Military Officer - October 2006 - (Page 48) “We have a lot of talent in the Navy, and I want to look for ways to relieve the pressure [on ground forces] where I can help,” he says. “This is a national war. This isn’t a Marine Corps war or an Army war. So I want the Navy to participate as much as possible,” the CNO says. There were 2,850 sailors in country when he became CNO in July 2005. As Central Command made new requests for forces to the services, Mullen decided the Navy could be more aggressive in providing personnel. The number soon hit 4,000 sailors in Iraq, and Mullen projects the total will climb to 7,000 or more. “The strategic thrust is to try to do as much as possible,” he says. Some commanding officers are concerned about sending so many sailors into Iraq, fearing shortages of crew members or other essential personnel. Mullen reassures them that any shortages will be small. “In a unit of 300 to 400 it might be two, three, or four people,” he says. “I’ve operated ships my whole [career] short two, three, or four people — and more than that depending on what decade we’re talking about.” The Navy soon will have 10,000 sailors on the ground across U.S. Central Command, which includes Iraq, Afghanistan, Bahrain, and the Horn of Africa. That will be more sailors in ground support roles than are serving aboard ships, perhaps a historic first for a wartime theater of operations. Eighty-five percent of U.S. Navy skills can help to support missions on the ground in Iraq, he says. “There is somewhat of a mismatch,” he concedes. “Clearly we’ve got to do the right training to get them ready because it’s a tough environment.” Extra Hot Topic: TRICARE CNO Adm. Michael Mullen and other members of the Joint Chiefs support DoD’s plan to increase TRICARE fees and copayments for retirees under age 65. He notes that military health care costs have climbed sharply over the past decade while TRICARE fees remained unchanged. Increasing TRICARE fees for retirees is controversial, Mullen says, but health costs are a problem, “and we’re going to have to come to grips with it.” At the same time, he says, “How do you really balance this? We cannot have benefits just go up forever. It’s just not realistic.” Personnel costs are increasing so fast, Mullen says, that even as the Navy shaves its force structure by 10,000 sailors a year to save $5 billion a year, overall personnel costs continue to increase. “It’s somewhere between 60 percent and 70 percent of my budget,” Mullen says. Pay and benefits are so strong, he notes, that the Navy for the past six years has retained more than 50 percent of sailors who are completing their first enlistment. “I remember the early ’70s when the winner of the Golden Anchor Award in a squadron for first-term retention had a winning number of 14 percent. I know how important this is,” says Mullen. For under-65 retirees, Mullen says, “I don’t think the promise was free health care for life, but health care at a reasonable cost. This is the gold standard in the country right now. That there has been no adjustment for inflation since 1995 doesn’t make any sense to me.” training is being provided at Fort Jackson, S.C., and Fort Lewis, Wash. “The Army has been spectacular in helping us get ready,” Mullen says. Regarding how sailors have reacted, given that most are being assigned to Iraq rather than volunteering, Mullen says: “There have been two reactions. One is, ‘Throw me in coach. I’m in the military. That’s where the fight is. I want to go.’ The other reaction is, ‘I thought I signed up to fix an engine’ or ‘to get this skill’ or whatever. The majority respond with the first reaction.” Mullen also has expanded Navy participation in Afghanistan with the selection of six commanders to take charge of about a quarter of provisional reconstruction teams that coalition forces operate in Afghanistan. Mullen notes that one of the selected officers completed a command tour before departing for Afghanistan; the other five are clear to get commands after they return. Each will come back “changed individuals,” says Mullen. “They will see the world differently.” Working with other countries Mullen also has pushed aggressively for the Navy to assume primary control of prison operations for suspected terrorists in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and to command the Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF)-Horn of Africa, headquartered in Djibouti. The Navy two-star in that assignment, says Mullen, is on the cutting edge of the war on terrorism. Fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan “is going to end,” Mullen says, “but the global war on terrorism is going to go on for a long time.” Because terrorists flourish in ungoverned areas, the CJTF-Horn of Africa, commanded by Rear Adm. Richard Hunt serves a critical role. It’s there to strengthen U.S. ties 48 MILITARY OFFICER OCTOBER 2006
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