By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 18, 2007 - Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. William J. Crowe died early today at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. He was 82. Crowe served as chairman from 1985 to 1989 under presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
His Navy career spanned the entirety of the Cold War, from his entry to the service following graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1946 to his retirement as the highest-ranking officer in the military in 1989 as the Soviet Union began to crumble.
"Every man and woman of the U.S. military joins me in mourning the death of retired Admiral William Crowe, Vietnam and Cold War veteran and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff," said Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, the current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "We extend humbly to his family our thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies in their time of grief and sorrow.
"As we mourn his passing, so too should we reflect on his contributions to our national security -- of the thousands of lives he guided, the careers he mentored, the difference he made simply by virtue of his leadership," Mullen continued. "We are a stronger, more capable military today in large part because of his efforts to make us so. We would all do well to remember that and to never forget the remarkable legacy of this truly humble, truly noble man."
The Soviet Union and terrorism dominated Crowe's tenure as chairman. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev introduced perestroika and glasnost – literally, "restructuring" and "openness" -- to his nation. Gorbachev meant for the policies to strengthen the Soviet Union and make the country economically competitive with the West.
The openness that Gorbachev wanted included military relations. Crowe was at the epicenter of these changes. The admiral hosted Marshal of the Soviet Union Sergei Akhromeyev during a visit to the Pentagon in 1987. Akhromeyev, the chief of the Soviet General Staff, even attended a meeting with the Joint Chiefs in "The Tank," the secure room the chiefs use to discuss military matters.
The admiral also confronted the plague of terrorism. Palestinian terrorists were active, with the most famous terrorist act being the hijacking of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro in 1985. Navy fighters intercepted an Egyptian airliner flying the terrorists to safety and forced the plane to land in Sicily, where Italian authorities took the men into custody.
In addition, Crowe confronted the threat posed by Libya's Muammar Qadhafi. The state sponsored terrorism and proclaimed a "Line of Death" in the Mediterranean's Gulf of Sidra. On April 5, 1986, the oil-rich nation sponsored terrorists who bombed a disco in West Berlin, killing two soldiers and a Turkish woman. Ten days later, U.S. Air Force and Navy aircraft attacked military targets in Tripoli and Benghazi.
The admiral was a devotee of the TV show "Cheers," and played himself in a short appearance on the hit show.
A career submariner, Crowe was born in Kentucky and grew up in Oklahoma City. Following graduation from the Naval Academy, he served aboard the USS Carmick, USS Flying Fish and USS Clamagore. He was executive officer of the USS Wahoo and commanded the USS Trout from 1960 to 1962.
At 44, Crowe volunteered to serve in Vietnam as the senior advisor to the South Vietnamese Riverine Force from 1970 to 1971.
Crowe became a rear admiral in 1973 and held a number of staff jobs in the Pentagon before becoming the commander of the Middle East Force in Bahrain in 1976. After pinning on his fourth star, Crowe commanded Allied Forces Southern Europe from 1980 to 1983 and then served as commander in chief of U.S. Pacific Command in 1983.
Crowe was the first chairman to serve under the Goldwater-Nichols Defense Department Reorganization Act of 1986. The act made the chairman the principal military advisor to the president, defense secretary and the rest of the National Security Council.
Along the way, Crowe received a master's degree from Stanford University and a doctorate from Princeton.
After his retirement, the admiral served as U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom and on the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. The admiral taught political science at the Naval Academy. His book "The Line of Fire" was a memoir of his time in the military.
He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Shirley, his daughter, Bambi, and his sons, Brent and Blake.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Odierno Calls on Safety Team to Help Cut Non-Hostile Fatalities
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 18, 2007 - An Army safety team soon will wrap up its month-long analysis conducted at the Multinational Corps Iraq commander's request to find ways to stop the recent uptick in non-combat injuries and fatalities among deployed troops. A team from the Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center left its Fort Rucker, Ala., headquarters Sept. 29 at the bidding of Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno to get to the bottom of the problem. It is expected to return Oct. 21.
At issue is the increase in deaths and injuries unrelated to combat. Non-combat deaths began climbing in July and increased each month through September. The Defense Department reported 12 non-combat and 66 combat fatalities in July, 29 non-combat and 55 combat deaths in August, and 23 non-combat and 42 combat deaths in September.
The vast majority of fatalities were in the Army, which reported 27 non-combat deaths in August and 21 in September.
Seven soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team "Falcon Brigade" were killed Sept. 10 in western Baghdad when their 5-ton truck overturned. The wreck, which occurred as the unit was returning from a raid, left 10 soldiers injured. The accident is under investigation, but officials said it occurred when a tire blew out.
Fourteen soldiers died in an Aug. 22 Black Hawk helicopter crash during night operations in Multaka, killing all aboard. Four of the troops were assigned to the Fort Lewis, Wash.-based 4th Squadron, 6th U.S. Air Cavalry Regiment, and 10 were from the 25th Infantry Division's 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, based at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Officials said a mechanical malfunction is the likely cause of the crash.
Ground commanders in Iraq are "very focused" on the problem and have asked for help, Army Lt. Gen. Carter F. Ham, the Joint Staff's operations director, told Pentagon reporters Oct. 16. "Safety is paramount and is a very, very high priority," he said.
He noted that with the surge still in effect in Iraq and troop numbers up, it's understandable that non-battle casualties might increase. He emphasized, however, that "even one non-battle casualty is one too many."
Officials at the Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center call "leader engagement" vital to raising safety awareness and reducing accident rates. By identifying the problem and calling in safety experts for assistance, Odierno already has increased awareness throughout the theater, center spokeswoman Kelly Widener said.
"The MNCI command's initiative and the actions to address safety demonstrate the commitment the Army has to protect its soldiers and formations from accidental loss," Widener said. "The chain of command noted the recent trend and is actively engaging to address the situation and reverse the trend."
In Iraq, the six-person safety team is collecting and analyzing information about accidents, not losses due to suicide, medical, criminal or other factors. Army Brig. Gen. William H. Forrester, commander of the Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center and Army safety director, joined the team Oct. 14 to review the team's ongoing efforts and confer with commanders before briefing the Multinational Corps Iraq command group, Widener said.
He is expected to provide the team's detailed analysis and recommend ways to stop deaths and injuries related to accidents "proactively and aggressively," she said.
Non-hostile deaths have long been a problem for the military, both in peacetime and war. Especially during wartime, increased training and combat preparation pose additional risk, Widener noted.
"However, it is one of the Army's top priorities to minimize that loss and learn from past trends," she said. "Engaged leaders, awareness of best safety practices, accident trend recognition, and valuable safety tools ... will fight against this accident loss and increased exposure."
Trends point to factors that often contribute to non-combat-related accidents. In Army aviation, it's frequently aircrews' assumption that a mission is low-risk, coordination failures, or overconfidence, Widener reported. Ground losses commonly result from vehicle accidents, sports injuries, maintenance operations and weapons handling.
The military has introduced a wide variety of safety tools and initiatives to help increase safety awareness and reduce accidents, Widener noted.
The Commanders Aviation Risk Tool, for example, is an automated risk-management tool used in mission planning to assess each aviation mission's risk.
Several tools focus on reducing ground accidents. Among them is the Humvee Egress Assistance Trainer, developed to reduce deaths from vehicle rollovers; improved emergency procedures in the event of a rollover; a driver's training toolbox; and a pamphlet on safe weapons handling. Videos, newsletter, posters, magazines and other materials constantly reinforce the safety message, Widener said.
In addition, Army Materiel Command continually enhances military equipment to make it safer for troops, officials said. Among its initiatives are improved restraint systems, communication systems, fire-suppression systems and personal protective equipment, Widener said.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 18, 2007 - An Army safety team soon will wrap up its month-long analysis conducted at the Multinational Corps Iraq commander's request to find ways to stop the recent uptick in non-combat injuries and fatalities among deployed troops. A team from the Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center left its Fort Rucker, Ala., headquarters Sept. 29 at the bidding of Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno to get to the bottom of the problem. It is expected to return Oct. 21.
At issue is the increase in deaths and injuries unrelated to combat. Non-combat deaths began climbing in July and increased each month through September. The Defense Department reported 12 non-combat and 66 combat fatalities in July, 29 non-combat and 55 combat deaths in August, and 23 non-combat and 42 combat deaths in September.
The vast majority of fatalities were in the Army, which reported 27 non-combat deaths in August and 21 in September.
Seven soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team "Falcon Brigade" were killed Sept. 10 in western Baghdad when their 5-ton truck overturned. The wreck, which occurred as the unit was returning from a raid, left 10 soldiers injured. The accident is under investigation, but officials said it occurred when a tire blew out.
Fourteen soldiers died in an Aug. 22 Black Hawk helicopter crash during night operations in Multaka, killing all aboard. Four of the troops were assigned to the Fort Lewis, Wash.-based 4th Squadron, 6th U.S. Air Cavalry Regiment, and 10 were from the 25th Infantry Division's 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, based at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Officials said a mechanical malfunction is the likely cause of the crash.
Ground commanders in Iraq are "very focused" on the problem and have asked for help, Army Lt. Gen. Carter F. Ham, the Joint Staff's operations director, told Pentagon reporters Oct. 16. "Safety is paramount and is a very, very high priority," he said.
He noted that with the surge still in effect in Iraq and troop numbers up, it's understandable that non-battle casualties might increase. He emphasized, however, that "even one non-battle casualty is one too many."
Officials at the Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center call "leader engagement" vital to raising safety awareness and reducing accident rates. By identifying the problem and calling in safety experts for assistance, Odierno already has increased awareness throughout the theater, center spokeswoman Kelly Widener said.
"The MNCI command's initiative and the actions to address safety demonstrate the commitment the Army has to protect its soldiers and formations from accidental loss," Widener said. "The chain of command noted the recent trend and is actively engaging to address the situation and reverse the trend."
In Iraq, the six-person safety team is collecting and analyzing information about accidents, not losses due to suicide, medical, criminal or other factors. Army Brig. Gen. William H. Forrester, commander of the Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center and Army safety director, joined the team Oct. 14 to review the team's ongoing efforts and confer with commanders before briefing the Multinational Corps Iraq command group, Widener said.
He is expected to provide the team's detailed analysis and recommend ways to stop deaths and injuries related to accidents "proactively and aggressively," she said.
Non-hostile deaths have long been a problem for the military, both in peacetime and war. Especially during wartime, increased training and combat preparation pose additional risk, Widener noted.
"However, it is one of the Army's top priorities to minimize that loss and learn from past trends," she said. "Engaged leaders, awareness of best safety practices, accident trend recognition, and valuable safety tools ... will fight against this accident loss and increased exposure."
Trends point to factors that often contribute to non-combat-related accidents. In Army aviation, it's frequently aircrews' assumption that a mission is low-risk, coordination failures, or overconfidence, Widener reported. Ground losses commonly result from vehicle accidents, sports injuries, maintenance operations and weapons handling.
The military has introduced a wide variety of safety tools and initiatives to help increase safety awareness and reduce accidents, Widener noted.
The Commanders Aviation Risk Tool, for example, is an automated risk-management tool used in mission planning to assess each aviation mission's risk.
Several tools focus on reducing ground accidents. Among them is the Humvee Egress Assistance Trainer, developed to reduce deaths from vehicle rollovers; improved emergency procedures in the event of a rollover; a driver's training toolbox; and a pamphlet on safe weapons handling. Videos, newsletter, posters, magazines and other materials constantly reinforce the safety message, Widener said.
In addition, Army Materiel Command continually enhances military equipment to make it safer for troops, officials said. Among its initiatives are improved restraint systems, communication systems, fire-suppression systems and personal protective equipment, Widener said.
Doonesbury Creator, Military Bloggers Compile New Book
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 18, 2007 - War can inspire great writing, like a series of superlative dispatches from servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan compiled in a new book that offers an arresting glimpse of life on the front lines. Conceived by Garry Trudeau, creator of the long-running, satirical comic strip Doonesbury, "The Sandbox" is a 309-page compilation of roughly 90 online journal entries penned by scores of the military's most talented scribes.
"In fascinating and compelling posts, soldiers write passionately, eloquently and movingly of their day-to-day lives, of their mission, and of the drama that unfolds daily around them," Trudeau said during an interview at the Pentagon yesterday.
"In the military they call it 'hotwash,' I understand; this kind of downloading, debriefing of experiences right after they happen," he said. "It's the kind of first-person journalism that you really can't find anyplace else."
Thousands of military bloggers, or milbloggers, in Afghanistan and Iraq use the Internet to tell an unfiltered version of war, sharing stories of compassion, hope, anguish and suspense to primarily niche audiences of family members and friends. Trudeau, who said he began reading milblogs as a source of inspiration and information at the wars' outset, decided last year to help the authors tap into a wider readership.
"I have a Web site -- doonesebury.com -- that does have a fairly broad reach," he said, "and so we thought maybe this would be a good place to set up an aggregate site, a site that compiles the very best of what we could find of the milblogs."
In October 2006, Trudeau and editor David Stanford, duty officer at the Doonesbury Web site, began hosting milblogs online. To draw attention to the nascent site, Trudeau used cammie-clad Doonesbury character Ray Hightower -- apparently an Army noncommissioned officer of undisclosed rank -- to spread the message via word-of-mouth.
"At The Sandbox, contributors can operate in a clean, lightly edited debriefing environment where all content, no matter how robust, is secured by the first amendment!" reads the text next to Hightower's helmet-covered head in the Oct. 8, 2006, Doonesbury strip, to lure comic-strip readers to the new site. Hightower adds, "So if you support the troops -- but haven't a clue what they're actually up to -- you owe it to yourself to log onto The Sandbox!"
Meanwhile, Stanford scoured some 2,000 milblogs in search of compelling posts. The editor also opened the Web site to submissions, resulting in an encouraging response of surprising quality and depth.
"I figured people maybe wouldn't have enough time to write, and maybe they'd be writing a brief piece here, a quick report there," he recalled. "But we were getting 2,000-, 3,000-word posts from people who would be out on a 15-hour mission and then just sit down and write a beautiful account of the entire thing with style."
Milblogger 1st Sgt. Troy Steward of the New York National Guard regrets the empty pages of the journal he sparsely kept during the first Persian Gulf War.
"It was 16 or 17 years ago, and there's a lot I've forgotten," he said during an interview yesterday.
When Steward deployed to Afghanistan in May 2006, he resolved to discipline himself as a writer. Over the course of his year-long deployment, the first sergeant maintained his bouhammer.com milblog, which attracted a readership of unexpectedly high volume.
"As people around America starting reading it, my readership of 200-300 hits per day was 70 percent people I'd never met," he recalled. "So many e-mails I received were from people that had family members -- sons, brothers, husbands, whatever -- deployed to Afghanistan that they hardly ever heard from. They would write me and say, 'Your blog gives me an idea of what they're going through. It gets me in touch with what they're going through.'"
Steward said many of his readers were Americans interested in but deprived of traditional media coverage about Operation Enduring Freedom. The war in Afghanistan, which "does not grab the headlines anymore," often is referred to by servicemembers deployed there as "the forgotten war," Steward said.
"In fact, when I came back on leave, people didn't even know we were still in Afghanistan," he said with an incredulous tone. "And that's amazing.
"Many people were just concerned citizens, great Americans that wanted to know what was going on and what servicemembers were going through," he continued. "It gave them a small glimpse into what life was like over there."
Three of Steward's posts appear in The Sandbox, including a dispatch titled "Lost Innocence," an account about an Afghan boy Steward met while on patrol near Sharana, Afghanistan.
"I wrote about a young boy -- probably about 10 years old -- that watched his father, who worked for the government, get murdered right in front of him very violently by enemy forces," he said. "No one in the village would go to the funeral, because they didn't want to be associated with helping out a member of the government.
"He and his mother and his siblings had to drag his father's body, dig the hole and bury him. So I wrote about how a 10-year-old boy will never have a chance to be a child," Steward said. "His innocence is lost forever."
Milblogger Army Sgt. Owen Powell became a regular contributor to the Doonesbury Web site while deployed in Iraq from June 2006 to July 2007. Seven posts by Powell, who blogs under the nom de guerre "Roy Batty," appear in The Sandbox compilation.
During an interview yesterday, the sergeant laughed when asked about the meaning behind his pseudonym, a homage to a character from the film "Bladerunner." "There's an awesome line at the end of the movie where it says, 'I have seen things that you people wouldn't believe.' And for me that resonated even when I was a kid, and as a soldier it really resonated.
"I wanted to just capture, 'What did it feel like to walk in the desert in Kuwait at night? What did it feel like to drive a Humvee through the mahalas (neighborhoods) of Baghdad? What did it feel like to get shot at or hit with an improvised explosive device?'" Powell said about his blog. "I was trying to bring out these images and these feelings and the visceral experience of being in Iraq."
Proceeds from The Sandbox, Trudeau's third in a series of military-related books, will be donated to the Fisher House Foundation. Located on the grounds of military and veterans hospitals, Fisher Houses offer a setting where family members can be close to loved ones hospitalized for an injury, illness or disease.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 18, 2007 - War can inspire great writing, like a series of superlative dispatches from servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan compiled in a new book that offers an arresting glimpse of life on the front lines. Conceived by Garry Trudeau, creator of the long-running, satirical comic strip Doonesbury, "The Sandbox" is a 309-page compilation of roughly 90 online journal entries penned by scores of the military's most talented scribes.
"In fascinating and compelling posts, soldiers write passionately, eloquently and movingly of their day-to-day lives, of their mission, and of the drama that unfolds daily around them," Trudeau said during an interview at the Pentagon yesterday.
"In the military they call it 'hotwash,' I understand; this kind of downloading, debriefing of experiences right after they happen," he said. "It's the kind of first-person journalism that you really can't find anyplace else."
Thousands of military bloggers, or milbloggers, in Afghanistan and Iraq use the Internet to tell an unfiltered version of war, sharing stories of compassion, hope, anguish and suspense to primarily niche audiences of family members and friends. Trudeau, who said he began reading milblogs as a source of inspiration and information at the wars' outset, decided last year to help the authors tap into a wider readership.
"I have a Web site -- doonesebury.com -- that does have a fairly broad reach," he said, "and so we thought maybe this would be a good place to set up an aggregate site, a site that compiles the very best of what we could find of the milblogs."
In October 2006, Trudeau and editor David Stanford, duty officer at the Doonesbury Web site, began hosting milblogs online. To draw attention to the nascent site, Trudeau used cammie-clad Doonesbury character Ray Hightower -- apparently an Army noncommissioned officer of undisclosed rank -- to spread the message via word-of-mouth.
"At The Sandbox, contributors can operate in a clean, lightly edited debriefing environment where all content, no matter how robust, is secured by the first amendment!" reads the text next to Hightower's helmet-covered head in the Oct. 8, 2006, Doonesbury strip, to lure comic-strip readers to the new site. Hightower adds, "So if you support the troops -- but haven't a clue what they're actually up to -- you owe it to yourself to log onto The Sandbox!"
Meanwhile, Stanford scoured some 2,000 milblogs in search of compelling posts. The editor also opened the Web site to submissions, resulting in an encouraging response of surprising quality and depth.
"I figured people maybe wouldn't have enough time to write, and maybe they'd be writing a brief piece here, a quick report there," he recalled. "But we were getting 2,000-, 3,000-word posts from people who would be out on a 15-hour mission and then just sit down and write a beautiful account of the entire thing with style."
Milblogger 1st Sgt. Troy Steward of the New York National Guard regrets the empty pages of the journal he sparsely kept during the first Persian Gulf War.
"It was 16 or 17 years ago, and there's a lot I've forgotten," he said during an interview yesterday.
When Steward deployed to Afghanistan in May 2006, he resolved to discipline himself as a writer. Over the course of his year-long deployment, the first sergeant maintained his bouhammer.com milblog, which attracted a readership of unexpectedly high volume.
"As people around America starting reading it, my readership of 200-300 hits per day was 70 percent people I'd never met," he recalled. "So many e-mails I received were from people that had family members -- sons, brothers, husbands, whatever -- deployed to Afghanistan that they hardly ever heard from. They would write me and say, 'Your blog gives me an idea of what they're going through. It gets me in touch with what they're going through.'"
Steward said many of his readers were Americans interested in but deprived of traditional media coverage about Operation Enduring Freedom. The war in Afghanistan, which "does not grab the headlines anymore," often is referred to by servicemembers deployed there as "the forgotten war," Steward said.
"In fact, when I came back on leave, people didn't even know we were still in Afghanistan," he said with an incredulous tone. "And that's amazing.
"Many people were just concerned citizens, great Americans that wanted to know what was going on and what servicemembers were going through," he continued. "It gave them a small glimpse into what life was like over there."
Three of Steward's posts appear in The Sandbox, including a dispatch titled "Lost Innocence," an account about an Afghan boy Steward met while on patrol near Sharana, Afghanistan.
"I wrote about a young boy -- probably about 10 years old -- that watched his father, who worked for the government, get murdered right in front of him very violently by enemy forces," he said. "No one in the village would go to the funeral, because they didn't want to be associated with helping out a member of the government.
"He and his mother and his siblings had to drag his father's body, dig the hole and bury him. So I wrote about how a 10-year-old boy will never have a chance to be a child," Steward said. "His innocence is lost forever."
Milblogger Army Sgt. Owen Powell became a regular contributor to the Doonesbury Web site while deployed in Iraq from June 2006 to July 2007. Seven posts by Powell, who blogs under the nom de guerre "Roy Batty," appear in The Sandbox compilation.
During an interview yesterday, the sergeant laughed when asked about the meaning behind his pseudonym, a homage to a character from the film "Bladerunner." "There's an awesome line at the end of the movie where it says, 'I have seen things that you people wouldn't believe.' And for me that resonated even when I was a kid, and as a soldier it really resonated.
"I wanted to just capture, 'What did it feel like to walk in the desert in Kuwait at night? What did it feel like to drive a Humvee through the mahalas (neighborhoods) of Baghdad? What did it feel like to get shot at or hit with an improvised explosive device?'" Powell said about his blog. "I was trying to bring out these images and these feelings and the visceral experience of being in Iraq."
Proceeds from The Sandbox, Trudeau's third in a series of military-related books, will be donated to the Fisher House Foundation. Located on the grounds of military and veterans hospitals, Fisher Houses offer a setting where family members can be close to loved ones hospitalized for an injury, illness or disease.
Predictable Deployments, Future Fleets Crucial to New Navy Chief
By David Mays
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 18, 2007 - Sailors can continue to expect predictable deployment lengths and new ships on which to serve, the new chief of naval operations said today. "If you look at our deployment patterns, only on a couple of occasions have we exceeded our objective of six months," Adm. Gary Roughead explained.
"We have been able to live within those with the exception of a couple unique deployments, and also with the exception of some of our high-demand, low-density forces that I continue to watch very carefully, specifically our SEALs, our explosive ordnance disposal (teams), and then some of our medical people."
Roughead spoke with online journalists and "bloggers" during a conference call from the Naval War College in Newport, R.I., where he is attending the International Seapower Symposium. Yesterday, he and the commandants of the Marine Corps and Coast Guard released the first "unified maritime strategy." Today the admiral elaborated on that plan and the Navy's future, including the aggressive goal of greatly expanding its fleet.
"With regard to the 313 shipbuilding plan, I consider that to be the floor," Roughead said. "We are introducing several not just new classes, but new concepts. The littoral combat ship is new, LPD-17 (amphibious transport dock ship) is new. There's a new class of aircraft carrier. We've just taken delivery of some of our new Virginia-class submarines. So we're at a period where we're making some significant changes in capability and operating concepts."
As the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard each continue to build capacity and capability, Roughead has been working with his colleagues in the sister services to figure out what the country expects of its maritime forces and how those forces might best align to serve in a time of increasing globalization.
"The American people want our maritime forces to remain strong, to protect them and their homeland and then a significant desire for us to work with partners around the world," the admiral said. "And that's a theme that continued to echo as we held our conversation and worked and discussed our way ahead with some of the strategic thinkers."
The result of those conversations is a 20-page document called "A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower." It was presented at the Navy War College yesterday to 90 navy and coast guard commanders from 98 countries attending the symposium, the largest such maritime gathering ever, the admiral said.
"It is not a document that we will print and have a glossy and leave it on a coffee table someplace," Roughead said. "We intend to continue to have the discussions and the dialogue. We intend to make the investments that enhance our ability and capability."
The strategy pledges to bind the maritime services more closely than they have ever been in order to advance America's prosperity and security despite the demands of an uncertain world, and stresses not just the ability to employ military might, but the need not to.
"It is equally important to prevent wars as it is to win wars and to make the decisions on that which contribute to both," the admiral said.
A key part of the strategy is to concentrate our "credible combat power" in parts of the world where the United States has "historic and current interests," Roughead explained, including the Western Pacific, the Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean regions.
"By having these forces distributed globally, we are able to deepen and foster relationships with friends and international partners and our allies and then use relationships and our forces to prevent and contain local disruptions," the admiral said.
The strategy also stresses enhancing global maritime security and increasing the forces' combined ability to respond effectively and efficiently whenever and wherever disaster strikes.
"For me, having been out in the Pacific, the tsunami was something that had a great effect on me professionally and personally," Roughead said. "But it was shortly followed by Hurricane Katrina, and we realized that those types of disasters, that we're not immune to those."
Enabling his sailors to serve in concert with maritime forces around the planet, during times of war and peace, is a commitment the admiral said he takes seriously.
"Our Navy is globally deployed. It is well trained, well prepared, well equipped," he said. "And my responsibilities are to be able to ensure that the Navy remains that way."
(David Mays works for the New Media branch of American Forces Information Service.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 18, 2007 - Sailors can continue to expect predictable deployment lengths and new ships on which to serve, the new chief of naval operations said today. "If you look at our deployment patterns, only on a couple of occasions have we exceeded our objective of six months," Adm. Gary Roughead explained.
"We have been able to live within those with the exception of a couple unique deployments, and also with the exception of some of our high-demand, low-density forces that I continue to watch very carefully, specifically our SEALs, our explosive ordnance disposal (teams), and then some of our medical people."
Roughead spoke with online journalists and "bloggers" during a conference call from the Naval War College in Newport, R.I., where he is attending the International Seapower Symposium. Yesterday, he and the commandants of the Marine Corps and Coast Guard released the first "unified maritime strategy." Today the admiral elaborated on that plan and the Navy's future, including the aggressive goal of greatly expanding its fleet.
"With regard to the 313 shipbuilding plan, I consider that to be the floor," Roughead said. "We are introducing several not just new classes, but new concepts. The littoral combat ship is new, LPD-17 (amphibious transport dock ship) is new. There's a new class of aircraft carrier. We've just taken delivery of some of our new Virginia-class submarines. So we're at a period where we're making some significant changes in capability and operating concepts."
As the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard each continue to build capacity and capability, Roughead has been working with his colleagues in the sister services to figure out what the country expects of its maritime forces and how those forces might best align to serve in a time of increasing globalization.
"The American people want our maritime forces to remain strong, to protect them and their homeland and then a significant desire for us to work with partners around the world," the admiral said. "And that's a theme that continued to echo as we held our conversation and worked and discussed our way ahead with some of the strategic thinkers."
The result of those conversations is a 20-page document called "A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower." It was presented at the Navy War College yesterday to 90 navy and coast guard commanders from 98 countries attending the symposium, the largest such maritime gathering ever, the admiral said.
"It is not a document that we will print and have a glossy and leave it on a coffee table someplace," Roughead said. "We intend to continue to have the discussions and the dialogue. We intend to make the investments that enhance our ability and capability."
The strategy pledges to bind the maritime services more closely than they have ever been in order to advance America's prosperity and security despite the demands of an uncertain world, and stresses not just the ability to employ military might, but the need not to.
"It is equally important to prevent wars as it is to win wars and to make the decisions on that which contribute to both," the admiral said.
A key part of the strategy is to concentrate our "credible combat power" in parts of the world where the United States has "historic and current interests," Roughead explained, including the Western Pacific, the Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean regions.
"By having these forces distributed globally, we are able to deepen and foster relationships with friends and international partners and our allies and then use relationships and our forces to prevent and contain local disruptions," the admiral said.
The strategy also stresses enhancing global maritime security and increasing the forces' combined ability to respond effectively and efficiently whenever and wherever disaster strikes.
"For me, having been out in the Pacific, the tsunami was something that had a great effect on me professionally and personally," Roughead said. "But it was shortly followed by Hurricane Katrina, and we realized that those types of disasters, that we're not immune to those."
Enabling his sailors to serve in concert with maritime forces around the planet, during times of war and peace, is a commitment the admiral said he takes seriously.
"Our Navy is globally deployed. It is well trained, well prepared, well equipped," he said. "And my responsibilities are to be able to ensure that the Navy remains that way."
(David Mays works for the New Media branch of American Forces Information Service.)
AFRICOM Won't Change Defense Department Security Policy in Africa
By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 18, 2007 - The new U.S. unified command being established for Africa will consolidate Defense Department efforts on the continent, but will not change the department's long-standing policy of partnership with African nations, the department official in charge of African affairs said today. AFRICOM, which became operational Oct. 1, eventually will take over responsibility for Defense Department activity in all of Africa. For now, AFRICOM is operating under U.S. European Command, which has responsibility for the bulk of U.S.-African military relations. U.S. Central Command and U.S. Pacific Command also share responsibility for Africa.
AFRICOM's purpose is to consolidate the efforts of the three combatant commands into one unified command that includes representatives from other government agencies, Theresa Whelan, deputy assistant secretary of defense for African affairs, said in a conference call. However, the focus of the Defense Department in Africa will remain on security cooperation and capacity building with African nations, she said.
"Our security policy -- the things that (the Defense Department) is doing in Africa -- don't change," Whelan said. "The what remains the same. What AFRICOM represents is changing how we do business, not what we do. Our focus is on civilian control of the military and defense reform, military professionalization, and capacity building. That has been the focus of our activities in Africa for the past seven or eight years."
The Defense Department also does not intend to put any operational forces on the African continent, beyond troops that already are stationed in Djibouti, Whelan said. The department will have a presence on the continent to facilitate its mission, but it will be a staff presence, not forces, she said. She noted that the State Department is still in charge of foreign policy, and the Defense Department is in a supporting role.
The Defense Department will work with African nations on developing professional military forces that can provide security, which will help the rule of law and democracy flourish, Whelan said. A number of countries in Africa have made great strides with their militaries, she noted, and the U.S. wants to help that success spread by helping local militaries learn to train themselves.
"It doesn't mean that we think that we are going to solve the security problems on the continent," Whelan said. "What we see as our role is being enablers, facilitators, supporters, the helping hand. The Africans have to solve the problem themselves. If they don't solve the problem, if they're not invested in the solution, then we'll never have a solution. We cannot give them a solution, but we can give them a helping hand towards a solution."
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 18, 2007 - The new U.S. unified command being established for Africa will consolidate Defense Department efforts on the continent, but will not change the department's long-standing policy of partnership with African nations, the department official in charge of African affairs said today. AFRICOM, which became operational Oct. 1, eventually will take over responsibility for Defense Department activity in all of Africa. For now, AFRICOM is operating under U.S. European Command, which has responsibility for the bulk of U.S.-African military relations. U.S. Central Command and U.S. Pacific Command also share responsibility for Africa.
AFRICOM's purpose is to consolidate the efforts of the three combatant commands into one unified command that includes representatives from other government agencies, Theresa Whelan, deputy assistant secretary of defense for African affairs, said in a conference call. However, the focus of the Defense Department in Africa will remain on security cooperation and capacity building with African nations, she said.
"Our security policy -- the things that (the Defense Department) is doing in Africa -- don't change," Whelan said. "The what remains the same. What AFRICOM represents is changing how we do business, not what we do. Our focus is on civilian control of the military and defense reform, military professionalization, and capacity building. That has been the focus of our activities in Africa for the past seven or eight years."
The Defense Department also does not intend to put any operational forces on the African continent, beyond troops that already are stationed in Djibouti, Whelan said. The department will have a presence on the continent to facilitate its mission, but it will be a staff presence, not forces, she said. She noted that the State Department is still in charge of foreign policy, and the Defense Department is in a supporting role.
The Defense Department will work with African nations on developing professional military forces that can provide security, which will help the rule of law and democracy flourish, Whelan said. A number of countries in Africa have made great strides with their militaries, she noted, and the U.S. wants to help that success spread by helping local militaries learn to train themselves.
"It doesn't mean that we think that we are going to solve the security problems on the continent," Whelan said. "What we see as our role is being enablers, facilitators, supporters, the helping hand. The Africans have to solve the problem themselves. If they don't solve the problem, if they're not invested in the solution, then we'll never have a solution. We cannot give them a solution, but we can give them a helping hand towards a solution."
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