Medical Care made In planning for the future, we have made a commitment to ensure the continuing well-being of Navy medicine, realizing full well that it directly affects not only our active duty forces and their medical readiness, but also the entire community of retirees and families of active duty personnel. As manpower and force structure have been reduced in the current budget, we a deliberate decision to protect funding for Navy medical personnel and programs, in order to maintain and improve medical care for our people and their families. This is a critical readiness and quality of life issue that must remain in the forefront of future planning, as it is inextricably linked to our ability to quickly respond to contingencies such as Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, our retention goals, and overall fleet readiness. Our funding plans for the future focus on several key areas of health care and aim to carefully balance direct care, CHAMPUS, managed care, and coordinated health care alternatives. We will continue to invest in the efficiencies and benefits resulting from the Medical Blue Ribbon Panel initiatives. We have increased CHAMPUS funding levels in both FY92 and FY93 (although costs will continue to rise) while incorporating projected savings from contracting, partnership agreements and the CHAMPUS Reform Initiative. We continue to explore innovative ways to use the flexibility granted by Congress to implement effective strategies for ensuring access to health care services while minimizing the use of CHAMPUS. Environment Environmental Awareness As we witness a marked upsurge in environmental awareness in society as a whole, we in the Navy are committed to protecting our fragile environment, particularly in the delicate coastal and intertidal zones. Although naval forces usually operate in the open oceans, our bases, maintenance facilities, and near-shore operating areas give us a very large and prominent presence in the coastal zones of the United States and throughout the world. Accordingly, we are continuing with a variety of programs that not only foster a heightened awareness of environmental concerns within our forces and create a sense of environmental stewardship which pervades the entire chain of command. Some of our ongoing programs that have had significant positive impact in our day-today operations, both afloat and ashore, include: intensive management of hazardous material, minimization of hazardous waste, restoration of existing hazardous waste disposal sites, reduction of plastics disposal at sea, conservation and eventual elimination of ozone depleting substances, and strict adherence to laws governing the discharge of oily wastes and atmospheric pollutants. The Navy is committed to a strong and active participation in environmental compliance. Base Closures and Reductions As the size of the Navy is reduced, it is essential that we have a corresponding decrease in the size of our supporting infrastructure. A separate list of recommended shore infrastructure adjustments will be submitted by the Secretary of Defense. This list will contain base closure recommendations and realignments driven by changes in the force structure. The configuration of our future infrastructure will be significantly less than it is today, and will be designed to enable us to efficiently perform our mission. Until we obtain final approval to reconfigure our shore infrastructure, we intend to adequately fund the operations and maintenance of our bases in FY92. PILLARS The FY92-93 budget has been built upon a comprehensive framework supported by the four principal budget pillars, shown here accompanied by their percent share of the budget. As a result of the continuing decline in fiscal resources in consonance with a smaller force structure, the FY92 budget reflects a decrease in funding for both Force Structure and Sustainability. Modernization and Readiness show proportionate increases, which is consistent with our goal of keeping forces capable even while we necessarily reduce our numbers. A brief review of the primary elements contained within each of the four pillars follows. Force Structure The Force Structure pillar includes ship procurement, aircraft procurement, and new mission military construction. For 43-346-91 - 13 FY92-93, force structure experienced a decrease in funding of $19 billion from the FY91 President's Budget, a 7 percent drop in share of Navy TOA. The aviation program reflects the immediate loss of the P-7, A-12, and F-14 remanufacture programs. While we can survive a short-term reduction in aviation funding, sufficient funding over the long haul is a critical factor in ensuring the viability of a carrier-based tactical air capability into the next century. FY92 capital investment in shipbuilding is considerably less robust than in previous years, reflecting current lower budget levels. Readiness The Readiness pillar supports the daily operations of our active forces, and includes: fuel and spares; military and civilian pay; ordnance consumption; depot maintenance of ships, aircraft, and ordnance; training; and medical services. Although this pillar decreases by $4.7 billion in FY92-93 from the FY91 President's Budget, its overall share of Navy TOA increases by 7 percent. This increase is consistent with our goal of adequately funding and training our forces to prevent a "hollow" force structure. These readiness levels are absolutely critical in view of the forward deployed and expeditionary character of the majority of our naval forces. The response of naval forces to Desert Shield and Desert Storm clearly reflects the continued high premium that we place on readiness. However, because of the requirement to deploy ships quickly to the Persian Gulf, some sailed before the completion of scheduled maintenance and extended maintenance on others was deferred. This backlog will need to be completed after the conclusion of Operation Desert Storm. Sustainability The Sustainability pillar supports the Navy's ability to sustain wartime operations and focuses primarily on ordnance procurement and the Naval Reserve Force. This area has experienced a $5 billion decrease in FY92-93 from the FY91 President's Budget and a 1 percent decrease in share of Navy TOA. Even though ordnance investment is decreasing, current procurement will provide inventories which are sufficient to support projected future maritime contingencies. Procurement of ordnance designed to counter the Soviet threat has been restructured and procurement strategies refocused to sustain the requirements of regional conflict scenarios. In the case of those weapons which have projected inventories not yet sufficient to completely support regional conflicts, the planned procurement will either result in increased sustainability or, by keeping a warm production line open, ensure that weapon production can be ramped up to meet future uncertainties. As Operation Desert Storm unfolds, the sustainability budget contains the most uncertainty and potential for growth. To maintain our existing warfighting advantages, the large expenditures of land attack ordnance, including TLAM, HARM and precision standoff weapons will, as a minimum, have to be replaced. The Modernization pillar contains improvements in the military capability and effectiveness of our existing forces, including aircraft modifications, ship modifications, ordnance modifications, and research and development. As with the other pillars, Modernization has been decreased by $3.8 billion in FY92-93 from the FY91 President's Budget. Even though modernization increased by 1 percent as a percentage of Navy TOA, the substantial cuts in our investment in modernization for surface ships, submarines, and aircraft will cut into programs aimed at augmenting the major warfighting capabilities of these platforms. A Balanced and Flexible Force The smaller U.S. Navy described in the FY92-93 budget provides an appropriate sea-based strategic deterrent against any current or potential nuclear threat to our country, as well as a realistic hedge against a global threat to our national interests. It also provides: The capability to maintain tailored naval task groups on station for stability operations and ready crisis response in several theaters of strategic importance. The capability to respond promptly with appropriate The capability to surge forces as the forward/enabling elements of a joint task force for a regional conflict. o The capability to sustain appropriate naval forces in a regional conflict while continuing limited stability operations elsewhere but only through major departure from preferred deployment/rotation policies. o A base for mobilization and reconstitution of naval The CHAIRMAN. General Gray. STATEMENT OF GEN. ALFRED M. GRAY, JR., COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS General GRAY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As always, it is a privilege to appear before this committee. Our report has been submitted to you, and we request it be entered in the record. Very briefly, our report to you says that your Corps of Marines and sailors that serve in our command are, quite simply put, doing what must be done around the globe. We believe it is safe to say that everything that we have said to you in the past, be it posture statements, answers to your many thoughts and questions, or doctrine, is being executed exactly as we have said. Today around the globe, although we are focused on Southwest Asia, the Persian Gulf, Operation Desert Storm, we continue to meet our other commitments. We have air-ground logistics teams in the Philippines providing stability, providing security, and humanitarian assistance and the like. We stand poised and ready in Northeast Asia with our forces in Okinawa. We remain committed with several hundred warriors in Central and South America in counter-narcotics operations. Indeed, we have not stepped back from any one of those commitments and have picked up some others because apparently our colleagues in the armed services are busy today. We have 5000 warriors afloat in the Mediterranean, and of course over 90,000 in Operation Desert Storm. The report points out to you that our Total Force of active and Selected Marine Corps Reserve capability functions very well. You can see it, feel it, touch it, and use it. It also points out that we have some concerns. We are concerned about our force structure, particularly end strengths and our ability to carry out the missions and tasks assigned by this distinguished group many years ago in the 82nd Congress. It points out your concerns about amphibious lift and reminds us that it is the amphibious lift and the warriors that go with it that provide our great Nation its sustainable forcible entry capability. It addresses sealift and the need for what we believe is careful thought regarding this question. It would be in my judgment extraordinarily important to get the right kind of force for the right reason and not the other way around. It also points out your Commandant's concerns with respect to aircraft modernization, particularly underscoring the need to replace our CH-46E and our CH-53A/D medium helicopters with an advanced capability. We are, in your Commandant's judgment, at the point of decision. We cannot put this decision off any longer, or your warriors will not be able to come from the sea by means of vertical envelopment. It points out, as all of my colleagues in the armed forces have stated, that our most precious resource remains those soldiers, sailors, airmen, Coast Guard men, and your marines that we are privileged to serve with. Whatever we do in the streamlining of our |