From the Editor

NRA News, March 2009

By RADM Casey Coane, USNR (Ret)

This month, of course, we will have our conference in Fort Worth at the Renaissance Worthington. It promises to be both busy and fun. As they did in Hawaii, the Anchors have done a wonderful job in helping with the fun part. The business part is up to you. This is an important time in the history of the Association, and those of you who truly care about our future need to be there.

As I am writing, I have just returned from listening to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Admiral Mullen, speak at a luncheon event. The audience was Guard and Reserve personnel; and he made a very specific point of saying thank you to both the service members and, just as importantly, to their families. The Chairman seems to understand and appreciate the fact that the country could not be where it is today were it not for the action on the part of Guardsmen/women and Reservists. Interestingly, during his address, he did not mention equipment once but stressed repeatedly that “getting it right” for today’s young officers and enlisted was his greatest concern and challenge. Admiral Mullen also made the point that we must take care of today’s fallen and wounded and their families. In attempting to do so, he stressed the need for truly seamless cooperation between the Services and the Veterans Administration. We couldn’t agree more. The Admiral also commented on the integration of the Navy Reserve into the Navy and how that needed to become a model for the other Reserve Components moving forward. I was somewhat surprised that in the Q&A the questions specifically about the Reserve and Navy Reserve were the ones that he deferred to answering later by e-mail.

At such functions, one can always pick up on some tidbit of information. One such that I learned was that the Chairman has not continued a practice started by his predecessor, General Pete Pace, of having a senior enlisted advisor to the Chairman. Not sure what to make of this.

By the time you read this, we will have had a full month under the new Administration. Still too soon to know how the defense budget will settle out, but some things are beginning to give a sense of direction. Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) has called for a twenty-five percent reduction in defense spending. The President has apparently asked the Services to tell him what a ten percent cut would do to them. Either way, there will certainly be increased scrutiny of major defense programs. F-35 heads the list as the most expensive program out there. The Army Future Combat Systems is also huge, behind schedule, and over budget. Then, there is the much troubled Air Force Tanker program and the Navy’s LCS. If there is good news here, I suppose that it is that there are problems with procurement in every service and the Navy in general has good Congressional support.

We have just concluded a two-day meeting of the Transition Committee here at HQ on Friday and Saturday, the sixth and seventh of February. I have to tell you that I am excited to see the progress that was made by eight dedicated members of the Association including Senior Chief Nick Marine who is also the Vice President today at NERA. There is a plan to create the change to AUSN, and it is a good plan thanks to dedicated hard work by great shipmates. I am equally excited by the opportunities that AUSN creates for us, all of us. We will continue to work Reserve issues with Congress and the Navy, but we will also increase our efforts on behalf of Navy equipment. Most importantly, we will expand our service to the enlisted members of the Navy. It has been said that officers run the Navy and chiefs make the Navy run. Well, together we will build AUSN and take care of the troops.

As always, enjoy the read. Warm regards, Casey Coane National Executive Director