American Shipbuilding Association

AMERICAN SHIPBUILDER

Volume 15, Issue 2                                                                                         March 2009

Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Declares the Navy Must Be Rebuilt

On March 3, 2009, Representative Ike Skelton (D-MO), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, addressed members of the shipbuilding industry attending the American Shipbuilding Association’s Industry Day in Washington, DC.  Following are excerpts from the Chairman’s remarks:

I think we need to be realistic about where our Navy is today, and where we can take it in the next few years.  Right now, today, we have 283 battle force ships.  This number is less than any time since 1916.  That is right, we are a smaller Navy now than we have been for 93 years.  We have fewer sailors than we have had since 1941. 

All this has occurred because our eyes have been elsewhere.  During the Cold War, the Fleet was an indispensible asset.  We of course had the Army positioned to repel the Soviets in Europe, and the Air Force was on constant vigil for a nuclear confrontation, but American power around the world was reflected by the Fleet, and the Fleet countered any and all attempts by the Soviets from exerting undue influence with their sizable naval force.

All that changed after the fall of the Berlin Wall.  We forgot that we are a Maritime nation.  We forgot that lesson of history that only the nations with powerful navies are able to exert power and influence and when a navy disappears, so does that nation’s power.

So where are we on that timeline?  I submit we are on a bad glide slope, but not so far committed that we cannot recover.  I believe that we can and we must rebuild our fleet.  But we need to build the right mix of vessels and we need to build vessels that are affordable.  We must not lose our ability to keep our trade lanes open. 

People scoff at talk like this, but for the past year and a half one of the busiest trade routes in the world has been plagued by pirates operating from the failed state of Somalia.  And until very recently we have been unable to do much about these pirates because we lacked a number of capabilities, including the numbers of vessels needed to patrol the Gulf of Aden.

But this concern extends far beyond the problem of piracy.  What happens if our fleet atrophies and another power decides to embargo the raw materials that we need?  Russia did this to Europe just two months ago when they cut off the natural gas pipeline to the Ukraine.  Could this happen to us for the delivery of oil or other raw materials we need?  Absolutely; but only if we do not have a Fleet capable of deterring these actions.

So what Navy do we need?  A big heavy battle force Navy ready to slug it out with a peer?  A lighter, more littoral Navy capable of asymmetric warfare?  Both?  These are the hard decisions that the Navy and the Congress are grappling with right now.  Unfortunately, the Navy has for a number of years now been trying to build the new Fleet without much success…

The frank and honest assessment is that there are not the resources to build the ships in the Navy 30 year shipbuilding plan.  The money is just not there, not there by 5 to 6 billion dollars a year.  And that’s a lot of money...

I am not yet sure what the shipbuilding request will look like this year.  I think it essential that we build at least 10 ships, but it is important that we get the right 10 ships built.  There are some very new threats out there to our Flee,t and we need to make sure that the Navy can counter the emerging technologies that might put our carriers at risk even far out at sea.  The debate about the future surface Navy needs to end this year.  A decision needs to be made.  After a decision is made that both the Department and the Congress can support, we need to fund the surface construction program at the level necessary to restore our Fleet.  Whether that number is 313 ships or 340 ships, we need to get there.

Of course, we don’t get there as a country without the support of the people in this room—the suppliers and shipbuilders who build our vessels.  This effort must be a team effort between the Department, the contractors, and the Congress…  The right solutions will be found.  We will build these ships and we will restore our ability to maintain total sea control anywhere on the world’s oceans.

Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus Holds First Meeting of 2009

On March 19th, Members of the Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus met with Marine Corps Major General Robert E. Schmidle, the Assistant Deputy Commandant for Programs and Resources, to discuss the present and future expeditionary requirements of the Marine Corps.   The meeting was co-hosted by Shipbuilding Caucus co-chairs Representatives Gene Taylor (D-MS) and Rob Wittman (R-VA), and attended by Representatives Rodney Alexander (R-LA), Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD), Madeleine Bordallo (D-GU), Joe Courtney (D-CT), Randy Forbes (R-VA), Glenn Nye (D-VA), Eric Massa (D-NY), and Bobby Scott (D-VA).  Also representing the Marine Corps at the meeting was Lieutenant General George J. Flynn, Deputy Commandant for Combat Development and Integration.

In his opening remarks, General Schmidle emphasized the importance for the United States to maintain its maritime supremacy, both for commerce and national security.  23,000 ships are underway daily carrying 90% of the world’s commerce; 49% of the world’s oil supply travels through 6 major maritime chokepoints; 25% of the world’s oil and gas are drilled at sea; and 95% of international telephone and Internet traffic travels via underwater cables.  With the increase in piracy and areas of conflict around the world, the Navy and Marine Corps are needed “all the time” to patrol the sea lanes.

General Schmidle commented that in order to meet current and emerging missions, sea basing has become even more important.  The majority of existing military bases overseas are nowhere near the current global hot spots.  This hampers the Navy and Marine Corps’ ability to easily respond to a crisis, either with military force or providing humanitarian aid.  The Marine Corps has established a requirement for a minimum of 38 amphibious ships to support a minimum of two Marine Expeditionary Brigades, and requires an increased number of expeditionary fighting vehicles for forcible entry.  Though the requirement is for 38 amphibious ships, budget constraints are only providing for 33 ships.  As for the Navy’s role in support of Marine Corps missions, the DDG-1000 multi-mission destroyer program was intended to serve as an essential component of the Marine Corps’ requirement for naval surface support.  The Navy’s decision to terminate the DDG-1000 program at three ships has raised questions that there may be a gap in Marine Corps fire support missions.  General Flynn stated that the Marine Corps’ need for precision and mass fire support relies on a combination of aviation, naval surface, and ground fire, and that the Marine Corps is working closely with the Navy to ensure that the naval fire support component is satisfied. 

House Seapower Subcommittee Receives Testimony on the Littoral Combat Ship Program

On March 10th, the House Armed Services Seapower Subcommittee held a hearing to receive an update on the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program.  Subcommittee Chairman Gene Taylor (D-MS) was joined by Ranking Member Todd Akin (R-MO), and Representatives Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD), Joe Courtney (D-CT), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Joe Sestak (D-PA), and Rob Wittman (R-VA).  Representative Bart Stupak (D-MI), who represents the Marinette Marine shipyard which built the first LCS, was invited to join the Subcommittee hearing.  Testifying on behalf of the Navy were Rear Admiral Victor G. Guillory, Director, Surface Warfare Division; Rear Admiral William E. Landay, Program Executive Officer for Ships, Naval Sea Systems Command; and E. Anne Sandel, Program Executive Officer for Littoral and Mine Warfare, Naval Sea Systems Command.

Members of the Subcommittee focused their questions on the Navy’s confidence levels in the LCS program and its cost.  In response to these questions, the Navy panel discussed the learning curve that has taken place in constructing LCS-1 and LCS-2.  Furthermore, the panel discussed how they were implementing cost cuts and planning to increase efficiencies.  Members expressed concern about Navy leadership and accountability in the LCS program.  Representative Akin tried to identify the one person in charge of the program, but Admiral Landay responded that a broad range of personnel, from the Program Manager up to the Chief of Naval Operations, had a hand in the responsibility for the LCS. 

INDUSTRY NEWS

ASA Elects New Chairman

Fred Harris, President of NASSCO in San Diego, CA, has been elected to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Shipbuilding Association (ASA) for the remainder of the 2009-2010 term.  Mr. Harris will replace Dugan Shipway, President of Bath Iron Works, who is retiring as president of the shipyard and the ASA Board of Directors on April 1, 2009.  Matthew Mulherin, Sector Vice President and General Manager of Newport News, Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding of Newport News, VA, will continue to serve as the Association’s Vice Chairman.

Mr. Harris joined Electric Boat in 1973 as a senior engineer in the Trident ballistic-missile submarine program.  He held positions of increasing responsibility, including Deputy Program Manager-Advanced Propulsion Plant Technology Program for the Virginia-Class Submarine, before being appointed senior vice president for programs at Electric Boat.  In that position, he was responsible for the execution of several key design, construction and fleet support programs, including the Seawolf- and Virginia-class submarine programs, CVNX Aircraft Carrier Design, Submarine Planning Yard & Fleet Support, and Submarine Life-Cycle Engineering.  In January 2006, Mr. Harris was appointed to serve as President of NASSCO.  He graduated from Maine Maritime Academy with a bachelor’s degree in Marine Engineering and an MBA degree from Babson College.  He sailed for several years in the U.S. Merchant Marine, notably aboard the U.S.-registered SS Transglobe, the most decorated American merchant ship of the Vietnam War.

New Partners

Muehlhan Marine, Inc.
Located in Humble, TX, Muehlhan Marine, Inc., specializes in surface protection and marine coatings.

Performance Contracting Group

Headquartered in Lenexa, KS and with marine divisions in San Diego, CA, and Seattle, WA, Performance Contracting Group, installs insulation and lagging for the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard and marine industries. The company is engaged in new ship construction as well as conversions, overhauls, and round-the-dock repair and maintenance projects.

Well Said!

“We forgot that we [the United States] are a maritime nation.  We forgot that lesson of history that only the nations with powerful navies are able to exert power and influence and when a Navy disappears, so does that nation’s power.”

Representative Ike Skelton (D-MO)
Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee
American Shipbuilding Association Industry Day
March 3, 2009