The podium here and it is important that we use those the people can use your questions and also people can hear your questions, which is important. So i thank you for that i also ask for your forbearance to ask a question and get to the question because we have a lot of folks here today. It is now my honor to introduce our first speaker, our keynote speaker, mr. Richard b. Spencer comes with a 76 secretary of the navy. He is a proud veteran of the u. S. Marine corps. He served on active duty at the helicopter pilot. The flu age 46 is before the party for the private sector and working on wall street on wall street peace or percentage director for the Financial Management firm in his help on several corporate historical and veterans boards to include the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation , defense business board and chief of Naval Operations executive panel. Lets give a warm welcome first time you spoken to enable astute audience to the honorable richard b. Spencer. [applause] its a pleasure to be here. Theres some familiar faces in the audience and familiar faces as i look across as we are out this weekend at the Reagan NationalDefense Forum and for those of you in the audience who might not have been there or had the chance to see the live version on television, which if you were watching that, i suggest you find a life, you should know better inside watching television it was timely topics. I want to thank you call for her asking me to come and address this. I sincerely mean it, a gust group. The honorable bob work on my way in standing up straight because of the 4000pound rucksack he was smiling happy. Its great to see him in great to see all of you. Its Interesting Times we are living in as the chinese Fortune Cookie always says. I would like to address with this group who i know in looking here, you have been enduring endorsers of National Security and personal advocates for strong Navy Marine Corps team. I want to kind of a kind of address my thoughts on how we are going to take this institution going forward. I will pause and give you an update right now. Saturday started out to be a good week in the pentagon, which doesnt mean that will keep on the same trajectory, but today is in a state because i swore that if undersecretary of the navy thomas mobley. Tomorrow i get to swear in james hondo group is the assistant secretary for rdna and may think we are really putting meat on a frame that will carry the Organization Forward in a very positive to read. I think one of the first things we do when we address the topic of National Security and acknowledge that we are a commercial nation. We are a maritime nation. We benefit from the use. We benefit from the sea lanes open for commerce and really protect there. We have a responsibility to provide security and contribute to the collective safety and stability of the global nation not only for ourselves, not for our allies. It is not only the right thing to do, but as you all know, its in our best interest to do it also. An overarching theme to American Naval policy has always been freedom of system to support the open robust trade amongst nations. Threatens the global stability with our notion and purpose have freedom essays at risk. And that we cannot abide. United states Navy Marine Corps team as you all know is Forward Deployed around the world for the preservation of global stability. Their presence is a deterrence to potential adversaries in every assurance of our allies, whether it be the green suit said the navy on shore, whether it be the gray ships in the harbor presence provides stability. Its my job to make sure naval forces have the same for no longer in the sharper is better. The Navy Marine Corps team needs to be ready to fight tonight and win. That is easy enough to say, but clearly it is a challenge to do and i must be blunt here. We have readiness issues in both the navy and marine corps. We are getting that done. We have a ways to go. Yet despite the challenges we are facing, i am confident we will successfully tackle every single issue and right the ship. We are going to utilize the aid of some outstanding problem solvers we have within the organization and we are going to tasks and problem solvers from outside the organization. Our seventh fleet forces are under the microscope right now and rightfully so. The cns comprehensive review is an example of leadership and problem solving from within an organization will be done with focus. It has given us a deeper insight into the systemic issues and provided us a way forward to address the shortfalls that receive. My strategic readiness review has enlisted the outside aid that i just mentioned. Its still forthcoming, but we are looking at everything and i mean looking at everything from top to have the joint chiefs task our organization to goldwaternichols and the fleet forces structure as youre well aware a multitude of obstacles in our path both current and emerging. Lets go over some just to refresh your memory. Framing issues born of the budget control act and continuing resolutions have taken a toll on readiness, and maintenance cycle can also cost us time and resources that we cannot hide back. The infrastructure needed to grow in support of the refit and repair our fleet as you well know are showing signs of strain sand are woefully underfunded. Technological leaps have put new affordable capabilities in the hands of our adversaries appeared a number of these adversaries have begun demonstrating renewed aggression that we have not seen in some time. These points are simply the basis for the environments in which we operate. So in the challenging world, how can we maintain our advantage . The key is to maintain focus on mission with three priorities in mind. People, capabilities and process. People our greatest asset. We dont win without them and we need to keep the winners that we have. We need to recruit, train, and power the subject Matter Expert and hold these people accountable. Our ships, planes, submarines, vehicles, all just hunks of metal. They cant do much without the human interface. Many sailors and marines to bring them to life. Our sailors and marines our sons and daughters at the desk in the world that what they do. They are all volunteers and if given wholly of themselves to ensure we at home can enjoy the freedoms that we sometimes take for granted. They are hearing the reinforcing message every single day now that they are our warriors then that is their job. They deserve the right you can leave the platforms to deliver the fight tonight. Im dedicated to ensuring our people, our people, and these were fighters get the capabilities that they need. Im also dedicated to ensuring our servicemembers ensuring our Service Members and civilian teammates receive the best training because its welltrained people that will employ their gear and extract capabilities in the most efficient than effect of manners. We must foster an environment where our sailors and marines are given the choice and pots to challenge them and give them a career path that will keep them in organization. We need to ensure that our people have the professional and Educational Opportunities they need to grow as leaders and critical thinkers. We must also ensure families of loved ones who sailors and marines are taking care of. This families are entrusting us with the lab to their house band, wives, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters in the center were fighters over the end, they need to be sure their loved ones are being taken care of at home so they can develop their focus towards the mission. What are sailors and marines can focus 100 of their focus on the mission, they will be able to effectively apply war fighting capabilities whenever and wherever they are needed. Which leads to my second priority. Getting the right capabilities into the hands of our sailors and marines. You all know our sailors and marines are the best in class and they deserve the best in class. They deserve it in a timely manner. To that end, directed and Acquisition Team to do their part in expediting research, development and acquisition process. Our technological advantages are real. Those advantages are diminishing. You can be sure theres some countries announced a result theyre working hard to bridge these technological jobs and that is why my goal is to never send our troops into a fair fight. I learned from the world of business when you are facing competition, you need to have the resources and processes in place to compete and win and to stay ahead of the competition at all times. When you take your hand off the throttle that he competition begins to close. Its bad enough but when the stakes here as you well know are much, much higher. I can assure you that near peer potential adversaries are just treading water. They are spending the money needed to develop the lethal capabilities that will challenge ours and they have a pat in many cases is much more expeditious than ours. Fear not, we will answer this challenge. We must respond im all for a good internal research and development, rapid prototyping, accelerated learning and getting the capability or people need. Im talking about true partnership. We talk about it this weekend by reagan based upon the concept of shared risk will yield shared benefits. The u. S. Government can be the only entity when it comes to acquisition that takes all the risk for the majority of risk. They must back to a true understanding of partnership with our Industrial Base that we can have a sustainable Acquisition Price for not a transaction oriented process that simply grinds down to the lowest common denominator. This is a partnership where we provide industry a clear line of sight to her needs and we must provide them a clear line of sight to a resources so they can invest in the Necessary Research and development and provide solutions to our challenge. The challenges we have in the Navy Marine Corps team site or a mass and theres no relief we have all the resources we need. We must leverage every single aspect we have and as i said, that is both internal and external partnerships. We must do this all the while by making sure we dont squander their resources of our taxpayers. The partnership i am talking about requires that we be a responsible customer to industry and frankly that is something we have room to improve upon. We can start by focusing on our third priority and that is process. To meet the threats of today and tomorrow, we must perform our processes. Weve been talking about this for decades. We actually are starting to move the needle sometimes that means joining the teleservices to meet a common goal. The partnership is an example with the United States coast guard as they begin the acquisition process for polar ice break where we combine the best part is his. The navy knows how to build ships. So does the coast guard. We knows how to build large s. Bishops and we are teaming up to see how we can provide the best solution for her sister surveys. The navy will benefit. The coast guard will benefit. The taxpayer will benefit. We have a long way to go. We appreciate past congressional authorities for block in multiyear buys and we continued to use those to fund our programs. Tools like these help us balance the economies of scale by ensuring the Industrial Base. The base at the end of the day provides us our capabilities. I also appreciate the bipartisan congressional advocacy in designing a 355 ship navy s. Law. Its not the ships we talk about growing the fleet. Implement the decision to wrap loosely provided by congress with a fleet of the United States navy. As he pressed forward, and committed to expanding the fleet on the sea, under the sea and into the air do we have to lay the foundation for the growth. We must ensure the health of the Defense Industry workforce are in place. Large Capital Investments need to be made today to build a fleet of tomorrow and to maintain that fleet the way that we should. So those that have these assets in future years have the capability to fight. I cant say exactly what the maritime fleet will look like in 20 to 25 years, but i can tell you it wont exist unless we get serious about providing the funding needed to build those capabilities today. We cant buy back time if we dont invest for the future we will be in a corner that will be tough to extract ourselves from. The bottomline ladies and gentlemen, urgency is the battle cry. In addition to efforts of congress reaching out to our Industry Partners to spur his industries. Wherever this challenge someone else is almost certainly addressed it, whether directly or tangentially. And that they have inside on what works. We are looking for the best practices. The best practices that people have gone through similar situations. I found out just by reaching out by talking about her issues produces amazing feedback from outside the building and from some of the most unlikely places you can imagine. Well see about forthcoming in the Strategic Review we are going to roll out in a week and a half. Weve already reached out to Industry Leaders to learn how they have improved safety and im confident. I truly am confident after seeing these people is what theyve contributed that we will gain some valuable insight and improve our culture as we move down the road to work for a sustainable readiness. So what is needed . We need the right processes in place to recruit, train, equip and organizer people in a sustainable, responsible manner, giving them the capability to win anytime anywhere. The challenge may see daunting to want but i see opportunity. Opportunity to enhance our partnerships that we just discussed. An opportunity to innovate and do we have any readers. The opportunity to lead and theres the opportunity to properly address what has been the most harmful entitlement to reaching our goal. The budget control act and continuing resolutions weve seen and will continue to be incredibly harmful unless we address this as soon as possible. Across the department of the navy, roughly 4 billion since 2011 and we have put 4 billion in a trash can come up with lighter fluid on top of it and burned it. 4 million as you know i can see a come if youre snoozing i cant tell what youre thinking. For billions enough, to destroyers. 3000 harpoon missiles. Think about some of this. 2000 tactical tomahawk missiles. Enough money that can bias the additional capacity and capability that we need. Instead the 4 billion of taxpayers money was lost because of inefficiency of the ways of the continuing resolution. Each member of our all volunteer force makes a promise to protect our nation from harm and to give their full measure to do so. It is time for a nation and congress to keep the same promise to them by secretary amanda says that our nation can afford survival. Another continuing resolution is a broken promise and one more chip away at our ability to survive. In closing i want to thank you offer the opportunity to stand in front of you and im going to stop bloviating and take questions from the floor because that is where we find the most interesting things to talk about. Open the microphones. Thank you. Compaq good morning, mr. Secretary. Christological were for group now. This economic and National Defense for them the commander of the u. S. Strategic command general hate said when he was growing up he aspire to be a colonel program for a not a general because he had the responsibility and authority to deliver products and processes to the war fighter. When the lieutenant want to be the kernels again that is when we will have things ready. How do u. S. Secretary plan to fix the bureaucracy the war fighters deal with day in and day out whether thats in the fleet at the pentagon to ensure they grow up wanting to be commanders and not to say the admirals and secretaries. Is a timely question because theres a couple things going on here. It is an alarming rate but the fact that there is one or two of these events relate to shot me completely. There are officers that are asking not to take command. That they would rather take another path and take command. When i was in the marine corps in front of me id rather not take command. In a Strategic Review we are looking at. My. We have to provide and we will provide to actually progress will we be able to do it in four years. We are going to set sail to try to do it. We have to try to do it. One example that someone asked me this weekend was give me some context for this. Here is a fine example. When i flew to battle fraud. You couldnt tune in to an army frequency. Talk about the center of excellence. We are such a center of excellence we couldnt speak to anyone else because we never thought they were that excellent. We have now gone and we tried to prime the pump to join. We had to set up the joint command. We had everyone to think about doing. It is now in our dna. Can we now say okay, we have the understanding of joint in early dna stage and now we dont have to have as many as we have now . That might be one avenue we might have to look out for going back to providing the environment and the tools to extract the best from our people is something we will have to do. Its a valid question and we are focusing on it. Mr. Secretary. Berman pulled mark. Today i believe the navy a short about 3000 enlisted men and women. In that context, the economy is improving. Unemployment is down. We see him go through each ship type. The last 2530 years theres been no reduction in crew requirements. Tumbleweed man a fleet of 275 ships. Another timely question. Should use you guys as my road. I will answer that question by backing in the Something Else. I think it was 20 times, ms. Secretary gates i was brought in by Michael Barrett to secretary gates office to get an assignment for