onboard USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67), in direct support of OEF in 2002. His second was Carrier Strike Group 10, onboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), in support of Maritime Security Operations and OIF from 2007-2008.

Gortney’s extensive experience in the CENTCOM area of operations includes serving on the Joint Staff, J-33 Joint Operations Department CENTCOM Division from 1998-1999, and tours supporting the violent peace of Operation Southern Watch from 2000-2001 as deputy for Current Operations, Joint Task Force Southwest Asia, and deploying as deputy commander, Carrier Air Wing 7, onboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69). He also served as chief, Naval and Amphibious Liaison Element to the Combined Forces Air Component Commander, U.S. Central Command, for the opening months of OIF, followed as chief of staff for Commander U.S. Naval Forces Central Command / U.S. 5th Fleet from 2003-2004.

Additional command tours include Strike Fighter Squadron 15 (VFA-15), 1994-1995, onboard
USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), and VFA-106, the East Coast FA-18 Fleet Replacement
Squadron, Naval Air Station (NAS) Cecil Field, Fla., 1996-1997. Fleet assignments include Attack Squadron 82 (VA-82), 1981-1984, onboard USS Nimitz (CVN 68); VFA-87, 1988-1990, onboard USS Theodore Roosevelt; executive officer, VFA-132, 1991-1992, onboard USS Forrestal (CV 59) and executive officer, VFA-15, 1992-1994, onboard USS Theodore Roosevelt.

Shore assignments include VT-26, NAS Beeville, Texas, 1978-1980; VFA-125, NAS Lemoore, Calif., 1984-1988, and aide and flag lieutenant to the Assistant Chief of Naval Operations (Air Warfare), Washington, 1990-1991. He is a 1996 graduate of the Naval War College, earning a Master of Arts in International Security Affairs. His first flag tour was as the deputy chief of staff for Global Force Management and Joint Operations, Fleet Forces Command, Norfolk, 2004-2006.

Gortney has flown over 5360 mishap free flight hours and 1,265 carrier-arrested landings, primarily in the A-7E Corsair II and the FA-18 Hornet. He is authorized to wear the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (four awards), Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), Meritorious Service Medal (three awards), Air Medal (three awards: Gold Numeral One, two Strike/Flight), Defense Commendation Medal (three awards), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Sea Service Ribbon (8 awards) and the Overseas Service Ribbon.

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              Rear Adm. (lower half) Matthew L. Klunder, will be assigned as director,
intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities, N2/N6F2, Office of the
Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C.  Klunder previously served as commandant of midshipmen, U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.

I regret a photo and bio for RDML (Sel) Klunder is not available at this time – Dutch)

 

NAVAIR Welcomes New Commander
Story Number: NNS100519-17
5/19/2010

From Naval Air Systems Command Public Affairs

PATUXENT RIVER, Md. (NNS) -- Naval Air Systems Command conducted a change of command
during a ceremony May 18, at Patuxent River, Md.

Incoming NAVAIR commander Vice Adm. David Architzel said he is committed to building on
NAVAIR's reputation for strength and effectiveness to make its contribution to the fleet better
and more enduring.

Vice Admiral David Architzel
Commander, Naval Air Systems Command

Vice Admiral Architzel currently serves as commander, Naval Air Systems Command, headquartered in Patuxent River, Md. He assumed his duties May 18, 2010, after serving as the principal military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Navy (Research, Development, and Acquisition).

Previous flag assignments included program executive officer for Aircraft Carriers, commander of Operational Test and Evaluation Force, Norfolk, commander, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic, commander, Naval Safety Center, Norfolk, and commander, Iceland Defense Force and commander, Fleet Air Keflavik.

At sea, Architzel served as the executive officer, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) and
Pre-Commissioning Unit John C. Stennis (CVN 74).  He served as the commanding officer,
USS Guam (LPH 9), flagship for commander Amphibious Squadron Two, and the sixth commanding officer of USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71).

A career naval aviator, Architzel has accumulated over 5000 flight hours, 4300 in the S-3, and the remainder in some 30 other aircraft types in his role as a test pilot at NAS Patuxent River. He served in VS-30, deploying aboard USS Forrestal (CV 59), and as maintenance officer in VS-28, deploying aboard USS Independence (CV 62).  He later returned to VS-30 as the executive officer and subsequently as commanding officer.

Architzel was born in Ogdensburg, N.Y., and raised in Merrick, Long Island.  He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics at the U.S. Naval Academy in June 1973 and also holds a Master of Science degree in Aeronautical Systems from the University of West Florida.

His decorations include the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, four Legions of Merit, three Meritorious Service Medals, the Navy Achievement Medal and various service related awards and campaign ribbons. He was also awarded the Spanish Naval Cross of Merit from His Majesty, King Juan Carlos of Spain, the Navy League's John Paul Jones Leadership Award for 1998, and the Commander's Cross with Star of the Icelandic Order of the Falcon presented by the president of Iceland.

"From the headquarters to the warfare centers to our FRCs [fleet readiness centers], the program executive offices and program managers, we have a lot to do in some very challenging operational and economic times," he said.

Architzel, who served as the Navy's principal military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, relieved Vice Adm. David J. Venlet who was selected by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to run the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.

"To the NAVAIR team, today is about a change of command and not about a change in mission," Architzel said. "Each of you has played a role in establishing the commendable reputation that NAVAIR enjoys -- technical excellence, business acumen, and unsurpassed leadership."

"NAVAIR is operating in a period of time that is at the pinnacle of change, challenge and opportunity," said Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead, who spoke at the ceremony. "They are introducing an entirely new generation of aircraft."

Roughead and Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and
Acquisition Sean Stackley offered their congratulations, praise and support for
Architzel.

"Dave [Architzel] brings a degree of passion, loyalty and desire to his work every single day," Stackley said.

"To those of you in NAVAIR who have had the privilege of serving with Dave Venlet, you will be equally privileged to work with Dave Architzel," Roughead said.

"He has served on five aircraft carriers since 1973, and still found time to command several units ashore," said Roughead. "He joins NAVAIR after nearly three years as the principal deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development, and acquisition. His operational experience and acquisition expertise bode well for the future of naval aviation."

A career naval aviator, Architzel has accumulated more than 5,000 flight hours, 4,300 in the S-3, and the remainder in some 30 other aircraft types as a test pilot at Patuxent River where he graduated from Test Pilot School in 1981.

He served as maintenance officer in Sea Control Squadron (VS) 30, deploying aboard USS Forrestal (CV 59), and in VS 28, deploying aboard USS Independence (CV 62). He later returned to VS 30 as executive officer and subsequently as commanding officer.  After selection to Nuclear Power Training, he served as executive officer of USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), the "Big Ike."

During his tour, Ike was awarded the 1992 Naval Air Force Atlantic Battle Efficiency Award. Following this tour, he served as executive officer of PCU John C. Stennis, and commanding officer of USS Guam (LPH 9), flagship for Amphibious Squadron 2. During this tour, Guam won three consecutive Battle Efficiency Awards, making deployments to the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean, which included Adriatic operations in support of the U.S. Ambassador to Somalia.

He became the 6th commanding officer of USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) on
Nov. 1, 1996. His command tour included a deployment to the Mediterranean and Arabian Gulf, during which time the battle group conducted operations in support of Joint Guard and Southern Watch.

Ashore, Architzel was selected for the Navy's Test Pilot School, filled a critical billet at the Spanish Naval War College in Madrid, Spain, and was department head of the Warfare Systems Group at the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River.

Architzel's first flag assignment was to Iceland, where he served as commander,
Iceland Defense Force and commander, Fleet Air Keflavik. His follow-on flag
assignments were commander, Naval Safety Center, Norfolk, commander, Navy
Region Mid-Atlantic, commander of Operational Test and Evaluation Force, Norfolk, and program executive officer for aircraft carriers.

On Aug. 6, 2007, Architzel assumed the role of principal deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development, and acquisition.

His decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, four Legions of Merit, three Meritorious Service Medals, the Navy Achievement Medal and various service related awards and campaign ribbons. He was also awarded the Spanish Naval Cross of Merit from His Majesty, King Juan Carlos of Spain, the Navy League's John Paul Jones Leadership Award for 1998, and the Commander's Cross with Star of the Icelandic Order of the Falcon presented by the President
of Iceland.                                                     

 

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VRC-40 50^TH Anniversary

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BLUE ANGELS 2-YEAR 2010 – 2011 SCHEDULE

2010 SCHEDULE

2011 SCHEDULE

May complete June 5-6 Eau Claire, WI 12-13 Milwaukee, WI 19-20 Cape Girardeau, MO 26-27 St. Cloud, MN July 3-4 Traverse City, MI 10 Pensacola Beach, FL 17-18 Dayton, OH 24-25 Idaho Falls, ID 31 Anchorage, AK August 1 Anchorage, AK 7-8 Seattle, WA 14-15 Chicago, IL 28-29 Portsmouth, NH September 4-6 Cleveland, OH 11-12 Scott AFB, IL 18-19 NAS Oceana, VA 25-26 MCAS Kaneohe Bay, HI October 1-3 MCAS Miramar, CA 9-10 San Francisco, CA 16-17 Dobbins AFB, GA 23-24 NAS Jacksonville, FL 30-31 Ft. Worth Alliance, TX November 6-7 Homestead AFB, FL 13 NAS Pensacola, FL

March 12 NAF El Centro, CA 19-20 Keesler AFB, MS 28-29 NAS Meridian, MS April 2-3 Sun-N-Fun, Lakeland, FL 9-10 NAS Corpus Christi, TX 16-17 Fort Worth JRB, TX 30 MCAS Beaufort, SC May 1 MCAS Beaufort, SC 3-4 NAS Pensacola, FL 7-8 NAS New Orleans, LA 8 Flight Academy Fly-over, Pensacola, FL 14-15 La Crosse, WI 21-22 Andrews AFB, MD (reunion show) 25 & 27 USNA show and graduation fly-over 28-29 Millville, NJ June 4-5 Rockford, IL 11-12 Evansville, IN 18-19 Davenport, IA 25-26 North Kingston, RI July 2-3 Muskegon, MI 9 Pensacola Beach, FL 16-17 Rochester, NY 23-24 Ypsilanti, MI 30-31 Kalispell, MT August 6-7 Seattle, WA 13-14 Fargo, ND 27-28 Brunswick, ME September 3-5 NAS Patuxent River, MD 10-11 Lincoln, NE 17-18 Millington, TN 24-25 NAS Oceana, VA October 1-2 MCAS Miramar, CA 8-9 San Francisco, CA 15-16 NAS Lemoore, CA 22-23 El Paso, TX 29-30 San Antonio, TX November 5-6 NAS Jacksonville, FL 12 NAS Pensacola, FL

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So long Battle Phrogs

Service phasing out CH-46 copters, some of which were flown in Vietnam

By Gretel C. Kovach, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Monday, May 24, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.


A member of the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station squadron that flies the retiring CH-46 helicopters secures one of the “Battle Phrogs” aboard the Peleliu amphibious assault ship in San Diego Bay as the squadron prepares to deploy. Howard Lipin / UNION-TRIBUNE

This tour of duty will be the last for some helicopters aboard the amphibious assault ship Peleliu, which steamed out of San Diego Bay on Saturday for a seven-month deployment.

The soon-to-be-retired “Battle Phrogs,” the beloved snub-nosed CH-46E helicopters with tandem rotors, have certainly earned it.

For four decades, the Marine Corps has relied on them to transport troops. Numbers painted on the exhaust-blackened bodies of the whirlybirds that were flown onto the Peleliu last week confirm their pedigree — four were used for combat duty in Vietnam.

The Sea Knights, as the Boeing-made helicopters are also known, are now older than the pilots who fly them, said Lt. Col. Todd J. Oneto, commanding officer of Squadron HMM-165. Thanks to “hours and hours and hours” of maintenance, they have been kept alive since the last one was made in 1971, Oneto said.

“I will be very sad to see the phrog go. I don’t think anybody anywhere will get the bang for the buck they had out of this platform,” said Oneto, who is doing his third stint with the squadron.

His fleet of CH-46s from Miramar Marine Corps Air Station left with the flagship Peleliu in the wake of two other amphibious assault ships, the Dubuque and Pearl Harbor, commanded by Navy Capt. Dale Fuller.

The helicopters had been towed into place and secured to the deck, their rotors folded inward and tied down. Now they are heading to the western Pacific and Persian Gulf with a reinforced Air Combat Element of Harrier jets and other helicopters. The ships also are carrying more than 3,000 sailors and Marines from the Navy’s Amphibious Squadron 3 and the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit from Camp Pendleton.

When the deployment ends, some of the Sea Knights will fly to the boneyard. The rest will spend a few twilight years with other squadrons until the Marine Corps completes its transition to the long-awaited and controversial V-22 Osprey, a “tilt-rotor” aircraft that takes off like a helicopter and flies like a plane.

The CH-46 has been the backbone of Marine aviation since Gerry Berry, now a retired colonel,
used one to fly the U.S. ambassador out of Saigon in 1975. Last month, Berry recounted the episode when that restored helicopter — Lady Ace 09 — was put on display at the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.

He, too, belonged to Squadron HMM-165. Once that unit completes the Peleliu mission, its colors will be folded and a newly christened group of White Knights, Squadron VMM-165, will train to fly the Osprey.

Despite the fond memories, Oneto and other longtime CH-46 pilots are embracing the Ospreys.

Col. Roy A. Osborn, commander of the Marines deploying with the Peleliu, is a CH-46 pilot who
helped develop the Osprey program from 1999 to 2002 at Marine Corps headquarters in Quantico, Va.

“It is a quantum leap forward in capability,” Osborn said of the Osprey. “It far outreaches the range, speed and payload of the ’46.”

Osborn said the Osprey was designed to take a beating in combat, and its fuel capacity and cruising speed of about 288 mph — nearly twice as fast as the CH-46 — shrink the battlefield: If the bad guys are shooting, the Osprey can fly high above or far around them, and it can transport more wounded service members to hospitals than pokier predecessors.

“I hate to see the phrog go because she’s a great aircraft. Forty-plus years old and still singing. I have flown in five conflicts in that aircraft,” Osborn said. “But it is time to park it on a stick in a museum and let the V-22 take the lead.”

Critics have called the Osprey program a “widow-maker” and boondoggle. It was nearly terminated more than once, until the military approved full production in 2005.

The Government Accountability Office, the watchdog arm of Congress, reported a year ago that V-22s used in the Iraq war flew faster and farther than the helicopters they replaced. It also cited problems with de-icing equipment that could limit operations in harsh environments like Afghanistan; lack of an integrated weapons system; problems with maintenance and parts supply; decreased maneuverability on Navy ships; and cost overruns that boosted the price per Osprey to $93.4 million.

The GAO recommended that the defense secretary require an analysis of alternatives to the Osprey, but the Pentagon disagreed. Since then, the Marine Corps and Air Force, which uses the V-22 for special-forces missions, have deployed the Osprey in Afghanistan. Four people died there in April in an Air Force Osprey crash, the cause of which is under investigation.

The Osprey’s four crashes during its development claimed 30 more lives. That record is comparatively safe, Osborn said.

“We crashed over 100 ’46s in the first five years,” he said.

The Navy retired its CH-46s in 2004, switching to MH-60S Knighthawks for the aerial waltz of cargo transit at sea.

Now the joke among Marines is that something is wrong if the CH-46 isn’t leaking hydraulic fuel. The dirt holds it together, they say.

The Corps has switched all of its regular East Coast squadrons of CH-46s to Ospreys. Miramar’s first Osprey squadron, VMM-161, relinquished its helicopters last year and is training to become fully operational on the tilt-rotors.

By the time HMM-165 returns from the Peleliu deployment, it will be the fourth squadron at Miramar in the Osprey pipeline. Pilots spend eight to 10 weeks in classroom and simulator training before completing Osprey instruction in North Carolina. The transition can take six months to two years.

The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, the umbrella aviation unit for the Marine Corps in Southern California, has four Ospreys. It expects to get at least one more each month until Camp Pendleton and Miramar are fully equipped, with as many as 10 Osprey squadrons between them.

For the CH-46 helicopter, this is the end of the line.

“There will be a lot of guys with tears in their eyes, and I will be one of them, when the final phrog flies to the boneyard,” Oneto said, chuckling. “Everybody loves what they fly.”



Gretel C. Kovach: (619) 293-1293; gretel.kovach@uniontrib.com

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LEADERSHIP SPEECHES AND EXCHANGES ABOUT FORCE composition, acquisition and
budget issues

 

Rumors abound about what some leadership positions have been taken – the following is provided so all may know from the sources.  What follows are a few articles that report our OSD and USN leadership addressing force composition and related issues.  They should be taken in their entirety for a more full understanding of the issues.  Please also remember that positions on such issues can change frequently – AND they can be misreported – Dutch

 

Gates Fires At Carriers, Subs, EFV

By Colin Clark Monday, May 3rd, 2010 2:08 pm

In his first speech to the Navy League, Defense Secretary Robert Gates laid out a grim portrait of a smaller fleet, one with fewer aircraft carriers, few or no new submarines and a sharply curtailed expeditionary capability for the Marines.

Gates told a somber audience today that he did “not foresee any significant top-line increases in the shipbuilding budget beyond current assumptions. At the end of the day, we have to ask whether the nation can really afford a Navy that relies on $3 to $6 billion destroyers, $7 billion submarines, and $11 billion carriers.” On top of that, as the current wars “recede, money will be required to reset the Army and Marine Corps, which have borne the brunt of the conflicts. And there will continue to be long-term – and inviolable – costs associated with taking care of our troops and their families.” Bottom line: no “significant top-line increases in the shipbuilding budget beyond current assumptions.”
 

Gates also fired a clear shot across the bow at Marine Commandant Gen. James Conway. Conway told DoD Buzz several weeks ago that the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle was on track and performing well and remained a core commitment of the Marines as they seek to rebuild their ability to mount major amphibious operations. And the first EFV prototype is being unveiled by the Marines tomorrow in a public ceremony.

So Gates asked rhetorically, “what kind of new platform is needed to get large numbers of troops from ship to shore under fire – in other words, the capability provided by the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle. No doubt, it was a real strategic asset during the first Gulf War to have a flotilla of Marines waiting off Kuwait City – forcing Saddam’s army to keep one eye on the Saudi border, and one eye on the coast. But we have to take a hard look at where it would be necessary or sensible to launch another major amphibious landing again – especially as advances in anti-ship systems keep pushing the potential launch point further from shore. On a more basic level, in the 21st century, what kind of amphibious capability do we really need to deal with the most likely scenarios, and then how much?”

While the Marines fended off efforts by Gates and others to reform their expeditionary role during the Quadrennial Defense Review, the SecDef clearly has not given up.

After Gates took on the Marines, he moved on to aircraft carriers, perhaps the holiest of holies for the surface Navy. “Our current plan is to have eleven carrier strike groups through 2040. To be sure, the need to project power across the oceans will never go away. But, consider the massive over-match the U.S. already enjoys. Consider, too, the growing anti-ship capabilities of adversaries.  Do we really need eleven carrier strike groups for another 30 years when no other country has more than one? Any future plans must address these realities,” he said.

In case no one had yet gotten his general message that Navy and Marine Corps platforms face the axe, he made it explicit. “But, mark my words, the Navy and Marine Corps must be willing to reexamine and question basic assumptions in light of evolving technologies, new threats, and budget realities. We simply cannot afford to perpetuate a status quo that heaps more and more expensive technologies onto fewer and fewer platforms – thereby risking a situation where some of our greatest capital expenditures go toward weapons and ships that could potentially become wasting assets.”

Lest anyone point to China and its burgeoning blue water presence, Gates laid out the arguments that the Navy’s own deputy secretary, Bob Work, made before leaving the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment: “Potential adversaries are well-aware of our overwhelming conventional advantage – which is why, despite significant naval modernization programs underway in some countries, no one intends to bankrupt themselves by challenging the U.S. to a shipbuilding competition akin to the Dreadnought race prior to World War I.”

Comparing sub and carriers to dreadnoughts must leave ship drivers bereft. After all, this is the generation that oversees the greatest, most potent mix carrier. And he hammered home just how tough both the budget and congressional environments are, saying, “we have to accept some hard fiscal realities. American taxpayers and the Congress are rightfully worried about the deficit. At the same time, the Department of Defense’s track record as a steward of taxpayer dollars leaves much to be desired.” Then he mentioned that he would be addressing “the issues surrounding political will and the defense budget” at a Saturday speech at the Eisenhower library. The tepid applause that greeted Gates’ speech demonstrated pretty clearly that the Navy, Marine Corps and their friends got the message.

 

 

Navy Secretary Seconds Gates On Costs

(NEWPORT NEWS DAILY PRESS 06 MAY 10) ... Peter Frost

OXON HILL, Md. — Navy Secretary Ray Mabus piled on the sea service's leadership and
shipbuilders on Wednesday, reinforcing a stern mandate of cost control that Defense Secretary Robert Gates delivered two days earlier.

Mabus said shipbuilding programs will be expected to be on budget and on time. Those that aren't are at risk of being cut.

"Let me be clear, here. On budget and on time is baseline. That's the standard. It's not a target," he told defense industry workers and Navy officials at a conference just outside
Washington, D.C. "I'm not going to hesitate to cancel programs that don't perform."

Mabus' comments followed similarly pointed speeches from Gates and Ashton Carter, the Navy's chief weapons buyer, who took turns lobbing barbs at industry and the Navy for being inefficient and spendthrift.

Those looking to Mabus to temper the rhetoric did not get the speech they expected.

Mabus said he agreed with Gates' assessment that if the Navy doesn't start controlling costs, the number of ships in the fleet may decline even further.

"We have to do everything in our power to control those costs. If we don't do something now, we won't be able to build a fleet we have to have in the future," Mabus said.

For the last few years, Navy leadership has argued for a 313-ship fleet. With the fleet at about 286 ships today, the Navy would have to spend more than $20 billion a year to reach the higher goal. But amid a tight federal budget, Gates said Monday that the Navy should expect no growth on its current budget of about $15 billion.

Mabus also did nothing to quell concerns about a potential reduction in big-ticket programs that Gates targeted. Those include the $11 billion aircraft carriers built at Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Newport News shipyard, a new generation of destroyers and a $7 billion replacement ballistic missile submarine that Newport News may play a part in developing.

Instead, Mabus laid out a new plan to tighten standards and increase oversight on contracts the Navy signs with private contractors to get better deals for the service and taxpayers. He said he's spent a considerable amount of time reviewing the Navy's contracts and found some that "are downright unfair to the government."

Shipbuilders and Navy program managers will be evaluated differently, with a new focus on
providing better incentives for meeting cost and schedule goals. The Navy also will move toward signing more fixed-price contracts, which limit the government's risk on cost overruns and defective equipment, the secretary said.

"We do have to re-examine everything that we do. Nothing can be taken for granted," Mabus said. "We have to have the capability to ... tell the American people why we need what we're asking them to pay for."

Many of the Navy's shipbuilding programs have struggled to meet budgets and deadlines.

Mabus singled out the Virginia-class submarine program as a model program, as each successive sub built by Northrop and General Dynamics Electric Boat has gone down in cost and time spent on construction.

Mabus Unveils Five Governing Principles For Navy Acquisition

(INSIDE DEFENSE 05 MAY 10) ... Dan Taylor

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- Navy Secretary Ray Mabus today unveiled a list of five governing acquisition principles at the Navy League's annual conference here as the sea service seeks to reign in exploding costs and delays that have plagued numerous programs.

Pointing to examples such as the failed VH-71 presidential helicopter effort and the truncated DDG-1000 destroyer program, Mabus listed five "governing principles" of acquisition the Navy plans to adopt: clearly identify the requirements; raise the bar for performance; rebuild the workforce; support the industrial base; and "make every dollar count."

Discussing the first principle, Mabus noted that the requirements that were defined for the
VH-71 were too extensive and that, despite the fact it would have been the most advanced
helicopter in the world, "at what cost to us and to other things we need to do?" Likewise, the
DDG-1000 was simply too requirements-rich to be practical in today's environment, he said.

Mabus said the Navy would put all programs through a formal gate review process to allow
acquisition teams to analyze the requirements properly. "We're going to be doing this analysis on everything -- on programs like the future SSBN [ballistic missile submarine]," the secretary said.
 

As for the second principle, Mabus pledged to "hold Navy and Marine Corps acquisition teams more accountable," as well as those in industry. He pointed to the establishment of a Navy and Marine Corps aviation and shipbuilding change-order policy, which aims to ensure unit cost and total ownership cost are taken into account before a change order is approved, as evidence the service is making progress in that area.

Mabus also said the Navy would change the way it evaluates success, placing less emphasis on strict adherence to the contract and requirements and more on getting program managers and industry to recommend changes to the requirements or acquisition strategy to reduce costs.

The Navy secretary announced he would "challenge my acquisition team" to provide a plan this year to double the Navy's science, technology and engineering outreach to meet the third principle of rebuilding the workforce.

Turning to the fourth principle, Mabus said an industrial base council would be established later this year, "which will be an opportunity for us to be more informed about industry concerns and to get more industry input regarding our plans."

Finally, the Navy will go line-by-line through contracts to make sure the terms "make sense," and the service will use fixed-price contracts, resorting to cost-plus contracts only in cases of high-risk, first-in-class ships and other "higher-risk systems," he said.

 

 

 

Adm. Gary Roughead, Chief Of Naval Ops, Emphasizes Need For Affordability

(EXECUTIVEGOV 05 MAY 10) ... Michael Cheek