from our resources and provide a high rate of return on our investments, we need to know our core requirements and state them accurately. Our continued success also requires organizational speed and agility to capitalize on new opportunities.

To this end the Navy took significant steps to align its organizations more effectively. The Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command (CFFC) was created to integrate policies and requirements for manning, equipping, and training all fleet units. Reorganized directorates tied closely to the fleet now lead the warfare requirements generation (N7) process while the resources and assessment group (N8) validates and prioritizes those requirements in the programming and budgeting process. The Navy has also established advocate organizations for fleet and ashore readiness (N4), to ensure that readiness issues have a higher profile in the Planning, Programming, and Budgeting System (PPBS) process. The Navy has closely examined organizational alignment options for enhancing delivery of IT, IO and space capabilities to the fleet. The Department intends to consolidate and align existing space, IT and IO commands to provide this management structure in direct support of our fleets.

Better Business Practices. Key to achieving transformation is changing the Department's business practices, finding efficiencies, and moving bureaucracy dollars to the battlefield. To buy greater numbers of ships and aircraft a balance needs to be struck between the competing demands of current readiness, procurement, innovation, and experimentation. Better business practices are essential for freeing up resources for enhanced procurement and transformation. All Navy leaders, uniformed and civilian, are now thinking in terms of maximum productivity, minimum overhead, and measurable output. Every dollar the taxpayers entrust to us for the Nation's defense needs to be spent wisely.

Navy processes and organizations that equip, maintain, train and otherwise support operational forces are beginning to transform in concert with the 21st century Naval Force. These processes and organizations will be agile, responsive, and costeffective. They provide for rapid identification, testing, and introduction of new technologies to stay ahead of the threat, streamline development cycle times, optimize human system integration, and provide customer support second to none. Our future readiness and force structure will introduce new systems using spiral acquisition programs and better business practices that allow for introducing innovative and transformational technology improvements into successive units of similar classes. By implementing these practices we will be able to shift more dollars into combat capability.

The Marine Corps has taken major steps to improve its business practices through the comprehensive implementation of Activity Based Costing and Management (ABC/M) methods at all of its installations. These efforts for achieve efficiencies and enable increased productivity at lower costs. These steps enable more rapid transformation of Marine Corps warfighting enhancements.

We are also working to replace other business processes and to revise the current PPBS. Efficient organizations are clearly more effective, and we need to work continuously to improve processes throughout the naval services. Prosecuting the war is our first priority, but our area of responsibility includes the business of war and overseeing the vast infrastructure that supports warfighting. We cannot fully prosecute the latter without fully improving the former.

VII. SUMMARY

At the dawn of the 21st century, the Navy and Marine Corps are uniquely positioned and configured to respond to the challenges the Nation faces. Steeped in a tradition of operating deployed, Naval Expeditionary Forces assure access, swiftly responding to threats to U.S. interests often in areas where access may be restricted, withheld, or denied. Naval Forces fight and win; they are capable of initiating and sustaining nearly unlimited combat operations on the sea, land, and in the air without the burden or liability of a logistics tail or host nation support. Once again in Operation Enduring Freedom and "War Against Terror," on station Naval Forces were first to respond, first to fight, and first to secure U.S. interests.

Naval Forces are continually transforming. We are building on a winning team, leveraging both current and transformational capabilities. The ability to transform is at the heart of America's competitive advantage.

We are the finest Naval Force in the world. While we face the challenges of recruiting and retaining the best people, maintaining adequate force structure, recapitalizing an aging infrastructure, and fighting both symmetrical and asymmetrical threats, we are clear of purpose, focused on the future, and confident in our capabilities. By successfully meeting the challenges outlined above, we remain ready to as

sure allies and friends, deter potential adversaries, and defeat enemies while providing our Nation the most flexible instrument of military capability.

The fiscal year 2003 President's budget request continues to build on the improvements funded in fiscal year 2002. With continued strong Congressional support we will continue this year, and in coming years, the transformation and recapitalization of our Nation's already potent Naval Forces.

Chairman LEVIN. Thank you, Secretary England.
Secretary Roche.

STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES G. ROCHE, SECRETARY OF THE

AIR FORCE

Secretary ROCHE. Mr. Chairman, Senator Warner, members of the committee: It is an honor to come before you today representing the Air Force team and accompanying my esteemed colleagues from the Army and the Navy. We are committed to succeed together in our task to provide for this Nation's security now and in the foreseeable future. You have our full attention and we are ready to get down to the important business at hand.

Like my colleagues and with your permission, Mr. Chairman, I would like to make a short opening statement and request that my written statement of the Air Force 2002 posture statement be included in the record. Thank you, sir.

Mr. Chairman, America's Air Force has recently been afforded numerous opportunities to implement and validate significant changes in the concepts of military operations and indeed the conduct of war. With the support of the Secretary of Defense, we have encouraged and exploited the rapid advancement and deployment of innovative technologies. We have already begun to reorganize and find efficiencies throughout the Air Force and we have taken significant action to implement the findings of the Space Commission in our new role as the Department of Defense's executive agent for space. I am especially grateful to have on board now Mr. Peter Teets, our Under Secretary and Director of the National Reconnaissance Office, whose experience, wisdom, and leadership will be invaluable as we take this mission on.

We proceed, however, hungry rather than complacent, recognizing that much work and many opportunities to improve await us. Despite our dedication to demanding, critical, and global operations, we have not faltered in our steps to continue the task of transforming our force to match the demands of this new century. Operations Northern Watch and Southern Watch, Mr. Chairman, have quietly amassed a total of almost 200,000 sorties in combat missions that have continued now for over a decade. Operation Enduring Freedom has demanded over 14,000 sorties, some of which have broken records in mission range, hours flown, and combat reconnaissance. Tanker support to joint operations, close to 6,000 tanker sorties to date just in Operation Enduring Freedom, plus another 4,200 in Operation Noble Eagle. Mobility demands and humanitarian tonnage delivered have all been unprecedented.

For the first time in the history of warfare, the entire ground operation in landlocked Afghanistan-infiltration, exfiltration, sustainment of supplies and support equipment-has been accomplished by air. In Operation Noble Eagle over the skies of America, over 11,000 airmen, 265 aircraft, and 350 crews from the Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve, and Active Air Force have flown

over 13,000 tanker, fighter, and airborne early warning sorties. Mr. Chairman, we have NATO AWACS over the United States at this time, five aircraft, and we expect possibly two more. I will be going down to Tinker Air Force Base to personally thank them in a week and a half.

As we work to complete our transformation, Mr. Chairman, support our people, and inspire the military-industrial base to become an even more efficient team, our vision remains a total air and space force, providing global reconnaissance in strike, including troops and their support, across the full spectrum of operations. Our more pressing and significant challenges include:

Providing persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance across a critical section of a distant country in all weather scenarios, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for up to a year; and

Developing the ability to provide near-instantaneous ground attack from the air, precisely, with a wide variety of strike systems, including naval, marine, as well as Air Force, by working closely with troops on the ground equipped with powerful sensors and communication links, as well as with a portfolio of off-board sensors and platforms, including UAVs.

Mr. Chairman, it was Secretary White and myself in the company of Secretary Wolfowitz who worked hard on the idea of linking sergeants on the ground by virtue of GPS, computer, and certain types of binoculars with laser range finders to our aircraft in the air, and that has proven so dramatically successful. It is an example of our Air Force working with the Army as the Army develops an Objective Force to be able to provide instant power to those troops on the ground.

We need to define and pursue the optimum space architecture to fully integrate space assets into global strike operations from the air, land, and sea. We are developing our role in homeland defense and trying to arrive at a steady state of roles and responsibilities among our Active Air Force, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve. Our question is how long do we have to maintain the Operation Noble Eagle status as it is now? What is the steady state in those circumstances?

We must complete and implement our long-term strategy for our air logistics centers and we must modernize the tanker and the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities we will need in the years ahead. Here I am particularly concerned that we have been demanding so much for so long of our aged 707 airframes, that we are soon to find ourselves in the same predicament as the proverbial king of medieval England. For want of a horseshoe, the horse lost a shoe, lost the horse, lost the king, lost the kingdom.

I note, sir, that 55 percent of our tankers in the area of operations, area of responsibility, have been for our Navy brethren. The KC-10, which was purchased a number of years ago, has been just a stalwart of being able to support our Navy brethren.

We are also developing concepts and strategies to seamlessly integrate our manned and unmanned systems, something brand new for us. We remain particularly focused on retaining our people, especially those in mid-career, who will benefit from the provisions of this budget for improved family housing, pay, and facilities. I

wish to pass on the thanks of many of the troops I met overseas who wanted to say thank you to the committee for its leadership in their pay circumstances.

Mr. Chairman, America's Air Force is able to perform the extraordinary feats asked of us because we are blessed with the full support of the American people, Congress, and the President of the United States, all of whom have been graciously supportive of our efforts and missions. We sincerely appreciate the confidence in our commitments and our capabilities, as well as the wisdom, vigilance, and patriotic sense of duty that join us in our journey to provide our great Nation with superiority in air and space throughout the century.

As you go to the area of responsibility as I have, you will be proud of the airmen you meet and the Air Force you and your colleagues in Congress have raised and maintained. Thank you very much, sir.

[The prepared statement of Secretary Roche follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT BY THE HON. JAMES G. ROCHE

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, the Air Force remains focused on transformation. It is a continuous journey, and fundamental to succeeding in the joint services' task to provide for this Nation's security. This fiscal year 2003 budget takes significant strides along this path, and will enable us to remain the world's most capable air and space force.

During the past year, the Air Force has had numerous opportunities to implement and validate significant changes in the conduct and strategies of war, exploit the rapid advancement of innovative technologies, and deliver global reconnaissance and strike for America's national security. Our successes are America's successes; they are the direct result of the tireless and unconditional service by men and women of the Total Air Force and their families.

We recognize much work and many opportunities to improve await us. Despite our unassailable dedication to a demanding operational pace at home and abroadincluding Northern Watch, Southern Watch, Noble Eagle, and Enduring Freedomwe have not faltered in our steps to continue the tasks of our unprecedented transformation. We are pressing forward to develop and refine our operational and organizational processes and strategies to address the changing national security and economic environments. We are focusing on the horizontal integration of our manned, unmanned, and space assets in order to provide real-time actionable, exploitable intelligence to commanders. We are committed to leveraging technology to combine our air and space capabilities in order to increase asymmetric advantages for our Nation. As our transformation continues, we will support our people, revitalize the military industrial base, and seek efficiency at every turn. We are the world's preeminent Air and Space Force, remaining true to our vision by providing global vigilance, reach, and power across the spectrum of military and humanitarian operations for America and our allies.

We are able to perform the extraordinary feats asked of our Air Force because we are blessed with full endorsement from the American people, Congress, and the President of the United States-all of whom provide unwavering support to our efforts and missions. We sincerely appreciate this confidence in our commitment and our capabilities to provide our great Nation with superiority in air and space throughout this century.

PREFACE

If Americans had not fully understood the idea of "asymmetry" before September 11, they received a horrific education on that day. In a lesson reminiscent of one 60 years earlier, air assets were employed in a malicious fashion on an unsuspecting people. This time, however, the attacks resonated a particular evil, for civil airlines were used to wreak destruction and death upon civilians.

The World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania were the battlefields of asymmetric warfare. A terrorist group exploited the United States' asymmetrical vulnerabilities, far in excess of their relative size and the physical results of the attacks. Within minutes of these attacks, the United States, through Operations Noble Eagle and Enduring Freedom, was providing education on an asym

metry of its own making the object lesson of joint and combined warfare visited on the perpetrators of the September 11 strikes. The Air Force is fully prepared to execute the missions required-with our air, space and special forces assets-to carry this global war on terrorism to its conclusion, ending as President Bush declared, "at a time and place of our choosing."

Operation Noble Eagle (ONE)

Operation Noble Eagle unofficially began 3 minutes after North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) received word from the Federal Aviation Administration of two hijackings. F-15 Air Defense fighters from Otis Air National Guard base in Massachusetts raced toward the skies over New York. Thirty minutes later, a similar attack unfolded in DC. Within minutes, Guard F-16s from Langley AFB were on an intercept track while other Guard F-16s headed to the skies over the Capital. Though notified too late to thwart the attacks, the jets were in place to stop any further strikes, including the aircraft that crashed in Pennsylvania.

Within hours of these attacks, the Air Force had established combat air patrols across America with air refueling support to keep them aloft, and command and control assets to direct them. By December, these sorties exceeded 8,000. Meanwhile, as the Air Force air defenses secured the skies, numerous other combat support enablers-strategic and tactical lift, civil engineers, medical teams, combat communications, command centers, chaplains, and security forces-rolled into action. The Air National Guard generated over 100 C-130s to support the movement of FEMA, FBI, human organs and blood, Combat Support Teams (CSTs), medical equipment, and combat communications. In addition, over 70 personnel arrived from Andrews AFB to help coordinate emergency medicine at the Pentagon alongside the Surgeon General of the Air Force.

Within 24 hours, the Air Force swiftly deployed 500 medics to McGuire AFB, to respond to any Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) tasking for equipment and/or personnel needed at the World Trade Center. State-of-the-art medical emergency facilities were assembled, which included four Expeditionary Medical Support packages (EMEDS) (lightweight modular systems). Critical Care Air Transportable Teams (CCATT), which provide emergency medical attention while inflight, were quickly established at both the Pentagon and McGuire AFB. The port mortuary also was activated, with over 600 Air Force Active duty, Guard and Reserve personnel deploying to Dover AFB. They assisted in the identification and preparation of the remains of the Pentagon attack victims, working alongside the Armed Forces Medical Examiner, FBI, Army and Navy personnel. Critical Stress Management Teams conducted counseling to personnel assigned to recovery efforts at both locations. Finally, since the National Disaster Medical System was activated, the Air Force Medical Service (AFMS) also set up its aeromedical evacuation assets at both McGuire AFB and Andrews AFB.

Meanwhile, demonstrating their invaluable integration in the Total Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard airlift crews were among the first to bring in critical supplies, equipment and personnel, including emergency response teams from FEMA, fire trucks, search dogs, and earth moving equipment. At the time of this writing, more than 10,000 Air Force reservists and over 20,000 Air National Guard members have been mobilized, and many more continue to provide daily support as volunteers. Thousands of Air National Guardsmen, reservists, civilians, contractors, and Active duty members are ensuring air and space security over America.

Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)

When the President decided on a the appropriate course of action, air and space forces were called into action. At the outset, Air Force bombers proved instrumental to putting weapons on targets in Afghanistan. The vast mobility capabilities of the Air Force quickly moved assets into the theater, while simultaneously making possible Navy and Air Force fighter attacks.

Enduring Freedom also revealed an improvement from even the most recent operations. Air and space precision assets paired with multi-service special forces on the ground proved an effective, efficient and devastating mix of capabilities. Additionally, we have pushed developing technologies forward and have found operational successes in advanced employment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

This operation is about creating effects-deterrence and defeat of terrorism-so it is more than simply munitions-on-targets. The Air Force is at the forefront of psychological campaigns, applying robust information warfare campaigns while also leading the humanitarian relief mission-essential to any long-term stability in the region. Airdropping millions of rations to a starving people, Air Force mobility forces directly affecting affected the future of the new Afghan government.