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STATEMENT
OF
LIEUTENANT
GENERAL DENNIS M. MCCARTHY
UNITED
STATES MARINE CORPS RESERVE
COMMANDER
MARINE FORCES RESERVE
18
JULY 2001
Chairman McHugh,
Congressman Snyder, and distinguished
members of the Committee, it is my privilege
to report on the status and the future
direction of your Marine Corps Reserve as a
contributor to the Total Force.
On behalf of Marines and their
families, I want to thank the Committee for
its continued support.
Your efforts reveal not only a
commitment for ensuring the common defense,
but also a genuine concern for the welfare of
our Marines and their families.
The
Marine Corps Reserve continues to make an
extraordinary contribution at home and abroad.
Today, we are approximately 212,000
strong, with 172,600 Marines in the Active
Forces and 39,558 in the Selected Marine Corps
Reserve.
As part of our Total Force, Reserve
Marines augment and reinforce the Active
Component by performing a variety of missions
such as providing civil affairs expertise in
the Balkans, providing aviation support
in Southwest Asia, and providing logistics
support in Central America.
This year, Reserve Marines and units
participated in several exercises spanning the
globe from Germany, Romania, Egypt, Macedonia,
Korea, and Thailand to Australia.
Marine
Forces Reserve (MARFORRES) deployed
approximately 3,200 Marines and 1,200 Short
Tons of equipment, via strategic lift, to
support our National Military strategy during
Fiscal Year 2000; force deployments during the
first two quarters of Fiscal Year 2001 show
the same level of effort.
We
supported contingency operations by providing
a Civil Affairs detachment for Kosovo and
KC-130 support for both Operation Northern
Watch and for forward deployed Marine
Expeditionary Units (MEUs), relieving
Operations Tempo for Active component aviation
units. Additionally,
our Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Companies (ANGLICO)
supported both east and west coast Marine
Expeditionary Units (MEUs) in exercises within
the United States and overseas.
Marine
Reserve units and individuals participated in
at least 75% of the counter narcotics missions
assigned to the Marine Corps in Fiscal Year
2000. In
the continental U.S., Reserves trained to
measure and enhance their mobilization
readiness with the Active Component and they
conducted community service projects in their
hometowns, thereby strengthening the vital
link between the military and our
society.
My
intent today
is to discuss the future roles and missions
and current state of the Marine Corps Reserve
with respect to the Corps’ Four Pillars of
Readiness: Marines and their families, legacy
systems, infrastructure, and modernization.
During my comments today, I will
discuss the status of many programs.
I should note, however, that the
programs I will discuss may change as a result
of the Secretary of Defense’s strategy
review. I
ask that you consider my comments in that
light.
Our
overall budget has been adequate to sustain
the readiness of our Marines.
However, we have been maintaining
readiness at the expense of modernization and
investment in our infrastructure.
Recent spikes in the cost of utilities
have put even this fragile balance in
jeopardy.
This year’s budget is a good
beginning to address our funding challenges.
Our future defense capabilities depend
upon your continued support.
FUTURE
ROLES AND MISSIONS
Our
future commitments depend on our Marines to be
ready, willing, and able to respond quickly to
contingencies worldwide.
The
value of the Marine Corps Reserve has always
been measured in our ability to effectively
augment and reinforce the Active Component.
All
operational units of the Selected Marine Corps
Reserve (SMCR) have been assigned to a unified
combatant commander and apportioned to each
Commander-in-Chief (CINC) for Major Theater
War (MTW) plans.
In the event of an MTW, our Reserve
commanders know:
when and where they can expect to
mobilize and deploy, what missions and tasks
they will be expected to perform, and which
Active Component commander will employ them in
combat. Most
Marine Reserve units are identified to deploy
in the earliest phases of a conflict, to
include units identified to marry up with
Maritime Prepositioned Shipping equipment.
These facts clearly demonstrate how
important the Marine Corps Reserve is to the
total Marine Corps planning effort.
Although our primary roles will not
change, current global conditions will require
increasing contributions from the Reserve to
support Total Force demands as contributors to
exercises, contingencies and other operations.
Operational
tempo relief missions will continue to provide
increased opportunities for Reservists to
support the Total Force effort throughout the
world. Requests
for Reserve support cross the spectrum of unit
type and capabilities.
Outside of the Continental United
States, Reserve deployments in Fiscal Year 2001 are supporting
contingency operations, participating in
bilateral exchanges, and providing OPTEMPO/PERSTEMPO
relief to the active component.
These units conduct live-fire exercises
and participate in amphibious, jungle,
mountain, and cold weather training, which
will enhance the unit and the individual
Marine’s skills, proficiency, and readiness.
This Reserve participation includes:
six New Horizons operations conducted
in Central and South America; two Civil
Affairs detachments to Kosovo for a six month
rotation each; two Dutch bilateral exchanges
in Curacao; an Australian exchange in support
of Exercise Gold Eagle; and numerous
Partnership for Peace Exercises in support of
the European Command.
The
Marine Corps Reserve is also supporting two
additional OPTEMPO relief efforts.
We deployed a provisional security unit
from the 23rd Marine Regiment to
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to serve a four-month
deployment, relieving the Marine Corps
Security Force Battalion of the requirement to
send one of its platoons to perform that
mission.
Additionally, we have been asked to
assume the Marine portion of the UNITAS
exercise.
The goal of this initiative is to
assign the UNITAS deployment to the Reserve
every other year.
We will begin by training a reinforced
company from the 23rd Marine
Regiment in preparation for the 2002 UNITAS
deployment.
A
robust Active Duty for Special Work (ADSW)
budget is a critical element in meeting the
requirements of the Total Force.
The
Marine Corps Reserve at the beginning of the
new millennium must be able to adapt to new
missions in response to future challenges.
The
role played by our Reserve units in Weapons of
Mass Destruction – Consequence Management (WMD-CM)
will not detract from the primary mission of
augmenting and reinforcing the Active
Component.
The
Marine Corps Reserve, already “forward
deployed” in cities across America, can play
an important role in supporting civil-military
responses to crises.
Given that we expect a continued
increase in the employment of the Reserve in
support of Total Force missions, we must
maintain current readiness while ensuring that
our resources are available for modernization.
Congressional support for increased use
of the Reserve has been a key element in
providing OPTEMPO relief and training. Your support permits us to meet commitments that may go
beyond the normal two-week annual training
period. While
the historical Reserve mission to augment and
to reinforce our Active Component remains our
focus, the demands of this and emerging
missions will increase operational challenges
and amplify the need to effectively resource
the Marine Corps Reserve.
With proper planning that takes into
account the specific demographics of the
Marine Corps Reserve, and
with adequate resources, we can do more
and still take care of our Marines. We are not yet approaching the limits on the use of the
Marine Corps Reserve, but we are watching this
closely.
MARINES
AND THEIR FAMILIES
Our
future success relies firmly on the Marine
Corps’ most valuable asset and its first
pillar of readiness – our Marines and their
families.
In fact, our Commandant, General Jones
has made it clear that combat readiness and
personal and family readiness are inseparable.
As such, we are aggressively working to
strengthen the readiness of our Marines and
families by enhancing their quality of life (QOL).
Our Marine Corps Community Services' (MCCS)
many programs and services are designed and
being developed to reach all Marines and their
families regardless of geographic location; a
significant and challenging undertaking
considering the geographic dispersion of our
Marines and their families who are spread
across 47 states and Puerto Rico.
One area I'm particularly proud of is
our Marine Corps Family Team Building program. During the past two years we have made a considerable
commitment and investment in building,
training, and supporting family readiness
teams - comprised of Marines and volunteers -
at sites and units across the Force.
In short, these teams are vital to our
family readiness efforts prior to, during, and
after a deployment or mobilization.
They are making a difference, and I
expect this will only strengthen as our
program matures.
Our MCCS programs also include Chaplain
delivered retreats; physical fitness and
healthy lifestyle programs; children, youth,
and teen support; and continuing education
programs just to name a few.
Much work remains to extend MCCS
programs and services to our unique Force, but
even today MCCS is positively impacting our
mobilization readiness, which in turn is
contributing to us being ready, willing, and
able to contribute to the Marine Corps’
Total Force effort.
Reserve
manpower augmentation
is required in order to meet the Reserve
commitment as a capable, ready partner in
America’s force in readiness.
Reserve
manpower augmentation consists of ADSW and a
reassessment of the remaining QDR reductions in the Marine Corps Reserve.
The Marine Corps Reserve is no longer
only a force for mobilization for Major
Theater War but it is now a daily use force. We are using the Reserve for manpower augmentation to Active
and Reserve staffs, units, and exercise forces
by providing short-term and fulltime personnel
to plan and perform training, administration,
maintenance and logistical support not
otherwise available through existing manpower
levels or traditional Reserve participation
(drills and annual training).
These additional personnel are also of
absolute necessity in maintaining our ability
to plan and participate in operational tempo (OPTEMPO)
relief operations, Joint and Combined
Exercises, and essential combat, combat
support, and combat service support training.
MARFORRES has traditionally provided
150,000 workdays per year in support of the
Active Component — we doubled that number to
well over 300,000 in Fiscal Year 2000.
Our expanded measures for OPTEMPO
relief, including the two important actions of
recurring security deployments to Guantanamo
Bay and the assumption of the United American
States (UNITAS) deployment to South America in
alternating years, contribute to ADSW
requirements outpacing available resources.
The
second issue affecting our Marines is the
QDR97 reductions.
Although the last QDR initially led to
tangible improvements, it also resulted in a
reduction in our end strength that essentially
removed the flexibility in meeting the
personnel demands inherent in a robust
operational tempo. One of the major factors facilitating Reserve readiness is
the significant investment of active duty
manpower in full time support of the Reserve.
The QDR97 directed reductions of active
duty support of the Marine Corps Reserve,
particularly the Active Reserve program, are
challenging our ability to maintain readiness
and meet requirements for Reserve employment.
Eighty-one percent of the QDR Reserve
reductions will have been taken by the end of
Fiscal Year 2001 but any further reductions
will negatively impact our ability to provide
OPTEMPO relief and maintain Reserve readiness.
The
FY02 President’s budget affirms our internal
Marine Corps reviews, including the Fiscal
Year 1999 Force Structure Planning Group and
Fiscal Year 2000 General Officers Future
Group, that determined the 1997 QDR Reserve
reductions require an adjustment. Maintaining overall Selected Marine Corps Reserve (SMCR)
end-strength at 39,558 (including 2,261 Active
Reserves) will stem the degradation of the
Marine Corps Reserve's capability to provide
OPTEMPO and PERSTEMPO relief to Active Marine
Forces, maintain sufficient Full Time Support
at our small unit sites, and retain critical
aviation and ground equipment maintenance
capabilities.
The
most sacred honor we can provide veterans is
that of a military funeral. The
staff members and Reserve Marines at our 185
manned sites performed approximately 5,500
funerals last year, a45% increase over 1999,
and we project a 39-40% increase per year
giving us potentially 7,500 funerals to
support this year.
The steps that Congress took last year
to allow Reserve participation at
the inactive duty drill rate for funeral
honors duty helped us meet this growing
obligation.
Our current Reserve end strength
supports funeral honors at our small sites
(where there are less than 10 active duty
Marines on staff), not as a primary duty, but
as one of the many tasks incident to training
and administering the Reserve and providing a
military connection to the local community.
The authorization and funding to bring
Reserve Marines on ADSW to perform funeral
honors has particularly assisted us at sites
like Bridgeton, MO, where we perform several
funerals each week; exempting these Marines,
who exceed 180 days on ADSW to provide funeral
honors for veterans, from counting against
active duty end strength would remove an
impediment to greater Reserve component
participation and provide greater latitude in
manpower application.
Furthermore as a result of the increase
in funeral honors, we have realized increased
operations and maintenance costs associated
with vehicle maintenance and fuel for
transportation of funeral honors duties and
for the cleaning and maintenance of dress
uniforms.
Continued support for military funeral
honors funding, in our Military Personnel and
Operations and Maintenance accounts, is
critical to ensuring mission success in this
most worthwhile endeavor.
Our
Career Management Team (CMT) continues
to expand its efforts to support “Career
Reservists” - those Marine officers and
enlisted who have completed their initial
obligation and who remain affiliated.
The
CMT staff provides record reviews and
counseling, offers career guidance, and
communicates promotion information to assist
and guide Reserve Marines in making the best
possible career decisions.
Via the CMT Website, Marines can access
CMT services as well as find and apply for
open Reserve billets and ADSW opportunities
using the Reserve Career Management Support
System (RCMSS) database.
RCMSS allows units and the CMT staff to
contact Marines qualified for specific jobs
and provides units with online visibility of
Marines who are actively seeking Reserve
career options.
Our
benchmark for achieving our goals is simple
— “One Corps, One Standard” for all
Marines, Active and Reserve.
The Marine Corps Total Force System (MCTFS),
our single integrated personnel and pay
system, encompasses the records of all Marines
in a single logical database.
To meet the unique requirements of the
Reserve, we are constructing MCTFS compatible
automated systems to reduce costs and provide
better service to our Marines.
An example is the Marine Corps Medical
Entitlements Data System (MCMEDS) that
automated injury claims processing for Reserve
Marines, reducing paperwork and facilitating
rapid determination of entitlements for the
injured Marine.
We will shortly field our Reserve Order
Writing System (ROWS) to integrate our orders
request and writing systems, facilitate
reconciliation of funding obligations, and
ultimately interface with MCTFS and the
Defense Travel System.
The ROWS will expedite orders and
travel processing, will provide for a smoother
transition to active duty, will improve orders
and pay action response times, and will
provide real time funds accountability.
We actively participate in
development of the Total Force Administration
System (TFAS), a Marine Corps program to
update and further automate our Manpower
Management System.
The
U.S. Navy continues to directly support
MARFORRES personnel readiness by providing
over 2,700 medical, dental, religious, and
naval gunfire support staff.
I
enthusiastically support the Navy plan to fund
a full 15-day annual training for these
sailors in Fiscal Year 2002 and out.
Our joint training is essential to the
successful accomplishment of our
training and operational mission.
The Navy also provides near total
manning for two Status of Resources and
Training System (SORTS) reportable Marine
Corps commands, the Medical and Dental
Battalions of the 4th Force Service Support
Group, as well as significant support of
air/ground combat elements.
I will work with the Director, Naval
Reserve to maintain a minimum of C2 readiness.
Our
recruiters continue to be challenged to
attract and to retain
quality men and women in the Marine Corps
Reserve as young people are presented with
numerous alternatives to military service due
to the positive economic growth in the private
business sector.
Our mission is to find those potential
Marines who choose to manage a commitment to
their family, their communities, their
civilian careers, and to the Corps.
While such dedication requires
self-discipline and personal sacrifices that
cannot be justified by a drill paycheck alone,
adequate compensation and retirement benefits
are tangible incentives for attracting and
retaining quality personnel.
During
the past fiscal year we achieved 103.4% of our
recruiting goal for prior service and 102.5%
for non-prior service Marines.
It was not easy!
Our retention rates for Reserve
enlisted Marines who stay beyond their initial
obligation are also improving.
We do, however, still have some work to
do in keeping non-prior service Reserve
Marines in a satisfactory participation status
for the full length of their obligated
drilling commitment.
The incentives provided by Congress,
such as the MGIB and the Kicker educational
benefits, enlistment bonuses, medical and
dental benefits, and commissary and PX
privileges, have all contributed to the
stability of our Force.
These incentives and the
continued Congressional support have helped us
to attract and to retain capable, motivated,
and dedicated Marines for the future.
The
Montgomery G.I. Bill (MGIB) and the G.I. Bill
Kicker (Kicker) provide up to $600.00 per
month for college and it is our most popular
incentive. I appreciate the additional MGIB
funding the Congress provided in Fiscal Year
2001. It
expanded our ability to offer the Kicker to
more Marines in critical billets and it helped
to level the field of competition between the
Guard and the Reserve Component.
Many
of our Reserve Marines serve initially in the
Active Component and we staff transitional
recruiting stations at Marine Corps bases and
stations to begin the prior service recruiting
process before Marines leave active duty.
I appreciate the Congressional support
for the increased
educational benefits and reenlistment and
affiliation bonuses that help us attract these
Marines to join and to stay in our units.
The transitional recruiters are also
the portals of entry for a program of high
value to the Commandant, “Marine for
Life.”
The
Marine For Life Program is being developed to
achieve the Commandant’s vision of
“improving assistance for our almost
27,000 Marines each year who honorably leave active service and return to civilian life, while
reemphasizing the value of an honorable
discharge.” The Marine For Life Program will enhance current assistance
by providing valuable sponsorship to these
Marines as they transition to civilian life.
The Marine for Life Program will build, develop, and
nurture a nationwide network of
transitioning Marines, veterans,
retirees, Marine Corps affiliated
organizations, and friends of the Corps.
The program will foster a mutually
supportive life-long relationship
between the Marine, his/her Corps, and the
public that we serve, thereby strengthening
our ethos of “Once A Marine, Always A
Marine.”
LEGACY
SYSTEMS
Our second pillar of readiness -- our
legacy systems – represents systems and
equipment that we will fight with today –
our near term readiness.
These legacy systems are currently
operational due to the hard work of our
skilled Marines and the assistance of Congress
in providing resources for maintenance and
spare parts.
The escalating maintenance costs
associated with maintaining aging equipment
competes with monies that would otherwise be
spent on modernization.
While we must maintain our equipment,
we cannot afford to continue this trend at the
expense and risk of modernizing the Force.
Even though the Marine Corps is
replacing some equipment and modernizing
others through extensive modifications, these
initiatives take
years to complete.
Since the Reserve generally receives
new equipment and modifications to existing
systems after the Active force, the equipment
we currently possess will continue to age and
require more frequent repairs.
Lengthy repair cycles greatly reduce
the amount of time that Reservists have for
annual training and time is a valuable
commodity that is extremely limited in the
Reserve environment.
The more burdensome these repairs
become to our units, the more the quality of
training will diminish, eventually directly
affecting recruiting and retention.
MODERNIZATION
Our third pillar of readiness focuses on the ongoing modernization
initiatives.
The MARFORRES top modernization
priority is to upgrade our fleet of 48 F/A-18A
aircraft (4 Squadrons) with Engineering Change
Proposal (ECP)-583.
While our Marines and their
F/A-18A’s performed superbly last year in
the Bright Star exercise, these are the same
type aircraft that could not be employed in
support of Kosovo operations due to the lack
of self-designating capability.
ECP-583 is a hardware and software upgrade designed to make the current
aircraft compatible both operationally and
logistically with other F/A-18C/D models
utilized in theater by CINCs or Marine Air
Ground Task Force Commanders.
This
upgrade provides the capability to
self-designate precision munitions, to employ
the newest generation of
air-to-ground/air-to-air weapons, and to
conduct night operations.
Although
billed as a modernization program, ECP-583 is
also a readiness and sustainment issue linked
directly to the roles and missions these
squadrons uphold in the Total Force.
This Total Force program also includes
28 Active Component aircraft for a total of 76.
The modernization of these F/A-18A’s
will make these Active and Reserve aircraft
capable, relevant, and fully interoperable in
support of the Total Force Marine Corps.
Current funding will upgrade 22 active and 22
reserve aircraft to full ECP-583 standards,
while 32 aircraft await funding for their
upgrades.
Our second modernization priority is to upgrade the
remaining
11 of our 21 CH-53E helicopters with the
helicopter night vision system (HNVS).
The HNVS improves the capability to
navigate and operate at night and during
periods of reduced visibility and supports the
full operational and logistical integration of
Reserve forces with Active forces.
Another top priority is KC-130T
Avionics modernization and standardization. The
current Reserve aircraft configuration is not
fully compliant with emerging Communication,
Navigation, and Surveillance/Air Traffic
Management or mandated Navigation/Safety
requirements.
Funding these and other modernization
initiatives to maintain readiness and safety
will facilitate the effective integration of
Reserve aviation assets with the Active
Component.
While fixed and rotary wing aviation
modernization are the most pressing needs of
the Marine Corps Reserve, they must not
eclipse vital ground combat and logistics
modernization that will ensure the Reserve
remains an effective combined arms team.
The Marine Corps commitment to Reserve
modernization to expand Total Force capability
is demonstrated by our plans to field the High
Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) to
the Reserve to provide all weather fire
support for major theater war.
As currently planned, the fielding of
the Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement (MTVR)
and the HMMWVA2 to the Marine Corps Reserve is
scheduled for completion by 2004 and 2005,
respectively.
These assets will materially increase
the readiness posture of the MARFORRES.
We are continuing to work with
Headquarters Marine Corps and the Marine Corps
Materiel Command to develop optimum Total
Force fielding plans for new equipment.
The
Marine Corps Strategy 21 reaffirmed that
Reserve Integration Expertise is a core
competency of the Marine Corps. Ready, rapidly responsive Marine Reserve forces are a vital
part
of the Marine Corps and provide depth,
flexibility, and sustainment.
Modernization of our Reserve force
should parallel the modernization of our
Active force if we are to ensure our Total
Force is ready, when called upon, to fight and
win tomorrow’s battles. Modernization
of equipment, along with investment in
infrastructure has been a bill-payer for
near-term readiness for eight of the last ten
years. We
must reverse this trend and invest
appropriately in these critical areas.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Investment in infrastructure and its
associated costs represent our fourth pillar
of readiness.
An ongoing challenge will be in finding
ways to budget for facility maintenance costs
at our 185 training center sites.
The Marine Corps has demonstrated a commitment
to training center modernization and
replacement through increased Military
Construction Naval Reserve (MCNR) funding
levels across the Future Years Defense Plan.
Additionally, a recent Program Budget
Decision added sufficient additional MCNR
funding in FY02 that will allow us to complete
one of our high priority projects in Great
Lakes, Illinois. Under
the current construction plans, MARFORRES
facilities are on a schedule for replacement
once every 100 years.
We appreciate your continued support to
ensure that our Reserve training centers
remain ready for our Marines “forward
deployed” in 185 communities across America.
Our
costs for facilities operations and
maintenance have increased 20% in less than
three years.
This fiscal year we are experiencing
unusually high utilities costs, both at sites
we own and those where we must reimburse a
host. In
November 2000, we were advised that our
electricity and natural gas cost at our
facilities on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
would increase by 87% and 60%, respectively.
These increases, in conjunction with current funded
and unfunded maintenance and repair of real
property projects, exceed
$25 million, which is greater than the
annual resources programmed for training. Currently,
we are performing our mission with many
facilities in deteriorated conditions as
indicated in the FY-00 Commanding Officer’s
Readiness Report System (CORRS).
The CORRS report identified 65% of the
Marine Corps owned facilities as inadequate.
These facilities are built to allow
performance of mission operations or provide
quality of life.
When these facilities deteriorate, they
can no longer provide the services as
effectively as was intended.
Rising infrastructure costs challenge
our finite resources.
Without adequate training facilities,
our Reserves are limited in their training
capabilities and in the long term it will
affect mission readiness, recruiting, and
retention.
SUMMARY
We
are ready today, but our future readiness
depends on the continued investment in our
four pillars – our Marines and their
families, our legacy systems, our
modernization initiatives, and our sustainment
of adequate training facilities.
We are ever mindful that it has been
Congress’ consistent, steadfast support that
preserves our ability to answer the Nation’s
call – anytime, anywhere.
The Marine Corps appreciates your
continued support and collaboration in making
the Marine Corps and its Reserve the DoD model
for Total Force integration and expeditionary
capability.
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