interests, respond to crisis, and to deter and if necessary win wars. the impact of the two ground wars in the last decade on the navy fleet and forces unmistakable. as you pointed out, mr mr. chairman, the fleet has stood at 316 ships and an instrength of 377,000 sailors on 9/11, 2001, dropped to 283 ships and close to 49,000 fewer sailors just a few years later when i took office. th thisstration has made it a priority to improve our fleet. despite the budget constraints, our plan assures that we will have no fewer ships at the end of the five-year budget cycle than we have today although the fleet of 2017 will include more, more capable ships, equipped with state of the art technology and manned, as always, by highly

skilled people. although we're presented one five-year budget plan, this is not a one fitted issue. as the defense strategy states, we're building the force for 2020. in the years beyond the kufrt, we have a plan to grow our fleet and insure capacity continues to match missions. our plan will have us again cross the threshold of 300 ships by 2019. overall, we'll fully meet the requirements of the new strategy and maintain the industrial base we need. the marine corps will also return to its mare time roots and resume its role as the expeditionary force in readiness. our marines retain the lessons of a decade of hard and effective fighting in iraq and afghanistan as they transition back to a middle weight

amphibious force optimized for forward presence, engagement, and rapid crisis response. we'll carefully manage the redekz in active duty instrength from 202,000 to 182,100 by the end of fiscal year '16 in order to keep faith with our marines and families, the maximum extent possible. this restructured marine corps developed under a plan we'll maintain our effort to reduce our dependence on foreign

oil and use energy more efficiently. they have already made us better war fighters by deploying to afghanistan with solar blankets to recharge radios and other thinks, they decreased the risk for risky resupply missions. using less fuel will mean fewer fuel convoys and that will save lives. for every 50 convoys we bring in, a marine have killed or wounded. we know the reality of a volatile global oil mark. every time the cost goes up $1 a barrel, it costs $30 million in extra fuel costs. these price spikes to have be paid for out of the operational funds. that means the sailors and marines are forced to steam less, fly less, and train less. for these reasons we have to be relentless in the pursuit of energy goals that will continue

to make us more effective fighting force and our military and our nation more energy independent. as much as we have focused on our fleets, assets, and ships, aircrafts, vehicles and submarines, they don't sail, fly, drive, or dive without the men and women who wear the uniform and their families. they have taken care of us. they have kept the faith with us. we owe them no less. the commitment to sailors, marines, and their families is there whether they service four years or 40. it begins the moment they raise their hand and take the oath to defend our country. it continues through the training and education that spans their career. it reaches out to their loved one because it's not just an individual who serves but the entire family. it supports the wounded warriors with recovery, rehabilitation, and reintegration.

and it continuewise the gi bill and the transfer for family members' education. the list goes on and on and on as it should. our commitment to our sailors and marines can never waver, it can never end. for 236 years, from sail to steam to nuclear, from the uss constitution to the uss karl benson. from trip ooli to tripoli, they have inherited the nation, and protected the freedom of the a seas, in the coming years, the new strategy and the plans to execute the strategy will insure that the naval heritage not only perseveres but that the navy and marine corps continue to prevail. thank you. >> thank you very much, mr. secretary, we will now call upon -- see what the order is

here, admiral greenert. >> thank you, mr. chairman. chairman levin, ranking member mccain, distinguished members of the committee, i'm honored to [w appear before[w you for the firw time to talk about the navy's [ budget submission.[wçw[w because of the active and [[w[w reserve sailors and civilians and their families, the navy and our primary joint partner the marine corps remain a vital part of our nation security. i'm honored to lead the navy in these challenging times. this morning, i would like to address three points, the navy's importance to the national security, our enduring tenants and decisions and how the 10 nlts and how the decisions shaped the bub budget submission. we're the preeminent force, we operate forward from u.s. bases and partner nation places around the world to deteraggression,

response to crises, and to win our nation's wars. if you refer to the chart i have provided in front of you, you can see on any given day, we have about 50,000 sailors and 145 ships under way with about 100 of those ships deployed overseas. these ships and sailors allow us to influence events abroad because they insure access to what i refer to as the maritime cross roads. these are areas where shipping lanes and our security interests intersect, and they're indicated in orange on the chartlet. we can replain forward in these areas because of the facilities and support from nearby allies and partners. in the middle east, we have 30 ships and more than 22,000 sailors. they are combatting piracy, supporting operations in afghanistan, assuring our allies and maintaining a presence in the region to deter or counter destabilizing activity. in the asia pacific, we have

about 50 ships supported by our base on guam, and our facilities or places in singapore, the republic of korea and japan. they will be joined next spring by the first literal combat ship the freedom which will deploy for several months to find the concepts with the stationing of a combat ship. the less learned will help stabilize design and understand better the operational concepts of the mission packages. we're also collaborating with the marine corps to determine the support and the lift they need in order to support rotational deployments to australia. in the indian ocean, we depend on diego garcia and the air field there for logistic support. around the horn of africa, we depend on the air field to spoers the forces depending counterterrorism. in europe, we rely on places in

europe and greece in support of the nato allis, and our own air atmosphere, guantanamo bay will become more important as traffic through the crossroad increases. when i assume the watch as the chief of naval operations i established three key tenants. they're the clee direction for the navy direction. war fighting is first, operate forward, and be ready. war fighting first, that means the navy has to be ready to fight and prevail today while building the ability to win tomorrow. this is our primary mission and all our efforts must be grounded in this fundamental responsibility. iran's recent provocative rhetoric highlights the need for us to have forward deployed war fighting capability and in our 2013 budget submission, we directed funding to weapons, systems, and tactical training that can be fielded to the fleet

particularly in this area. this includes demonstrators and prototypes that can improve the force's capability. operate forward, that means we'll provide the nation an offshore option to det deter influence, and win in an era of uncertainty. our 2013 budget submission gives several issues, including placing destroyers in spain and combat ships in singapore and patrol coastal ships in bahrain. one ship that has operated from apoverseas location can provide the same presence as about four ships rotationally deployed from the continental united states. be ready. that means we will harness the teamwork, the talent, and the imagination of our diverse force to be ready to fight and use our resoerszs. this is more than completing required maintenance and insuring that parts and supplies are available.

it also mean being ready and proficient with our command and control, our comeenications and our engineering systems as well. applying the tenants to meet the strategic guide nls, we built a budget submission. number one, we will remain ready to meet the current challenges today. consistent with the defense strategic guide nls, we'll continue to priortize readiness over capacity and focus on the asia pacific and the middle east. we'll also sustain the most reliabrely able strategic deterrant. and we'll build a relevant and capable force. we'll evolve to remain the most capable force and we'll form the foundation of the future fleet. in developing the aircraft and ship procurement plans, we focused on three approaches, to sustain the proval platforms

including class destroyers, and our superhornets. we have moved new platforms to the fleets, such as the literal combat ship, the joint strike fighter, theoseidon aircraft, and the assault ship and to improve the capabilities through new weapons, and vehicles. new payloads like these will help insure we can project poerr despite threats to offense. thal will also give us dominance and support our goal to operate effectively in cyberspace and fuelie explore the electromagnetic speckrism. we'll continue to emphasize jointness, and we will emphasis affordability by controlling requirements and making costs the enemy argument for new

systems. we'll enable and support our sailors, civilians and families. i'm extremely proud of our people. we have a professional and moral obization to lead and train and equip and motivate them. our personnel programs return a high investment in readiness. we fully fund them to address operational stress, support the families, eliminate the use of synthetic drugs and reduce suicides and sexual assaults. i support the comp scission reforms in the 2013 budget submission which i believe are appropriate to manage the costs. in closing, your navy will continue to be critical at our nation's security and prosperity by insuring access and being at the front line on the efforts of war and peace. i assure the committee and the congress that we'll focus on war fighting first, operate forward, and be ready. i want to thank the committee

staff, those who sit behind you, mr. chairman, for their assistance with our budget articulation as we work, and i thank the committee for their support to our sailors and family. >> thank you so much. general mabus. >> i'm pleased to speak on the behalf of the united states marine corps. more than 27,000 marines are deployed around the world, defending the nation's liberty, shaping strategic environments, engaging with our partners and our allies, insuring freedom of the seas and detering aggression abroad. the marines working in concert with our important joint partner, the united states navy, has creating opportunities and decision space for the nation's leaders. your marines were first on the scene to provide human tear

assistance to disaster relief. they re-enforced the embessies in yemen and bahrain. while accomplishing all of that, your corps continued to conduct sustained combat and counter insurgency missions and operations in afghanistan. having just returned last month from visiting many of the nearly 19,000 marines and sailors kurbtly deployed there, i can tell you first hand that their professionalism and morale remain notably strong. there is an indominable spirit displayed in all that die. their best interests and needs in all of the joint forces of combat remain our number one priority. history hoz shown it's impossible to predict where, wi when, and how we will be threatened. regardless of the strain placed on the governments and the ability to reduce forces today, crisis, requiring military intervention will undoubtedly

continue tomorrow and in the years to come. as a mare time nation dependent on the sea for the free exchange of ideas and trade, america requires security, both at home and abroad, to maintain a strong economy, to access overseas markets, and to assure our allies in an era of fiscal constraint, the united states marine corps is our nation's risk mitigator. a certain force during uncertain times, one that will be the most ready when the nation is the least ready. there's a cost to maintaining this capability, but it's nominal in the context of the total defense budget and provides true value to the american taxpayer. i'm asking congress for $30.8 brl. a combination of both base and oco moneys. your continued support will fund ongoing operations around the

world, provide quality resources for our marines, sailors, and their families. it will reset equipment that is worn out for more than ten years at war, and lastly, it will posture our forces for the future. when the nation pays the sticker price for its marines, it buys the ability to be able to respond to crises anywhere in the world through forward deployed and engaged forces. this same force can be re-enforced quickly to project power and contribute to joint access anywhere in the world in the event of a major contingency. no other force possesses the flexibility and the organic sustainment to provide such capabilities. our nation -- as our nation begins to direct its attention to the challenges and opportunities of a post afghanistan world, a world where the middle east and pacific take center stage, the marine corps will be ever mindful of the traditional friction points in

other regions and prepared to respond to them there as needed. the strategic guidance drikts that we rebalance and reset for the future. we have a solid plan to do so and have begun our execution already. we'll train and educate our marines to succeed in the complex and challenging world of the 21st century. in doing so, we will not deviate from consistency in the five principles so critically important to the continued success of your nation's corps. one, we will recruit high quality people. two, we'll maintain a high state of unit readiness. three, we will balance capacity with strategic requirements. four, we'll insure that our infrastructure is properly cared for, and five, we'll be responsible stewards our of equipment monitorization efforts. as we execute a strategic pivot, i have made it a priority to keep faith with those who have

served in the past ten years of war. through judicious forces and forward planning, ever mindful of the economy in which we live, we have built a quality force that meets the needs of our nation. by the end of fiscal year '16, our yocorps will be stream line. this active duty force will be complemented by the diverse depth of our operational reserve component that remains a strong 3 -- excuse me, 39,600. our emerging marine corps will be optimized for forward presence, engagement, and rapid crisis response. it will be enhanced by special operators and cyberwar craft marines. all necessary on the modern war field. to build down from 202,000, i will need the assistance of congress for the fiscal resources necessary to execute the drawdown at a measured and

responsible rate of approximately 5,000 marines each year. a rate that guards against a precipitous reduction that would be harmful to our force. as to work with our nation's leadership and my fellow joint partners, you have my assurance that your corps will be ever faithful in meeting our nation's need for an expeditionary force in readiness. a force that can respond to today's crisis with today's force, today. thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. i look forward to your questions. >> the department of the defense created a new strategy for the fiscal year 2013 budget request that each of you had an opportunity to provide input into the development of the new strategy and in your view does the budget request support the

strategy and do you support the budget request? secretary? >> the answer to all three of your questions is yes. >> thank you, admiral? >> yes, sir, to all questions. >> general? >> yes, sir. >> in terms of the marines in okinawa, guam, and thei indonesa pacific, i think you're very much aware of the issues there, senators mccain, webb, and i have been voicing concerns and others have as well about some of the issues that are involved there, including the road map realignment agreement to build up on guam, some of the changes that are being considered in the current plan.

>> first would be submission to the committee of the marine corps commandant's preferred force laydown and of a master plan with the construction of the facilities and the infrastructure necessary to implement that preferred force laydown, another one of the wrechoirments is the secretary of deficient submit an independent assessment of the force -- our force posture in asia and the pacific region. secretary, i assume you're familiar with that statutory requirement? >> yes, i am. >> do you know if an independent entity has been assigned to conduct that assessment? >> senator, my understanding is that the -- the department of defense is -- has selected someone. i don't know if the contract has been signed to do that, but my

understanding is that the final date required by the ndaa for submission to this committee, the plan is to have that report to you by that date. >> if you could let us know for the record if that contract has been signed and with whom, we would appreciate it. general, as the united states and japan reconsider the plan for the marines on okinawa, are you comfortable with the new plans for the laydown and the composition of marines being considered for guam and okinawa?

>> not authority, sir. >> any help you can need, just let us know, would you? >> yes, sir, precipitous action and drop with -- with some significant impact on our families. it sends the wrong signal. i'll need some help financially to continue to maintain that ramp at 5,000 a year. >> let us know how we can be helpful.

and on the fy-35(b) probation, secretary panetta removed the f 35 b, the short takeoff and vertical landing variant. from the probationary status a year earlier than was planned. i think both senator mccain and i have found that we found that action troubling. it affects us a to the problems it causes. and it caused secretary gates to put the plane on probation, in -- the testing has not been completed on those fixes. now, i guess the question should go to you, general. i assume you urged the removal of the f-35(b) from the probation list, is that accurate?

>> i think urge would be the wrong adjective. i tracked this starting a year ago, i track it very, very carefully. so i have watched kind of the six major thresholds to include weight of the aircraft, very, very carefully over the last year. so i was able to provide my best military advice to the secretary. and in light of those six major thresholds and looking at the program's progression and test and everything, i recommended that he consider removing it from probation. >> all right. secretary, were you involved in the recommendation as well? >> yes, mr. chairman, i was. >> did you recommend that it be removed from probation a year earlier and if so, why? >> i did because of the things that general amos just mentioned. general amos has followed this very carefully. i went out with general amos to the wasp to watch the first on-board ship testing of the aircraft. and given the gains that have

been made in weight reduction, given the progress that had been made on engineering fixes to some issues that have been found earlier, given the fact that the plane was now either meeting or exceeding test points, both in terms of number of test flights or number of test points in each flight, i thought that it was performing at the level it should be, to be treated as a normal acquisition program and not one that was on probation. >> secretary, let me ask you a question about our aegis ballistic missile defense ships. this is fairly new and it's a growing mission for the navy and much of the european phased adaptive approach to missile approach is going to be based on the aegis bmd capabilities,

whether it's at sea or shore. now, i think in your prepared statement, you noted that the bmd ships took up position in the eastern mediterranean to provide bmd for both europe and israel. let me ask both you and the admiral whether you are confident that the navy's going to be able to continue providing the ships needed to fulfill missile defense missions such as the ones that you mentioned for europe and israel, given the situation with the ships and their ability to be present in eastern med. >> mr. chairman, i do remain confident that we will be able to meet this ballistic missile defense mission with our aegis ships for a couple of reasons. one is that we are making more ships ballistic missile capable.

we have today i believe 24 ships that are that way. that number will be close to 40. secondly, as the cno said in his remarks and also as he's said numerous times by stationing for dvgs in rota, spain, we will be able to provide the coverage needed with far fewer ships than if they had to transit back and forth. >> admiral, do you want to anything to that? >> yes, sir. our demand signal is 15 bmd capable ships available by fy-'15 for the european phase adaptive approach. they have to have the right program with the right missile and we are on track with that budget submission. >> thank you so much. senator mccain? >> thank you, mr. chairman. as you know, mr. secretary, thew