Budget Highlights Book - DON FM&C Website - U.S. Navy

February 2010Rebalancing to Meet Prioritiestradition of readiness and to ensure that they are fully trained and equippedfor their assigned missions.• Preserving and Enhancing the Force. The Department continues to preserveand shape today’s force in order to ensure we meet the requirements of thefight we are in today, while ensuring the long‐term viability of theall‐volunteer force to adapt to future events.To preserve the force, funds are required to reset and reconstituteNavy/Marine Corps forces to levels achieved before the commencement ofhostile overseas operations in order to ensure critical capabilityenhancements essential to the conduct of theater missions. Included isfunding necessary to restore units to a level of combat capabilitycommensurate with the unit’s future mission. The Marine Corps experiencedequipment usage rates as much as seven times greater than peacetime rates,tremendously decreasing the projected lifespan of its gear. Resetting the forcewill refurbish or replace equipment which has been used more extensivelythan originally anticipated, and replenish equipment from strategic stocksdrawn to support combat forces, to remain responsive to emerging threatsand other contingencies.In the area of military construction, funding for increased capacity in BlountIsland is vital to meeting our ability to reset the returning equipment.Without requested funding, efforts to continue the ongoing fight andsimultaneously address the postwar need to maintain future warfightingreadiness will not be achieved. Additionally, equipment replacement isrequested for three Marine Corps attack helicopters lost in combat as well asground equipment, weapons and ammunition. Funding is also required forforce protection upgrades and survivability enhancements for varioussystems.MANAGING OUR PEOPLE• A naval force fully prepared for employment. The Navy and Marine Corpsteam helps ensure the joint force has the ability to gain access to denied areasfrom great distances, even in the face of determined adversaries and despiteincreasing diplomatic, political, and cultural challenges. By emphasizing ournaval forces’ command of the sea, we remain ready to perform bothimmediate and extended operations “without a permission slip,” even inFY 2011 Department of the Navy Budget 1‐9