Status of Senior Service School Program



`Purpose: CCG has been asked to speak at the quarterly Navy League Special Topics Breakfast which is coordinated in an effort to help inform corporate / industry and members of Congress of matters of import related to the U.S. Sea Services.Audience: 70-100 Navy League corporate member representatives, Navy League board members, Congressional representative /staffers, foreign personnel, and other military and government representatives.Duration: 30 minutes followed by Q&A.Scene Setter: Nations Debt / Downward Pressure on Discretionary BudgetsWhen asked the number one threat to our national security, Admiral Mike Mullen, the 17th Chairman of our Joint Chiefs of Staff, said it was our nation’s debt. Our debt is growing, and China is currently the largest foreign holder. It’s forecasted that interest costs alone on the debt will reach $800 billion/ year by 2024. In other words, by 2024, the government will spend more on interest than on our entire national defense budget! Our Nation’s debt is whittling away our discretionary dollars, limiting flexibility, and potentially jeopardizing national security.With the continuing resolution passed last week, the Coast Guard has operated under 27 CRs from FY10-FY17 for what will be a total of 1184 days (looking out to April 28th). That is 42.8% of the time since the start of FY10!That is the scene. That is where we find ourselves today. But, the good news? In these fiscally constrained times, the Coast Guard has been and will remain a great return on investment. Let me tell you why…The Coast Guard’s “4 +1”While DOD is pulled to all 4 corners of the world under the national military strategy – the “4 plus 1” (Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, + combating violent extremism), I am also looking to where the Navy is NOT operating. The home front. Just as the DOD has the “4 plus 1” in which the Coast Guard plays an important role, the Coast Guard has a “4 plus 1” (WHEM, Arctic, Energy/MTS, Cyber +Human Capital) as well. Strategy Driving Budgets:These 4 strategies are what drive our budget…Combating Criminal Networks in our HemisphereCriminal networks thrive on instability in South and Central America.They smuggle drugs, weapons, and people for illicit profit wreaking havoc wherever they flow. In the past two years we’ve seen historic highs in the flow of illegal drugs and people to our Nation. We are lock step with SOUTHCOM’s T3N (transnational, transregional threat networks) – it will take a network to defeat these networks.At all times, the Coast Guard is an LE agency and a military service – it is with these and other unique authorities that the Coast Guard secures and protects over 95,000 miles of American coastline. But we don’t play goal line defense! We play an offensive game. We push our border out – far beyond the point where the sea meets our shores. We are the only U.S. agency capable of providing at-sea law enforcement interdiction. And our interagency partnerships and bilateral agreements with foreign nations allow us to attack criminal networks far from our land borders. We currently have over 60 agreements with partner nations that allow us to operate right up to the shoreline of their countries. Through training and diplomacy, we work with these nation’s navies and coast guards to enhance governance throughout our region.And our operations are informed by intelligence. The 21st Century CG fleet of NSCs and FRCs has been a game-changer for the Service! Our increased presence in the transit zones has yielded record cocaine seizures. In FY16 alone, we removed 416,000 lbs of cocaine, worth more than $5.6 billion wholesale.In fact, our National Security Cutters return their initial acquisition cost in just one deployment (In FY16, our NSC's alone removed nearly 39MT of cocaine worth an estimated $1.2 billion. Since the first operational deployment of an NSC in FY09 through the end of FY16, three NSCs alone (WAESCHE, BERTHOLF, and STRATTON) have removed nearly 99MT of cocaine. That’s $2.9 billion. One of those NSC’s costs $700 million; And our last two FRCs were delivered with zero deficiencies.And I can’t get the OPCs into production fast enough as capacity constraints limit our ability to act on all the intelligence we have. Preserving Sovereignty in the Polar RegionsLooking to the high latitudes – the United States is an Arctic Nation. Due to receding sea ice, human activity is on the rise as access to sea lanes and resources improves. Our sovereignty requires at-sea presence to preserve and protect American interests in the Polar Regions.China and Russia are exerting influence in the Arctic. Russia launched as many icebreakers in June 2016 as the Coast Guard has built in the last 40 years, and we have our eye on the possible militarization of the region and the ECS claims being made.This summer, Russia submitted a new extended continental shelf claim to the UN while China has conducted research in our EEZ and on our ECS (R/V XUE LONG).However, the Coast Guard is a member of regional associations such as NPCGF and ACGF that afford unique engagement with Russia and China. Continued leadership within these forums forges substantive cooperation. Of real concern, the United States has only one aging operational heavy ice breaker in our national fleet! Rebuilding the Nation’s icebreaking capacity is a top FY 2017 acquisition budget priority for the country. The Coast Guard and Navy have partnered to establish an Integrated Program Office (IPO) to accelerate the construction of new heavy icebreakers. This is a prime example of the great partnership between the Coast Guard and Navy. I am keenly interested in any opportunities to plug into DOD’s excellent R&D programs… to seek potential economies of scale…to join with our DOD counterparts on various acquisition efforts… This is especially vital today, given the fiscal backdrop I alluded to earlier.Securing against Cyber Threats Tackling cyber is the next big thing – it really is the issue of today and tomorrow. While technological advances have enabled impressive efficiencies, it has come with challenges and risks that threaten our Nation’s security and prosperity. The Coast Guard is uniquely positioned to address these concerns – We are the only military agency in DHS. A Coast Guard Admiral is the Director of J6 on the Joint Staff. We have members at the U.S. Cyber Command, including a flag officer as their J7. We are a member of the National Intelligence Community. And we work with industry and at the International Maritime Organization to protect and secure our nation’s maritime transportation system from cyber threats and vulnerabilities. Last year, we released our cyber strategy, declaring cyberspace an operational domain and setting three strategic priorities:Defending Cyberspace: Secure and resilient CG IT systems and networks are essential for mission success. The CG must serve as a model agency in protecting information infrastructure and building a more resilient CG network. Enabling Operations: The CG must develop and leverage a diverse set of cyber capabilities and authorities to enable success across all missions.Safeguarding & Protecting Infrastructure: The CG must lead the unity of effort required to protect maritime critical infrastructure from attacks, accidents and disasters, including risks from cyberspace.Key to this initiative is proper resourcing. This is not an issue that is going away. We need to grow a program and cyber workforce to meet this huge national security challenge.Protecting the Maritime Transportation System and Fueling our EconomyBecause our ports, waterways, and inland rivers provide our nation a tremendous global economic advantage – we must keep it safe and operating efficiently. Our Maritime Transportation System is the lifeblood of our Nation’s economy.In 2015, the MTS represented over $4.5 trillion of our nation’s economic activity. Remember the debt I was talking about earlier? The Coast Guard is the front line in safeguarding and securing over $4.5 trillion dollars of productivity!Our MTS and the global supply chain are constantly evolving. Today’s Coast Guard Prevention workforce is in greater demand than at any other time in the Service’s history.Increased domestic natural gas and hydrocarbon transport – the number and complexity of vessels and facilities exploring, exploiting, and producing oil and gas product grows, even with the price per barrel hovering just at $50 today;And while the price per barrel fluctuates, tremendous growth in our domestic energy potential has led to historically high levels of hydrocarbons, natural gas, and derivative products on our maritime transportation system. Movement of these products exemplifies how technology and dynamic markets introduce opportunities for economic growth within our maritime highway system. Deeper U.S. ports and the expansion of the Panama canal to accommodate larger vessels means larger more complex vessels entering and navigating in our nation’s ports.The Coast Guard must innovate and evolve, just as the MTS is ever evolving, in order to keep pace and ensure the protection and security of this national asset.In order to meet our Nation’s maritime needs, the Coast Guard is committed to building a workforce with the capacity to meet the growth and demand for increased management required by Congress and expected by the maritime industry and the American public. Building the 21st Century Coast GuardIn the past few years huge strides have been made to modernize the Coast Guard. We’ve been extremely successful on the acquisition front. FRCs, NSCs, now OPCs, and I am extremely grateful for all the productive talk about Ice Breakers… And we absolutely need those platforms to replace our aging fleet and to ensure mission success for years to come.But new assets require properly trained and equipped people to operate and maintain them. Our Human Capital Strategy sets a 10-year course to ensure a thriving and effective workforce prepared for the complexities of tomorrow. We must build and maintain a proficient, diverse, and adaptable workforce to respond to changing technology, an increasingly complex operating environment, and dynamic partnerships. In today’s economy, we are seeing increasing competition to attract and retain top talent. In January 2018, the new Blended Retirement System will go into effect for military members. This is the largest change to military retirement in over 50 years. We think it will present both opportunities and challenges… New segments of the population may now be more inclined to serve - which is a good thing; but the impact on retention is uncertain. While we continue to build CG workforce with the capacity and capability to meet our strategic needs we must also be mindful of and prepared for major contingencies. We were Semper Paratus for Katrina… for Deepwater Horizon… For Matthew… but today we find our reserve force at its lowest levels since 1957… Closing:I started this talk mentioning our nation’s debt then proclaiming that the Coast Guard is modest investment with a great return. I hope you agree with me on that. But be sure - I don’t look at the Coast Guard in a vacuum. The Coast Guard has a complementary and mutually reinforcing relationship with all our nation’s naval services and within DHS. We leverage all these respective roles and authorities to best accomplish the mission – to ready our national defense and ensure our national security. Utilizing our strengths, authorities, and assets wisely and jointly is critical in today's fiscally constrained and complex global environment. Other agencies, and especially the Navy, have an important role in our “4 plus 1” just as the Coast Guard has an important role in the “4 plus 1” in the national military strategy. For example, I see a role for the Coast Guard in the ECS/SCS…And I already mentioned the Arctic Coast Guard Forum… the North Pacific Coast Guard Forum… Forums that foster multilateral cooperation where tensions are otherwise strained (Russia / China)…Cuba…?I can’t overstate the value garnered from our efforts to maximize effectiveness through complementary efforts within DHS… DOD… and really across all levels of government – federal, local, and state when it comes to training, operations, acquisition, innovative and shared solutions, etc.As our Nation’s debt whittles away discretionary dollars, this is simply a requirement.I’ll stop there. I am happy to take your questions. And thank you again for the amazing support those in this room have shown the Coast Guard and thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today! ................
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