Director’s Letter
Surface Warriors It has been a year since I took the helm of N96 and 2012 was full of great accomplishments by our Naval Surface Forces. On any given day our Ships and Sailors are in every region in the world professionally executing assigned missions with capabilities only we can deliver. In the past year we have also seen some changes, supported by COMNAVSURFOR, NAVSEA, and others in how our Fleet is preparing for upcoming deployments. If you remember a year ago, I laid out my top three priorities and our team has been diligently working them while setting our force on a course to sustained readiness and long-term health. I would like to review the progress made to date regarding these three priorities. My first priority: making the ships we have today work together seamlessly. In 2012, we made investments in many areas, but two, Aegis Wholeness and surface ship maintenance, were aimed directly at improving interoperability and readiness. These investments along with better governance, requirements, planning and execution are already proving their worth. My second priority: fielding the Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) and integrating them into the Fleet. To support the CNO’s second tenant, “Operate Forward,” we are introducing LCS into the Fleet in numbers. The capabilities in this ship class will expand our ability to operate forward and ensure dominance in the littorals. LCS Fleet presence will quickly ramp up: Three have been delivered and are in service, five are under construction, four more on contract, and we expect to order four more per year over the next three fiscal years. The integrated LCS schedule will result in the delivery of 17 LCSs and 21 mission packages by the end of FY17.
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Winter 2013 • Surface Warfare magazine
My third priority: investing wisely in future technology so that we can continue to outpace threats. We are investing responsibly to remain the world’s most combat effective, technically advanced, and resilient Surface Navy. The Fiscal Year 2013 President’s Budget (PB-13) builds new ships (DDG-51 / DDG-1000 / LCS / LHA / LPD-17), modernizes our DDG-51 class with Advanced Capability Build 12, procures several next generation weapon and sensor systems (Standard Missile-6, Offensive Anti-Surface Weapon (OASuW), Naval Integrated Fire Control-Counter Air (NIFC-CA), Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR), MK-54 torpedo, and Griffin, to name a few), and funds critical manning and training requirements. To help guide the continued development of our future Surface Force, CNSF, CNSL, OPNAV N95, and I co-signed Cardinal Headings for Surface Warfare (you’ll find a copy inside this magazine). The intent for Cardinal Headings is to provide insight into the direction of Surface Warfare, and the investments we are making to maintain a robust Surface Force. There are warfare challenges in the coming years, some of which we can’t predict, and we will most likely have to wrestle with the potential impacts of near- to mid-term declining defense dollars. That said, I view this as a great opportunity to make decisions about what’s truly important for the long-term success of our Surface Navy. I am grateful for your service and hope you spent the holidays with your families. For those on the high seas and deployed forward, you are on my mind and I wish you a safe return to loved ones.
Tom Rowden Tom Rowden Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy Director, Surface Warfare