“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.  Today the House Armed Services Committee meets to receive testimony on the Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09) budget request for the United States Navy and Marine Corps.  Appearing before the committee this morning are: Honorable Donald C. Winter, Ph.D., Secretary of the Navy; Admiral Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations; and General James T. Conway, Commandant, U.S. Marine Corps.

 “Welcome, gentlemen.  We are pleased to see you this morning.  Admiral Roughead, we’re pleased to note this is your first posture hearing before us. You spent a previous period in your career working with us in legislative affairs, so welcome back.

 “Maritime power is a crucial component to our national security.  It has been this way since the early days of the Republic.  It protected us and safeguarded our interests and gave this nation the room to grow into the great state we are today. 

 “Today, your forces are forward-deployed around the world.  The efforts of our Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan are well-known and deserve all the praise we can give them.  So too do your sailors who are also ashore in Iraq and Afghanistan, doing things we never imagined we’d have sailors doing, and performing magnificently.  But that’s not all, of course.  From stopping piracy on the high seas to demonstrating U.S. presence all over the world, we know the Navy and the Marine Corps is on duty all day, every day. 

 “Because you are so busy, we are going to take a hard look at the materials you have provided here today.  The Constitution is very clear about our responsibilities in this matter and we intend to meet that task head on.  There is no question that the Marine Corps is seriously stretched, and while more Marines are on the way, that’s only a small portion of what needs to happen to keep that vital force healthy. 

 “The stress of continuous combat operations is affecting training and equipment readiness.  Marine training is heavily focused on current operations at the expense of training for skills not required for combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Furthermore, equipment strains are reducing the amount of equipment available to non-deployed units which also hinders training and deployment readiness. 

 “Meanwhile, the Navy faces significant challenges in recapitalizing the fleet. I am very concerned with the shipbuilding program.  Over the past two years this committee has been repeatedly told that a stable shipbuilding program has arrived.  Yet, this budget request reduces the five year shipbuilding goal by 13 ships, from 60 to 47, and requests only seven ships this year. 

 “Furthermore, two of the three shipbuilding programs currently executing on cost and on schedule, the DDG 51 Destroyer and the LPD 17 Amphibious Assault ship, are being closed down.  The third program, the Virginia Class submarine, has been held at one ship per year for 8 years longer than originally briefed to the Congress.  I find it almost inexplicable that we would choose to close or slow down the shipbuilding programs that are working. 

 “I am also very concerned about the progress of the Littoral Combat Ship.  By the Navy’s own admission, this program was misguided and mishandled from the very beginning.  A ship that was originally scheduled to cost $220 million will now cost upwards of $450 million, if not more.  The Defense Department and the Department of the Navy have repeatedly affirmed that a 313-ship Navy is the minimum required to meet our national military strategy. Many of us feel the ideal number is significantly larger than that. The Navy’s plan to get to 313 relies heavily on the LCS. But two ships, already authorized and appropriated, were cancelled last year.  Why?
  
 “The Navy and the Marine Corps also face significant challenges in aircraft procurement.  The Joint Strike Fighter program must begin to execute on cost or schedule or there will be a significant strike fighter shortfall in just a few years.  We are using up the life-span of the F/A 18 Hornet at a significantly faster pace than anticipated due to our continued involvement in Iraq.  It certainly does no good to have 11 aircraft carriers if you only have eight air wings to man them by the middle of next decade.  

 “Furthermore, the Marine’s major amphibious assault vehicle, the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, also has technical and cost challenges, and I would expect the Commandant to address those issues here today.

 “There are two more points I want to make before I close.  First, I have closely followed the redeployment of 8,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam.  This major movement of forces is very important to support regional stability.  It will be very expensive, and I expect that the Marine Corps and Navy will proactively manage this undertaking to ensure that U.S. strategic interests are protected. 

 “Secondly, I am most interested to know what the current status of the Navy’s effort to resolve the military to civilian conversion that was included in the FY09 budget is, since that was prohibited in last year’s bill.

 “I have laid out some of the many challenges in your procurement accounts and several other concerns as well.   That’s not to say that we’re not proud of the effort you, your sailors, and Marine, and civilians are making – of course we are.  But posture hearings are serious business and so we’re going to ask some serious questions today.  However, before we do that, let me turn to Ranking Member Duncan Hunter for his comments.”