President’s Message

January 2009: Hulls in the Water

By J. MICHAEL McGRATH, National President

It is my pleasure to present the 2009 Almanac, in which you will find all of the ships, aircraft, weapons and C4ISR and unmanned systems used by our sea services to prosecute their missions — in peacetime and in war — and maintain freedom of navigation around the world.
However, as impressive as these assets are, the protracted conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the global war on terrorism, the economic recession and the resurgence of other maritime nations puts our own maritime superiority in jeopardy.

To maintain that superiority, the United States must have sufficient sea-going assets to provide forward presence, to project force, to have the capability to react wherever and whenever needed. Control of the seas is critical to the U.S. economy, world trade and this nation’s lead role in protecting democratic freedoms globally.

The Navy is in nearly every theater of the world, in peaceful engagements and in combat. Time and again, the service has demonstrated its versatility and adaptability in rendering humanitarian aid and assistance, serving as a steadfast partner with friendly nations and allies both in training and in combat. Now, budget constraints and the cost of maintaining such a high operational tempo have stressed the fleet to the point where, for example, the Navy faces a combat aircraft shortage and a 33-month period beginning in 2012 when the carrier force will be reduced from 11 to 10. Such capability gaps make it even more difficult for the service to maintain a high state of readiness.

Our Marine Corps, traditionally an expeditionary fighting force, has grown armor-heavy in its prolonged role as a second land force. Most of the enlisted Marines today have never served aboard ship. The acquisition of the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, the F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter and amphibious ships are key to the Corps’ future mobility, flexibility and fighting effectiveness as it returns to its expeditionary roots.

The Coast Guard is tackling an ever-increasing range of missions with ships that are more than 40 years old. In 2007, the service spent $76 million on unanticipated repairs to cutters and aircraft. With limited funds and personnel, this national guardian, in the very near future, will face challenges that include coastal development in the United States, an increase in global commercial maritime activity and heightened global interest in the Arctic, in addition to threats such as terrorism, human smuggling, drug trafficking and piracy.

On the commercial side, the United States’ need for reliable and efficient marine transportation continues to grow even as the pool of skilled U.S. mariners is shrinking. U.S.-flagged and government-owned vessels play a significant, indispensable role in strategic sealift for military operations. We need a variety of Navy and commercial vessels, in-stream cargo-handling systems and high-speed connector vessels to support sea bases, Global Fleet Stations and expeditionary and humanitarian assistance operations around the world. And we need U.S. mariners to operate and support them.

The quality of our new ships, submarines, weapons, communications and other systems has never been better, but funding constraints prohibit the acquisition of these assets in sufficient numbers.

The demand continues to rise. The threats and challenges faced by our sea services continue to become more complex and demanding. We cannot have maritime superiority without global presence, and we cannot have national security without maritime superiority.

One Mission — One Team