Greetings from the birthplace of Naval Aviation — NAS North Island! Summer 2009 is busy for our Naval Air Forces. As of mid-June, USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) Nine are heading home after a successful deployment. Nimitz (CVN-68) and CVW-11 are getting ready to depart, while Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) completes her work ups with CVW-3. We have Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69)/CVW-7, George Washington (CVN-73)/CVW-5 and Ronald Reagan (CVN-76)/CVW-14 deployed in the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific. Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) is preparing to begin her reactor overhaul after a very successful deployment with CVW-8 earlier this year, and Carl Vinson (CVN-70) makes ready to sail to her new home port of San Diego, returning to the Pacific fleet. Finally, the last of the Nimitz-class carriers, George H.W. Bush (CVN-77), is under way conducting flight operations, while the crews of Enterprise (CVN-65) and Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) work on important maintenance and upkeep.
Our tempo this year is challenging, but it is also a positive sign of the value the nation puts on carrier aviation. Our forces provide a unique capability that is in demand. The aircraft carrier remains the centerpiece of the sea services’ ability to project hard and soft power, and will remain so in the foreseeable future. Day in, day out, carrier aviation serves a critical role in executing all elements of the nation’s maritime strategy, from ensuring the peace to deterring war, and winning if required. As President Obama said to the graduating class at the U.S. Naval Academy this year, the nation needs Naval Aviators “to dominate the airspace in times of conflict, but also to deliver food and medicine in times of humanitarian crisis.” You are meeting that need, and you should be proud.
While the importance of carrier aviation remains constant, there are significant changes taking place that we will have to navigate in the months and years ahead. With construction of the lead ship in the Ford-class under way at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, Newport News, we are making our first major investment in aircraft carrier design since the 1960s. There are also multiple platform transitions ongoing including the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, MH-60R/S, EA-18G Growler, V-22 Osprey, UH-1Y, AH-1Z and C-130J. Upcoming transitions include the P-8 Poseidon, E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, F-35 Lightning II, CH-53K and new unmanned aircraft systems, like Fire Scout, and Broad Area Maritime Surveillance. Our challenges during these transitions include maintaining and supporting legacy platforms, sustaining logistic and maintenance support for two platforms and meeting manning requirements while sequencing the transitions so that we continue to meet operational requirements. These are real challenges, but planning and execution are proceeding well, and I’m confident we will remain on course.
I’m also confident that these transitions will greatly improve our capability in carrier aviation. The first carrier variants of the Lightning II, the F-35C, will roll out this summer and begin flight testing later this year. You should be excited about what this aircraft will do for us. It is a supersonic, multimission fifth generation stealth fighter that will ensure we dominate in the air whenever necessary for years to come.
Another significant area of change concerns the economy. Competing requirements for resources, both inside and outside the Department of Defense, are nothing new. As we have seen already this year, however, we are entering a time when we can expect that fiscal constraints will increasingly require some of us to take a hard look at how we operate. No matter the fiscal constraints on the flying hour program, however, we need to keep two things in mind.
First, our standards haven’t changed. Keep those standards in mind as you focus on the preservation of our assets — our Sailors and our equipment. We need to make sure as we prepare and conduct missions properly, that we fly safely, execute professionally and keep our aircraft well maintained. This will require great vigilance by all of us.
Second, we need to understand our readiness. Our Navy asks a lot of our people, and us, and that is the nature of what we do. In the push to succeed, it is up to all of us to recognize our limits as well as to look out for our shipmates. No sugarcoating — we owe it to ourselves, our Sailors and operational commanders to obtain every bit of readiness possible and let the chain of command know our status through accurate reporting of combat readiness.
I expect we will learn more in the coming months about how we will be affected in this fiscal environment. In the meantime, I want you to know that I am committed to doing all I can to ensure that you have the resources you need to do your job, maintain your proficiency and keep your edge as the world’s greatest Naval Air Force.
As we navigate through these changes, we need to stay true to what has made us so successful, and that is our shared commitment to excellence — as Naval Aviators and as leaders. Whether you are a squadron CO or a nugget aircrewman, there is always someone looking to you for the example you set in the air, in the ready room or on the flight deck. I ask each of you to take that responsibility seriously.
During the summer months, we also need to be on guard against the potential for increased risk of injury and fatalities to our Sailors and Marines during off-duty activities. This is truly a readiness issue. Each one of our people is a critical member of our Naval Aviation team. We cannot afford to lose a single one, especially to senseless mishaps, so lead turn this challenge and help your people recognize and manage risks.
Our Naval Air Forces have a lot to be proud of and a lot to look forward to in the months and years ahead. I am personally looking forward to seeing many of you in Reno this September for Hook ’09. This year’s convention and reunion promises to be one of our best ever. It will provide us an outstanding opportunity, not only to gather socially, swap sea stories and celebrate our rich heritage, but most importantly to share the professional insights and dialogue that will make all of us better at sea and in the air.
Fly. Fight. Lead. Killer sends.