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NAVY / MARINE CORPS / COAST GUARD / MERCHANT MARINE

THE COMMANDANT LEADING THE NATION’S CRISIS RESPONSE FORCE

September 2011 $5.00 NAVY LEAGUE OF THE UNITED STATES www.navyleague.org

WAITING FOR MUOS / NAVY TESTS AUTONOMOUS MARITIME NAVIGATION SeaPower Sept'11.QXD_Seapower Sept'11 8/17/11 5:18 PM Page COV2 SeaPower Sept'11.QXD_Seapower Sept'11 8/17/11 5:18 PM Page 1 SEAPOWER Volume 54, Number 9, September 2011 THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE NAVY LEAGUE OF THE UNITED STATES www.navyleague.org

DEPARTMENTS SPECIAL REPORT: U.S. MARINE CORPS

3 President’s Message 20 INTERVIEW: Gen. James F. Amos 4 Editor’s Note Commandant of the Marine Corps BY RICHARD R. BURGESS AND AMY L. WITTMAN 6 A Point of View 30 Navy-Marine Corps Team Showcases Value of 9 Intercepts Forward Presence, Sea Basing 57 Program Snapshot BY RICHARD R. BURGESS

58 Seapower International 34 DoD Presses Ahead With Plans To Move Marines from Okinawa 60 Historical Perspective BY DANIEL P. TAYLOR 61 Ship’s Library 38 Synchronized Approach Will Drive Vehicle Acquisition Programs BY OTTO KREISHER 62 Navy League News 64 Council Digest 42 The Corps Looks To Maintain Forward Deployment Capabilities BY JOHN M. DOYLE

46 Teaching Navy Corpsmen To Be ‘Doc’ to Their Marines 8 Washington Report: BY EDWARD LUNDQUIST Panetta: Big Across-the-Board Cut ‘Would Do Real FEATURES Damage’ 3 Forging Relationships BY DANIEL B. BRANCH JR.

6 A Point of View BY LT. GEN. TERRY G. ROBLING U.S. MARINE CORPS DEPUTY COMMANDANT FOR AVIATION

14 Despite Delays, Navy Is Eager for MUOS BY DANIEL P. TAYLOR

16 Commercial Satellite Imagery Augments Government Capabilities BY EDWARD LUNDQUIST 50 50 Navy Tests Unmanned Surface System Applications BY JOHN C. MARCARIO

72 In My Own Words BY BOATSWAIN’S MATE 1ST CLASS ANDREW NEWMAN DUTY SECTION LEADER COAST GUARD STATION SEATTLE

COVER PHOTO OF GEN. JAMES F. AMOS, COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS, ADDRESSING MARINE AIR CREW MEMBERS AT THE FLIGHT LINE ON CAMP BASTION, AFGHANISTAN, MAY 14 BY SGT. MALLORY S. VANDERSCHANS. COVER DESIGN BY AMY BILLINGHAM, PENSARÉ DESIGN GROUP LTD. SeaPower Sept'11.QXD_Seapower Sept'11 8/17/11 5:18 PM Page 2 SeaPower Sept'11.QXD_Seapower Sept'11 8/17/11 5:19 PM Page 3

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Forging Relationships

By DANIEL B. BRANCH JR., Navy League National President

ust as the sea services we sup- While Navy League headquarters J port foster international part- is involved with the planning and nerships for the global good, so promotion of the bicentennial on too must the Navy League — from the national level, there are plenty of the headquarters level to the indi- opportunities here for councils to vidual council — forge relation- get involved with these local cele- ships with other organizations and brations. To find out how, contact entities to increase brand recogni- Tom Van Leunen, senior director of tion and carry our message to a communications (tvanleunen@ broader audience. navyleague.org), or Dan Dayton at Opportunities to collaborate the Navy Office of Commemora- with others abound, whether it’s tions ([email protected]). for a long-term campaign, such as In planning its gala event, the the Navy League’s participation in Santa Barbara Council has been the commemoration of the War of working within its community to 1812, or a single event or project, raise more than $250,000 to sup- like the Santa Barbara, Calif., port a weekend celebration for 600 Council’s planned Welcome Home Gala Weekend hon- Marines. 3/5 Dark Horse is one of the council’s newly oring the U.S. Marine Corps’ 3rd Battalion, 5th adopted units, and it has worked closely with com- Marines (3/5 Dark Horse). manding officer Lt. Col. Chris Griffin in organizing From 2012 to 2015, the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps this event. In this case, the partnership is on a more and Coast Guard, along with Operation Sail and a host personal level — that of council and adopted unit. of partners — including the Navy League — will com- Whether your council is working on a War of 1812 memorate our country’s “Second War of Inde pen - event, planning a Welcome Home Gala, sponsoring an dence,” which inspired Francis Scott Key’s writing of Armed Forces Night at a baseball game or buying new the National Anthem. service flags for a local museum, the time, energy and The theme for the bicentennial of the War of 1812 expense of such endeavors can be lessened when the is “Our Flag Was Still There,” and the three-year-long burden is shared. commemoration will underscore the importance of In this month’s Navy League News section of the United States as a seafaring nation dependent on a Seapower (page 62), Deputy Editor Peter Atkinson strong Navy, foster international maritime good will offers some more great examples of, and details about, and partnership, and honor the U.S. flag and National the power of partnerships and how they can improve Anthem. public awareness for all those involved and lay the Each 2012 event being planned in cities across the groundwork for more cooperation in the future. nation will feature a week-long celebration complete Collaboration among organizations within our own with international tall sailing ships, modern warships communities not only generates interest in the Navy and aerial demonstrations featuring the Navy’s Blue League, it also improves the understanding and appre- Angels. Kicking off in New Orleans in April, the com- ciation of our men and women in uniform and under- memoration will travel along the Eastern Seaboard, scores the importance of a strong Navy, Marine Corps, Great Lakes Region and Canada. The other cities host- Coast Guard and Merchant Marine to national security ing what the Navy calls “signature” events include and prosperity. New York, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland and Norfolk, Va. Smaller events also are planned for Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; New London, Conn; Milwaukee; Toledo, Ohio; Detroit; and Buffalo, N.Y.

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Resetting the Corps

By AMY L. WITTMAN, Editor in Chief SEAPOWER

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE NAVY LEAGUE OF THE UNITED STATES Volume 54, Number 9, September 2011

ith deployed Combat Vehicle, an PUBLISHER W Marines main- is sue covered in Daniel B. Branch Jr. taining a high state of great er detail by Spe - ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER readiness for nearly a cial Corre spond ent Dale A. Lumme decade of high-tempo Otto Kreisher in his EDITOR IN CHIEF Amy L. Wittman operations, nonde- report, “After the [email protected] ployed units have ex- EFV” (page 38). DEPUTY EDITOR perienced “degraded Amos also dis- Peter E. Atkinson levels of readiness” cusses the effort to [email protected]

largely because of the return the Corps to MANAGING EDITOR lack of equipment, its amphibious roots. Richard R. Burgess Gen. James F. Amos A major concern in [email protected] says in his “2011 Report to Congress maintaining this core competency ASSISTANT EDITOR John C. Marcario on the Posture of the United States is the shortage of amphibious ships [email protected] Marine Corps.” in the Navy’s inventory, which DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING SALES Resetting the Marine Corps — Special Correspondent John M. Charles A. Hull aligning the force structure, equip- Doyle explores in his report, “Back [email protected]

ment and training required for the to the Beach” (page 42). DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS future security environment — will Also in Seapower’s special section Kerri Carpenter cost money at a time when the on the Marine Corps, Managing [email protected] Defense Department is facing signif- Editor Richard R. Burgess looks at SEAPOWER CORRESPONDENTS Patricia Kime icant funding cuts. The budget, the the deployment of Amphibious Megan Scully Marine Corps commandant tells Ready Groups in “Full Spectrum PHOTOGRAPHER Seapower, is “the absolute near-term Deployment” (page 30). Lisa Nipp

alligator we’re fighting.” Special Correspondent Daniel P. PROOFREADER This nation expects Marines to be Taylor gives a status update on the Jean B. Reynolds

ready to respond at a moment’s no - planned shift of Marines and their DESIGN AND PRODUCTION tice, be adaptable to any environment dependents from Okinawa, Japan, Amy Billingham and Rob Black to which they are sent and bring the in his report “Guam or Bust” (page Pensaré Design Group appropriate set of skills, whether the 34), a move that will increase the SEAPOWER mission involves combat or humani - population on the tiny Pacific island 2300 Wilson Blvd., Suite 200 Arlington, VA 22201-5424 ta rian assistance. The Corps cannot by almost 10 percent. TEL: 703-528-1775 — editorial be the crisis response force we expect Rounding out the special section 703-528-2075 — advertising it to be without allocating sufficient is a look at how the Field Medical FAX: 703-243-8251 E-MAIL: [email protected] funds to reset the force. Training Battalion (FMTB) teaches WEBSITE: www.seapowermagazine.org In our interview, “The Com- Navy corpsmen to be “Doc” to their TWITTER: @seapowermag

mandant: Leading the Nation’s Marines, in the article “It All Starts COMMUNICATIONS BOARD

Crisis Response Force” (page 20), Here” (page 46), by Special Cor - CHAIRMAN: Brandon R. “Randy” Belote III Amos says this nation has an obliga- respondent Edward Lundquist. At NATIONAL OFFICER: Daniel B. Branch Jr. tion to the Corps to refurbish, repair FMTB, Staff Sgt. Joseph Wright MEMBERS: Merritt Allen, Maureen Cragin, or replace equipment going to notes, “We are trying to instill a sense Daniel Dayton, Robert Hamilton, Margaret depots and reconstitute inventories of urgency in all that they do here.” B. Holtz, Guy Shields here in the United States. EX-OFFICIO: Karen Crawford, Dale A. Regarding new equipment, the Lumme, Tom Van Leunen, Amy L. Wittman commandant lays out his expecta- tions for the service’s Amphibious

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A POINT OF VIEW

Tradition & Teamwork

By LT. GEN. TERRY G. ROBLING

he Marine Corps is at a cross- Most of my peers went 15 years — or even an entire T roads in our aviation history. career — without hearing a shot fired in anger. Now, Those of us left from the 1970s — a young aviators go straight from the Fleet Replacement few general officers, sergeants Squadron into the fight. It is nearly guaranteed that a major and master gunnery ser- Marine Corps naval aviator will go to a shooting war in the geants — did not imagine back dur- first year or two out of flight school. It is not unusual now ing the Ford administration what to see a young aviator with multiple combat decorations. the world would be like today. What we have seen as a force is a steady need for Threats are different today. Our airplanes and expeditionary and amphibious forces. Our Marine weapons systems have evolved and their capabilities Expeditionary Units (MEUs) and Amphibious Ready are truly amazing. The Marine Corps is in the middle Groups are always deployed across the globe. Though of transitioning, rebuilding or replacing every single the threat changes, America’s forward posture does aircraft in our inventory to a new, better and more reli- not. This demand signal is what we see today as we able model. Marine Corps aviation training and culture address issues across the range of military operations have improved and sharpened. in places like North Africa, places that demonstrate the The key to our success, however, is and has always need for power projection from the sea. been our people. This generation of aviators is trained and ready for the war to which they are now called, Training and for the next one. My peers and I were trained by combat-hardened infantry and aviation officers just back from Vietnam. The lessons War of that war permeated the Marine Corps, and the impor- The threat has changed since the days of the Cold War. tance of the tight integration of the air-ground team was We were worried about the Soviets in those days, crystal clear to those who fought there. because this was a peer competitor who truly could, Aviators used tactics honed there to drop bombs close and would, challenge the U.S. military. to our troops, and Vietnam was the first battlefield across The Soviet Union not only had the capability to stand which troops were moved with the speed of vertical inser- and fight, they demonstrated daily their aggression. The tion. Our ability to put ground forces directly into the Soviet Navy and Air Force were confrontational: for fight, and then to support them with close air support and instance, every time we went out for Team Spirit exercises, assault support, is a skill we have continued to hone. the Soviets scrambled aircraft out of Vladivostok to shad- Those captains and majors in the aviation communi- ow and track what we were doing. Backfires and Badgers ty focused my generation of officers on the importance loaded out for war came over the Arctic Circle to provoke of professional training. None of what today’s aviators us. Their “fishing trawlers” shadowed our carrier battle take for granted was standardized Marine Corps-wide, groups and amphibious ready groups whenever they sor- let alone standardized across services. Naval aviators as tied to sea. In September 1978, a Soviet fighter shot down an institution established places like Top Gun, which Korean Air Lines Flight 007, killing 269 people, including changed the negative air-to-air kill ratios with which we U.S. Rep. Lawrence McDonald. Tensions were high. started Vietnam, and put us on the right end of those air- Afghanistan then was a place where the Soviet Army to-air engagements by the end of that war. was engaged in fighting a desert war against an upstart They established Naval Air Training and Operating mujahedeen. Saddam Hussein had just moved from Procedures Standardization manuals and training and being a general to ruling Iraq, and received a humani- readiness syllabi. They stood up the Weapons and tarian award from UNICEF while being hailed as the Tactics Instructor Course in Yuma, Ariz., and qualifica- best of the modern Arab leaders. The Shah was still in tions like Air Combat Tactics Instructor. We adapted power in Iran. China was a poor, rural country. The our tactics, adapted our training and captured lessons collapse of the Soviet Union led to a reshuffling of along the way. Such tough and self-critical analysis is threats and of areas of conflict. the hallmark of a thinking, winning force.

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A POINT OF VIEW

Through the 1990s and 2000s, we continued to cod- Our beloved CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter is finally ify and standardize what we do. Now, people don’t just heading to pasture, and is being replaced at a rate of go out and fly hours every month: every hour in the more than two aircraft a month and two squadrons a aircraft is accounted for and productive, and it makes year by the MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor. The Osprey, us all better aviators. Our captains and majors now are immediately after introduction, went straight to war, vastly better than they used to be because we have pro- even sooner than we had planned for it to do so. The fessionalized our aviation training. We ask more of Osprey is finishing up its ninth deployment, including them now than we did in my early days, but these avi- six to combat and three aboard ship. Its recent success ators are smarter than was my generation. They are the in rescuing a downed American in Libya shows the digital generation, and they are mastering today’s bet- speed and range of this airframe, and like the F-35 it is ter equipment and technology quickly. a game-changing asset for both aviators who fly it and planners who employ it. Aircraft and Systems Like the Osprey, unmanned aircraft are a quantum Our weapons systems are now vastly better than those of leap in aviation technology and capability. What start- the 1970s. In those days, jets maneuvered to shoot within ed in the 1980s and really hit its stride in the 1990s visual range. Now, fire-and-forget missiles allow us to is paying off today, as the Marine Corps prepares for engage from greater distances with greater accuracy. a force with unmanned air systems of multiple sizes We trained then to plan and fly Alpha strikes: and ranges in the inventory at once, flying from ship dozens of aircraft going up against a threat. We don’t and shore. need those as much now. We can destroy more targets The CH-53K Super Stallion helicopter will be the with far fewer planes due to our superior weapons and heavy-lift asset for our middleweight force, replacing systems. Rather than numbers of planes prosecuting a the two workhorse CH-53 airframes in heavy use today. target, planners can think about numbers of targets Our H-1 helicopters are being replaced: the Huey for one plane can prosecute. This is a shift in planning and the “Yankee” model UH-1Y, and the Cobra for the thinking about war, and it has come about because of “Zulu,” or AH-1Z. We are sending out an MEU deploy- breakthroughs in technology. ment this fall with only these new-model H-1s aboard. The F-4 Phantom entered duty in 1960, and took the Our KC-130J tanker is now integrated across the fleet, Marine Corps through Vietnam and even into Desert and when we finish fitting out our Reserve squadrons, Storm. In 1991, the F/A-18 Hornet and the F-4 actually we will have improved dramatically our tactical aerial overlapped in theater, with the Hornet used for the first refueling and assault support to the fleet. time in a shooting war and the 30-year-old F-4, in its Wild Weasel variant, preparing to exit the scene. Like The Next Fight the F/A-18, the F-4 served multiple roles and performed With all these changes in aviation technology, the most multiple missions in support of Marines on the ground important thing, though, has not changed — who we and from land bases and aircraft carriers. are as Marines. We are an air-ground team, and my The F/A-18, like its Phantom forebear, is a rugged, salt- piece of that effort is in supporting the ground com- water airplane, built to go where the fight is, fly from ship mander’s scheme of maneuver. Our Marine Corps’ or land bases, and bring along a lot of bombs and missiles. roots as a naval expeditionary force — our naval char- The naval services brought the two-seat version online in acter — are also critical to who we are. the late 1980s and it, too, is closing in on the 30-year Power projection from the sea is fundamental to our mark. By adding Forward Air Controller (Airborne) and identity, and the aircraft we fly today in support of our night attack missions to the two-seat variant, the Marine ground forces are naval aircraft first. We cannot predict Corps maximized this airplane’s value. It is the multipur- the time or place for the next war, but we can prepare pose aircraft its builders had envisioned, and the aircraft and train for it. Our aircraft and systems will always be that replaces it, the F-35 Lightning II, has a wider range prepared for war, and our people will be trained. ■ of more lethal capabilities. We now look forward to the next step in strike evo- Lt. Gen. Terry G. Robling is the Marine Corps’ deputy com- lution: the F-35B, which also will replace the Harrier mandant for aviation. and the EA-6B Prowler. In replacing these three air- craft, the F-35 will take over their missions, giving us “A Point of View” is a Seapower forum wherein experts and ana- cutting-edge electronic attack and situational aware- lysts express their views on a variety of thought-provoking topics. It ness capabilities to go along with its capabilities as a is edited for Associated Press style and length, and publication is at close-air support platform. This is the next step in the the editor’s discretion. The views expressed here are the author’s evolution of power-projection strike assets. and not necessarily those of the Navy League of the United States.

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WASHINGTON REPORT

Panetta: Big Across-the-Board Cut ‘Would Do Real Damage’

s the Pentagon girds for funding cuts over the A next decade, budget planners are hoping for the best and ignoring — at least for now — the worst-case scenario for the military’s accounts. An agreement reached last month to raise the debt ceiling and curb the nation’s deficit does not specify any cuts to the Pentagon’s budget, but the White House has made it clear it intends to trim $350 billion over the next 10 years. Pentagon officials, including Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, have said the cut is consistent with President Barack Obama’s announcement in April that he planned to decrease security spending by $400 bil- lion over a 12-year period. “Make no mistake about it: We will face some very tough challenges here as we try to meet those numbers,” Panetta told reporters during his first Pentagon press con- ference Aug. 4. “But those numbers are within the ballpark that we were discussing with the president as well as with OMB [the Office of Management and Budget].” Indeed, defense officials already have begun a so- called comprehensive review of military capabilities and priorities to determine which force structure, missions and equipment would be the least risky to cut. The out- DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE come of the review will influence the fiscal 2013 budget request, which is due on Capitol Hill in February. U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta has called The review, launched this spring by former Defense the threat of an additional $500 billion across-the-board defense spending cut a “doomsday mechanism.” The Secretary Robert M. Gates, will “be key to what deci- Pentagon already is girding for $350 billion in budget cuts sions we make and what areas we look to for savings,” over the next decade. Panetta is shown here speaking to Panetta said. troops at Camp Victory, Iraq, July 11.

While the Pentagon leverages cut to defense is only part of an ini- between 2013 and 2021. Domestic the review to prepare for the anti - tial tranche of $900 billion in accounts would face a similar cut. cipated $350 billion in cuts, deficit savings. Lawmakers put the across-the- defense officials are not consider- A bipartisan congressional com- board cuts in place to force the com- ing the prospect for much larger mittee has been charged with finding mittee to do its job. But it by no reductions in defense spending. $1.5 trillion more in savings by late means guarantees that a 12-member Under the debt-ceiling agree- November. If the effort fails, defense panel made up of an equal number ment approved by Congress and accounts would be subject to anoth- of Republicans and Democrats will signed by Obama, the $350 billion er $500 billion across-the-board cut reach an agreement on such diffi-

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WASHINGTON REPORT

cult issues as curbing federal spend- ing and raising taxes, much less INTERCEPTS push that agreement through both chambers of Congress. “The way government and industrial leaders think must Panetta, a former White House change.” This generation “has grown accustomed over the budget chief and chairman of the post-9/11 decade to circumstances in which we could always House Budget Committee, called reach for more money when we encountered managerial or the threat of a $500 billion across- technical problems or a difficult choice. Those days are gone.” the-board defense cut — technical- Ashton B. Carter ly called “sequestration” — a Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology & Logistics “doomsday mechanism.” On what the future holds for the defense industry and the Defense Department “But if it happened — and God as budget cuts loom and program costs come under even greater scrutiny. willing, that would not be the case Government Executive, July 19 — it would result in a further round of very dangerous cuts across the “In the future, you can’t keep saying we’re not transparent. board,” Panetta said. Those cuts, he Next time I go to the U.S., I want this kind of transparency. I added, “would do real damage to want to be able to get into a plane’s cockpit, instead of just our security, our troops and their looking at the plane surrounded by red ropes 60 feet away.” families, and our military’s ability to protect the nation.” Gen. Ma Xiaotian The defense industry is likewise China’s deputy chief of general staff worried about any cuts to defense After Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was allowed to that go deeper than what is already climb into the cockpit of an SU-27 during a photo opportunity while visiting a on the table. Marion Blakey, presi- Chinese air base in the eastern province of Shandong. dent of the Aerospace Industries The Wall Street Journal, July 14 Association, charged that the debt- ceiling deal dangles a “sword of Damocles over our national securi- ty later this year when further cuts With the Pentagon’s accounts lion in cuts over the next decade — would be triggered unless another making up more than half of all a sizeable amount, to be sure, but compromise is reached.” federal discretionary spending, it’s still less than or equal to some of the Despite assertions about the dis- difficult to imagine the bipartisan other proposals on the table. astrous effect such a cut would committee completely bypassing In the run-up to the agreement, have on the department, Panetta the defense budget in its quest to Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., had rec- and other senior defense officials cut the deficit by $1.5 trillion. But ommended slashing $1 trillion from said they are not doing any contin- a senior Defense Department offi- defense. And Obama’s own fiscal gency planning in the event the cial told reporters Aug. 3 that the commission recommended an $886 committee fails to find the requi- Pentagon hopes the committee will billion cut to security, with presum- site $1.5 trillion in savings. not eye the military for more cuts. ably the vast majority of that com- “I’m not even beginning to con- The official said he expects the ing from the Pentagon’s accounts. sider what would happen with committee to focus on taxes and regard to sequestration,” Panetta entitlements, although he Senate Confirms said. “All I know is that from the acknowledged committee mem- Greenert as CNO review we’ve been doing for what we bers can look anywhere they please Just before leaving town Aug. 2 for a have to deal with in these numbers, for cuts. month-long recess, the Senate con- anything that doubles that would be “I would hope [the committee] firmed Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert disastrous to the defense budget.” would not make further cuts in as the next chief of naval operations. The Pentagon is likewise not defense,” the official said. “It Greenert, who currently serves coming up with any sort of Plan B remains a very dangerous world as the Navy’s vice chief, will take should the deficit-reduction com- and we feel we need a strong mili- over at the helm of the service this mittee decide to target defense for tary to meet our national security fall after Adm. Gary Roughead cuts in addition to the $350 billion requirements.” retires on Sept. 29. the White House already is plan- But even in a worst-case scenario, During his July 27 confirmation ning to trim. the Pentagon would face $850 bil- hearing, Greenert fielded questions

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WASHINGTON REPORT

March 9. The frigates will be sold to INTERCEPTS foreign governments. The Austin- class amphibious transport dock “I’m confident we can get it off probation. It doesn’t do the ship USS Ponce will be decommis- program any good to be on probation now.” sioned on March 30 and placed in out-of-commission reserve. Gen. James F. Amos Marine Corps commandant Strike Group Shifts On the possibility that the service’s short-takeoff/vertical-landing variant of the With Carrier Move F-35 Lightning II could be removed from its two-year probation period after The Navy will shift a carrier strike shipboard testing later this year. group staff to San Diego next year in Defense Daily, July 28 conjunction with the move of an air- craft carrier to Virginia to begin its “We are warriors first, but we are happy not to go to war. We midlife refueling, according to an are happy to be a deterrent to conflict.” Aug. 1 directive from Adm. Gary Vice Adm. Joseph D. Kernan Roughead, chief of naval operations. Deputy commander, U.S. Southern Command Carrier Strike Group Nine, based On the role Special Operations forces can play in countries where “a small footprint” in Everett, Wash., with the aircraft is preferred over a significant U.S. military presence. carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, will New York Times, Aug. 9 move to San Diego on Dec. 14, 2012, and be assigned the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan. In August 2012, Abraham Lincoln will shift homeport on the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship Navy Names LCS 9, to Newport News, Va., to begin its program, to which Senate Armed Plans Decommissionings Refueling and Compre hen sive Over- Services ranking member John Navy Secretary has haul (RCOH) at the Newport News McCain, R-Ariz., demanded the new selected the name Little Rock for Shipbuilding division of Huntington chief devote much of his attention. the ninth Littoral Combat Ship Ingalls Industries. McCain and other senators have (LCS). He made the announce- The RCOH will extend the life of expressed concerns about “aggres- ment in a July 15 statement. the carrier to 50 years. USS Theodore sive galvanic corrosion” on USS Little Rock will be the second U.S. Roosevelt will complete its RCOH in Independence, which is produced Navy ship to bear the name of the 2012 and rejoin the fleet. by Austal USA, as well as a crack in capital of Arkansas. The first Little the hull of USS Freedom, Lockheed Rock (CL-92/CLG-4/CG-4) was built Stratton Completes Martin’s version of the shallow- as a Cleveland-class light cruiser and Acceptance Trials water vessel, which developed dur- later converted to a Galveston-class The third National Security Cutter ing sea trials. guided-missile cruiser. The cruiser, (NSC), Stratton, went though Greenert acknowledged the decommissioned in 1976, is a muse- acceptance trials with the Navy’s necessity of ensuring the program um ship in Buffalo, N.Y. Mabus Board of Inspection and Survey in meets time and schedule targets. served as a surface warfare officer August as it continues to be on track When asked about the Indepen- onboard the cruiser when he was on for delivery this fall, with commis- dence, he said corrosion on ships is active duty. sioning planned for next spring. “not a new problem” and that the The new Little Rock will be a “The expertise and experience Navy can mitigate it on future Freedom-class LCS, built in gained from production and trial ships at a modest cost. Marinette, Wis., by a team led by activities of the first two NSCs In a spate of confirmations, the Lockheed Martin. [Bertholf and Waesche] have had a Senate also approved a slate of In other developments, the Navy significant positive impact during other top military officials, includ- announced in a July 15 directive Stratton’s construction process. As ing Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey four ships scheduled for decommis- evidenced during builder’s trials, to be the next chairman of the sioning in fiscal 2012. Three Oliver Stratton is at a much higher level of Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. James A. Hazard Perry-class frigates — USS fit and finish as delivery approach- Winnefeld Jr. to be the next vice Boone, Stephen W. Groves and John L. es than its predecessors,” said Pete chair and Gen. Raymond T. Hall — will be decommissioned, the Oittinen, project manager for the Odierno to be the Army chief. first two on Feb. 24 and the last on National Security Cutter.

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WASHINGTON REPORT U.S. COAST GUARD

Stratton, the third Coast Guard National Security Cutter, is moored at Huntington Ingalls Industries shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., July 29 after completing builder’s trials. The cutter is scheduled for delivery to the Coast Guard in the fall.

Stratton is estimated to cost upper hand,” he said. “The biggest curity (DHS)] in 2007, but several $551 mil lion and is being built by enemy is complacency, so we factors continue to preclude a solid Hunting ton Ingalls Industries in maintain a sense of urgency be - understanding of the program’s Pascagoula, Miss. cause there is an awful lot of oil in true cost and schedule,” according Prefabrication began for the the Gulf of Mexico. There will be to the report, titled “Action fourth NSC, Hamilton, in June and no reduction of effort, commit- Needed As Approved Deepwater a contract for long-lead materials ment or urgency.” Program Remains Unachievable.” for the unnamed fifth NSC was The Coast Guard has been the DHS is the agency that oversees the awarded in January. lead federal agency in charge of Coast Guard. response. The GAO said costs under Deepwater Horizon The disaster response and the former Deepwater moderniza- Oil Spill Cleanup cleanup effort currently involves tion program could continue to Efforts Continue 1,179 personnel from various state rise because the Coast Guard has U.S. Coast Guard cleanup efforts and local agencies and 66 vessels. acknowledged that current projec- continue in the Gulf of Mexico as a At its peak, the Coast Guard had tions do not include revised result of last year’s historic Deep - 7,000 active duty and Reserve per- baselines for all assets, including water Horizon oil spill that saw an sonnel responding to the spill. the Offshore Patrol Cutter, which estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil is the largest cost driver of the discharged over a four-month span. USCG Recapitalization program. “The current operational plan is Costs Continue To Rise “The reliability of the cost esti- based on the worst-case scenario for The Coast Guard’s 25-year recapital- mates and schedules for selected cleanup at sea and that includes ization program could cost more assets is also undermined because keeping assets in the air and on the than $5 billion above the original the Coast Guard did not follow key water, but we will be here until all of $24.2 billion baseline, according to a best practices for developing these the oil is cleaned up at sea and on July 28 Government Accountability estimates,” the report said. ■ shore,” Coast Guard Rear Adm. Paul Office (GAO) report. Zukunft, the federal on-scene coor- “The Deepwater program con- Reporting by Seapower Correspondent dinator, said in a July 19 statement. tinues to exceed the cost and Megan Scully. Managing Editor Richard “This is a dynamic situation schedule baselines approved by R. Burgess and Assistant Editor John C. where weather really does play the [the Department of Homeland Se- Marcario contributed to this report.

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INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE & RECONNAISSANCE Waiting for MUOS Delays have not dampened Navy’s desire for next-generation communications satellite system

By DANIEL P. TAYLOR, Special Correspondent

tered another delay that would Bandwidth Boost bump the launch to February. In response to the delays, the The first of five Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellites Se nate Armed Services Committee is expected to be launched into orbit next year. slashed $205 million from the pro- ■ The MUOS constellation is expected to provide more than 10 gram in its markup of the fiscal times the bandwidth capacity of the legacy constellation. 2012 defense authorization bill in June. The money likely will be re- ■ An overly aggressive schedule and technical challenges have stored as the program tries to get contributed to delays in the launch of the first satellite. back on track. ■ The functionality of the current satellite system is diminishing. The total value of the program, with all options exercised, is $3.26 billion, according to prime con- tractor Lockheed Martin Space early two decades ago, the Navy launched the Systems, Sunnyvale, Calif. first satellite of its Ultra High Frequency Sean J. Stackley, assistant secretary of the Navy for N Follow-On (UFO) system into orbit to pro- Research, Development & Acquisition, said in a report vide bandwidth and communications to troops and released in early 2010 that the program suffered from a vehicles in the field. In less than a year, the service hopes schedule that was too aggressive and a host of techni- to finally have the first satellite of a next-generation con- cal challenges. stellation with 10 times the capacity of the current sys- Steven Davis, a spokesman for Space and Naval tem circling Earth. Warfare Systems Command, told Seapower that the The Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) is a col- program has addressed the problems and “we are on lection of five satellites — four active and one on-orbit track for a February 2012 launch of MUOS 1. The spare — that will provide narrowband tactical commu- spacecraft has successfully completed thermal vacuum nications in the ultra-high-frequency (UHF) band to [TVAC] testing and is continuing post-TVAC prepara- troops in the field. After the Navy launches the first tions for delivery.” satellite in early 2012, the service will launch one per Lockheed Martin said the kind of delays the satellite year until all five are on orbit. system has experienced are to be expected for new, rev- But that first launch has proved to be a moving tar- olutionary programs. get because integration and technical concerns have “Development of any new sophisticated space pro- taken longer than expected to resolve. At one point, gram such as MUOS has inherent risk, especially in the first on-orbit delivery of MUOS was scheduled for critical stage of assembly, integration and test,” said March 2010. Mark Pasquale, Lockheed Martin vice president and The Navy then had hoped to launch the satellite this MUOS program manager. “We work closely with our year, but John Zangardi, deputy assistant secretary of Navy customer to resolve issues and ensure mission the Navy for Command, Control, Communications, success on this critical national security program. We Computers, Intelligence, Information Operations and are on track and confident that we will successfully Space, told the Senate Armed Services strategic forces deliver this cutting-edge system in a timely fashion to subcommittee in May that the program had encoun- support our customer’s needs.”

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INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE & RECONNAISSANCE

by the end of this year, a revelation that made delays in the MUOS sys- tem all the more troubling. However, Rear Adm. David W. Titley, oceanographer and navigator of the Navy and director for mar- itime awareness and space, altered that assessment at the May Senate Armed Services strategic forces sub- committee hearing, arguing that the service would have “in excess” of 70 percent of the constellation still functioning by the time the first MUOS satellite was in orbit and fully operational next May. The transition from the UFO constellation to MUOS may seem like a difficult one, but Pasquale says the MUOS satellites will U.S. NAVY employ two payloads: one for 3G The Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) is a next-generation narrowband wideband and the other for UHF tactical satellite communications system intended to significantly improve satellite communications. ground communications for U.S. forces. Its satellite constellation will use four interconnected ground stations in Hawaii, Virginia, Italy and Australia. The sta- “This dual payload approach, tion located at Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station and the development of the MUOS Pacific, Wahiawa, Hawaii, is seen here. common air interface, fully sup- ports legacy UHF SATCOM termi- In February, the Navy exercised the option in its nals and Joint Tactical Radio System terminals,” he said. contract with Lockheed to build the fifth and final “This ensures that legacy systems remain compatible satellite at a cost of $340 million. with the MUOS architecture, while offering the techno- Pasquale said the satellite will have the ability to logical advancements needed by its military users.” provide bandwidth above and beyond what is offered Lockheed is pressing forward on testing to ensure that by the legacy UFO satellite constellation. there are no further slips in the program. The company “MUOS is a first-of-its-kind satellite system that will has completed environmental testing for the first MUOS provide unprecedented new communications capabili- satellite and is conducting final factory testing in advance ties, including simultaneous voice, data and video of delivering it to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. services,” he said, “as well as the ability to increase From there, the Atlas V launch vehicle will ferry the capacity and features over the life of the program.” satellite into space, according to Pasquale. MUOS works by adapting commercial third-generation The recent thermal vacuum testing Lockheed com- (3G) wideband cellular phone network architecture and pleted on the satellite was “one of the most significant combining it with the power of the satellites, according to program milestones,” he said. a Navy fact sheet on the program. The Navy posits that Thermal vacuum testing involves stressing the space- MUOS will have more than 10 times the capacity of the craft “in a vacuum proto-flight environment at extreme legacy constellation. hot and cold temperatures in excess of those it will MUOS will use four interconnected ground stations experience throughout its design life,” Pasquale added. in Hawaii, Virginia, Italy and Australia that will identi- In the meantime, Lockheed is preparing to perform fy incoming user communications, route them to the acoustic testing on the second MUOS satellite, which correct ground site for uplink to the satellite and then “validates the integrity of the spacecraft and readiness downlink to the recipient. for launch” in advance of shipping the satellite to the The new MUOS satellites cannot come soon enough launch site at the end of 2012, Pasquale said. for the Navy. The UFO constellation is fading in terms Despite the setbacks, Pasquale argues that MUOS is of functionality. well worth the wait. In an early 2010 report, Stackley raised concerns about “[MUOS] is … designed to significantly improve the eight UFO satellites, saying they would dip from 100 ground communications for U.S. forces on the move,” percent functionality in January 2010 to just 50 percent he said. ■

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INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE & RECONNAISSANCE A Common Picture Commercial satellite imagery augments government capabilities

By EDWARD LUNDQUIST, Special Correspondent

“Unclassified imagery is so valu- Worth a Thousand Words able because it can change hands quickly and decisions can be made Satellite imagery and analysis has become indispensable for the faster,” said Chris Tully, senior vice military and civilian first-responders. president of sales at GeoEye, a Hern- ■ Commercial satellite imagery is available to any buyer, but the don, Va.-based company that owns government is one of the biggest customers of commercial geo- two satellites and provides a variety spatial information. of products and services to govern- ment and other customers. “It’s easier ■ Because it’s unclassified, it can be made available to those to rapidly disseminate an unclassified who need it easier and faster. image. It permits you to work with ■ Commercial satellites free up more sophisticated government partners who do not have the clear- spacecraft to conduct higher priority and more sensitive missions. ance for access to classified material.” Access to, and rapid dissemina- tion of, imagery also is cri ti cal for humanitarian assistance and disas- magery that was once only available from highly ter response (HA/DR). Responding to the earthquake classified military satellites for use by government and sub sequent tsunami in Japan, making sense of dam- I intelligence agencies can now be obtained from age from the tornadoes in southern U.S. states or eva- commercial sources on the open market and shared cua ting people in the path of flooding on the Mississippi with a wide variety of users. River were made easier with high-resolu tion satellite Satellite imagery and analysis is indispensable for imagery that could be processed and shared quickly. mili ta ry planners and commanders. That same kind of “During an HA/DR situation, everything should be imagery also is essential for governments, businesses un classified,” said Navy Capt. Ed Buclatin, public and disaster responders, although spy satellites are not affairs officer for U.S. European Command. “For infor- always “looking” where non-DoD users want pictures mation or image ry collected through classified means, and the imagery can be highly classified. we want a process in place to declassify it very quickly The government agencies that have their own means — within hours.” of collection also are the biggest buyers of commercial Following a disaster, geospatial imagery can show imagery. Even if the government is the customer that what has been destroyed and what remains, what roads placed the order, commercially obtained imagery is not are open and what pathways are available for respon- classified, so it can be released to be readily shared. ders to get to where they are needed most. “Here in Afghanistan, commercial imagery levels the The analytical and predictive tools available today, playing field for all coalition partners and agencies,” said and those in development, can help solve real-world Air Force Lt. Col. Scott Scheppers, chief of the intelligence problems, such as where something like a flood or operations division for the International Security famine is likely to occur, what would be the best Assistance Force. “Classified products are not always avail- escape routes from a given point as a disaster unfolds able, or releasable, but commercial products provide high- or where responders should deploy resources. quality images for a common picture of the battle space for Commercial satellite-based sensors and analytical military, civilian and host-nation partners.” tools can, for example, analyze the radiation plume from

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INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE & RECONNAISSANCE GEOEYE

The path of the catastrophic tornado that ravaged Tuscaloosa, Ala., April 27 is depicted in this IKONOS satellite image. Access to, and rapid dissemination of, imagery is critical to humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations.

the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan that was shared with other agencies and law enforcement author- damaged by the earthquake and tsunami and help Navy ities online. ships there avoid contamination. Elliot Holokauahi Pulham, chief executive officer of Enterprise GIS is a visualization tool for many Coast the Space Foundation, Colorado Springs, Colo., told the Guard programs and accessible to all Coast Guard users. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Trans- The Coast Guard integrates commercial products from portation during a May 18 hearing, “Commercial satellite open-source services to see multiple layers of informa- services and commercial satellite infrastructure together tion, such as current vessel position and historical vessel accounted for some $189 billion in 2010 — nearly 70 track data, Automated Identification System density percent of total space activity.” “heat maps,” or right whale positions and vessel prox- He added that the “soft power of space programs is imity. Because the product is unclassified, it can be often one of our best foreign relations and national

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security tools. Certainly, space programs have also been inextricably linked with hard power of military operations.” The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has long-term commitments to the commercial remote sensing marketplace to enable the next generation of orbiting imagers. This way the agency will ensure these next-generation orbiters are built to meet NGA and U.S. government needs. The amount of publicly available, lower-resolution satellite images is growing, and allows users to define and analyze such larger-scale features of sites of inter- est by government and nongovernment organizations (NGOs). The companies that collect the imagery also provide U.S. ARMY analytical tools that help official and nongovernment Nikki Ange, an environmental scientist with the U.S. Army parties monitor situations such as active wild fires, to Corps of Engineers’ Norfolk District, and Garrett Wickham, an environmental protection specialist from the Portland District, include fire reports, perimeters and predictions; as well use satellite imagery of Joplin, Mo., and remaining landmarks as current flood observations, along with warnings, to locate properties that require assessment surveys follow- precipitation and forecasts; and shared media. ing the tornado that destroyed much of the city May 22. Additionally, a number of companies, academic insti- tutions and NGOs have developed their own capabili- The same techniques can be applied in other mar- ties to take advantage of space-based imagery. kets, such as infrastructure protection, fraud and crim- GeoEye’s IKONOS, launched in 1999, was the first inal activity, or market fluctuations. commercial high-resolution color satellite, with 82- Geospatial imagery products can be combined to pro- centimeter resolution, which means the smallest unit vide before-and-after comparisons. Different images of that maps to a single pixel within an image is 82 cen- the same area can be layered and superimposed to show timeters by 82 centimeters. It was joined by GeoEye-1 terrain; critical infrastructure such as power plants, dams — with 41-centimeter resolution — in 2008. GeoEye- and bridges; locations of potential hazardous waste; and 1 can locate an object of that size anywhere on Earth. economic sites such as factories and refineries. “We do serve the defense community,” Tully said. In the 2003 report, “The Hidden Gulag: Exposing “This frees up more sophisticated satellites to collect North Korea’s Prison Camps; Prisoners’ Testimonies imagery on higher priority targets.” and Satellite Photographs,” the Committee for Human Additionally, the cost of commercial imagery can be Rights in North Korea used commercially available offset by sales in the private sector. Tully said GeoEye pro- imagery to correlate reports from former guards and vides imagery to customers in government, energy, trans- prisoners from North Korea about the repressive prison portation, mining, the media and public safety. GeoEye’s colonies and their conditions, to raise awareness about products find their way into Google Maps, nightly news conditions in North Korea and call attention on human broadcasts and even video games. rights abuses in that country. GeoEye provides satellite imagery to the NGA, its Amnesty International also has published satellite largest customer, under a service-level agreement, imagery and details that reveal the true scale of North Tully said. Korea’s network of political prison camps and the “Every month, we collect a certain amount of 200,000 people who are held in horrific conditions. imagery and make it available. We know in advance Satellite imagery also can be applied to Global what they want us to collect. What they ask for is Positioning System (GPS) navigation applications. sometimes classified. Sometimes what we collect for With the ability to assign GPS tracking devices to “tar- them we can use for other purposes,” he said. gets,” progressive imagery can be obtained for dynamic Tully noted that analysts could combine multiple situations. sources of content and data, such as historical events, cul- As the Walking-with-the-Wounded team from the tural information, cellular traffic and Twitter activity, infra- United Kingdom trekked to the North Pole this spring structure and weather, pour all of those attributes and data (they arrived April 16), an online interactive map from into a data fusion engine using high-performance compu- ESRI UK Ltd., Aylesbury, England, allowed people to tational algorithms, and apply the results to understand follow the team — which included wounded warriors where things are likely to occur. — with its real-time GPS position. ■

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SPECIAL REPORT / U.S. MARINE CORPS THE COMMANDANT LEADING THE NATION’S CRISIS RESPONSE FORCE

Gen. James F. Amos became the 35th commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps on Oct. 22. A Marine aviator, Amos has held command at all levels, from lieutenant colonel to lieutenant general, most recently serving as the 31st assistant commandant of the Corps from 2008 to 2010.

Amos laid out his priorities for the service in the “Commandant’s Planning Guidance” for 2010, saying his No. 1 priority is continuing to provide the best trained and equipped Marine units to Afghanistan. The com- mandant also noted the importance of rebalancing the service and posturing it for the future. Other prior- ities include better educating and training Marines “to succeed in distributed operations and increasingly complex environments” and keeping “faith with our Marines, our Sailors and our families.”

The Marine Corps has some significant challenges ahead, not the least of which is the budget, what Amos calls “the absolute near-term alligator.” The commandant discussed how the service can meet the demands of today and prepare the expeditionary force for the future under extreme fiscal constraints with Managing Editor Richard R. Burgess and Editor in Chief Amy L. Wittman. Excerpts follow:

How would you make the case that the Marine sels, you could put it on airplanes, but it is ready to go. Corps is vital to national defense? That is the Marines Corps’ lane. AMOS: In a nutshell, we are America’s crisis response The other services each have a domain. The Navy has force. The United States of America needs a force that the sea/water domain. The Army has the ground do- can get out the door very quickly, a force that’s in a main. The Air Force has the sky and space domain. If high state of readiness — all the time — and a force you imagine a Venn diagram, with three circles overlap- that is willing to adapt to really any kind of environ- ping in the center, that’s the lane of the Marine Corps. ment, that is willing to live in harsh environments, that We’re not trying to do other services’ missions, but we brings skill sets that range from full major combat are our nation’s sole crisis response force. Without us, operations to taking care of folks. the truth of the matter is our nation won’t be able to I’m not saying that a force in the Army can’t respond respond the way it might like to. to something, I’m not saying a force in the Navy or the When I was being interviewed for this job, a very sen- Air Force [cannot], but we bring the whole package. ior civilian who interviewed me said, “You know, the neat We don’t just bring airplanes, we don’t just bring thing about the Marines is, we can have a crisis cook off ground forces, we bring everything. — we could send the Marines in and we’re not even sure We bring an air-ground logistics capability that is what they should do. We just know we need to get some- structured and scaled and sized for each individual crisis. body there on the ground, and the Marines will figure it We respond to today’s crisis, with today’s force, today. out when they get there.” That was a direct quote: “The When a crisis hits around the world — it can be a Marines will just figure it out when they get there.” humanitarian crisis, it can be a crisis off the coast of It means that we come with this expeditionary Libya, it can be something someplace else — America “adapt” and “overcome” mindset. We’re ready to go. needs a force that it can send rapidly. Ideally, it would When Libya hit and a no-fly zone was going to be instat- come from some type of forward-deployed naval ves- ed, they brought two of the three amphibious ships up

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SPECIAL REPORT / U.S. MARINE CORPS

from the 26th MEU [Marine Expeditionary Unit]. They came up through the Red Sea, the Suez and into the Mediterranean. They were missing something. The 1,400 Marines that they left in Afghanistan were still on the ground in Helmand Province. In less than 20 hours notice, we put three-quarters of an infantry battalion from Camp Lejeune on airplanes and we flew them to Souda Bay, Crete. We buy time for our national leaders’ decision-making process. That’s what we bring. Why does the nation need a Marine Corps? We need a crisis-response force, one in a high state of readiness, one that doesn’t mind getting their hands dirty. We need one that doesn’t have to have all the answers before you get there; you figure it out when you get there. We need one that comes with its own tool kit so you don’t have to say, “I’ll be happy to do that, but you’ve got to provide me these 10 things.” We come with it.

What are the main challenges facing the Marine Corps today? AMOS: One is the budget. That’s the absolute near-term alligator we’re fighting. Just last fall, we began to work on the force structure, what the Marine Corps would look like post-Afghanistan. [Then-Defense] Secretary [Robert M.] Gates challenged us to do that last September and we’ve done that. We … briefed it to the secretary of the Navy [Ray Mabus] in January, [and the] secretary of defense in February. He approved it and that really reshapes the Marine Corps. We have begun some of the

shaping this year. There are other things we can do in LISA NIPP 2011 and some things we can do in ’12, but that’s going to be a significant effort over the next several years. and is required for the future security environment, No. 2 is reorienting, or keeping our focus on and we’re in declining resources. Afghanistan. If you look at my planning guide, our No. The last [priority] is to take care of our Marines and 1 priority is Afghanistan. How do we continue to keep Sailors and keep faith with them. I picked that term very the pressure on the Taliban and keep the spirits up of carefully. It’s not a matter of taking care of them, it’s more our Marines? While we know that President [Hamid] than that. It’s everything from going up to Bethesda Karzai has said that in 2014 the U.S. forces would be [Naval Hospital, Md.] tomorrow afternoon from the out of Afghanistan, we are where we are midway Pentagon [with] probably 20 Purple Hearts. The lion’s through 2011. … I think we’re doing quite well in share of those young men will have at least one leg miss- Afghanistan, but then how do we begin to draw down ing. How do you take care of them and their families? and how does that affect the Helmand Province? My How do you give them hope? That’s keeping faith. responsibilities in this thing are many-fold, but one of them is to make sure that I continue to provide every- As Marines are withdrawn from Afghanistan, thing that is required in order for those young men and what needs to be done to reset the force? women to succeed in Afghanistan — the Marines and AMOS: The first thing is to admit as a nation that there is Sailors who come underneath the Marine Corps. a responsibility — primarily through the ground forces, The third challenge is to markedly increase our res- primarily the Marine Corps and the Army — to take care ident professional military education. I want to do it of equipment that they’ve had on the ground, in our case, for the enlisted ranks [and] the officer corps, and that the equipment we’ve had on the ground there a signifi- requires not only some reorganization, but also money. cant amount of time in a very harsh environment. There’s I’ve allocated a pretty fair amount of our budget to do a cost to that. You’ve got to say, “OK, now, as a nation, we this, as a down payment, but it’s going to take more. have an obligation to help the Marine Corps with their Here, we’re trying to do something which is significant equipment reset, which means refurbishment of their

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SPECIAL REPORT / U.S. MARINE CORPS

gear going to the depots, [and] that gear that is beyond a a pitch on that because we are the nation’s sole forcible serviceable condition, the service life, we’ll replace it.” entry force from the sea. You can parachute into a coun- And then there is a reconstitution. Forty percent of try all day long, but you’re only going to have with you the equipment at home station, back here in the United what you have on your back. You’re not going to have States — Hawaii, Okinawa, the continental United States heavy artillery, you’re not going to have any mechanized — is missing. It’s in Afghanistan. So not only do you take maneuver capabilities. So we come from the sea. the equipment that comes out of Afghanistan and you fix To get back to our amphibious roots, we began ear- it or replace it, but we’ve got to reconstitute what’s miss- lier this year an exercise called Bold Alligator. It’s an ing back here in the United States. It’s missing because East Coast exercise with [U.S.] Second Fleet [and] we continue to supply that equipment into Afghanistan Second Marine Expeditionary Force. It’s one in a joint or Iraq. That’s the first thing, to get that right. environment, but predominantly naval forces, and it Then what we need to do is reorient the Marine was a tabletop exercise to begin with. The idea behind Corps. We’ll always have an eye on Southwest Asia, it was: How would we exercise command and control there’s no question about it. There’s always going to be a of Marine forces at sea [and] transitioning from sea to role for Marines in the CENTCOM AOR [Central shore? How would we operate the air command and Command Area of Responsibility], but we need to reori- control of the air space, of the battle space, and those ent the Marines. So to reset the Corps, its equipment, its types of supported and supporting relationships? training, trying to get back to some of those core compe- We transition next year to Bold Alligator 12. It will tencies that the Marine Corps has historically been so be virtual and live. … This will be the first [exercise] expert at. For instance, combined arms, amphibious of a significant size like this, with the Navy and the operations — get back to those things as well, and then Marine Corps, and I’m pretty excited about it. We take reorient the Marine Corps more specifically. the first step and the second and the third and then, one day, we’re back to business again. You’ve traditionally been a knock-down-the- door force. What will you do to refocus the What are some of the major recommendations Corps as an amphibious forcible-entry force? from the force structure review being imple- AMOS: First of all, the forcible entry piece is a narrow mented? Why do you consider a force of mission set for us. It’s a very important one. I’ll just make 186,800 Marines the right force size needed for the future Marine Corps? AMOS: We didn’t begin with numbers. What we were told was to come down and right-size the Marine Corps for the future security environment, so we did that. I gave the force structure review folks the mission state- ment of the Marine Corps. Secretary Gates had already approved that. … When you look at this mission state- ment, you can articulate what it is that the Marine Corps does for our nation. … It defines our lane, so we took that lane and then applied it against the future security environment over the next two decades — what we think we’ll be doing for our nation, what the world is going to look like. And then said, “come up with a force.” As it turned out, it was 186,800. It wasn’t 172,000. It wasn’t 195,000. That was the right number. Here are several things that made it right. No. 1, we took the lessons that we learned over the last 10 years of warfare and incorporated them into this new force structure — everything from counterinsurgency operations to how we organize our supply battalions. Instead of the old way, where we take some Marines from the supply battalions, the maintenance battalion and the headquarters battalion, we’d cobble them together and we would make the combat logistics battalion. We actually are standing these up now. We’ve taken and added capa-

LISA NIPP bilities in the Marine Corps that we have been short on.

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SPECIAL REPORT / U.S. MARINE CORPS U.S. MARINE CORPS

Gen. James F. Amos, commandant of the Marine Corps, pins Cpl. Kevin B. Walker of Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, with the Purple Heart medal during an award ceremony in Musa Qala’eh, Afghanistan, Dec. 25. Walker was awarded the Purple Heart after receiving shrapnel and a concussion from an improvised explosive device blast while on patrol. During the ceremony, Amos awarded seven Marines with the Purple Heart and told each of them to be proud to wear such a distinguished award.

You’ve heard the term “low-density, high-demand” Marine Corps so we have more lieutenant colonels and skill sets, what we call our “military occupational spe- more majors and more master sergeants.” cialties” in the Marine Corps. We have these low-density, high-demand assets, which means they’re deploying With the cancellation of the Expeditionary Fighting back to back. They’re gone seven months, they’re home, Vehicle (EFV), you’ve had to regroup on procure- in many cases less than seven months, and we turn them ment plans for armored vehicles like the Amphibi- right around and send them back because we’ve got ous Combat Vehicle (ACV), the Marine Personnel nobody else. Carrier and the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV). We said, “Why don’t we take those things that are low What are your procurement plans in the near term density, high demand and change them to right density, for vehicles? Is the Corps retaining the Mine high demand, instead of making it always hard on a few?” Resistant Armor Protected vehicles (MRAPs)? Let’s deepen the bench on things like signals intelligence, AMOS: We need a replacement for our utility vehicle, human intelligence. We fixed explosive ordinance dispos- the Humvee. We have about 23,000 Humvees right al. When we began, we were woefully short of those and now in a variety of different kinds, everything from the they were truly the ultimate low-density, high-demand old canvas-backed ones when we crossed the border asset. Unmanned aerial vehicle squads. We fixed that. into Iraq in 2003 to the up-armored ones, the en - We end up with, in my estimation, a more capable hanced capability vehicles. Those are going to need to Marine Corps. We have taken “individual augments,” be replaced and that’s where the JLTV was, hopefully, where each service is required to provide so many lieu- going to reside. I’m not sure it’s going to. Right now, it’s tenant commanders in the Navy, majors in the Marine a very expensive vehicle and it’s a heavy vehicle, and Corps, lieutenant colonels in the Marine Corps, master we’re not going for heavy vehicles. sergeants, and we’ve had to provide that now in num- We’ll have a little over 2,000 MRAPs. We’ll take very bers of thousands. What we’ve done now is we’ve said, good care of those MRAPs, and when we need heavy “OK, if this is the kind of environment we’re going to armored vehicles, we plan on using those. There is a operate in, let’s change the force structure within the replacement out there. It would be nice if the JLTV

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there is anything in there that is different than the way we’re thinking. Then we’ll go into some prototype development. I’m pretty excited about it.

When do you think you will go to the prototype stage? AMOS: Let me tell you what I just told the industry. I told them that when I give up command of the Marine Corps — and I’ve got three years and about four months left — I’ll be driving the vehicle into the water. Now, that is about three to four times faster than the standard acqui- sition system timeline supports. I told them I’m not the least bit interested in admiring this problem. We have a need, we’re going to pick a vehicle that’s good enough, I’m not going to try to come up with something that’s exotic and perfect, and I’m pretty confident industry can do this for us. In fact, I’m very confident. I think you’ll see two prototypes, maybe three, from different manufacturers toward the end of my com- mandancy. They will be steel, they’ll have motors in them and we’ll put them in the water. In a perfect world, what I’d like to do is be the commandant when we down-select. You pick the one and you say, “OK, it’s company XYZ and you’re going to build this one.” Then we’re off to the races.

With the Corps procuring some carrier-based

LISA NIPP F-35Cs, what does the F-35B bring to the fight that makes it necessary for the Corps’ tool kit? came along and fit the bill, but I’m not convinced it AMOS: A couple of things. One, we’ve got 22 what I call will. We are going to do a service life extension on capital ships in the Navy today, the 11 aircraft carriers and select numbers of our amphibious assault vehicles — 11 large-deck amphibious ships that look like small carri- our AAV7s. For some number of those — we’re work- ers. The first thing is that the F-35 allows you to have 22 ing on how many — that will preserve our amphibious capital ships for our nation now with fifth-generation air- capability and this forcible-entry capability that we planes on them. If the F-35B wasn’t here, if the program were talking about earlier. were canceled or whatever, then the nation would have 11 Meanwhile, we’re doing the early work on an aircraft carriers with the fifth-generation airplanes. Amphibious Combat Vehicle, which is the vehicle that That V-22 that picked up the Air Force F-15E pilot in will replace the EFV. I’m very encouraged by what I’m Libya was escorted by Harriers flying off the Kearsarge. seeing. We’ve put a lot of pressure on industry. There is a large amphibious ship right now in the There is an analysis of alternatives that started here, Mediterranean with Harriers onboard prepared to do exact- just about now, and it will go for, hopefully, no more than ly the same thing if something happens. [Without STOVL six months. How else would you get from ship to shore (short take-off, vertical-landing) aircraft] you would have in a hostile environment, where you’re actually having to an amphibious ship with helicopters and tiltrotors, and that do forcible entry, how would you get those Marines would be the extent of it. So [the F-35B] doubles the capa- ashore in that kind of environment? An analysis of alter- bility of the United States to project power with the fifth- natives will give you all the possible choices. Some may generation airplane anywhere in the world. not be workable, they may not be affordable. The second thing is the way we operate airplanes in We’ve been giving [the ACV] some criteria. We said an expeditionary environment, where we’re ashore and it will hold a Marine rifle squad. There will probably be we’re moving rapidly. I was the wing commander when two or three Marines that will be part of the ACV crew, we crossed the border into Iraq, and we moved all the and then there will be another 13 Marines with their way through Baghdad to Tikrit with our aviation com- full combat gear who will be inside that vehicle. Then bat support unit, the Marine wing support squadrons. we come out of the analysis of alternatives and see if We operated off of highways.

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Saddam had cratered runways about every 3,000 or and it’s time to get out of there, it’s like a Saturn rocket 4,000 feet, and we landed our Harriers and operated in coming out of the zone. We don’t have anything that can between craters. You can’t do that with a conventional compare to it, with how rapidly it will move out of the airplane. There are roughly 10 times as many 3,000- zone and climb away from the threat. When we transit foot runways in the world as there are 8,000-foot run- around Afghanistan, we’re up there 10,000 feet. Nothing is ways. When you think about expeditionary operations shooting at you at 10,000 feet. I think it’s found its place. in an unfriendly world, where we’re not sure of what I was in the Pentagon in 2000, 2001, when it was a strug- we’re going to find ashore, the F-35B gives you flexibil- gle [for the program]. It’s a full-blown member of the fam- ity and a capability to be able to go anywhere. We don’t ily now. It’s earned its street cred. have that in a non-STOVL airplane. You’re increasing the number of unmanned aerial What is your assessment of the MV-22 vehicle (UAV) squadrons. What roles do you see Osprey’s operational performance so far? for unmanned systems in the future Marine AMOS: I just came back from Afghanistan [in May]. For Corps? the most part [on] that trip — and our trip there at AMOS: I’m a big fan [of unmanned systems]. I understood Christmas time — we spent all our time in the Marine the value but I didn’t have the real sense of the combat zone in the Ospreys. Marines are very confident in its abil- multiplier they are when we crossed the [Iraqi] border in ity to get in and out of zones. It carries a lot of Marines and 2003. I had two unmanned aerial vehicle squadrons under there’s no problem with carrying everything a Marine has my command. They became what I affectionately call the on him. Fully combat loaded, it [carries] 24 Marines. “queen of the prom,” and they were flying around the Unless you get into the heavy-lift 53E, we don’t have clock, earning their pay. You couldn’t get enough of them. another capability that has that much power. Everybody wanted a piece of the UAVs. Now we are going It’s got the ability to move Marines and their equip- to four squadrons — we already stood up a third one and ment rapidly around the battlefield. It’s got the best we’re going for a fourth. Their future is very bright. safety record of any of the airplanes that we’re flying I think, down the road, there will be a place for UAVs right now, probably to include the Navy. It passed in Marine TACAIR aviation. What you’ll see is probably a 100,000 hours just about two months ago. It’s really blend of some hybrid UAVs that have a pretty significant doing well. The Marines love it. The air crews love it. strike capability and a loiter capability. There’s a place in I’m very, very confident in the airplane. Marine aviation for a UAV that’s much more capable than When you go into a hot zone where the enemy is what we are flying today. If we don’t acknowledge that around and you come in rapidly, drop off your Marines now, we’re really kind of living in the past.

What about unmanned ground vehicles? AMOS: We’ve tried a variety of things. The easy one, of course, is our EOD [explosive ordnance disposal]. It’s an unmanned ground vehicle, but more robotic. We put a fair amount of money into this thing called a Burrow to carry our load. We’re try- ing to lighten the load on our Marines. There’s a lot of experimentation going on. I think the Army is look- ing at something that would be almost a mechanized truck, not a 7-ton truck, [but] almost a flatbed- looking driving or crawling kind of U.S. MARINE CORPS thing, like a movable pickup bed. Amos grins as Sgt. Maj. Carlton W. Kent, then-sergeant major of the Marine As the Marines move along, you Corps, shares a story with approximately 2,000 Marines from 3rd Marine Regiment during a visit to Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Feb. 10. For Amos, who can throw your stuff [on it] — began his career as a first lieutenant with a Hawaii-based squadron, the visit to ammunition, water — there’s a Hawaii was his first as commandant. place for that.

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SPECIAL REPORT / U.S. MARINE CORPS

The thing we’re very serious about, and it hasn’t come along nearly as fast as I would want it to and I’m disap- pointed, is the unmanned cargo vehicle [Cargo UAV]. Two or three years ago, when we first really went back into Afghanistan, one of our companies [was] involved in a hell of a firefight. This was the middle of summer, so it was well over 120 degrees outside. Here is this company commander on the ground late in the after- noon, and he’s just about out of ammunition and he’s just about out of water, and there’s been no lightening up of this enemy force. He called for both water and ammunition, and the call came back, because it was going to go in in our heavy-lift helicopters, “You could have one or the other, but you can’t have both. We can’t

get both to you this afternoon.” LISA NIPP I read that account of that effort and I thought to myself, “Boy, just think if we had had what I’ve called for well inside of a year. The heat, the dust, just the con- for years — a Cargo UAV sitting ready and you had stant up and down and back and forth, it’s tough. maybe 10 of them that could carry 750 pounds.” We have to repair a lot of what we have in Afghanistan [We] get all enthralled and make these things the size right now to keep it going, so we have an intermediate of a blimp and it costs $10 billion dollars. That’s not maintenance activity that we’ve established there. It takes what I’m talking about. I’m talking about something not equipment and does medium rebuilds on site. Then there a lot bigger than the size of this table top that can lift 700 is an Afghanistan logistics rehabilitation effort that the pounds of water and ammunition and I can launch 10 of Army is spearheading right now that we will plug into, them and, if it crashes en route or if the enemy shoots it and that will allow us a measure of depot-level mainte- down, so what? I’ll just send another one. I could’ve sent nance in theater. We are going to have — while we’re on all the ammunition and water those kids needed. I’m not the ground there — a fairly heavy logistics footprint. going to push it out of an airplane 2,000 feet above, out Here’s where we’re going in the future, this effort we in the open, and they’re going to scamper out in the call lightening the load of the Marine Corps. It’s recogni- open to find it. I’ve been disappointed in industry’s tion that a lot of what we bought and operate comfort- agnostic approach to this. ably with today will last 10 years. They’ve been bought We’ve got two [Cargo UAVs] that we’re looking at almost theater- and mission-unique. MRAPs are a good right now — commercial, off-the-shelf. They’re not the example. The MRAPs we had in Afghanistan could not final solution, they’re too big, but they’re ones that were go off road. We know this from experience — you pull out there, that we’re modifying. We’re going to bring one off the paved road in Iraq and you had to back out and of them into theater this fall. My prediction is that will be it’s going to bury itself in the sand. We need MRAPs in a proof of concept. That will be a shot heard around the Afghanistan but the road network in Afghanistan is vir- world. I think everybody from special ops [is] going to tually nonexistent. So how are the MRAPs going to make want it, I think all the [ground] forces are going to want it through there? Yet we need them to protect our kids. it. It could be daylight, dark, rainy and it’s going to fly in So, we put independent suspension on our MRAPs. there and deliver the goods. I predict that when this hap- Can you imagine an MRAP in the jungles in the pens, it will take off like a rocket ship. southeast corner of the Pacific, [or] Southeast Asia, tak- ing an MRAP through the monsoon season? We need What efforts are under way to reduce the smaller, lighter vehicles that can fit aboard amphibious logistic load of supporting a force deployed in ships [and] that you could sling underneath 53s. remote locations? There’s a huge effort under way right now to lighten AMOS: There’s only so much logistics burden you can the equipment that we buy. The M249 squad automatic lighten in a place like Afghanistan because it’s just such rifle, with a full magazine, weighs about 24 pounds. I’ve a harsh environment. Typically, you take a vehicle, a just authorized a full fielding of the Infantry Automatic Humvee, and you buy it for seven years, you expect Rifle, which weighs half that. when you amortize it you say “this Humvee is going to We’re working very hard to lighten the load, decrease last seven years.” I’m not sure we’ve got a single the size of the logistics footprint in the future. Probably Humvee in Afghanistan right now. In the height of not going to happen in Afghanistan right now. It’s a dif- [operations] in Iraq, we would wear a Humvee out ferent fight. ˜■

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SPECIAL REPORT / U.S. MARINE CORPS Full-Spectrum Deployment A Navy-Marine Corps team showcases the value of forward presence and sea basing

By RICHARD R. BURGESS, Managing Editor

Assigned to support the MEU from Disaggregated Operations land bases were two KC-130Js from Marine Aerial Refueler/Trans port A widely dispersed Navy-Marine Corps amphibious group wages Squadron 252, which operated war and peace across three areas of operations. variously from Djibouti, Kuwait ■ The Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group and 26th Marine and Sicily. Expeditionary Unit engage the enemy and foster theater security. The ARG/MEU deployed a month early in response to the ■ MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft shines in operations. flooding that devastated parts of ■ STOVL aircraft double the nation’s strike carrier force. Pakistan in mid-2010, said Pagano, who with Desens briefed Navy League officials on the deployment June 29 at the Pentagon. eployments of Navy Amphibious Ready “Over the course of that eight-and-a-half months, we Groups (ARGs) with embarked Marine did missions from humanitarian assistance in Pakistan to D Expeditionary Units (MEUs) have been rou- combat operations in Afghanistan and Libya, and many tine for decades. The ARG/MEUs train for a wide spec- missions in between, such as maritime security opera- trum of amphibious warfare and other roles, but one tions, counterpiracy patrols, some national mission task- recent deployment showcased nearly the full spectrum ing off East Africa [and] theater security cooperation bilat- of its capabilities and provided flexible presence when eral exercises,” Pagano said. and where it was needed in a variety of hot spots. “We did this in a largely disaggregated posture, with The Kearsarge ARG, commanded by Capt. Pete the ships and the Marine units dispersed not only across Pagano, commander of Amphibious Squadron Four, one theater but, many times over the course of the deployed on Aug. 27, 2010, with 1,946 Sailors aboard deployment, dispersed across multiple theaters simulta- the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge, neously,” he said. “This deployment, once again, validat- the Austin-class amphibious transport dock ship USS ed the utility of the sea base. The ships of the ARG per- Ponce and the Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship formed as a sea base not just for the [MEU] but, various USS Carter Hall. Two MH-60S armed helicopters from times across the deployment, as a sea base for other Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 22 were embarked services: special operations, even a U.S. Air Force [com- on Kearsarge, as were Fleet Surgical Team 6, a Tactical bat search and rescue] helicopter detachment.” Air Control Squadron 21 detachment and a detach- Some of the 26th MEU’s helicopters arrived in ment of Naval Beach Group. Pakistan long before the main force was in theater. Also embarked was the 26th MEU under the com- Within nine days of the deployment order, the four CH- mand of Col. Mark Desens. The MEU included 2,892 53Es were flown to theater onboard Air Force transport Marines and Sailors assigned to Battalion Landing Team aircraft to augment the helicopters of the 15th MEU (BLT) 3/8; Combat Logistics Battalion 26; Marine deployed with the USS Peleliu ARG. In 57 days of flood Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 266, an MV-22B Osprey relief in Pakistan, the CH-53Es lifted more than 3 mil- squadron with CH-53E, UH-1N and AH-1W helicopters lion pounds of food, using a small airstrip in the central attached, as well as a detachment of AV-8B Harrier II part of the country, where the average daily high temper- attack aircraft from Marine Attack Squadron 542. ature was 128 degrees Fahrenheit.

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Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) 2nd Class Mark Hernandez signals an MV-22 Osprey assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 266 (Reinforced), 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, to take off from the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge in the Gulf of Aden Dec. 27.

“While that CH-53 detachment was up in Pakistan involving Carter Hall, Ponce and their embarked doing humanitarian assistance, Ponce was off the coast Marines. Pagano’s deputy and part of the ARG staff ran of Pakistan in an alert posture to provide support to the exercise, while Pagano and Desens remained on that 53 detachment,” Pagano said. “Carter Hall was Kearsarge off of East Africa and in the Gulf of Aden. doing counterpiracy and maritime security operations For Exercise Red Reef, Ponce and the guided-missile in the Gulf of Aden. Kearsarge was acting as a sea base cruiser USS Cape St. George worked with Saudi forces in for special operations forces off of East Africa. You can maritime security-themed activities. Carter Hall similarly see the bang for the buck that the nation gets for that worked with Qatari forces for Exercise Eastern Sailor. ARG/MEU, a relatively small force dispersed and hav- “Real-world operations caused a change in what units ing impact and effects across a wide area.” were able to participate,” Pagano said. “All those exer- The disaggregation allowed the ARG/MEU to partici- cises were supposed to be Navy-Marine amphibious- pate in five theater security cooperation exercises with themed exercises, but when Kearsarge was called to do partner nations. One, the Jordan Operational Deployment other national tasking when Battalion 3/8 was ordered Program, involved a company of Marines helping the into Afghanistan, it caused a rewriting of those last two Jordanian military prepare for a deployment into Af - exercises. ghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. “But recognizing the value of these bilateral events, Another involved working with the Kenyan Army, as we were flexible in replanning them so that we could well as engaging in humanitarian assistance opportuni- preserve those engagement opportunities,” he said. ties, such as rebuilding a girls’ school in the country. The “The scenarios were relevant, they were timely and we exercise with Kenya marked the first time an ARG/MEU made an impact in that the partner nations were happy, engaged with East Africa since U.S. Africa Command was the exercises were preserved, those relationships were stood up in October 2008, Desens said. strengthened as a result.” Exercise Iron Magic was a live-fire amphibious exer- For the Marines, the deployment presented an cise with the Emirati armed forces in the Persian Gulf unprecedented aspect.

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SPECIAL REPORT / U.S. MARINE CORPS U.S. NAVY

Marines assigned to the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit approach the amphibious dock landing ship USS Carter Hall after amphibious training in Djibouti Nov. 2. Carter Hall was part of the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. Fifth Fleet area of responsibility.

“MEUs in the past had gone into Iraq and into actually good road. So, now, you have 750 vehicles a Afghanistan, but, usually, you kept a MEU as a cohe- day traversing without getting IEDs because you had a sive unit,” Desens said. “This is the first time in the road and you have security. Bad for the Taliban, good history of the program where actually we took a chunk for us, good for the people of Afghanistan.” of a MEU and it was taken away. A battalion landing With more than half of its Marines in Afghanistan, team was taken away from me and, since that was the 26th MEU began reconstituting some of its capabil- where the hot fight was, I sent six MV-22s, four attack ities, but in response to threats from Hezbollah in helicopters and combat logistics battalion folks for Lebanon and then the outbreak of “Arab Spring” — a logistics — almost 1,350 people in Afghanistan. series of revolutions and unrest in several Arab nations “Where the enemy had sanctuary, we wanted to take that began in Tunisia — Kearsarge and Ponce were it away from them in the winter months so that, when staged to the Red Sea while Carter Hall remained in the it came time for us putting a fence up, you didn’t have northern Persian Gulf. Kearsarge and Ponce entered the any momentum,” he said. “So [BLT] 3/8 went in there Mediterranean Sea in March as Libya erupted in civil very quickly during the month of January [and] had war and were preparing for noncombatant evacuation such a great effect shocking the enemy on their arrival when Operation Odyssey Dawn — the establishment that they didn’t know what to do for the first month. of a no-fly zone over Libya — began. “While they were there, they built a road called the En route to Libya, the ARG stopped in Souda Bay, 6/11, which linked into the ring road [around the coun- Crete, and picked up 400 Marines of the 1st Battalion, try], Highway 1,” Desens said. “You need it for commerce 2nd Marine Regiment, which had been flown over from [and] to show that the government of Afghanistan could Camp Lejeune, N.C., to fully equip the 26th MEU. do something. The Taliban knows that roads are bad for “Odyssey Dawn highlighted the enabling function their existence. Every single day, there was a logistics that forward-deployed Navy forces uniquely bring to vehicle hitting an IED [improvised explosive device]. the table,” Pagano said. “We’re ready on arrival. We act “By the time they were done, the security environ- as an enabling force until the joint force flows in and ment they provided got the road almost completely gets set up, and that’s exactly what we were called paved all the way north, and what wasn’t paved was upon to do in the opening days of Odyssey Dawn.”

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Tactical Air Control Squadron 21’s detachment on During the rescue of the F-15E pilot, the range and Kearsarge provided control of airspace in the region speed of the Osprey allowed it to take a route over the until the Air Force’s E-3 airborne warning and control sea to avoid anti-aircraft fire from Benghazi and swoop system aircraft could set up station. in to the rescue at 200 feet over the water at 270 knots. “They [Tactical Air Control Squadron 21] were the Desens stressed the utility of short take-off/vertical vital link between the [Joint Force Air Combat landing (STOVL) aircraft on an amphibious assault ship. Commander’s] air operation center in Europe and the “Given the fact that we’ll never have enough aircraft airborne mission packages,” Pagano said. “They were carriers and given the fact that you could take a few jets performing tanker management for those strike pack- and put them on a big-deck amphib and do all those ages. They were prepared to perform as a CSAR [com- lesser contingencies, it would be crazy as a nation if we bat search and rescue] mission commander, should didn’t retain a STOVL capability off of a big-deck that have been necessary.” amphib, essentially 11 small carriers.” The Joint Intelligence Center in Kearsarge provided Pagano recommended the Navy upgrade the com- area-wide intelligence support for U.S. and coalition mand, control, communications, computers and intel- forces. ligence capabilities in the service’s dock landing ships Kearsarge’s two armed MH-60S helicopters were used to enable them to more fully support disaggregated by the sea combat commander to hunt down and engage operations, particularly with a data-link system and the Libyan Coast Guard patrol boats that were causing upgraded satellite communications. mischief around Misratah, Pagano said. “It doesn’t have to be the latest Link 16, but a data “We didn’t get the opportunity to actually sink any, but link compatible with the other ships,” he said. “It we launched about six sorties in an attempt to locate and would allow that ship to contribute to the recognized engage them,” he said. maritime picture of both surface and air. The ship has The Harriers onboard Kearsarge provided com- a great long-range, air-search radar — but without a manders a highly responsive tactical air force. data link, you can’t fully exploit it.” “Geography is everything,” Pagano said. “Most of Pagano praised the Voice Over Secure Internet the [tactical] aircraft are a thousand miles away, a two- Protocol phones that equipped the ARG as a “relatively and-a-half-hour commute to work, [with a] need to get modest investment that paid huge dividends.” gas on the way. Our guys are right here, anywhere from He also recommended ARGs deploy with three 50 to 150 miles away. For a Harrier, that’s about 15 armed MH-60S helicopters, saying it is “the platform of minutes to work. choice for the MEU if they were to do a helicopter-borne “Almost every single sortie that took off from that ship takedown. For the reasons of all these competing deck dropped ordnance on the target. [There was] very missions, two helicopters just aren’t enough. high efficiency with sortie-to-target generation. That “We performed this deployment largely from a dis- means when you take off with your current intelli- aggregated or dispersed posture and, so, this relatively gence, by the time you get to the battlespace you’re small force, [the ARG/MEU], had multiple effects fighting in, it hasn’t changed,” he said. “So, while the across a large geographic area,” Pagano said. [land-based aircraft were] great at hitting all those “Our recommendations are to invest in our command-and-control systems and things that don’t amphibious forces,” he said. “We don’t have enough of move, look at the targets we hit: tanks, armored per- them. They’re high-demand, low-density assets. This sonnel carriers, very mobile targets, the kinds of things deployment validated the utility of the sea base, again, that were actually killing civilians.” not just for the [MEU] but for other forces as well, giv- Desens had high praise for the MV-22B Osprey, and ing the combatant commander those flexible, persist- not just for its rapid rescue of an Air Force F-15 pilot from ent options in his theater.” Libya. The Osprey was able to provide logistic support to “In that nine months, 26th MEU exercised just the dispersed ARG/MEU at long ranges. When Odyssey about every single mission set,” Gen. James F. Amos, Dawn started, the six MV-22Bs sent earlier to Afghanistan Marine Corps commandant, told Seapower July 6. “We were flown 2,800 miles back to join Kearsarge. were fortunate enough that the 26th MEU was avail- “The V-22 does fine in Iraq and Afghanistan, but able and ended up getting called up to exercise almost those are relatively short-leg missions so you don’t get every one. I just sat there with water in my eyes with the true benefit of it,” Desens said. “A lot of times, in all the pieces that they did. order to stay on station for some of our very sensitive “We’re talking about the three ships in the ARG as missions, our logistical lines would literally be 500 miles well,” Amos said. “This is the Navy-Marine Corps instead of 100 miles. There was nothing [else] that team. The thing that makes us so relevant in today’s could get logistics to me to keep our aircraft up.” world is the naval force on naval vessels.” ■

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SPECIAL REPORT / U.S. MARINE CORPS Guam or Bust Despite setbacks, Marine Corps presses ahead with exodus from Okinawa

By DANIEL P. TAYLOR, Special Correspondent

expense of building and upgrading ‘Net-negative Footprint’ infrastructure to support the Marines. The Marine Corps’ planned move from Okinawa, Japan, to the But the worldwide economy took tiny island of Guam will extend beyond the original 2014 target a major downturn in 2008 and has date. been struggling ever since. Earlier ■ Shifting 8,000 Marines and about 9,000 of their dependents this year, an earthquake and tsuna- will require significant infrastructure improvements on Guam. mi struck Japan, causing extensive damage to infrastructure and a ■ Navy Cmdr. Leslie Hull-Ryde says a longer construction period nuclear crisis with which the nation will allow the United States “to mitigate any emerging impact on continues to grapple. And in May, the island’s infrastructure.” the Government Accountability ■ The Government Accountability Office estimates the move will Office (GAO) suggested the move cost about $17 billion. would cost more than $7 billion above the original estimate. Now, the 2014 target for the Guam transition is out the window he 2006 handshake between the governments and the overall cost and feasibility of the effort is in of Japan and the United States over a plan to question as well. T build up Marine Corps infrastructure on the The Marine Corps referred questions about the current tiny Pacific island of Guam within the next few years status of the move to the Office of the Secretary of Defense marked an important moment in the relationship (OSD). However, in a statement provided to Seapower by between the two countries and a new era in U.S. force Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Brian Block, the service alignment in the region. But unforeseeable events since reiterated that its plans have not changed. then have thrown the project into some turmoil. “The Marine Corps is committed to current plans to Today, the effort to move 8,000 Marines and their maintain a forward presence in the region that is geo- families from Okinawa, Japan, to Guam has an uncer- graphically distributed, operationally resilient and tain schedule and an unclear price tag, but the politically sustainable,” the statement reads. “As dis- Department of Defense (DoD) continues to maintain cussions continue, we will continue to maintain our its commitment to the project. force in readiness in the Western Pacific and work with The move was clear-cut five years ago: Amid grow- our allies and partners to maintain peace and ensure ing unease in Japan over the presence of foreign regional stability.” troops, and with the U.S. military wanting to reposi- Navy Cmdr. Leslie Hull-Ryde, OSD spokeswoman, tion itself in the Pacific, Japan would allocate $6.1 bil- said the Guam realignment remains an important lion — with the United States adding $4.2 billion — to strategic goal for the U.S. military. move troops stationed in Okinawa east to the U.S. ter- “Guam is the westernmost U.S. territory in the Pacific, ritory of Guam, and relocate Marine Corps Air Station and allows the U.S. to demonstrate our commitment to Futenma from an urban center in Okinawa to a spot in remain a presence for stability in the region,” she said. the northern part of the city. The money would cover “As a strategic hub, Guam allows us to more readily sup- costs associated with the move, particularly the port operations in South and Southeast Asia.”

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SPECIAL REPORT / U.S. MARINE CORPS

ground, aviation and combat serv- ice support elements, and base sup- port capability, according to the original 2006 roadmap. The move will be major, not just for the Marine Corps, but also the island of Guam. The infrastructure will have to support 8,000 Marines and their dependents, which DoD estimates at about 9,000 more peo- ple. In President Barack Obama’s fiscal 2012 budget request, the DoD stressed that Guam’s facilities would need a lot of upgrades to handle the huge bump in popula- tion. The island’s population stands at about 180,000, so the Marines and their families would add about 10 percent to that figure. The May GAO report predicted that the cost of the realignment

U.S. NAVY would be $7 billion more than the A Marine assigned to 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, Okinawa, Japan, climbs a original $10 billion estimate — $4.7 rope ladder to an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter assigned to Helicopter Sea billion for additional construction Combat Squadron 25 during helocast training as part of exercise Sandfisher costs and $2.4 billion for utilities, with the Singapore Armed Forces at U.S. Naval Base Guam Dec. 13. As part labor and the procurement of mili- of an extensive relocation effort, the Marine Corps plans to move the III Marine Expeditionary Force Command Element, 3rd Marine Division Headquarters, tary equipment. It takes into 3rd Marine Logistics Group Headquarters, 1st Marine Air Wing Headquarters account figures provided to the and 12th Marine Regiment Headquarters to Guam from Okinawa. GAO by the Marine Corps, but the DoD has not validated those figures. Hull-Ryde added that although the move will be de - Asked about what funding would be needed to sup- layed, the United States is continuing to press ahead with port the move, Hull-Ryde said only that cost-sharing the effort, referring to the June 21 Joint Statement of the measures between the United States and Japan would U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee, also known be implemented “in accordance with the U.S.-Japan as the “2+2 statement.” The statement, issued at the con- Roadmap for Realignment Implementation. clusion of the committee’s meeting in Washington, noted “To date, the government of Japan has transferred to that the 2014 time table was no longer realistic. the U.S. Treasury $834 million of its direct cash contri- At that meeting were Secretary of State Hillary bution for the Guam realignment,” she continued, not- Rodham Clinton, then-Defense Secretary Robert M. ing that the figures were approximate. “For the U.S., Gates, and Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeaki $455 million in design and military construction fund- Matsumoto and Minister of Defense Toshimi Kitazawa. ing has been appropriated by Congress.” “The 2+2 statement in June acknowledged that the So far, the DoD has contributed $50 million for 2014 target would not be met, which will allow us to improvements to the Port of Guam to increase its meet our commitment to Guam,” Hull-Ryde said. “A throughput capacity and $100 million for projects to longer construction timeline and generally more meas- improve off-base roads to support the increased popu- ured pace of construction will allow us to mitigate any lation and construction traffic, according to Hull-Ryde. emerging impact on the island’s infrastructure.” Japan will finance off-base utilities infrastructure to Specifically, the DoD plans to move five entities from support relocating Marines and support the needs of Okinawa to Guam: III Marine Expeditionary Force the growing civilian community, she said. Command Element, 3rd Marine Division Headquarters, The DoD will do everything it can to make the tran- 3rd Marine Logistics Group Headquarters, 1st Marine sition as soon as possible by working with local agen- Air Wing Headquarters and 12th Marine Regiment cies to mitigate the impacts, she added, “and we will Headquarters. The only remaining forces in Okinawa fulfill our commitment to a net-negative footprint on would be Marine Air-Ground Task Force command, Guam at the completion of this move.” ■

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SPECIAL REPORT / U.S. MARINE CORPS After the EFV Synchronized approach will drive new vehicle acquisition programs

By OTTO KREISHER, Special Correspondent

gram and to maximize value by use From Ship to Shore of an integrated acquisition portfo- lio approach. The Marines are using Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle prototypes “This approach will have three in tests to help inform an analysis of alternatives for the synchronized efforts: Acceleration Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) program. of the procurement of Marine ■ The test vehicles are put into different configurations to replicate Personnel Carriers, investment in a possible conditions of an ACV to provide data on land range and service life extension program and water speed at various weights and forms. upgrades for a portion of the exist- ing amphibious assault vehicles, ■ ACV-focused tests were built around the concept that the amphibi- development of a new amphibious ous assault would be launched from 12 to 18 nautical miles offshore. combat vehicle.” ■ The aim is to have an ACV that would cost between $4 million Lt. Gen. George J. Flynn, the and $12 million per unit and be operational in this decade. deputy commandant for combat development, said he was working the ACV program “pretty hard” because the commandant “said he he Marine Corps’ long-cherished Expeditionary wants to drive the new amphibious tractor before he Fighting Vehicle (EFV) program may be dead, leaves office,” which would be in October 2014. T but the prototype vehicles are continuing to Producing even a prototype ACV in anywhere near serve as valuable test beds for the capabilities and tech- that time would be virtually unprecedented, particular- nologies the service might want in the EFV’s planned ly in light of the EFV’s troubled 22-year development. replacement, the Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV). Amos cited the short time it took to get the Mine The use of the now-expendable EFVs is part of what Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles pro- is intended to be a greatly shortened drive to develop, duced and shipped to Iraq in response to the deadly test and field the ACV as an affordable successor to the improvised explosive devices as a possible model for Vietnam-vintage AAV-7 amphibious assault vehicles, the ACV development. The MRAPs, however, were or amtracs. The extended use of the EFVs also is slightly modified versions of vehicles that had been in expected to minimize, and perhaps eliminate, the pay- production for years. ment of millions of dollars in contract-termination To carry out the synchronized approach on the three penalties to their manufacturer, General Dynamics vehicles, the Marines created a single program office, Land Systems, Sterling Heights, Mich. which Flynn called “a war room.” That brought togeth- And the ACV development is part of an unusual er not just the program officials for all three projects, unified operation that is intended to save time and but also the people responsible for setting requirements money in pursuing three of the Corps’ high-priority and the engineers and analysts who can evaluate what ground combat vehicle programs. those goals would mean in time and money. In his 2011 “posture statement” to the congression- That would allow them to consider “benefits and al defense committees this spring, Gen. James F. Amos, tradeoffs at the beginning” of the process, Flynn said the Marine Corps commandant, said the service plans during a June 9 appearance at the Center for Strategic to “mitigate risks associated with a new vehicle pro- and International Studies in Washington.

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SPECIAL REPORT / U.S. MARINE CORPS U.S. MARINE CORPS

A U.S. Marine Corps Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) prototype is tested in the waters off Camp Pendleton, Calif., Sept. 15, 2010. Although the new prototypes exceeded the reliability standard their predecessors failed three years earlier, the EFV pro- gram was canceled in January. The prototype EFVs now are serving as test-bed vehicles for the Amphibious Combat Vehicle.

He said they also would conduct an analysis of alter- The Marines cut the requested number to 573, but natives on the ACV, which he wanted to complete in the total projected program cost of $15 billion still was six months, instead of the usual 18 months. Testing the higher than the original estimate for 1,013 vehicles. EFVs would inform that analysis, Flynn and officials And Sean J. Stackley, assistant secretary of the Navy conducting those tests said. for Research, Development and Acquisition, said if the In January, then-Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates EFV program were to continue into production, it pulled the plug on the EFV, just as the new prototypes would consume most of the Corps’ combat vehicle were completing 500 hours of testing in which they budget and half of all procurement funds. exceeded the reliability standard that their predeces- Instead, in the fiscal 2012 defense budget request, sors had failed badly three years earlier. Gates canceled the EFV after the expenditure of $3.3 During the trials at the Amphibious Vehicle Test billion. Branch at Camp Pendleton, Calif., four EFVs demon- The Corps immediately initiated a new program strated 23.87 hours “mean time between operational Flynn predicted could produce an ACV that would mission failure,” against a requirement of 16.4 to 22 cost between $4 million and $12 million per unit and hours, the EFV program office said. be operational in this decade. But it was too late. To aid that effort, a systems engineering operational Launched in 1988, the EFV was to be a high-tech won- product team was formed within the Systems der, an armored tracked vehicle that could convert into a Engineering, Interoperability, Architectures & Tech - flat-bottom speed boat able to fly across the water at up to nology office at Marine Corps Systems Command 30 knots to quickly carry three crewmen and 17 combat- (SysCom), said Harry Oldland, the team leader. ready Marines the 25 nautical miles considered necessary The purpose of the team “was to examine amphibi- to keep amphibious ships safe from coastal defenses. ous vehicle capabilities and cost, to inform the require- Once ashore, the EFV would revert back into a ments community,” he said. tracked vehicle able to keep up with jet-powered M-1 The team identified information it would need to tanks and support Marine infantrymen with a sophis- conduct its analysis and provided that to Lisa Radocha, ticated 30mm weapon system. SysCom director of test and evaluation, who developed But the program was restructured and delayed multiple and conducted the tests to provide the information, times as General Dynamics struggled to meet performance Oldland said. and reliability requirements, while the cost soared from $5 Unlike the reliability testing Radocha had been million per vehicle to an estimated $18 million each. directing until January, this was developmental testing

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the back of an amtrac and still be effective,” said Oldland, a retired Marine officer who has ridden in AAVs. “What we want to do is to con- duct a scientifically based test and evaluate the performance of Marines at one, two, three hours and measure their effectiveness when they’re at the end of that water march.” The testers then would examine “what are some of the things that we possibly can do to improve

U.S. MARINE CORPS their performance,” Oldland said. Along with developing a new Amphibious Combat Vehicle, the Marine Corps’ Radocha said her draft test plan “integrated acquisition portfolio approach” includes investment in upgrades and had to be approved by a review service life extensions for existing Amphibious Assault Vehicles, some of which board because the trials involved are Vietnam-era vintage. Here, an Amphibious Assault Vehicle assigned to the 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 1st Marine Division, lands on a beach at Camp humans. But she had expected to Pendleton, Calif., Feb. 28 during Exercise Iron Fist, a three-week bilateral training do the tests in August or Sep- event with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. tember, depending on troop avail- ability from the Pendleton-based I to provide data on land and water mobility of the EFV Marine Expeditionary Force. in different configurations, and overwater radio per- Oldland said the ACV-focused tests were built formance, he said. around the concept that the amphibious assault would “We recrafted the test program to get at the different be launched from 12 to 18 nautical miles offshore. information the Marine Corps needs for the require- Using the habitability test results, they would know ments process,” Radocha said. if an hour “is the real limitation or is it some other Because the EFV had the transformer-like capability value,” Oldland said. to change its external shape by covering up its tracks Those facts would indicate the water speed the ACV and extending a bow flap to reach high-water speeds, would need. the testers were able to put the test vehicles into differ- “That will help provide the technical information to ent configurations “that replicated possible conditions the requirements community to make their decisions of an ACV” to provide data on land range and water on what kind of vehicle, at what kind of cost, they speed at various weights and forms, Oldland said. might want to buy,” Oldland said. Those tests started in February and will continue The new round of tests on the prototype EFVs is into October at Pendleton, Radocha said. being conducted by Marine Corps personnel, but sup- Tests also will be conducted at Yuma, Ariz., that ported by General Dynamics under the $766.8 million involve running a vehicle up to 3,000 miles to see how contract it was awarded in 2008 to build seven new its tracks hold up, she said. vehicles for the reliability trials, Radocha said. The tracks on the EFVs are a significantly lighter- “Because of where we were in the developmental weight design than on current amtracs, Oldland said. cycle when the program was canceled, we did not have If they prove to be durable, it could reduce the life- tech manuals that would have allowed for Marines to cycle cost of future vehicles, he said. safely maintain the vehicles,” she said. “At that phase The team will do firepower and water gunnery tests of development, the prime contractor typically is to “get some data on the vehicle we never had a chance responsible for that.” to get,” Radocha said. So General Dynamics (GD) continues to maintain the Flynn also has ordered habitability tests “to see how vehicles, but is not involved the tests and does not have effective a Marine can be” after various times inside an access to any of the information they produce, she added. amphibious vehicle. “We’ve developed a fire-walled database so all of the The high-water speed on the EFV was considered testing we’ve been doing is without any GD participa- necessary to make the 25-mile transit from the tion, because the data is for government use only,” amphibious ships to the beach in an hour and keep the Radocha said. Marines inside ready to fight. That data “fire wall” is necessary to ensure a fair Because a ship-to-shore ride inside AAVs is unpleasant, competition when the ACV is offered for bids, Old- “there’s the lure that a Marine can only sustain one hour in land said. ■

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SPECIAL REPORT / U.S. MARINE CORPS Back to the Beach The Marine Corps is looking to maintain forward deployment capabilities in an uncertain world

BY JOHN M. DOYLE, Special Correspondent

Harvey Jr., commander of Fleet Redefining ‘Amphibiosity’ Forces Command, said in a March announcement to the fleet about After a decade of war, the Marine Corps aims to go back to its Bold Alligator 12. amphibious roots. But 2011 is turning out to be a ■ Combatant commanders around the globe have increased tough fiscal time for the U.S. gov- their calls for forward deployed rapid response forces. ernment. “We’re all going through the ■ Since the end of the Cold War, the Marines have participated summer of money,” Brig. Gen. in more than 100 amphibious operations, from disaster relief in John W. Bullard Jr., deputy com- Haiti and Pakistan to evacuation of noncombatants from Liberia. manding general of the Marine ■ Marines are concerned that the Navy does not have enough large Corps Combat Development Com- amphibious ships to transport multiple expeditionary units. mand, told an amphibious warfare conference in Washington July 26. Bullard and every other speaker at the Amphibious Operations Sum- fter 10 years of fighting in the cities and mit, sponsored by the Institute for Defense and deserts of Iraq and the mountains and valleys Government Advancement (IDGA), cautioned that A of Afghanistan, the U.S. Marine Corps is voices in Washington were calling for cuts in the going back to basics — revitalizing its capabilities for defense budget just as the Marine Corps needs to amphibious operations. replace aging assets, like amphibious assault vehicles Over the service’s long history, Marine Corps leaders (AAVs), and refit other equipment worn down by near- have been wary of the next politician or military planner ly a decade of combat operations at an estimated cost who wants to drastically reduce or eliminate the Corps in of $10.6 billion over the next two fiscal years. times of fiscal constraint. The Corps’ leadership believes Among the Marines’ concerns is the shortage of am- it is time to revisit and improve the execution of the core phibious ships. There are 31 in the Navy’s inventory, mission, forcible entry into dangerous or denied areas al though many of the Marines at the Amphibious from the sea — or, as they put it, “amphibiosity.” Operations Summit — including Gen. James F. Amos, To bone up on the skills necessary to hit the beach the com mandant — say it is more like 29 ships, when in hostile territory, the Marine Corps is planning its one takes into account ships being decommissioned in largest training exercise in a decade. Called Bold fiscal 2011. Alligator 2012, the operation — scheduled for January Current Navy and Marine Corps force structure and February along the Atlantic Coast of the United planning calls for a minimum capability of being able States — will test the Navy and Marine Corps’ ability to deploy two Marine Expeditionary Brigades (MEBs) to conduct prompt and sustained amphibious expedi- simultaneously. In 2009, it was determined it would tionary operations from the sea. take a total of 38 amphibious ships to support such “It is imperative that we not lose sight of the impor- operations. Because of fiscal constraints, that number tance of this core competency, nor the fact that this was reduced to 33, Navy and Marine Corps officials competency is, and always will be, a unique capability agreed in a Jan. 9, 2009, letter sent to the congressional delivered by the Navy-Marine Corps,” Adm. John C. committees overseeing the military.

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A portion of the AAVs will under- go a service life extension program focused on survivability, he said. Survivability translates to more armor and weight, and that will mean strengthening the vehicles’ sus- pension and power train. But what really has the Marines worried is the impact a planned government-wide budget reduc- tion will have on programs they rely on. With critics equating Marine Corps amphibious operations to Iwo Jima or the landings at Inchon during the Korean War, the Marines have to show that their capabilities as an expeditionary crisis-response force at a high state of readiness are in sync with Defense Department priorities. The answer, Amos says, is “am- phibiousness,” the ability to go rapidly from the sea over the beach via helicopter or landing craft to the objective and sustain a sizable U.S. NAVY force without creating a logistical The amphibious assault ship USS Boxer transits the Gulf of Aden June 20 “iron mountain” of supplies and while supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. Fifth Fleet area of responsibility. A shortage of amphibious equipment on the landing beach. ships is among the concerns Marine Corps leaders face at a time when budget The Marine Corps has statistics belts are sure to be tightened. to support its contention that forcible entry from the sea will be It takes 17 amphibious vessels to deliver an MEB to needed in future years and the Marines have that skill a flashpoint, get personnel ashore and keep them sup- tucked away in their tool box. plied, said Capt. Walter Towns, director of the Navy’s Amos and other speakers at the conference, citing Amphibious Warfare section (OPNAV N853). such documents as the commandant’s Planning He noted that since 2007, requests for amphibious Guidance and “The Marine Corps Vision and Strategy naval forces by the Defense Department’s regional com- 2025,” pointed out that by 2025, 60 percent of the batant commanders has grown 86 percent. world’s population will be living in cities and 19 of the The Marines also are worried about getting from the largest cities are located in littoral regions. Additionally, sea, across the beach and into action. The Pentagon they note, 95 percent of the world’s commerce travels by canceled the $30 billion Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle boat and nearly 50 percent of the oil travels through (EFV) program because of cost overruns and delays. maritime choke points like the Strait of Malacca. “It wasn’t canceled because of flaws,” Brian Detter, It is in those areas, the Marines say, conflicts are deputy assistant Navy secretary for Expeditionary most likely to occur. There also will be a need for Warfare, told the IDGA gathering. “It was canceled humanitarian assistance, especially in areas hit by nat- because of the budget.” ural disasters such as flooding and famine, or man- The replacement for the EFV — whatever form it made crises, such as disputes over oil or water. takes — is not expected to be fully operational until Amos told the IDGA conference that the Marine almost 2020. Corps has conducted 120 waterborne operations since “To put it simply,” said Chris Yunker, Mobility Sector the Cold War ended, and not just earthquake relief in head of the Marine Corps’ Fires and Maneuver Haiti or helicopter rescue missions in Pakistan’s flood- Integration Division, “we have to make the current AAVs ed valleys. Amphibious forces were in Somalia in 1993, last another six to eight years. We think we can do that.” and helicopters from the amphibious assault ship USS

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Peleliu flew 400 miles inland to set up the first forward operating base in Afghanistan in 2001. The key to this revitalized amphibious doctrine is the recently updated Ship-to-Objective Maneuver. It calls for using sea basing to limit the footprint ashore, emphasizing maneuver flexibility and increasing options for partnering with other nations. It also focus- es equally on soft (humanitarian) and hard (combat) power missions, Bullard said. Bold Alligator 2012 is part of that commitment to amphibious operations. The exercise will involve U.S. and multinational forces along the coasts of the Carolinas and Virginia. The exercise will test Marine Corps and Navy skills at coordinating and executing a

U.S. MARINE CORPS brigade-sized amphibious assault from a sea base in a U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jacob Cripps, with Golf Com - medium threat environment. pany, Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regi- “I don’t think we’re back up against the wall,” Amos ment, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, takes position on the told Seapower after speaking at the conference. “I think beach at Shoalwater Bay Training Area in Queensland, Aus- we’re in a transition period and I think this budget dis- tralia, during an amphibious landing for Talisman Sabre 2011 July 19. Talisman Sabre is a combined biennial exercise be- cussion is actually very healthy because it causes us to tween the U.S. and Australian militaries designed to enhance figure out ‘What is it we really need as a nation.’ Not both nations’ ability to respond to regional contingencies. just ‘What is it we really want?’” ■

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SPECIAL REPORT / U.S. MARINE CORPS ‘It All Starts Here’ Field Medical Training Battalion teaches Navy corpsmen to be ‘Doc’ to their Marines

By EDWARD LUNDQUIST, Special Correspondent

encompasses combat and survival Combat Casualty Care skills, tactical combat casualty care, preventive medicine and a thor- Sailors with the Field Medical Training Battalion learn field medi- ough understanding as to how the cine from veterans who have been in Iraq and Afghanistan and Marines are organized and operate. landed with Marines in amphibious operations. The Sailors learn about Marine ■ Course transitions “blue-side Sailors” to “green-side Sailors.” Corps rank, leadership structure and principles, as well as tactical and ■ Realistic training features live role players, mannequins and a medical gear and terminology. They simulated mass casualty situation. receive basic martial arts, weapons ■ New technology is changing battlefield medicine. and marksmanship training, and plenty of physical training. Each platoon of 60 Sailors at both FMTBs receive Marine Corps he making of a Navy hospital corpsman (HM) instruction from Marine infantry staff sergeants, and into a first-response medical provider on the the medical training from two to three medical advis- T battlefield involves a lot more than eight ers who are senior petty officers. The advisers stay with weeks of instruction. their platoon for the entire course. “We turn them from ‘blue-side Sailors’ to ‘green-side “The biggest challenge for our students is the phys- Sailors,’” said Capt. Roland Arellano, Medical Service ical training and hikes they face in the course, and the Corps, commanding officer of Field Medical Training different style of combat leadership displayed by the Battalion-East (FMTB-E) at Camp Lejeune, N.C. “They staff members,” said Staff Sgt. Joseph Wright, an transition from a clinical care focus to providing com- FMTB-E military adviser. “We are trying to instill a bat casualty care.” sense of urgency in all that they do here.” The Sailors graduate as Field Medical Service Tech- “In the 28 years I spent on active duty in the Marine nicians, with the Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) of Corps, I didn’t have a clue where my corpsmen came 8404. An NEC is equivalent to a Military Occupational from. They were just ‘there,’” said John Miles, a retired Specialty — or MOS — in other services. Marine officer who now works at FMTB-E. “I never gave The Navy’s initial rate training — “A” school — for it a second thought. I knew where my corporals came HMs recently relocated from Great Lakes, Ill., to Fort from; I knew where my machine gunners got trained; I Sam Houston in San Antonio, where the new tri-service knew where my officers went to school. But I didn’t know basic medical training has been established. This 16- anything about my corpsman. Now, I’m very involved. week entry-level training includes medical fundamen- “Between the two school houses, we train about tals, basic and emergency treatment, nursing care and 2,500 corpsmen every year. We run five eight-week clinical procedures. Following graduation, some will courses each year, with 240 to 260 Sailors in every report to hospitals and clinics, others to ships and course. … We call Sailors who work on the Navy side squadrons, and some will deploy with the Marines. of the world — on ships, on carriers, in hospitals, in Those selected for field medical training receive an the clinics — ‘blue-side medicine.’ Those who train additional eight weeks at FMTB-E at Camp Lejeune or and work and live with the Marines, we call that FMTB-West at Camp Pendleton, Calif. The training ‘green-side medicine,’” Miles said.

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SPECIAL REPORT / U.S. MARINE CORPS

four combat tours. One young HM2 — who was pro- moted at the school while she was an instructor — had five combat tours under her belt. “The training our students get is much more advanced, with much better equipment than what I re- ceived in 1994,” said HM1 Robert Adams, an FMTB-E instructor. “We are much more focused on casualty assessment and combat trauma treatment today.” To prepare them for the rigors of the field, the FMTB stresses physical training, including runs, hikes and a litter obstacle course that requires carries and crawls, as well as team-building drills that prepare them for the combat environment. The FMTB also introduces them to skills that they will improve upon once they report to their Marine Corps units, such as mountain and desert warfare oper- ations and sick call screening. “FMTB provides the core competencies to enable the student to be a cohesive member of a Marine unit, patrolling, formations, marksmanship and responding to IEDs [improvised explosive devices],” Wright said. FMTB stresses Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC). “It’s the standard,” Adams said. “T-triple-C is the baseline that all the services use for medical training and treatment. The Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force all follow the same standard, and it’s infused into all instruction.” The eight-week course is broken into five blocks of instruction. “The first block is an introduction to the Marine Corps, such as leadership traits and principles, chain of command and rank structure, Marine Corps uniforms and equipment,” Miles said. “It’s very basic, like the dif- ference between a company, a battalion and a brigade.” They also learn about heat injuries, cold injuries,

U.S. MARINE CORPS care of the feet and dehydration. U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman Matthew B. McClaughlin, with “These are things they’re going to encounter in the 3rd Squad, 1st Platoon, Company L, Battalion Landing next eight weeks. As they start going on runs and Team 3/8, Regimental Combat Team 8, presses gauze on hikes, they can recognize that if someone starts getting the wounds of a young Afghan boy outside Compound 302, near Combat Outpost Ouellette, Helmand province, red, hot and dry, then we know we’re looking at a heat Afghanistan, March 11. The boy’s injuries were sustained stroke situation,” Miles said. from the fragments of an improvised explosive device. The primary focus of Block 2 is the TCCC skill set, the skills necessary to save a life on the battlefield. Sailors learn field medicine from veterans who have Block 3 is focused on nuclear, biological and chem- been in Iraq and Afghanistan and landed with Marines ical (NBC) warfare equipment, and signs, symptoms of in amphibious operations. The course covers casualty and treatment for an NBC attack. care including hemorrhage control; respiratory trau- Block 4 teaches a range of topics that include blast ma, airway injuries and breathing; shock; stress; envi- injuries, Battalion Aid Station (BAS) procedures, pre- ronmental injuries like extreme heat and cold; burns; ventive medicine, triage and combat stress issues. fractures; triage and preventive medicine; and lots of The final block presents the bulk of the Marine casualty assessment. Corps-specific information, such as fighting positions, Virtually every FMTB staff member — Marines and squad-size attacks, operation orders and familiariza- Sailors — are combat veterans. Many have from two to tion with their weapon, the M4 carbine.

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SPECIAL REPORT / U.S. MARINE CORPS

“They’re out there in defensive positions, on patrol and conducting convoys,” Wright said. “They establish a BAS, and casualties are moved into the BAS, where they continue treating them,” Adams said. “During their three-day exercise, we rotate the four student platoons through our new combat simula- tion lab, with different rooms that have remote-control mannequin simulators. They bleed, they breathe, they moan, their eyes flutter and their chests move. The pla- toons go in and clear the building using tactics, then treat the casualties.”

New Technology & Survival Rates According to the July 2007 President’s Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors Final

U.S. MARINE CORPS Report, “In the Vietnam era, five out of every eight (62 From the left, Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Alex Averill, percent) seriously injured service members survived; senior line corpsman, Sgt. Jesse Walden, chief scout, and today, seven out of eight (87 percent) survive, many with Lance Cpl. Andrew Hanenkratt, designated marksman, all injuries that in previous wars would have been fatal.” with C Company, 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Much of that is due to evolving technologies and Battalion, scan the hills of the Bahram Chah valley for an techniques. Quick Clot Combat Gauze, for example, insurgent mortar spotter during Operation Rawhide II in Helmand province, Afghanistan, March 16. Navy corps- con tains a hemostatic agent that stops arterial and men who serve with Marine units receive weapons and venous bleeding. New combat application tourniquets marksmanship training along with their medical instruction. permit self-treatment. If a Marine or Sailor has one func- tioning arm they can put the tourniquet on using Velcro, “When they start learning the field application of then twist or wind a plastic rod until the bleeding stops. medical skills in Block 2, some of these guys are think- There were 2,500 Soldiers or Marines in Vietnam ing, ‘Holy mackerel, this is different medicine than I who essentially bled to death, where, if they had used learned in corps school,’” Miles said. an effective tourniquet, likely would have lived, The basic care facility — the BAS — provides sick according to a study by Army Col. Ron Bellamy, a sur- call and general medical support for the unit while in geon at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and an asso- garrison, but takes on a different role when in the field. ciate professor of military medicine and surgery at the “In combat, the mission of the BAS is to minimize Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. the effect wounds, injuries and diseases have on a All of this is taught at FMTB. unit’s effectiveness, readiness and morale,” Miles said. Despite their new role, the students never lose their “The BAS does not have a patient-holding capability. It Navy heritage. They study the Sailors’ creed and core is similar to a makeshift emergency room.” values, and they do not forget to celebrate the Hospital The training includes live role players, moulage kits Corps and Navy birthdays. and a mass casualty exercise in the Combat Casualty Units such as infantry battalions may have up to Simulation Laboratory, with human patient simulation two medical officers and 65 corpsmen to support 1,000 mannequins. The moulage kits are latex strap-on Marines. Other Marine Corps units may have a much devices that simulate a particular type wound, such as smaller complement of medical personnel. In combat, laceration, gunshot, burn or compound fracture. the corpsman may be the only medical care for a seri- Through these, the students learn how to conduct ously wounded Marine. triage on the battlefield. “Sailors are leaving here and going into ground “A corpsman is presented with a casualty, and the combat three months later,” Arellano said. “The differ- first thing he’s looking for is life-threatening hemor- ence between a physician’s formal education and that rhage, primarily from an arm or a leg. If he sees bright of the majority of young corpsmen is eight years. Yet red, spurting blood, he knows the immediate thing when the injury occurs in combat, the first responder he’s got to do is get a tourniquet on him because the is a young corpsman the Marines call ‘Doc.’ So the guy will bleed out in two minutes, or three minutes,” standard has to be high.” Miles said. “Based on my three combat tours, the corpsmen inte- The capstone three-day field exercise incorporates grated well with my unit, and did amazing, phenomenal tactics and medicine. things in combat,” Wright said. “It all starts here.” ■

48 SEAPOWER / SEPTEMBER 2011 SeaPower Sept'11.QXD_Seapower Sept'11 8/17/11 5:23 PM Page 49 SeaPower Sept'11.QXD_Seapower Sept'11 8/17/11 5:23 PM Page 50

THE FLEET Learning Curve Navy tests unmanned surface system applications

By JOHN C. MARCARIO, Assistant Editor

(SIS) Inc., Kinston, N.C., is the Autonomous ‘Brain Power’ lead systems integrator for AMN. During the week-long Trident The Navy believes the use of Autonomous Maritime Navigation Warrior 2011, the Navy demonstrat- (AMN) could expand Sailor safety and enhance current opera- ed the cooperative autonomy of tions across the globe. unmanned systems; the ability to ■ Navy officials see the possibilities grow as the technology matures. integrate national, theater and tacti- cal sensors across networks; support ■ Using “sliding autonomy,” AMN can be fully autonomous or for a single, shared common operat- operate via remote control. ing picture; and improved tactics, ■ AMN testing will include the use of weapons in the coming years. techniques and procedures to pre- vent hostile applications or mali- cious programs from gaining unau- thorized shipboard Internet access. ata gathered during testing shows the poten- More than 60 new technologies were put through their tial for a broad application of Autonomous paces on shore nodes, at sea and in the air. D Maritime Navigation (AMN) technology The goal of the exercise was to protect a port area within the fleet, Navy officials say. with three different small boats and one Rigid Hull “Everything is experimental at this point, and we still Inflatable Boat (RHIB) equipped with AMN technolo- need to iron out a lot of the legal issues that an unmanned gy. Two of the vessels were developed by NSWCCD, boat has. The technology is there, though. … Our job is the third was developed by AAI Textron Systems, to see what’s possible and try to make it better,” Capt. Carl Wilmington, Mass., and the fourth by Northrop Conti, director fleet experimentation, U.S. Fleet Forces Grumman Electronic Systems, Linthicum, Md. Command, told Seapower during the Trident Warrior The vessels patrolled more than 15 million feet of 2011 exercise July 20 at Fort Monroe, Va. water space. Each was assigned a specific zone to Legal issues, he said, could range from following air- patrol. If an outside ship got close to a patrolled zone, space requirements to deciding who cleans up in the an AMN-equipped vessel would broadcast a prerecord- event of an accident involving an unmanned system. ed warning message and follow the vessel of interest Trident Warrior is an annual exercise during which until it was escorted out of the designated danger area advanced capabilities are temporarily deployed on inside its patrol zone. ships “to collect real-world performance data and feed- “You want to make the vessel of interest show intent back from fleet users during an underway experimen- for what they may do,” Conti said. “The boats being tation period,” according to Fleet Forces Command. able to know where they are and operating together Since 2003, Trident Warrior has provided experiment has greatly improved.” support for more than 600 programs of record. The AMN technology used in the exercise is small, The development of AMN, under the guidance of portable and fits on the top of a vessel. It includes a full- the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division spectrum sensor suite that scans for objects and targets at (NSWCCD), Md., began in 2006 and leverages auton- long and short ranges, according to SIS. Also employed omy software used on the NASA Jet Propulsion are radar, airborne laser detection and ranging, stereo Laboratory’s Mars Rover. Spatial Integrated Systems optical cameras, Global Positioning System equipment,

50 SEAPOWER / SEPTEMBER 2011 SeaPower Sept'11.QXD_Seapower Sept'11 8/17/11 5:23 PM Page 51

THE FLEET U.S. NAVY

Autonomous Maritime Navigation 1 and Autonomous Maritime Navigation 2 are put through their paces with human observers aboard during Trident Warrior 2011 July 20 at Fort Monroe, Va. The Trident Warrior experiment, directed by U.S. Fleet Forces Command, temporarily deploys advanced capabilities on ships to collect real-world data and feedback during an underway experimentation period.

autonomous information systems and a 360-degree cam- The Joint Expeditionary Command and Control era for automatic target tracking and identification. Communications (JEC3) Tactical Operations Center “The vessels aren’t what’s important. It’s the AMN (TOC) is where the expeditionary common operating brain and what eyes and ears — sensors — that the picture (COP) is fused and displayed. operator wants to use on the vessel that’s important,” “The sensors that feed the COP are land-based coastal Rick Simon, SIS director and program manager for radars, sonobuoys that listen underwater, unmanned AMN, said in an e-mail response to questions. underwater vehicles, as well as the surface contacts from As the technology matures, Conti said he has been the USVs [unmanned surface vehicles] and manned boats surprised by the “brain power” of the ships, how they at sea. The JEC3 fuses all of this sensor information/ are able to communicate with one another and adjust contacts into an expeditionary COP. From the JEC3/TOC quickly to changing circumstances. perspective, the USVs are mobile at-sea sensors which Last year, AMN technology was tested off the coast contribute to the COP,” Simon said. of San Diego protecting ships that came into the port. AMN can be fully autonomous or operate by remote Next year, Conti said he would like to see AMN vessels control. This “sliding autonomy” capability allows a defending an aircraft carrier as it comes into port. command center to monitor multiple USVs simultane- “There are a lot of places we could go with this ously while letting them perform intelligence and sur- [technology],” Conti said. veillance operations or act as intruder interceptors Navy officials at the exercise said AMN technology with no human intervention. on vessels soon could enter the fleet, and noted that In the coming year, Conti said the technology is data gathered during testing is being used by the mature enough that the Navy could use AMN vessels in Navy’s Expeditionary Combat Command to support target training for Sailors. He also said this type of tech- their operations. nology would be perfect for counterpiracy operations.

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THE FLEET

“This is that orbiting piece on the outside of a Littoral Combat Ship, or one of our destroyers or frigates, that can be out there and expand our range a little bit,” Conti said. Cmdr. Benjamin Salazar, director, experiment execution, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, said the Navy is trying to make sure the AMN tech- nology can distinguish among the different behaviors of a range boat, a fishing vessel and a vessel of interest. “The situations out on the water are a little bit different than Mars,” he said. AMN testing in the future will include the use of weapons, but there are more hurdles to overcome before that capability is added, Salazar said. “There are more problems when you are dealing with shooting at targets,” he said. The Coast Guard and Customs and Border Patrol usually are tasked with ship escorts into har-

bors. But when the Navy is needed U.S. NAVY for escort duties, autonomous ves- A common unmanned surface vehicle patrols for intruders during Trident sels would help keep Sailors safer Warrior 2011 July 20 at Fort Monroe, Va. The experimental boat can operate and allow the service to make bet- autonomously or by remote control. ter use of its manpower, according to the Navy. of record? That’s the big question: how do you look at “[Escorting] does exist, but it’s at a very high premi- it?” he said. um, especially in the personnel department,” Salazar Although AMN may take Sailors out of ships, Singer said. “Are we taking a job away? Yes. We have really said this could be a good thing in the long run. smart Sailors and maybe we can better use them “Driving back and forth on the water for hours is instead of driving a boat around the water 10 hours per incredibly dull, and that can wear out a crew but it day.” won’t wear out a computer,” he said. Peter Singer, a defense expert with the Brookings Singer believes the Navy eventually will get AMN as Institution, a Washington-based think tank, said AMN a program of record. technology is a capability the Navy needs, but history “It’s part of the robotics revolution that’s creating a suggests it might be a while before it becomes a pro- massive amount of change across the battle space.” gram of record. The three boats and one RHIB used during Trident “The Navy in particular, as opposed to the Air Force Warrior cost around $30,000 each but Salazar said an and the Army, has not embraced this type of technology older vessel could be refurbished and equipped with as much and particularly faces an issue of moving sys- AMN technology. tems from prototypes to systems of record,” he said. “Your cost of operation could be drastically Singer said the Navy, unlike the Marine Corps, decreased,” he said. which urgently needed intelligence, surveillance and The Navy said it did not have a cost estimate for the reconnaissance technology in Afghanistan, has not AMN technology because it is still experimental. faced situations recently that would cause the service With an emphasis on cutting costs, Conti said that to quickly purchase this type of technology. once AMN technology enters the fleet, the Navy will “Does [the Navy] look at this as a capability that want to get it on ships as fast as possible. enables them to do more with less, or do they look at “[AMN technology] is too much of a game chang- this as a potential threat to an already existing program er,” he said. ■

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2011 Navy League National Convention PROGRAM Register Now! Wednesday, October 26, 2011 Friday, October 28, 2011 8:00 AM – 6:30 PM Registration 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM Registration 7:00 AM – 9:00 AM Region President’s Meeting 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM Fundraising/Corporate Relations 7:00 AM – 9:00 AM Steering Committee Meeting Seminar 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM Executive Committee Meeting 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM Membership, Recruiting and 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Maritime Policy and Resolutions Retention Seminar Committee Meeting (CLOSED) 9:45 AM – 11:15 AM Sea Services Panel 11:30 AM – 5:00 PM National Nominating Committee 11:45 AM – 1:30 PM Sea Services Awards Luncheon Meeting (CLOSED) 3:00 PM – 5:30 PM Board of Directors’ Meeting 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM OPTIONAL EVENT – 6:00 PM – 11:00 PM OPTIONAL EVENT – Chickamauga Battlefield Tour Chattanooga Dine Around 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM Welcome Aboard Reception 6:30 PM – 7:15 PM Past National Presidents’ Reception Hosted by the Chattanooga Council 7:15 PM – 9:00 PM Past National Presidents’ Dinner Thursday, October 27, 2011 Saturday, October 29, 2011 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM Registration 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM Registration 8:00 AM – 8:45 AM Opening Ceremony 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM Youth Programs Meeting 8:45 AM – 8:55 AM New Attendees’ Orientation 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM Open Forum with the 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Budget/Audit Committee Meeting National President and Senior 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM Council Organization & Training Headquarters Staff Seminar 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM Public Affairs and Education 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM Sea Services Committees’ Seminar Presentations 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM NSCC Foundation Meeting 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM NSCC Board of Directors’ Meeting 9:30 AM – 10:00 AM Proxy Committee Meeting 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM Meetings Committee 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Information Technology Seminar 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM Budget/Audit Committee Meeting 11:00 AM – 2:30 PM OPTIONAL EVENT – (CLOSED) Art District Tour 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Strategic Planning Seminar 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM Annual Meeting of Members 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM Area President’s Meeting 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM New Board of Directors’ Meeting 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM Maritime Policy and Resolutions 4:00 PM – 4:30 PM Steering Committee/Region Committee Meeting (OPEN) Presidents’ Meeting 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Past National Presidents’ Meeting 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM New Board of Directors’ 12:15 PM – 2:00 PM Hall of Fame and Honors Luncheon Orientation 2:30 PM – 6:30 PM OPTIONAL EVENT – 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM President’s Circle and Tennessee Valley Railroad Commodore’s Club Reception Museum Ride & Tour 6:30 PM – 7:15 PM Reception 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM OPTIONAL EVENT – 7:30 PM – 10:30 PM Dinner Wounded Warrior Reception Sunday, October 30, 2011 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM Ecumenical Church Service

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER VISIT WWW.NAVYLEAGUECONVENTION.ORG SeaPower Sept'11.QXD_Seapower Sept'11 8/17/11 5:23 PM Page 55

2011 Navy League National Convention OCTOBER 26 – 30, 2011 Marriott Chattanooga at the Convention Center Chattanooga, Tennessee OPTIONAL EVENTS

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2011 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2011 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM Chickamauga Battlefield Tour Wounded Warrior Reception Throughout the Civil War, Union and Confederate Join Navy League for a private evening at the forces fought for control of Chattanooga — “Gateway Tennessee Aquarium to benefit the Wounded Warrior to the Deep South” — because of her rich resources, Regiment. Located in downtown Chattanooga and far-reaching rail center and access to the Tennessee just 10 minutes from the Convention Center on River. Originally established in 1890 as a National Park, the banks of the Tennessee River, the Tennessee the 5,300 acre Chickamauga Battlefield contains a visi- Aquarium exhibits take visitors on a remarkable tor center as well as numerous monuments, historical journey from the mountains to the sea. The private tablets, wayside exhibits and trails. Guests will enjoy a tours and cocktail reception will include fine food guided bus tour of the battlefield. The cost is $25, and music. As a fundraiser for the Wounded Warrior which includes transportation and admission. Regiment, a minimum tax-deductible donation of $25.00 per person will make our contribution to WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2011 the Wounded Warriors significant. 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM Welcome Aboard Reception FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2011 6:00 PM – 11:00 PM Start your time in Chattanooga with some Southern Hospitality at the Welcome Aboard Reception on the Dine Around Marriott Mezzanine! Converse with Navy Leaguers from Here’s an opportunity to enjoy Chattanooga’s varied across the country as you enjoy mouth-watering delica- cuisine and night life. A list of downtown eateries cies along with classic southern staples and desserts that will be provided, allowing you to discover the city’s are sure to make you feel right at home. The cost is $55. variety. Whether shopping, dining or entertainment is your desire, Chattanooga has it all! Free downtown THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2011 shuttle service every 5 minutes. Dinner costs will be 2:30 PM – 6:00 PM your own. Tennessee Valley Railroad SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2011 Museum Ride & Tour 11:00 AM – 2:30 PM While enjoying the stunning fall foliage of the Art District Tour Tennessee Valley, take a trip back in time to a slower- paced atmosphere when railroad travel was a way of Bluff View Art District is an historic neighborhood life. Once aboard, you will ride a rolling time machine filled with restaurants, a coffee house, art gallery, along one of the original railroad lines in Chattanooga, historic Bed & Breakfast, museums and plenty of crossing four bridges and passing through the pre- gardens, plazas and courtyards where you can relax Civil War Missionary Ridge tunnel completed in 1858. and rejuvenate. Stretching 1.5 city blocks and set high The train stops at East Chattanooga, allowing riders atop stone cliffs that plunge into the Tennessee River, to see the locomotive rotating on a turntable and par- Bluff View Art District offers breathtaking views of the ticipate in a tour into the railroad restoration shop river as well as downtown Chattanooga. Round-trip before re-boarding for the return trip. The cost is transportation will be provided at a cost of $10. $35, which includes transportation and admission. Admission and dining costs will be your own. SeaPower Sept'11.QXD_Seapower Sept'11 8/17/11 5:23 PM Page 56

2011 Navy League National Convention REGISTRATION FORM

(PLEASE TYPE OR PRINT) Life Member? Self ❏ Spouse ❏ Nickname (How First Name Should Appear On Badge) ______Name ______Address ______City ______State ______Zip Code ______Telephone (daytime) ______Fax ______E-Mail Address ______Council ______Council Title ______Navy League Title ______Spouse Attending? Yes ❏ No ❏ Spouse’s Name ______How Spouse’s First Name Should Appear On Badge______Spouse’s Council ______Spouse’s Council Title ______Spouse’s Navy League Title ______Special Needs (Food Allergies, ADA Needs, etc.) ______Is this your first Navy League Convention? Yes ❏ No ❏ Is this your Spouse’s first Navy League Convention? Yes ❏ No ❏

Registration Fee PRICE QTY AMOUNT (All Attendees and Spouses must select.) There is a $75 Registration Fee for all members whether attending meetings, social functions or both. The fee offsets the meeting’s administrative costs. Basic Fee (FULL) $75 ______OR Early Bird Luncheon/Dinner Package (PKG) – Book by October 2, 2011 $295 ______(Includes one Registration Fee, the Welcome Aboard Reception, the Hall of Fame (SAVE $30) & Honors Luncheon, the Sea Service Awards Luncheon, and the Reception/Dinner)

Special Events PRICE QTY AMOUNT OCT. 26, 12:00PM–4:00PM Chickamauga Battle Field Tour (SE01) $25 ______OCT. 26, 5:30PM–7:00PM Welcome Aboard Reception (SE02) $55 ______OCT. 27, 12:15PM–2:00PM Hall of Fame & Honors Luncheon (SE03) $50 ______OCT. 27, 2:30PM–6:00PM Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum Ride & Tour (SE04) $35 ______OCT. 27, 7:00PM–10:00PM Wounded Warrior Reception (SE05) minimum tax-deductible donation: $25 ______OCT. 28, 11:45AM–1:30PM Sea Services Awards Luncheon (SE06) $50 ______OCT. 29, 11:00AM–2:30PM Art District Tour (SE08) $10 ______OCT. 29, 6:30PM–10:30PM Reception and Dinner (SE09) $95 ______Charge My: Visa ❏ Master Card ❏ American Express ❏ Check ❏ Account # ______Exp. Date ______Total Amount Due: ______Name of Cardholder ______Signature of Cardholder ______

MAIL TO: Navy League National Convention, 11208 Waples Mill Road, Suite 112, Fairfax, VA 22030 OR FAX TO: 703-631-7258 (fax copy must contain credit card information for payment). Please make checks payable to: Navy League of the U.S. REGISTRATION DEADLINE: October 2, 2011 (No refunds after that date). Please direct questions to [email protected]. SeaPower Sept'11.QXD_Seapower Sept'11 8/17/11 5:23 PM Page 57

PROGRAM SNAPSHOT

Griffin Arms Variety of Platforms

BACKGROUND The AGM-175 Griffin missile is a lightweight, low-collateral-damage weapon that rapidly integrates onto an array of platforms. The A variant is an aft-eject missile designed for fixed-wing cargo aircraft. The B ver- sion is a forward-firing weapon suit- ed for rotary- and fixed-wing plat- forms, as well as ground applica- tions. The Marine Corps integrated the Griffin A missile onto its KC- 130J Harvest Hawk platform and deployed it to Afghanistan in 2010.

SCOPE Raytheon has indefinite delivery/ indefinite quantity contracts with the Army and Air Force and typically produces 250 to 500 Griffins each year across both contracts. In 2010, it

delivered almost 500 missiles on RAYTHEON/BOB TURES contracts valued at roughly $51 mil- lion. The fiscal 2010 and 2011 Raytheon developed the Griffin missile with off-the-shelf components defense budgets called for the deliv- from several proven weapon systems, including Javelin, Paveway and ery of more than 135 Griffin missiles the Joint Standoff Weapon. The concept was to build a highly precise, light- for the Harvest Hawk program. weight and easy-to-integrate system to address the warfighters’ need in the escalating counterinsurgency experienced in theater in 2006. TIMELINE Raytheon funded the development, conducted two flight tests and matured Raytheon initially developed a the technology. … The Griffin missile’s size, light weight, dual-mode precision ground-launched, precision-guided and fuzing flexibility set it apart from anything available on the market today. missile known as Archer with inter- The missile is combat proven and provides the warfighter with an effective nal funding in 2004. After approach- tool to engage hostile targets while limiting the risk of collateral damage. ing the U.S. military with the Archer At the time of firing, the user can select to guide the weapon to the tar- concept, it was asked to develop the get using GPS [Global Positioning System] coordinates or laser designa- missile into an air-launched system, tion. The user also has three fuzing options to engage the target — point the Griffin. Production started in detonate, delayed fuze and height of burst. No other weapon currently 2008 — with the first delivery in offers this degree of flexibility in guidance and fuzing options. April 2008 — and since then The Griffin missile’s form factor and easy integration make it an attrac- Raytheon has built more than 1,200 tive solution for a wide variety of platforms, such as lightweight scout hel- Griffin missiles. icopters, light-attack reconnaissance platforms, unmanned aircraft sys- tems, and an array of surface-launch and ground-launch vehicles. WHO’S WHO Griffin gives the Harvest Hawk a powerful capability to deliver precision Rod Krebs is Raytheon’s Griffin pro- effects to the battlefield. Raytheon has received very positive feedback from gram director at Raytheon Missile our customer on Griffin, and we are pleased we are able to play a small Systems, Tucson, Ariz. part in helping them accomplish their mission.

SEAPOWER / SEPTEMBER 2011 57 SeaPower Sept'11.QXD_Seapower Sept'11 8/17/11 5:23 PM Page 58

SEAPOWER INTERNATIONAL

France’s Mistral-Class Deal With Russia Under Contract

By AMI INTERNATIONAL INC.

fter nearly two years of dis- main battle tanks and 450 troops, the earliest, instead of this year. The A cussion, much international and is equipped with a 69-bed hos- first unit will now be delivered in speculation and protests by some pital and command ship capabili- 2015, instead of 2014. NATO members and neighboring ties. The French Navy maintains a The slippages are apparently due countries, the Russian Navy’s pur- force of three Mistral-class ships. to the delays in shipyard selection chase of Mistral-class amphibious The ships’ characteristics, how- process and a lack of firm program assault ships (LHDs) from France ever, have concerned nations along budget estimates. A request for pro- has been made official with the the Black Sea, especially Georgia, posal (RfP) process is under way to signing of a deal for two LHDs who expressed their objection to designate three Canadian builders worth more than $1.6 billion with the deal. Russia maintains the for construction of the large com- Paris shipbuilder DCNS. ships primarily will be used as batants, large auxiliaries and small The two Mistrals will be built in command and control and human- ships for the Canadian sea services. France, with the possibility of itarian relief vessels. Once the yards are selected and another two being built later in Although the transfer of technol- designated, the AOPS RfP will be Russia under separate contract. Both ogy, notably the SENIT-9 combat released to a designated yard for DCNS units are scheduled for deliv- management system (CMS), had pricing and terms. ery to the Russian Navy by 2015. been a longstanding sticking point The Canadian government re - Mistral is capable of transport- in the negotiations, a spokesman for cently announced an extension to ing and deploying 16 helicopters, Russia’s Rosoboronexport stated the RfPs in order for all Canadian four landing craft, 70 vehicles, 13 that the CMS will indeed be part of yards to submit their bids. The the technology transfer. selection process is expected to Some of the construction of occur by the end of the year. components for the ships will take Funding for the program now will place in Russian shipyards and not occur until 2012. equipment/system houses, provid- The estimated $4.5 billion, six- ing the Russians with needed work to eight-ship AOPS program was as well as expertise required for the first envisioned in 2005 and for- two additional, indigenously built malized in 2007. Since then, the units. Admiralty Shipyard in St. program has faced several delays. Petersburg will build the stern The program entered the design modules for both LHDs, with con- phase with the anticipation that the struction beginning in December. ships would be funded, and a deci- South Korea’s STX Offshore and sion on the three-yard selection Shipbuilding signed an agreement process in place, this year. with Russia’s United Shipbuilding Assuming the program is fund- Corp. on the same day the Mistral ed and begins in 2012, the first deal was signed, June 17, to help unit could enter service in 2015 build a new Admiralty Shipyard in with six AOPS entering service by St. Petersburg, on Kronstadt Island. 2018. If eight are built, they are projected to be in service by 2019. U.S. MARINE CORPS MARINE U.S. More Delays for The French Mistral-class amphibious Canada’s AOPS New Turkish Submarine assault ship Tonnerre sails off the The schedule for Canada’s Arctic Program Is Under Way coast of North Carolina, Feb. 9, 2009, during a Composite Training Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS) pro- The Turkish Navy Type 214 subma- Unit Exercise with the 22nd Marine gram continues to slip. Project rine program is officially under way Expeditionary Unit. approval now is expected in June at as Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Ma -

58 SEAPOWER / SEPTEMBER 2011 SeaPower Sept'11.QXD_Seapower Sept'11 8/17/11 5:23 PM Page 59

SEAPOWER INTERNATIONAL

rine Systems received the initial ducted by Turkish subcontractors decade and corresponding capabil- $2.9 billion payment from Turkey such as Havelsan, Aselsan and Koc ities programs that will be needed to provide six submarine material Infor mation and Defense Tech - to fulfill those requirements. packages as part of a $3.96 billion nologies. The review is expected to be deal that was signed in 2008. The Type 214 will be the second completed by early next year and ThyssenKrupp’s Howaldtswerke- submarine design built in country will form the basis for the future Deutsche Werft (HDW) will provide since nine Type 209s were con- structure of the navy. The review is the materials from 2012 through structed from 1981 through 2007. likely to alter naval plans included 2015 in order for Turkey’s Golcuk in the Integrated Defense Plan Naval Shipyard to build/assemble all Netherlands Conducts (IDP) 2004-2013 and the follow-on six units. The first unit is scheduled Navy Strategic Review IDP that was being developed when to commission in 2015 with the The Royal Netherlands Navy is con- the budget reductions were an- sixth unit by 2020. ducting a new strategic review as a nounced earlier this year. The submarines will replace the result of the 15 percent defense Currently, the Royal Netherlands six units of the Atilay class on a budget reduction over the next four Navy operates four submarines, six one-for-one basis. This order will years that was announced in April. surface combatants, 10 mine coun- assist HDW in securing its employ- About $1.4 billion will be cut termeasures vessels (MCMV) and ment in Kiel as well as many sub- from defense spending by 2014. two LPDs. As part of the budget contractors throughout Germany. The Dutch defense budget total is reduction, the MCMV force is being Turkey also will benefit by securing expected to drop to about $10.9 cut from 10 units to six. ■ employment at Golcuk as well as billion for 2015. The 2010 total was gaining further experience in sub- about $11.3 billion. AMI International Inc., Bremerton, Wash., marine construction. The strategic review will lay out is an international consulting and naval Most of electronic subsystems the requirements envisioned by the intelligence services company located on and integration work will be con- sea service over at least the next the Web at www.amiinter.com.

SEAPOWER / SEPTEMBER 2011 59 SeaPower Sept'11.QXD_Seapower Sept'11 8/17/11 5:23 PM Page 60

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

The Montford Point Marines

By DAVID F. WINKLER

he first major battle in the Civil War, the First Battle segregated units in a way proved beneficial to Johnson, T of Bull Run, included a Marine battalion of 12 offi- Huff and six others who were quickly promoted to cers and 336 enlisted men in the federal ranks. As with become drill instructors, and in April 1943 took over their Army brethren, the Marines, most of whom were the reins of the eight platoons then in training. recently recruited, did not fare well on July 21, 1861. By that time, the nation’s manpower procurement poli- Forty-four Marines were left dead, wounded or captured cies had changed and the Marines were now receiving on the battlefield. None of the Marines who fought 150 thousands of black draftees. In addition to creating an years ago at Manassas, Va., were African Americans. additional Defense Battalion to provide defenses for cap- Eventually, with the Emancipation Proclamation, tured Pacific islands, blacks would be assigned to steve- the northern objective moved beyond reunification to dore and ammunition-handling companies and go ashore the end of the institution of slavery. However, though on D-Days at Saipan, Tinian, Guam, Peleliu, Iwo Jima and the eventual outcome of the war would lead to this Okinawa to provide critical logistical support. lofty goal, barriers remained in place and others would Reading reports of the 3d Marine Ammunition be built to deny equality among the races. Company at Saipan, new Marine Corps Commandant Lt. In the case of the Marines, congressional regulations Gen. Alexander Vandegrift observed: “The Negro Marines passed in 1798 specifically forbade “Blacks” or are no longer on trial. They are Marines, period.” “Indians” from enlisting. Not hamstrung by such regu- In all, 19,168 African-Americans would see service lations, the Army and Navy filled their ranks with tens with the Marines during the war. of thousands of black and Indian Soldiers and Sailors On Nov. 10, 1945, one of Montford Point’s graduates, during the Civil War. Frederick C. Branch, earned a commission as a second On the eve of World War II, the Marines still refused lieutenant and would serve during the Korean War. Huff, to enlist blacks. At a Navy General Board meeting con- on the other hand, would remain a noncommissioned vened in April 1941 to discuss expansion of the Corps, officer and rise to become the first black to attain the rank the commandant, Maj. Gen. Thomas Holcomb, said: “If it of sergeant major, fighting both in Korea and Vietnam. were a question of having a Marine Corps of 5,000 whites Following President Harry S. Truman’s Executive Order or 250,000 Negroes, I would rather have the whites.” 9981 that ordered an end to segregation in the military, However, responding to demands made by Camp Montford Point closed and black recruits were sent Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters President A. to Parris Island, S.C., or San Diego for basic training. Philip Randolph and other African-American leaders Montford Point still exists. Renamed in 1974 as that the government and the growing defense industry Camp Gilbert H. Johnson, the facility hosts Marine cease job discrimination against blacks, President Corps Combat Service Support Schools as part of the Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8802 on Camp Lejeune complex. In 1965, a reunion of approx- June 25, 1941, that had a consequence of forcing the imately 400 Montford Point graduates led to the for- Marines to enlist African-Americans. With America at mation of the Montford Point Marine Association, war following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the recruit- which presently has 36 chapters dedicated to preserv- ment of black Marines began on June 1, 1942. ing the legacy of the first black Marines. Gilbert “Hashmark” Johnson and Edgar R. Huff On July 7, Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla., introduced a would be among the first to enlist. They were sent to resolution proposing to grant the Congressional Gold “Camp Montford Point” at Jacksonville, N.C., where Medal to the Montford Point Marines. ■ prefabricated barracks and other structures were being built to house 2,000 blacks who were recruited to form Source: Bernard C. Nalty, The Right To Fight: African-American the 51st Defense Battalion. Marines in World War II, History and Museums Division, Head - Initially, the drill instructors were white. Black quarters, U.S. Marine Corps, 1995. recruits had their service papers stamped “Colored” and could not travel to nearby Camp Lejeune unless accom- Dr. David F. Winkler is a historian with the Naval Historical panied by a white Marine. But the insistence on racially Foundation.

60 SEAPOWER / SEPTEMBER 2011 SeaPower Sept'11.QXD_Seapower Sept'11 8/17/11 5:23 PM Page 61

SHIP’S LIBRARY

Marines, Pearl Harbor, Yangtze Gunboats Focus of New Books

By RICHARD R. BURGESS, Managing Editor

IN THE GRAY AREA: A ATTACK ON PEARL Marine Advisor at War HARBOR: Strategy, Combat, By Seth W.B. Folsom. Annapolis, Myths, Deceptions Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2010. By Alan D. Zimm. Philadelphia: 228 pp. $34.95 Casemate Publishers, 2011. ISBN: 978-1-59114-281-2 464 pp. $32.95. Folsom, a Marine Corps lieutenant ISBN: 978-1-61200-010-7 colonel, wrote an earlier memoir, There is no shortage of books about “The Highway War,” about his expe- the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, but riences as a young commanding offi- this one — by an operations analyst, cer of a light armored reconnaissance battalion during the the head of the Aviation Systems and Advanced advance to Baghdad in 2003. In this new book, Folsom, a Concepts Group in the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics more senior and experienced officer, chronicles his tour Laboratory — approaches the subject as an analysis of in Iraq as a leader of an adviser team to Iraqi forces in al the Japanese operational planning and execution. Zimm Anbar Province. Folsom describes the challenges of the examines every aspect of the attack and uses operations advisory mission in building the Iraqi forces and gives an research techniques to critique the planning and per- up-close-and-personal perspective of the latter stages of formance of the Japanese forces and compare results with the Iraq War. He focuses on the difficulties in navigating expectations. He also examines some of the lore and con- the cultural minefields in the effort to build a modern troversies of the attack. The author concludes that the fighting force. He expresses concern that gains will be lost Japanese made operational and tactical blunders that when U.S. forces leave Iraq, and asserts that the Iraqis diminished the success of the attack. themselves need to want to control their future. YANGTZE RIVER GUNBOATS PREPARING FOR VICTORY: 1900–49 Thomas Holcomb and the By Angus Konstam. Oxford, U.K.: Making of the Modern Marine Osprey Publishing, 2011. Corps 1936-1943 48 pp. $17.95 By David J. Ulbrich. Annapolis, Md.: ISBN: 978-1-84908-408-6 Naval Institute Press, 2011. The foreign gunboat era in China, 304 pp. $35.95 which covered the first half of the ISBN: 978-1-59114-903-3 20th century, captured the imagina- Gen. Thomas Holcomb is no house- tion of viewers of the 1966 film “The Sand Pebbles” (and hold name, even in the Marine readers of the novel on which it was based). This mono- Corps. This book is the first biography of the former graph presents the true story of the gunboats from the commandant, who, from December 1936 to December U.S. Navy and the navies of many European powers and 1943, turned the Corps from a small brush-fire war force Japan that patrolled the Yangtze River, protecting mis- into four well-trained infantry divisions capable of large- sionaries and trade and diplomatic outposts, as well as scale amphibious assaults against Japanese-held island countering warlords and pirates. Each type of gunboat is fortresses without suffering a defeat. Holcomb’s fore- described in detail, but even more valuable are the sight, leadership and management grew the Corps from descriptions of life on the gunboats and the exotic politi- 17,000 men during the Great Depression to 385,000 cal and cultural environment in which they operated. men by the end of his tour in 1943 as the great Pacific Famous incidents, such as the sinking of USS Panay in advances were under way. He left his successor, Gen. 1937 by Japanese aircraft and the escape of HMS Amethyst Alexander A. Vandegrift, a superb fighting force that from the Communist forces in 1949, are depicted. ■ prevailed against the Japanese empire and lives on today as a smaller but potent Corps. Seapower does not review works of fiction or self-published books.

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NAVY LEAGUE NEWS

Partnerships Can Help Councils Share the Burden and the Benefits

By PETER ATKINSON, Deputy Editor

little help can go a long way in making a tough job A easier to manage. Partnerships or collaborations with other councils, community groups or service organ- izations can be an effective way to help ease the work- load, organizational or financial burden of support pro - jects with which Navy League councils are involved. From ship commissionings and Navy Week events to Individual Augmentee (IA) recognition or welcome home celebrations for returning Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen and women, councils and their partners can take advantage of the efficiencies of teamwork by sharing resources, manpower and expertise. Partnerships can improve public awareness and better the prospects for participation, as well as lay the groundwork for more cooperation in the future, which can benefit everyone involved, especially if it helps attract new members. At the national level, Navy League headquarters partnered with The Washington Examiner to salute the U.S. Coast Guard on its 221st birthday with a four- page pullout section highlighting the service in the July 31 edition of the newspaper. The section, which The Seattle Council partnered with the Air Force Association, the Association of the U.S. Army and the was sponsored by the Pentagon Federal Credit Union, Museum of Flight in Seattle to purchase new service flags can be viewed online at http://tinyurl.com/3vn3728. for the entrance to the museum. The flags were presented It will be the first of several special sections in the during an Armed Forces Day event May 21. coming months that will focus on the contributions of the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and U.S.-flag ■ The New York Council has a partnership with The Merchant Marine to the national defense, homeland Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum and The Fleet Admiral security and economic stability of the United States. Nimitz Council has partnered with the National Museum In conjunction with National Maritime Day on May of the War in the Pacific in Fredericksburg, Texas, to 22, 2010, the Navy League and the International sponsor and promote events such as lecture series. Propeller Club of the United States announced a strate- ■ The New Mexico Council recently partnered with gic alliance to provide stronger, more visible support of and supports the Bataan Military Academy, a public the nation’s commercial maritime industry, with the charter school in Albuquerque that opened in 2007 specific aim of promoting and educating the public and whose students also are all are members of the U.S. about the U.S.-flag Merchant Marine, the commercial Naval Sea Cadet Corps’ Bataan Battalion. shipping industry and the work of commercial ■ The Santa Barbara and Channel Islands, Calif., mariners. The Propeller Club has more than 8,000 Councils joined forces with the Ventura County members in more than 100 ports around the world. Economic Development Association to plan the Fourth For individual councils, partnership opportunities Annual Military Business & Community Exposition can run the gamut. For example: that was held April 21 at the Ventura County Office of ■ The Northeast Florida councils in Mayport, Education Conference Center. The councils secured the Daytona Beach, Jacksonville, Space Coast and St. event’s two keynote speakers: Jackalyne Pfannenstiel, Augustine have been teaming up since 2008 to sponsor assistant secretary of the Navy (Installations and IA appreciation luncheons at Naval Air Station Environment), and Rear Adm. Mark Heinrich, then- Jacksonville. During that time, more than 1,500 IAs commander, Fleet and Industrial Supply Centers, San and their spouses have been honored. Diego. He assumed command of Naval Supply Systems

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NAVY LEAGUE NEWS

Command and became chief of Supply Corps July 22. chartering to help some cadets attend summer training, In recent months, Seattle Council members have been presented the colors. involved in a number of cooperative events in their area, The new council already has made a contribution to including Armed Forces Night at a Seattle Mariners base- the Wounded Warrior Project and filled about 50 volun- ball game at Safeco Field that included on-field recogni- teer slots during an air show by the Navy’s Blue Angels tion of the services and the organizations involved; an flight demonstration team in Lynchburg May 21-22. Armed Forces Day Celebration at the Museum of Flight, It will be assisting at a family day Sept. 10 for the for which the council partnered with the Association of about 50 Marines from the Lynchburg-based Company the U.S. Army and the Air Force Association to purchase C, 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, 4th Marine division, new service flags for the museum entrance; and hosting a who returned from Afghanistan in June after a year on tour and meal aboard an aircraft carrier for members of active duty. It also will have members participating in a Entrepreneurs’ Organization Seattle. softball tournament held as part of the event. The Navy League’s newest council in Lynchburg, And even though the Lynchburg Council is still just Va., got in on the partnership act before it received its getting off the ground, a number of other irons already are official charter in August. Prospective members have in the fire to garner more support for local Marines, as well been working with the Marine Corps League to sup- as the local service recruiting centers, according to Plourde port the city’s Marine Corps Reserve Center since “The members here are phenomenal people,” she before the decision was made to form a Navy League said. ■ Council there in April, said Kathy Plourde, a member of the new council’s board of directors. The “Navy League Council Partnership Guide” is available Because there is a lot of membership crossover among online at www.navyleague.org/councils/council_guides.html. military service organizations and support groups around Click on the “Council Partnerships Guide” link. Lynchburg, which Plourde described as “a very patriotic area,” there is a tradition of working together. “It’s natural to cooperate, to col- laborate on things like fund-raising and assisting at each others’ events, or sharing space for someone else’s event,” said Plourde, a former Marine sergeant who also was commandant of the Marine Corps League. “There’s always something coming up, and someone can always use a hand, so we’re used to pitching in.” These already existing partner- ships and inclination to pitch in cer- tainly helped the council with its recruiting efforts while it was form- ing. The Lynchburg Council was offi- cially launched on Aug. 6 with about 60 members at a Charter Dinner and Program at the Monte Carlo Restaurant — many more than the 25 new members required to receive a Navy League charter. Navy League Senior Director of Regional Activities William J. Waylett Jr. awarded the council its charter and swore in its new officers and directors. The U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps’ Lynchburg Dunedogs, which received fund-raising sup- port from the council prior to the

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NAVY LEAGUE NEWS / COUNCIL DIGEST

Foreign Sea Cadets Visit the States As Part of International Exchange

By PETER ATKINSON, Deputy Editor

hirty-six international Sea T Cadets and their adult chap- erones visited Naval Station New- port, R.I., in early July as part of the 2011 U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps (NSCC) International Ex- change Program (IEP). The cadets represented seven maritime countries that are members of the International Sea Cadet Asso- ciation (ISCA), a voluntary associa - tion of independent Sea Cadet Corps, or corresponding organiza- tions, that promote the benefits of sea cadet training worldwide. The United States is a founding member of ISCA and offers exchanges to U.S. Naval Sea Cadets. About 20 U.S. NSCC cadets,

along with escort officers, traveled JENNIFER WEGGEN JENNIFER overseas this year as part of IEP, said Sea Cadets taking part in the U.S. Naval Sea Cadets Corps International Lt. Cmdr. Michael L. Campbell, Exchange Program enjoy an afternoon on the water aboard the 80-foot schooner NSCC, director of the IEP. U.S. Aquidneck in Narragansett Bay off the coast of Newport, R.I. Program organiz- cadets visited Australia, Canada, ers chartered the boat to give cadets time to work the sails and train. Sweden, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Russia. The international contingent vis- iting the states included five cadets from the United Kingdom, four from Australia, three from Ghana, 11 from Canada, four from Sweden, six from Singapore and three from Hong Kong. Six U.S. NSCC cadets with chaperones also participated in the exchange program visit. The group’s two-week stay in the states included a trip to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New Lon- don, Conn., where they got to visit with Rear Adm. Sandra L. Stosz, the new superintendent; Naval Sub- marine Base New London; the USS Constitution in Boston; an overnight

visit aboard the battleship Massa- CAMPBELL MICHAEL chusetts in Battleship Cove Park, Fall International Exchange Program cadets visit the USS Constitution in Boston. River, Mass.; and New York City. Thirty-six cadets from seven countries took part in the program.

64 SEAPOWER / SEPTEMBER 2011 SeaPower Sept'11.QXD_Seapower Sept'11 8/17/11 5:23 PM Page 65

NAVY LEAGUE NEWS / COUNCIL DIGEST MICHAEL CAMPBELL MICHAEL

International Exchange Program cadets, U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps cadets, their chaperones and advisers stand with Coast Guard personnel during a stop at U.S. Coast Guard Station, New London, Conn. Program participants also visited the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Naval Submarine Base New London and a number of other sites around New England and New York during their two-week tour.

“This is an amazing experience,” can experience the nautical tradi- Naval Academy and the impor- Cadet Petty Officer Holly But- tions of another country and make tance of education. terfield, 17, of the United Kingdom, friends from all over the world.” “The Sea Cadet international said in a Navy News Service report “This was an opportunity to see program is grateful to the men and on the Newport visit. and talk with real U.S. Sailors,” women at Naval Station Newport Butterfield said the exchange visit Shing Lap Colin Lam, 19, lead for offering their experiences and gave her the opportunity to observe cadet from the Hong Kong contin- opening their facilities to the different instructional methods that gent, told the Navy News Service. future leaders of the navies of the are used to teach the younger cadets. In Newport, the group was greet- world,” Campbell said. She has been a member of the sea ed by Capt. Neil Parrott, command- cadet program for seven years. ing officer, Surface Warfare Officers Baltimore Council “This is the first time I have had School (SWOS), prior to an orienta- Takes Part in an opportunity to board a subma- tion at the Full Mission Bridge Coast Guard Events rine,” Butterfield said. “Women have (FMB) simulator and engineering The Baltimore Council has been not been allowed to serve in the trainer. Cadets had the opportunity busy with the Coast Guard in British submarine service.” to experience the FMB 360-degree recent months, participating in a Cadet Petty Officer Evan Camp - virtual environment that provides series of events that took place at bell, 16, of Canada, said he is consid- ship handling simulations. and out of Curtis Bay, the only ering joining the Royal Canadian “In Sweden, we don’t have this Coast Guard Yard in the nation. Navy. type of technology for the Sea In May, council members and “I liked seeing the older U.S. Cadets to experience,” said Cadet their guests boarded the buoy ten- Navy ships,” he said. 3 Josef Haile, 18. der USCGC James Rankin at Curtis “This is an adventure of a life- Lt. Daniel Krumbein and Lt. Bay for the annual placement of time,” said Campbell, who accom- Kevin Jacobson, SWOS simulation the Francis Scott Key buoy at the panied the group. “It’s been inspir- instructors, provided a mentoring spot in Baltimore Harbor where ing to meet these young people session with the international Key witnessed the 1814 bombard- who are interested in our Navy and cadets, and spoke about the ment of Fort McHenry, which investing in themselves. Cadets Littoral Combat Ship program, the inspired him write the poem selected for this exchange program application process for the U.S. “Defence of Fort McHenry” that

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NAVY LEAGUE NEWS / COUNCIL DIGEST

later became known as the Na- tional Anthem. Key was aboard a British ship in the harbor trying to negotiate a prisoner exchange when the bombardment began. When the buoy was lowered into Baltimore Harbor, all onboard stood at attention as “Taps” was played followed by the “Star-Spangled Banner,” according to Council President Alan Walden. The ship then sailed past Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine before returning to the pier. Council Past President Bob Wetzler, Secretary Dick Holland and Board Member Neil Smith were all aboard for the event. On June 24, Walden led a group of board members to the Sailor of Members of the Portland, Ore., Council refurbished a sign that is part of a the Quarter ceremony onboard memorial to the battleship USS Oregon in Portland’s McCall Waterfront Park. James Rankin. There, he presented a The council sponsored placement of Oregon’s mast as a memorial to the ship special Award of Merit and a check more than 50 years ago. for $100 to Food Service Specialist 3rd Class Miguel Quinones, who class battleship USS Oregon that has Tampa NOSC was cited by his commanding offi- stood for more than 50 years. Thanks Tampa Council cer for outstanding performance. In 1956, the Portland Council The Tampa Council was recog- On June 30, Council Vice sponsored the placement of Ore- nized July 16 by Capt. Therese President Joe Nattans led a delega- gon’s mast in McCall Waterfront Craddock, commanding officer of tion to a change of command cere- Park along the Willamette River as the Navy Operational Support mony on James Rankin as Lt. a memorial to the ship that was Center (NOSC) Tampa, for its con- Cmdr. Mark Palmer was relieved instrumental in winning the Battle tinued support, dedication and by Lt. Russell Zuckerman. Palmer of Santiago and ending the direct contributions to the well- is moving on to become command- Spanish-American war in 1898, being of Sailors and Reservists. ing officer of seagoing buoy tender according to Gary Piercy, the Craddock presented a letter of USCGC Elm at Atlantic Beach, council’s public affairs officer. A thanks to Skip Witunski, Central N.C. For the last two years, sign near the mast explains the his- Florida Area president and former Zuckerman was executive assistant tory of USS Oregon. Time had taken president of the Tampa Council, at to Commander, Force Readiness its toll on the memorial and it the NOSC Center, which is based Command, at Alameda, Calif. needed refurbishing. at MacDill Air Force Base. It was a bittersweet occasion, Council members took the sign The letter read, in part, “I am according to Walden, because of down, sanded it, repainted it and personally grateful for your sup- the Baltimore Council’s long and had it relettered, Piercy said. The port of our Sailors’ willingness to mutually beneficial relationship Oregon Maritime Museum donated serve and of your unselfish assis- with Palmer, who had served two work space on the nearby stern- tance to the United States Navy tours aboard James Rankin, which wheeler Portland for the work. during this time of international is based in Baltimore. Killian Signs of Gladston also instability. … Your generous ac- donated labor to restore this large, tions and direct contributions to Portland Council eye-catching sign, which has since our Sailors are an illustration of the Restores Memorial been re-installed. ideals that make America great.” To USS Oregon “We can continue to be proud NOSC Center Tampa provides Members of the Portland, Ore., that Portland Council still sup- operational, training and administra- Council helped restore and reinstall ports maritime traditions in the tive support to more than 700 part of a memorial to the Indiana- Portland area,” Piercy said. Reserve Sailors, most of whom are

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NAVY LEAGUE NEWS / COUNCIL DIGEST

assigned to U.S. Central Command, Community Service Outreach Pro- Mayport USO Center. The dinners Southern Command or for Seabee- gram workshops for Reservist family are held for military families and type operations. The facility has been members and promotes its five Sea families of deployed service mem- in place for five years at MacDill. Cadet units in the Tampa Bay area. bers by various support groups on Every September, the NOSC Cen- the last Monday of each month. Just ter hosts family day for all the Re - Short Bursts as the name suggests, there is no servists and their families that the ■ The Mayport, Fla., Council charge for a “No Dough Dinner.” Tampa Council supports, according spon sored the second of its 2011 The Mayport Navy League team of to Witunski. The council also hosts No-Dough Dinners June 27 at the Susan and Charlie Armstrong, Rick

MEMBERSHIP REPORT Meridian Area, MS 47 Bremerton-Olympic Peninsula, WA 43 Corpus Christi, TX 35 TOP INDIVIDUAL RECRUITERS JULY 2011 Coronado, CA 33 RECRUITERS COUNCILS POINTS Fort Lauderdale, FL 33 Dick Messbarger Kingsville, TX 17 Santa Barbara, CA 33 Dolph Du Mont Fort Lauderdale, FL 8 Seattle, WA 31 Suzy Williams Corpus Christi, TX 7 St. Maarten 30 Frederick Orton Coronado, CA 6 Camden-Kings Bay, GA 28 Walter Reese Santa Rosa County, FL 6 Palm Springs, CA 26 Thomas McGuire Meridian Area, MS 6 Malibu, CA 25 Dave Livingston Honolulu, HI 4 Jacksonville, FL 22 Jay Lott San Diego, CA 4 Pensacola, FL 21 Carolyn Smith Meridian Area, MS 4 Lakehurst, NJ 20 Maria Isabel Soto Long Beach, CA 4 Las Vegas, NV 20 Robert Hicklin Phoenix, AZ 3 Key West, FL 19 Ronald Dutton Beverly Hills, CA 3 Hampton Roads, VA 18 Larry Salter Bremerton-Olympic Peninsula, WA 3 Oak Harbor, WA 18 Jack Hildum Nye County, NV (forming) 3 St. Augustine, FL 18 Greater Chattanooga, TN 17 TOP INDIVIDUAL RECRUITERS THROUGH JULY 2011 Mayport, FL 17

RECRUITERS COUNCILS POINTS Newport County, RI 17 Denver, CO 16 Dick Messbarger Kingsville, TX 80 Long Island, NY 15 Carlyle Devoe Honolulu, HI 72 Fleet Admiral Nimitz, TX 15 Suzy Williams Corpus Christi, TX 33 Richmond, VA 15 Thomas McGuire Meridian Area, MS 32 Sarasota-Manatee, FL 15 Larry Salter Bremerton-Olympic Peninsula, WA 31 Vieques, PR 15 Jackson Stevens St. Maarten 30 Lake Washington, WA 13 Frederick Orton Coronado, CA 28 San Diego, CA 13 Douglas Crawford Santa Barbara, CA 24 Aurora, IL 12 Thomas Jaffa Seattle, WA 20 Greater Cincinnati, OH 12 John Payne Malibu, CA 19 Central New Jersey, NJ 12 Linda Ashbey Lakehurst, NJ 17 Imperial Valley, CA 12 Jack Hildum Nye County, NV (forming) 17 Long Beach, CA 12 Samuel Sorenson Fleet Admiral Nimitz, TX 16 Tampa, FL 12 Daniel Branch Denver, CO 14 Atlanta Metropolitan, GA 11 Richard Devlin Oak Harbor, WA 13 Channel Islands, CA 11 George Wardwell Newport County, RI 12 Detroit Women, MI 11 Tom Matteo Long Island, NY 11 Golden Isles, GA 11 Maryellen Baldwin Hampton Roads, VA 10 Philadelphia, PA 11 Patricia Du Mont Fort Lauderdale, FL 10 St. Louis, MO 11 John Easton Palm Springs, CA 10 National Capital, DC 10 Sheila McNeill Camden-Kings Bay, GA 10 Savannah, GA 10 Carolyn Smith Meridian Area, MS 10 Space Coast, FL 10

2011 TOP COUNCIL RECRUITER POINTS THROUGH JULY 2011 WELCOME ABOARD TO THE FOLLOWING NEW COMMUNITY AFFILIATE MEMBERS COUNCILS POINTS COMMUNITY AFFILIATE COUNCIL Honolulu, HI 108 Palma De Mallorca 85 Meridian City Council Meridian Area, MS Kingsville, TX 81 Mitchell Distributing Co. Meridian Area, MS

68 SEAPOWER / SEPTEMBER 2011 SeaPower Sept'11.QXD_Seapower Sept'11 8/17/11 5:23 PM Page 69

NAVY LEAGUE NEWS / COUNCIL DIGEST

2010-2011 NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL J. Michael McGrath NAVY CHAIRMAN Albert J. Baciocco Jr. Evan S. Baker Bernard Bennett LEAGUE Calvin H. Cobb Jr. of the United States Joanne S. Crown John H. Dalton FOUNDED 1902 Richard J. Danzig 2300 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 200 Fred Davidson III Arlington, VA 22201-5424 Timothy O. Fanning Morgan L. Fitch Jr. NATIONAL PRESIDENT Albert H. Friedrich Daniel B. Branch Jr. James S. Gracey

U.S. NAVY U.S. Alfred M. Gray Jr. NATIONAL VICE PRESIDENTS Thomas B. Hayward Pamela K. Ammerman U.S. Pacific Fleet Master Chief John Albert J. Herberger YOUTH PROGRAMS Minyard carries the remains of Navy James L. Holloway III Karen Crawford League National Director Emeritus Paul R. Ignatius PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND PUBLIC EDUCATION Hansford T. Johnson Harold B. Estes during a memorial Patricia Du Mont Paul X. Kelley ceremony July 9 aboard the USS LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS William C. Kelley Jr. Missouri Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Philip L. Dunmire Jack M. Kennedy CORPORATE AFFAIRS, DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING Robert E. Kramek Hawaii. A retired master chief Thomas E. Jaffa Charles R. Larson boatswain’s mate and World War II MEMBERSHIP AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Sanford W. McDonnell veteran who served more than 20 William R. Keller Sheila M. McNeill REGION, AREA AND COUNCIL PRESIDENTS’ LIAISON J. William Middendorf II years in the Navy, Estes is credited Carl E. Mundy Jr. Richard H. Kennedy John A. Panneton with bringing the USS Bowfin and FINANCE John M. Rau USS Missouri memorials to Hawaii. William A. Kopper J. Paul Reason INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS AND RETENTION He died May 17 at the age of 96. Leighton W. Smith Jr. Robert Sutton John J. Spittler SEA SERVICES LIAISON James D. Watkins Costner, Barb and Bob Price, Lau- David N. Todd R. James Woolsey retta and Clark Gaylord, Ellie Hu- STRATEGIC PLANNING bert, Pat Faunt, Bill McLough lin and NATIONAL TREASURER STATEMENT OF POLICY Alan L. Kaplan ■ We of the Navy League of the United Maury Lazenby served 197 Sailors, States stand for a strong America — a nation NATIONAL ASSISTANT TREASURERS morally, economically, and internally strong. spouses and their children “Breakfast William G. Braund ■ We believe that the security of our nation Michael Hottel for Dinner.” The unusual dinner and of the people of the world demands a menu was a big hit. The Mayport Stewart E. Reuter well-balanced, integrated, mobile American defense team, of which a strong Navy, Marine Navy League team will be serving a NATIONAL JUDGE ADVOCATE Corps, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine are No Dough Dinner again Sept. 26. Rockwell O’Sheill indispensable parts. ■ We support all Armed Services to the end ■ NATIONAL DEPUTY JUDGE ADVOCATES In celebration of the Centennial of that each may make its appropriate contribu- Robert B. Haemer tion to the national security. Naval Aviation, Rear Adm. Ted N. Rand R. Pixa ■ We know that in a free nation an informed Branch, commander Naval Air Force public is indispensable to national security NATIONAL CORPORATE SECRETARY and, therefore, we will strive to keep the Atlantic, spoke at a July 13 meeting Al Bernard nation alert to dangers which threaten — both from without and within. of the Williamsburg-Yorktown, Va., CHAIRMAN U.S. NAVAL SEA CADET CORPS ■ We favor appropriations for each of the Randy W. Hollstein Council at the U.S. Coast Guard Armed Services, adequate for national securi- ty, economically administered. Training Center in Yorktown. Branch PRESIDENT’S PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES addressed the current status of U.S. Cecil L. Blackwell ■ We oppose any usurpation of the EUROPEAN UNION Congress’s constitutional authority over the Armed Services. naval air forces, and how naval avia- Eva García tion will be evolving in the decades SPAIN ■ We urge that our country maintain world lead- T.B. McClelland ership in scientific research and development. ahead. A number of council mem- UNITED ARAB EMIRATES ■ We support industrial preparedness, plan- ning, production. bers who are former naval aviators NATIONAL CHAPLAIN ■ We support efforts of our government to Rabbi William Kloner were in attendance, including Perry achieve worldwide peace through international cooperation. Stone, Tom Flanary, Gerry Mauer, NATIONAL ASSISTANT CHAPLAIN ■ Capt. Herb Goetz, USN (Ret.) ■ We advocate a foreign policy which will Fred Gore and Stew Zink. avoid wars — if possible; if not, win them! NATIONAL HISTORIAN Send items for “Council Digest” to: James M. Semerad Peter Atkinson, Deputy Editor NATIONAL PARLIAMENTARIAN Seapower/Navy League News James H. Waller 2300 Wilson Blvd., Suite 200 Arlington, VA 22201-5424 E-mail: [email protected]

SEAPOWER / SEPTEMBER 2011 69 SeaPower Sept'11.QXD_Seapower Sept'11 8/17/11 5:23 PM Page 70

CORPORATE MEMBERS

The Navy League of the United States wishes to thank its Corporate Members for their generous support

Aydin Displays Inc. Kollmorgen Electro-Optical BCI Sensors CORPORATE GOLD Azonix Corporation Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace BecTech Inc. MEMBERS Babcock International Group, L-3 Fuzing & Ordnance Systems Blohm+Voss Naval Systems GmbH Marine Division-Integrated MBDA Inc. Burdeshaw Associates Ltd. Technology ATK, Alliant Techsystems Microsoft Corporation CALIBRE Ball Aerospace & Technologies MTU Detroit Diesel Inc. Campbell Ewald Company BAE Systems Corporation Navy Federal Credit Union CDI Government Services Barco Federal Systems LLC The Boeing Company NCS Technologies Inc. ClearanceJobs.com Barry Controls NISH Clement Communications Booz Allen Hamilton Battelle Memorial Institute Oceaneering Advanced Colonna’s Shipyard Inc. Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. Clarion Events Ltd. Technologies CPU Technology Inc. Bowhead Technical & Oracle USA Inc. Professional Services Inc. Crestwood Technology Group Crowley Maritime Orbit International Corporation CACI International Inc. Dayton T. Brown Corporation Orbital Sciences Corporation Caterpillar Inc. Delta Resources Inc. Panavision Federal Systems LLC Curtiss-Wright Flow Control Ceradyne Armor Systems Daisy Data Displays Inc. (PFS) Company CFM International Inc. Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Parvus Corporation Corporation Cincinnati Financial Corporation DRS Technologies Inc. Physical Optics Corporation DonRay Petroleum CMC Electronics, An Esterline Planet Solar Inc. GE Marine Company Drytech Inc. QinetiQ North America Cobham DES-M/A-COM Inc. FaceTime Communications RCT Systems General Atomics Computer Sciences Corporation Federal Defense Industries Inc. Retlif Testing Laboratories Electromagnetic Systems Concurrent Technologies Franklin Covey Government and Rocky Research Commercial Services General Dynamics Corporation Connected WorkPlace Solutions Rolls-Royce North America Eizo Nanao Technologies Inc. Corporation (CWPS) RSL Fiber Systems LLC EK Ekcessories Honeywell Converteam Inc. Ruggedcom Inc. Energy Technologies Inc. Deloitte Federal Saab International USA GET Engineering Corporation HP Enterprise Services Dresser-Rand SabTech Industries Herdt Consulting Inc. Huntington Ingalls Industries EADS North America SAFE Boats International Hontek Corporation EARL Integrated Power and SAIC Horizon Lines LLC L-3 Communications Controls Sanmina-SCI Corporation Hydrex LLC Lockheed Martin Eaton Corporation Schneider Electric IDC Fundraising Division of Harris Connect LLC Corporation Elbit Systems of America LLC SeaBotix Inc. The Embassy of Canada Selex Sistemi Integrati SpA JDR Marine Cables Maersk Line Limited EPS Corporation Sensis Corporation Johnson Controls Federal Systems Northrop Grumman Esterline Defense Technologies Serco Inc. Kvichak Marine Industries Inc. Group L-3 MariPro Corporation Shield Technologies Corporation Fairbanks Morse Engine Siemens Industry Inc. Maritime Applied Physics Corporation Pentagon Federal Credit Faircount Media Group Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation Maritime International Union Fincantieri Marine Group Software Engineering Institute– First Command Financial Services Carnegie Mellon University MECS Inc. Raytheon Company FLIR Systems Inc. Sparta Promotions Meggitt Defense Systems Rockwell Collins FN Manufacturing LLC Spincraft Mission Solutions Engineering The Freeman Companies Sprint Nextel National Shipbuilding Research Program Textron Marine and Land Frontier Electronic Systems Swann & Associates Inc. Neuro Logic Systems Systems Gallium Visual Systems Inc. TAPE LLC New World Case Inc. Gannett Government Media Telephonics Corporation O’Neil and Associates Corporation Thales North America Opal Soft Inc. CORPORATE MEMBERS GEICO Themis Computer Parker Aerospace General Digital Corporation Thrustmaster of Texas Inc. 3M Company The Potomac Advocates General Dynamics Bath Iron Works Tods Defence Limited 901 D Shock Tech Regis University General Dynamics Electric Boat Tulsa Welding Acquisition AAI Corporation Corporation Remmele Engineering Tyco Electronics ABS General Dynamics Information SCHOTT North America Inc. United Technologies Corporation Accenture Technology SeaBotix Inc. URS Access Intelligence LLC/ Gibbs & Cox Inc. Secure Communications Systems USAA Defense Daily Goodrich Corporation EPP Inc. Vericor Power Systems ACI Technologies Inc. Gulfstream Seiler Instrument & Manufacturing Agility Defense and Government Harris Corporation Vigor Industries Company Inc. Services Hatteland Display AS VSE Corporation Shipbuilders Council of America Alcoa Defense Hawker Beechcraft Corporation VT Group Solaire Generation Inc. Alenia North America IBM VT Halter Marine Inc. The Steelman Group Inc. Alion Science and Technology IHS Jane’s Wiley X Eyewear STWA Inc. American Maritime Partnership Industrial Electronic Engineers Inc. Wyle Super Radiator Coils American Superconductor Intergraph Solutions Group Taber Extrusions LLC Corporation Isolation Dynamics Corporation BUSINESS ASSOCIATE Tactronics Holdings LLC Ampex Data Systems Corporation ITT Defense Electronics and MEMBERS Technology Advancement Group Applied Research Laboratory, Services Inc. Pennsylvania State University J. Spargo & Associates Inc. Acumentrics Holdings Corporation Totem Ocean Trailer Express LLC A.T. Kearney Public Sector and ADS Inc. Defense Services LLC KATO Engineering Transportation Institute Agusta Westland North America AT&T Government Solutions Kearfott Corporation Motion Tyco Valves & Controls LP Systems Division ARINC ATI Defense Whitney Bradley & Brown Inc. Kilgore Flares Company LLC Atlas North America Austal USA LLC Zyvex Technologies KITCO Fiber Optics Avaya Government Solutions

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ADVERTISER INDEX

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SEAPOWER AMI International 59 Lockheed Martin Aeronautics 41 WWW.AMIINTER.COM WWW.LOCKHEEDMARTIN.COM/ THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE AERONAUTICS/ Boeing C4 NAVY LEAGUE OF THE UNITED STATES WWW.BOEING.COM Maersk Line, Limited 11 Volume 54, Number 9, September 2011 WWW.MAERSK.COM Dresser-Rand 25 PUBLISHER WWW.DRESSER-RAND.COM Modern Day Marine Show 53 Daniel B. Branch Jr. WWW.MARINEMILITARYEXPOS.COM DRS Technologies C2 ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER WWW.DRS.COM MTU 13 Dale A. Lumme WWW.MTU-ONLINE.COM FLIR Systems 27 DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING SALES WWW.FLIR.COM Panasonic 45 Charles A. Hull WWW.PANASONIC.COM General Dynamics C4 Systems 19 ADVERTISING HEADQUARTERS WWW.GDC4S.COM Raytheon 37 SEAPOWER Magazine WWW.RAYTHEON.COM 2300 Wilson Blvd., Suite 200 General Electric Marine Engine 5 Arlington, VA 22201-5424 WWW.GEAE.COM ThalesRaytheonSystems C3 WWW.THALESRAYTHEON.COM TEL: 703-528-2075 Huntington Ingalls Industries 29 WWW.HUNTINGTONINGALLS.COM ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES USAA 35 ■ EAST / EASTERN CANADA/MIDWEST Inventory Locator Service 63 WWW.USAA.COM Charles A. Hull WWW.ILSMART.COM Business Sales Solutions 6406 Brass Bucket Court, Suite 1 Lockheed Martin 2, 49 Laytonsville, MD 20882 WWW.LOCKHEEDMARTIN.COM TEL: 301-987-0632 FAX: 301-987-0403 E-MAIL: [email protected] Coming Up In SEAPOWER ■ WEST / WESTERN CANADA Diane Obright Blackrock Media SPECIAL FOCUS: AIR WARFARE & FLIGHT OPERATIONS 810 Val Sereno Drive Olivehain, CA 92024 Coverage will include: TEL: 858-759-3557 ■ Maritime Strike: Smart weapons adapted for mobile targets at sea. FAX: 858-759-3552 E-MAIL: [email protected] ■ Flight Deck Ops: New technology to manage aircraft on the deck

■ EUROPE of a carrier. Tony Kingham ■ 6 Rotherview Performance Report: The Fire Scout on USS Halyburton and in Church Lane Afghanistan. Etchingham E. Sussex TN 19, 7AS UK ■ Missile Defense: Future challenges for the Aegis BMD system. TEL: +44 1580 819605 FAX: +44 1580 819607 E-MAIL: tony.kingham@worldsecurity- ALSO IN OCTOBER index.com ■ Apprentice Training: Success at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. SUBSCRIPTION/CIRCULATION ■ The Seabees: An interview with Rear Adm. Mark A. Handley, com- TEL: 703-528-1775, ask for Membership FAX: 703-528-2333/800-356-5760 mander, First Naval Construction Division and Naval Construction E-MAIL: [email protected] Forces Command. NLUS HOMEPAGE: www.navyleague.org ■ Security Threats: Protecting the Navy-Marine Corps Intranet.

SEAPOWER (ISSN-0199-1337) is published monthly by the Navy League of the United States, 2300 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22201-5424. Subscription rates $58.00 per year; reduced to $25.00 for active-duty military personnel, schools and libraries; single copy $5.00; single copy Almanac issue $22.50. Foreign rates $145.00 air mail; single copy $14.00 (includes air mail postage); single copy Almanac issue $45.00. Annual $50.00 membership in the Navy League includes one year’s subscription to SEAPOWER. Periodical class postage paid at Arlington, Va., and additional mailing offices. Microfilm copies of SEAPOWER may be obtained from University Microfilms Inc., 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Station A, P.O. Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5 E-mail: [email protected] POSTMASTER: Send address changes to SEAPOWER Magazine, 2300 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22201-5424. SEAPOWER (ISSN-0199-1337). The Navy League of the United States is an independent, nonprofit, civilian educational organization. Statements contained herein have no official sanction or approval by the U.S. government. Classified by Library of Congress call number VA-49-N28. Copyright Navy League of the United States 2011. Reprinted by permission. Matter printed herein does not necessarily represent the opinion of the publisher. Magazine assumes no responsibility for unsolicited mate- rial. SEAPOWER invites letters to the editor, but cannot guarantee reply to same. Editors reserve the right to edit letters for style, accuracy and brevity. Letters must be signed to be considered for publication, but the writer’s name may be withheld upon request.

SEAPOWER / SEPTEMBER 2011 71 SeaPower Sept'11.QXD_Seapower Sept'11 8/17/11 5:23 PM Page 72

IN MY OWN WORDS

Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Andrew Newman Duty Section Leader Coast Guard Station Seattle

rescue (SAR) cases. I will never forget my first rescue case that I did by myself as a qualified coxswain. I was nervous and a little unsure of myself, because being charge of a SAR mis- sion was something that I had never experienced before. I used what I learned in boot camp and training. We rescued everyone and it was exhilarating. When we got back to port I felt like a million dollars. I am not surprised with how much I have enjoyed the Coast Guard, but at certain times in my career the Coast Guard has sur- prised me. For instance, I am sur- prised at where I am at today. I knew when I joined the service that

JOHN C. MARCARIO I would be in for a fun ride and I would have a lot of different experi- joined the Coast Guard because I wanted to save lives ences. I just didn’t know how many of them I would Iand give back to the community. My cousin, Travis, have, where I would go and what I would see. had been in the Coast Guard before me. He would always Being on Active, I was introduced to a number of differ- send pictures and tell me stories about his travels, but I ent places and I saw a lot of things in different parts of the never thought about joining. Finally, when I was 19, I world. I have also responded to a number of SAR cases. In thought about joining the military but I didn’t like the 2009, while aboard Active, we rescued a pair of people idea of going to fight in the war and being that far away from a burning boat near Long Beach, Wash. It was named from home. So I decided to join the Coast Guard. one of the top 10 Coast Guard rescues that year. Since graduating from boot camp, I’ve held various The main lesson the service has taught me is to serve boatswain’s mate positions at Boothbay Harbor, Maine, your country and community and have respect for others. a small boats station; aboard the Coast Guard 210-foot Just being able to help out the public and seeing the Medium-Endurance Cutter Active; Station Port responses that I’ve gotten from people, from saving those Angeles in Oregon; and now, at my current stop, Coast lives, gives me satisfaction and fulfillment in my life. If I Guard Station Seattle. were to get out of the Coast Guard tomorrow, I will always My time in Maine really gave me a good idea of how to have that and I can always say to myself that I contributed. work in heavy weather conditions and interact with the I am definitely who I am today because of the Coast public, because we went on a number of search-and- Guard. ■

“Being able to help out the public and seeing the responses that I’ve gotten

from people, from saving those lives, gives me satisfaction and fulfillment in

my life. If I were to get out of the Coast Guard tomorrow, I will always have

that and I can always say to myself that I contributed.”

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