Secretary of the Navy Visits Iraq's Al Anbar Province

SECNAV Delivers Message to Service Members in Iraq: Stay Focused

Story by Randy Garsee

AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq -Going green on the deep blue seas, hi-tech weapons systems, and a message to finish the job in Iraq.  During his stopover aboard Al Asad Air Base in the Al Anbar Province this week, the secretary of the Navy (SECNAV), the Honorable Ray Mabus, talked about those subjects, as well as what impressed him most in his first trip outside the U.S. since becoming the Navy’s top civilian.

“The Marines and sailors: the confidence, the skill, the patriotism, the dedication, the devotion of the people that serve our country,” Mabus said.

The secretary wanted to see, first hand, the job Marines and sailors are doing today in Iraq. “I learn better when I see and experience than I do from a Power Point presentation at the Pentagon.  But I also wanted to let the Marines, sailors, soldiers here know how important their work is.”

The military is familiar territory for the former Mississippi governor.  He served as a surface warfare officer aboard the USS Little Rock (CG-4) from 1971-72.  He illustrated a major difference between his service then and the service now.

“When we went into port it was almost guaranteed that a whole bunch of folks would get in trouble, that there’d be arrests, that there’d be this, that there’d be that, there’d be a big captain’s mast when we left,” he explained.  “You could put a whole carrier strike group in today with five, six-thousand people and you won’t have a single incident.  Sailors, Marines see it as part of the mission now.  They are professional.”

Mabus was sworn into office two and a half months ago as the 75th secretary of the Navy.  He believes it’s important for the Navy and Marines to be global.

“We have 284 ships in the fleet right now and those 284 ships are far more capable than the almost 600 ships that we had in the 1980’s,” he said.  “But, at some point, quantity becomes quality and one ship can’t be two places at the same time.  So you’ve got to make sure that you have enough, that you have enough surface combatants, that you have enough amphibian transport for our Marines, that you have enough submarines, that you have enough of the type ships that you need to project the force that you need and to do all the missions that the country calls on the Navy to do.”

During his visit, he also addressed Congressional bill, H.R. 24, which proposes to change the name of his department to “The Department of the Navy and Marine Corps.”

“Whenever I’m asked that, I quote the Commandant of the Marine Corps, who says he’s got a lot of things on his plate and that’s not one of them,” Mabus said, “What I say is that regardless of what the name is, I want to be the secretary.”

And as secretary, he makes his priorities clear.  “Take care of the sailors and Marines who take care of us,” he said.  “Make sure they have, first, what they need to do their mission: the training, the equipment, the leadership.  Second, to make sure that we take care of them in terms of health care and education.  Third, make sure that we take care of their families while they’re deployed, because oftentimes the families have the harder job.”

Mabus also explained how the Navy needs to change some old ways of doing business.  “I think we need to drive the cost of our equipment down, ships and airplanes.  We can not afford any longer to have ever more exotic, ever more expensive, ever longer-to-get ships, for example, or we’re going to unilaterally disarm ourselves.  Next, I think we need to move away from petroleum as a source of energy for the Navy and the Marine Corps both ashore and afloat.  Petroleum, oil, comes from, sometimes, dangerous parts of the world and I don’t want our military strength to be dependent on that or those supplies could be interrupted.”

The secretary would like to see another hi-tech area expand under his leadership.  “I think we need to take a much more detailed look, and move faster, in terms of unmanned vehicles, whether in the air, on the ground or the sea, or under the sea.”

Mabus also has previous experience in the middle east.  He was ambassador to Saudi Arabia during the Clinton administration.  His knowledge gave weight to the message he delivered to those serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“The job that’s being done here in Iraq remains a critical job, remains a job that is demanding and exacting and that we have to stay focused on,” he said.  “One of the primary purposes of my trip was to tell Marines and sailors that the job they’re doing is not going unnoticed.  We’re proud of them.  Stay focused on this job until the very last Marine or sailor comes home.”