1. Navy League of the United States
The U.S. Navy: America’s Strength
For Congressman Matt Gaetz, Florida 1st District, August XX, 2017
Citizens in Support of the Sea Services

2. Citizens in Support of the Sea Services
AGENDA
History of the Navy League of the United States
Background on the Pensacola, FL. Council
The Decline in size of the U.S. Navy Fleet
Navy League Priorities
Closing
My primary focus today is to:
•      Provide a brief introduction of the Navy League and briefly highlight key local council initiatives;
•      Share with you of the Navy League’s support of critical funding challenges faced by our U.S. Navy; and
•      Ask that you join the Navy League in supporting the Navy’s priority requirements.
Citizens in Support of the Sea Services

3. Navy League of the United States
Founded in 1902 with the support of President Teddy Roosevelt
Promotes the need for strength in seapower
Civilian organization
230 Local Councils
42,000 members worldwide
Our Goal: to educate the public and elected officials on the importance of a strong maritime component for our National Security
Supports and advocates for members of the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and U.S.-Flag Merchant Marine
Background on the Navy League and its history.
Citizens in Support of the Sea Services

4. The Pensacola Council of Navy League
Pensacola NL members; more than 350 in the 1st Congressional District of Florida
Civilian Volunteers come from a variety of backgrounds, but all believe in strong sea services.
Key Activities: Junior Navy and Marine Corps ROTC, Adopt-a-Ship, public education on sea services, ship commissionings, Naval Sea Cadets Corps
FOR COUNCILS—please make this tailored to your specific council and/or state.
·  Give background on your local council:  Civilian Volunteers come from a variety of backgrounds, but all believe in strong sea services.
· Describe your council/state’s key activities: Junior Navy and Marine Corps ROTC, Adopt-a-Ship, public education on sea services, ship commissionings, Naval Sea Cadets Corps , awards, and scholarships, any other fundraising or morale-boosting activities your council supports.
Citizens in Support of the Sea Services

5. “Protecting the Sea Lanes & America’s Commerce”
This is the slide the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), Admiral Jonathan Richardson, uses to show where our forces are operating on a daily basis.
As you can see our Navy is busy protecting our freedom throughout the world, and is doing so with the smallest number of ships since before WWI. Though some have said that numbers don’t matter because our ships have more power and capability today, numbers still matter for deployments and repair work. The most recent Force Structure Assessment, released December 2016, recommends a fleet of 355 ships, as does our Maritime Policy Report. The Navy has said its needs this fleet in the next decade.
The Navy plans to increase the number of its deployed ships by more than 20 percent over the next five years, providing the U.S more firepower and assets in the Middle East and Asia to meet security demands
Citizens in Support of the Sea Services

6. The Declining U.S. Naval Fleet
Before 2003, nearly every President and every Congress maintained a fleet size of over 300 ships.
High deterrent value; our Navy is present worldwide
Serious decline in fleet size that began in 1990s continues because of insufficient funds
Our Fleet is imperative to ensure capabilities for:
Conflict Deterrence
Forward Presence
Maritime Security
Protection of International Sea Lanes
Humanitarian Assistance/ Disaster Response
While our fleet size declines, our global trade increases
90% of world wide trade is transported by sea
- FORWARD PRESENCE is the key term to describe the way the Navy is strategically ready for a call-to-action as they are forward deployed to far corners of the globe.
The Navy League recognizes the challenges the nation faces during this tough economic times. The Navy League also stresses that these investments are critical to ensuring the men and women of the sea services have all the tools they need to do their job.
The sea services of the United States are the first to get on scene in the face of natural disasters, including tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, and even the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
At the end of this slide, ask the Member for their support of the industrial base and preserving the fleet.
The Navy League recommends a fleet of 355 ships
Citizens in Support of the Sea Services

7. The World Needs the U.S. Navy
Even when the U.S. Navy attempts to scale down operations, reality interferes: actual deployments far exceed planned deployments as Combatant Commanders request ships to project forward, deter adversaries, demonstrate American strength and respond to crises.
This slide shows the planned ship deployments schedule (red line) and what actually happened (blue line). The percentage shows oversubscription for FY2016—5% over planned and over funding..  It is worth noting that the average use of the last four years is 5 percent more than the funding provided could generate. The oversubscription of deployed forces combined with BCA reductions exacerbates the impact to shore establishments, non-deploying forces and readiness-enabling accounts.
The Navy is in a double bind: it must have presence around the world at all times, but must also be able to reset the fleet and sailors; the goal is no more than a 7-month deployment. Without more ships, there will be gaps in presence.
The Navy’s new Force Structure Assessment calls for a fleet of 355 ships, and this assumes a reasonable amount of risk and reflect prioritizing needs. The summary states that to respond to all platform-specific demands while supporting enduring missions, ongoing operations, and setting the theater for prompt warfighting response, the Navy would need a 653 ship force, which would be unrealistic in this fiscal environment.
This slide is from 2016, demonstrating what happened in 2015, and was submitted with the FY17 request. We will have a 2016 slide with the FY18 request.
Citizens in Support of the Sea Services

8. Fewer Ships + Sustained OpTempo = Longer Deployments
Fewer ships and a growing mission means longer deployment lengths. Not only does this lead to increased rates of wear and tear on ships, but, more importantly, this hurts sailors and their families.
From the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment's Study, “Deploying Beyond Their Means: The Navy-Marine Corps at a Tipping Point”: The high OPTEMPO [operational tempo, or rate of deployments] of the last decade has resulted in deferred maintenance, reduced readiness, and demoralized crews. The Navy has an ambitious plan to expand the size and capability of the fleet with its shipbuilding plan and return to a sustainable operational pace with the Optimized Fleet Response Plan. Unfortunately, these plans may result in reduced presence in the near term and in the long term would require shipbuilding to be funded at a level of $26 billion/year that may not be supported by the Administration and Congress given historical levels of support have been far below that level.
Citizens in Support of the Sea Services

9. New Force Structure Assessment Supports Need for Bigger Fleet
When countries won’t support land-based military operations, we can depend on Naval platforms, making Navy in high demand by all Combatant Commanders.
To fulfill all Combatant Commander requests for Navy assets, we would need a fleet of 653 ships. The realistic number determined by the Navy is a fleet of 355 ships.
To support the new Force Structure Assessment and meet the 10-year goal set by the CNO, the SCN budget should be increased to $26.6 billion and the Navy should procure 12 deployable battle force ships in FY18
The US Navy shoulders the heavy responsibility of responding to a variety of crises around the globe. Currently, our forces are stretched very thin.
The United States and NATO countries will be depending on US Naval platforms to provide BMD capability and deterrence in the Eastern European and Mediterranean regions.
Columbia-class: formerly the Ohio-class replacement, it is a submarine capable of carrying nuclear weapons and is the most survivable leg of the nuclear triad.
SCN: Shipbuilding & Conversion, Navy (the Shipbuilding Procurement section of the Navy budget). This recommendation is authorized in the FY15, FY16 and FY17 National Defense Authorization Acts; it must be preserved and funded! It is called the National Sea Based Strategic Deterrence Fund. It is currently unfunded but authorizes DOD to put unobligated funds into that account. We need the appropriators to support this approach.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates the average cost to build a fleet of 355 ships is $26.6 billion. This budget request is $19.9B, below even the FY17 enacted levels.
The need to reach the 355 goal in a decade and the need to procure 12 ships in FY18 is based on white papers produced by the CNO and acting Secretary of the Navy, respectively.
NLUS Ship recommendation: 12 aircraft carriers, 52 Littoral Combat Ships/frigates, 66 attack and guided-missile submarines, 12 Columbia-class (ballistic missile) submarines, 38 amphibious ships, 104 large surface combatants. The 2017 Sea Power Almanac can be referenced for a complete listing of USN combatant vessels, other ships, and aircraft. The Navy also needs to reconsider its sealift needs: none of the of the publicly available information from the Force Structure Assessment mention sealift or the forces needed to protect it.  We are concerned that ships will have to be diverted from their intended Navy sea control/power projection missions to support sealift protection because SecDef will reprioritize Navy’s allocation of assets to support COCOM needs.  We encourage Congressional oversight on this issue.
The Navy League Recommends:
SCN budget of $26.6 Billion or greater
Funding the Columbia-class program outside the SCN account as authorized to avoid budget disruptions and recognize this program as a national asset as authorized in the National Defense Authorization Act
Citizens in Support of the Sea Services

10. Navy League’s Top Priority: Repeal the Budget Control Act
In FY2018, the defense budget drops back to sequestration levels, a 19% reduction from projected funding levels.
There is no corresponding reduction in requirements as threats like ISIL, Chinese, North Korean, and Russian aggression increase around the globe
Other nations are investing more and more in their own shipbuilding and aircraft capability, especially submarines
The U.S. must project strength to deter adversaries. The Navy is the only service that not only WINS wars, but PREVENTS wars.
Other nations’ subs: Both China and Russia are increasing their defense spending, especially on submarines, according to the CNO:
Citizens in Support of the Sea Services

11. Navy League Priorities
Columbia-class Submarine Program
The Ohio-class replacement provides strategic
nuclear deterrence and is the most survivable leg
of our nuclear triad
We must fund both the Columbia-class submarine,
crucial to deterrence, while growing the fleet.
Protect Readiness
Lack of spare parts, delayed maintenance on many F/A-18 Hornets
Many squadrons are not able to meet flying hours, eroding carefully-honed skills
Shipyards have a significant backlog of ship and submarine maintenance due to sequestration cuts
Long deployments hurt morale, increase maintenance needs, and are unsustainable over the long-term
The FY2018 budget request makes significant investments in readiness that must be preserved.
Columbia-class/SSBN: Other legs of the triad are bombers and land-based missiles. Because nobody knows where the submarines are stationed/deployed, they are considered the least likely to be attacked or even located and thus would be able to respond defensively to a first strike attack. The Columbia-class is VERY expensive, but it is a national priority and critical to our deterrence strategy. Regardless, we cannot allow this program to swallow/dominate other Navy spending. We want the Columbia-class submarine, but we need other ships too.
Readiness: This budget request makes significant investments in readiness. We want to support that funding.
Citizens in Support of the Sea Services

12. Citizens in Support of the Sea Services
FY2018 Priorities
The Navy League supports:
Raising the defense budget caps by repealing the Budget Control Act
A fleet of 355 ships, as directed by the Force Structure Assessment
Increasing the shipbuilding budget to $26.6B to achieve a fleet of at least 355 ships
Prioritizing the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine program
Protecting readiness
Readiness is significantly underfunded. In testimony in March 2016 before the Senate Armed Services Committee, VCNO Howard said the Navy is paying down its readiness debt “more slowly than we prefer…As a tradeoff, the Navy continues to postpone much-needed repairs and upgrades for the majority of our infrastructure. Continued shortfalls in our facilities sustainment will eventually have effects on our at-sea readiness model. Failing to plan for these necessary investments will continue to slow our future recovery. We are still paying down the readiness debt we accrued over the last decade, but more slowly than we would prefer and at continued risk to our shore infrastructure.”
Citizens in Support of the Sea Services

13. The Navy League of the United States
In Conclusion:
Our national fleet size is smaller today smaller than we need in a time of global instability.
A strong national fleet of at least 355 is imperative to national security and secure trade.
Building and maintaining a fleet of this size requires the support of Congress.
Congress must pass regular budgets in a timely fashion. Continuing resolutions, sequestration, and delayed budgets hurt our Navy!
In the words of Navy League’s founder, President Teddy Roosevelt, “ A good navy is not a provocation to war. It is the surest guarantee of peace.”
Citizens in Support of the Sea Services

14. Navy League of the United States
Daniel McCort Vice President/LA Pensacola Council Join the Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus to help save American shipbuilding!
Encourage your Representative to join the Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus, if they haven’t already. The Navy League sponsors a quarterly breakfast series with them to explore topics of interest to the shipbuilding community. It’s very bipartisan, co-chaired by Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA) and Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT).
Citizens in Support of the Sea Services