(1) amphibious ships;

(2) tactical unmanned aerial vehicles; and (3) organic mine warfare.

I will not repeat anything that Mr. Gerry just said. In about a year, with the commissioning and the completion of LHD-7, the Navy will be able to fulfill its requirements of the Quadrennial Defense Review of maintaining 12 Amphibious Ready Groups.

About two years after that event, the LPD-17 will be introduced to the Navy. The LPD-17 is truly a combatant. It has war fighting capabilities and quality of life enhancements that have not previously been incorporated in amphibious ships.

As you all know, our Amphibious Ready Groups are a major contributor to the Navy's strategy Forward From the Sea, and are critical to supporting the Marine's strategy, Operation Maneuver From the Sea.

With those 12 Amphibious Ready Groups made up of LHDs, LPD-17s, and LSD-41, 49 class ships, we will have by far the most combat capable amphibious Force that this Country has ever seen.

Now, I am proud to report to you today that in the near future, due to your strong support and direction, we are going to introduce a new system into the Naval inventory; the tactical vertical takeoff and landing, unmanned aerial vehicle.

Just last spring, again, due to your strong support, we were able to conduct demonstration trials in Yuma, Arizona. This summer, once again, due to your strong support, we will conduct ship-board demonstrations.

The tactical UAV I am talking about is very different from the pioneer UAV. This tactical UAV will have the capability of taking off and landing from every air capable platform in the Navy.

This Unmanned Aerial Vehicle will support the Battle Group Commanders, the Amphibious Ready Groups, as well as the Marines ashore. This UAV is also critical to Force protection.

As you have already heard from Mr. Gerry about mine warfare, let me just say that organic mine warfare is critical to the protection of our Forces and critical of our ability to respond expeditiously to a crisis.

Once again, thanks to your strong support the fiscal year 2000 President's budget has afforded us the opportunity to accelerate the development of the systems that make up organic mine warfare.

In just a few short years, we will field this capability for all our Battle Groups and Amphibious Ready Groups. Expeditionary warfare in today's chaotic world is relevant in my opinion.

I believe we have been and I also we will continue to be the force of choice in response to the global crisis. I firmly believe that in expeditionary warfare, we are heading in the right direction with the current and future amphibious ships, with the addition of a tactical UAV, and with the addition of our organic mine warfare capability, we will add to our ability to project power and provide the necessary protection for our Naval Forces.

I would like to thank the Subcommittee for your continued support, your continued interest, and your sincere concern for our Sailors and Marines. Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, I stand ready to answer your questions.

[The prepared statement of General Krupp can be found in the Appendix on page 291.]

Mr. HUNTER. Thank you General Krupp. General Huly.

STATEMENT OF BRIG. GEN. JAN C. HULY, ASSISTANT DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF FOR PLANS, POLICY, AND OPERATIONS, HEADQUARTERS, U.S. MARINE CORPS

General HULY. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, Congressman Sisisky, and members of the Subcommittee. I am Brigadier General Jan Huly. I am the Director of Operations at Headquarters Marine Corps.

I want to thank you for this opportunity to appear before you today. This Subcommittee has always been very supportive of the Marine Corps. We look forward to working with you in the future.

In preparing for this topic, I had to ponder just what littoral warfare protection meant to me as a Marine. I concluded with the following workable definition. It is providing a Force with a secure environment, and the necessary means to perform its mission successfully and efficiently.

Today, Marines are operating in the littorals successfully and efficiently. In my current assignment, I coordinate and monitor their operations throughout the world. I also monitor our total Forces operational readiness.

I can report to you that your Forward Deployed Forces today are ready. They are out there doing what they are supposed to do in the manner in which you expect Marines to do it.

This operational readiness comes at a price. As the Commandant of the Marine Corps has previously reported, and by my own observations, this expense of readiness is at the cost of modernization, facility infrastructure, and our quality of life.

Our current budget proposals have gone a long way in taking the first critical steps in solving some of our most pressing needs.

However, without sustained funding support, I see that these problems will manifest themselves in a decline in our future readiness, in the vulnerability of the security of our Forces, in the ability of our bases to support our Forward Deployed Units, and in the overall capability of our forces to influence world events favorable to our Nation's interest.

We, in the Marine Corps, continue to work with the other Services, the Department of Defense, and Congress to overcome these problems. We look forward to any support you can offer us in the future.

We are also looking forward to how we will conduct warfare in the 21st Century. As has been previously mentioned, the Marine Corps convened the Operational Maneuver From the Sea Working Group down at Quantico, Virginia to study how we are going to operate in a littorals 20 years from now. I was honored to be a member of the Executive Steering Committee of that group.

By no means did we answer all of the questions or the concerns of the future. We did develop a vision of where we need to go to be successful and to save lives.

While the group's efforts and the Marine Corps' analysis of them are not yet complete, I can report to you that we will need help.

First off, we are going to continue to need the help, cooperation of the United States Navy in getting us there. We are also going to need your support in making this vision a reality.

Some specifics I noted; having basic, adequate sealift, whether it is amphibious ships, maritime pre-position ships, or the littoral to get us ashore are always of concern to Marines.

Being able to clear zones of the enemy, through either naval surface fires or eliminating his mines and obstacles, are also a high priority to me.

Having the proper communication and information systems for the adequate command and control, up-to-date doctrine, modern equipment are all going to be a necessity.

Further, we will need to explore and develop new technologies to support and sustain our operational basis from the sea. Where these things all might be out in the future, the research, development, and the funding for them begins now.

In summary, successful and efficient execution from the sea by properly trained, equipped, and manned Marine Corps organization will be the best protection for our Forward Deployed Forces in the littorals.

Mr. Chairman, I greatly appreciate your concern and your assistance. I look forward to the opportunity to answer any questions you may have.

[The prepared statement of General Huly can be found in the Appendix on page 304.]

Mr. HUNTER. Thank you very much, General Huly.

Norm.

Mr. SISISKY. I guess we learned most of our problems from Desert Storm; fighting in the body of water like we had to do. Are you convinced that we are prepared now to do it again or are we talking about in the future?

You heard the Chairman in his opening remarks that the Navy has been very well on research and development, but the problem is production. Can we expect production shortly? Do we have enough money in the budget to do that?

Any one of you may answer. Mr. Secretary Gerry.

Secretary GERRY. Šir, I believe the picture we paint today is far different than the picture back during Desert Storm and shortly thereafter.

I think from a dedicated point of view, as well as the organic vision I spoke to that we have marched out smartly as far as addressing the problem areas that we encountered during Desert Storm.

As you say, I guess it is a matter of putting your money where your mouth is. We are doing that. We have fully-funded the organic capability that we have talked about. We are maintaining the dedicated capability.

In addition, I think since Desert Storm you will see that we have done quite well as far as we have deployed 20 of our 26 clearance and hunter ships.

In the 1995-1996 time frame, we deployed the Inchon, the command and support ship. We also, of late, have through the CNO I think a very good fleet engagement strategy for the mine warfare effort.

As I said, resource-wise we are putting $700 million additional dollars. Secretary Cohen, just this past month and a half, put $315 million addition, outside of our budget. I think from the organic point of view, we are definitely funding the systems as best we can.

I think we are looking in that particular area, any additional resources are not required at this time. It is more of a technological limitation that we are facing.

Mr. SISISKY. Is your radar capability all right?

Admiral MULLEN. From the ship's standpoint, sir?

It was in Desert Storm that, that issue, the radar in the littoral, really became evident to us. We have investments in place to improve that.

Just speaking from my most recent experience in the Gulf, that is still a challenge. In fact, it is the follow on spy upgrade radar, which will start to be able to really deal with that at the interface, if you will, of the sea and of the land.

When you asked if we could do it again, we have, and again pulling from my most recent experience and speaking from the surface combatant standpoint, we have remarkably capable ships. As the Chairman pointed out in his statement, newer ships, clearly from an ability with the Tomahawk Weapons System to strike, which has been used.

We are pressed right now, from the standpoint of sustaining the operations and the CNO has said that. I think we would be in a Desert Storm scenario as well. From a capability standpoint, for what is required against a threat right now, I think we are in pretty good shape.

Mr. SISISKY. How about the defensive system on small patrol boats? Have you been able to overcome that problem?

Admiral MULLEN. Is this in reference to the-kind of problem or smaller than that?

Mr. SISISKY. Small patrol boats that happen to be somewhereAdmiral MULLEN. Defending from them?

Mr. SISISKY. Yes.

Admiral MULLEN. Yes, sir. We have in fact invested in and are testing now a surface mode in the Rolling Air Frame Missile, which is the long-term answer to that threat.

We have also upgraded the Close End Weapons System on a small number of our frigates and given it a surface mode. The longterm answer to that is the Rolling Air Frame Missile and its upgrade in the surface mode.

Mr. SISISKY. Thank you.

Mr. HUNTER. Thank you Mr. Sisisky.

Let me ask you, Admiral, to tell us a little bit about the two mines that hit did achieve a mission kill against the Aegis during Desert Storm.

Was that a result of an inadequacy of material, personnel failure, or a combination? What does the ongoing program do that will prevent that from happening again? How did you look at that?

Admiral MULLEN. Going back to my most recent experience in the Gulf, and as I said in my statement, the mines, missiles, and submarines is of great concern to me as a Battle Group Commander.

Mr. HUNTER. I mean, we all agree it is a great concern.

The question is are we doing anything substantively to keep that from happening or is the program just kind of moving ahead and we can expect we will are going to take a few hits when it happens?

Admiral MULLEN. No, sir. I do not think we can expect to take a few hits. Clearly, what occurred in Desert Storm was not acceptable. It is the investment.

I would ask General Krupp, who is responsible for that, to speak to the specifics. I am following closely this investment to ensure that we are not in a position to have it recur again.

Mr. HUNTER. Let me rephrase it a little different way.

Did those hits that the mines gave us, did those fall into a category of what you would call expected battlefield casualties or were they a result of serious mistakes on our part that in the general scheme of operations should not recur? Do you see what I am asking you?

Admiral MULLEN. It is a very challenging threat. It is low tech and that is why the investment.

Mr. HUNTER. Was there any major operational mistake that lead to that happening? Secretary Gary if you want to jump in here.

Secretary GERRY. I think the Princeton did not have the capabilities as far as mine reconnaissance, detection, and identification classification. That is precisely what our organic vision, our organic systems will do in the future.

Mr. HUNTER. So, the Princeton did not have any organic capability.

Secretary GERRY. The Princeton did not have that capability.

Mr. HUNTER. Was a capability attached to the Princeton from an external unit? In other words, who was in or what was in charge of protecting Princeton from that occurring? Obviously, we had a plan.

Secretary GERRY. I would have to honestly take that for the record because I do not know by name. There was a Commander in the Gulf at the time who was clearly responsible for that theater of operations.

Basically, the only system that we had at that time was what we called the Mark-1 Big Eyes, which is binoculars, and the Eyeballs. Since that time, I think we have made tremendous progress as far as we know the areas of our interest.

We have oceanographic surveys that are being conducted on a daily basis that basically chart or map out the bottom of the ocean. In addition, we have Forward Deployed two ships to the Persian Gulf.

As we speak, we have four MH-53 helicopters are airborne, or current airborne dedicated capability, on their way. Ships are operating daily in the training environment. We have two ships Forward Deployed in Japan.

So, I think we have taken some very serious steps to make certain that what happened to the Princeton does not happen again. Mr. HUNTER. You talked about this organic capability that is coming on. When is it supposed to be here?

Secretary GERRY. The organic capability consist of four or five airborne sensors, one surface sensor, and one sub-surface sensor.