# SECNAV Delivers Remarks at 2024 McAleese Defense Programs Conference

### 7 Mar 2024

## Quick Facts

Good afternoon, everyone!  

It is wonderful to be here with you all today for the Fiscal Year 2025 McAleese Defense Programs Conference.  

Thank you, Jim, for that kind introduction, for the opportunity to discuss the challenges our Navy and Marine Corps face today, and to highlight how our major acquisitions programs support our mission. 

As your 78th Secretary of the Navy, my mission is to provide combat ready forces and capabilities to the President of the United States, Secretary of Defense, and our Combatant Commanders. 

As a former career Surface Warfare Officer and a former small business owner in the defense ecosystem, I fully understand and appreciate what the people in this room bring to the high-end fight.   

Former Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Ernest King once said, “Nothing remains static in war or military weapons, and it is consequently often dangerous to rely on courses suggested by apparent similarities in the past.” 

I implore you to assume this mindset and refuse the temptation to accept the status quo; transformation and innovation are key to our success in the world today. 

We face incredible challenges in every corner of the globe—from Europe to the Red Sea to the Indo-Pacific region. 

In the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, we are working alongside our NATO allies and Middle East partners to ensure the safety of innocent, civilian mariners and protect our commercial shipping against the Iranian-aligned Houthi attacks. 

In Europe, Russia continues the third year of its illegal and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine. And this war is no longer a stalemate—Russia has made ground—capturing the Ukrainian city of Avdiivka last month. 

And while the threat of President Vladimir Putin’s reign has always hovered in the background of public consciousness, the death of Alexei Navalny is a stark reminder of Vladimir Putin’s tyrannical and unjust regime. 

This is a critical moment in history. Congress must pass the national security supplemental funding bill to resupply Ukrainian forces so they may continue to fight for their freedom and sovereignty.  

In the Indo-Pacific, North Korea has publicly abandoned its long-term goal of reunification with South Korea and, in fact, now views them as the “main enemy.” 

North Korea continues the creation and testing of new and dangerous military capabilities, including numerous ICBMs. It now aligns itself with Russia and poses an incredible threat to South Korea and Japan. 

Kim Jong Un has even bestowed President Putin the concerning title of the “Korean people’s closest friend.” 

And while the world’s focus has shifted to other parts of the globe, the People’s Republic of China continues to enforce excessive maritime claims through their navy, coast guard, and maritime militia.  

To effectively face these mounting challenges and threats, we must commit to a whole-of-nation effort to support the Navy and Marine Corps. 

In response to the attacks on innocent commercial mariners, our Navy and Marine Corps Team has resoundingly responded.  

In the Red Sea, our ships and aircraft have deterred the missiles and drones which threaten innocent maritime shipping: Carney, Mason, Gravely, Laboon, Thomas Hudner, and Eisenhower—their engagements call back to their warfighters’ namesakes and legacies. 

We are working in concert with our allies and partners in the region who have engaged drones and missiles—including United Kingdom Royal Navy destroyer HMS Diamond, German frigate Hessen, and Italian Navy destroyer Caio Duilio. 

We have engaged Houthi targets in Yemen alongside Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, the U.K., and New Zealand. 

Operation Prosperity Guardian remains a collective effort. When the Houthis struck Marshall Islands-flagged Motor Vessel Marlin Luanda with an anti-ship ballistic missile in January, USS Carney, French Navy Frigate FS Alsace, and Indian Navy Destroyer INS Visakhapatnam responded and assisted with fire-fighting efforts.  

Interoperability matters. Just last month, NATO assumed command of United States and British Forces in the Eastern Mediterranean. Naval Striking Forces NATO executed a Transfer of Authority, assuming command of more than 5,000 Sailors and Marines assigned to the Bataan Amphibious Readiness Group, which includes USS Mesa Verde, USS Arleigh Burke, and Royal Fleet Auxiliary Argus.  

We are indeed a unified fighting force, and our network of partners and allies around the globe is a critical advantage that we have over our potential adversaries. 

In order to maintain our warfighting advantage, we must continue looking forward to new innovations, adapting to the threats of today while anticipating the threats of tomorrow. 

Last year, I spoke about my three enduring priorities which continue to serve as the basis of all we do in the Department of the Navy. They are: 
            -  Strengthening Maritime Dominance,  
            -  Building a Culture of Warfighting Excellence, and  
            -  Enhancing Strategic Partnerships.  

“Enhancing Strategic Partnerships” incorporates not only naval diplomacy across our oceans and the aforementioned relationships in the sea, and our relationships with our lawmakers in Congress, but crucially, our partnerships with those within the defense ecosystem. 

We are fundamentally reliant on industry to ensure our ability to maintain our warfighting edge. 

And industry is building and delivering mission-ready ships to our Navy and Marine Corps, strengthening maritime dominance in a time when the world looks to the United States for leadership and guidance.  

Just last month, in San Diego, we commissioned USS John L. Canley (ESB 6) into the world’s finest Navy. This expeditionary sea base ship increases our fleet’s capability and overall lethality, allowing our maritime forces the ability to stage troops wherever they are needed in the world. 

It is an exciting time for new technologies in our Navy and Marine Corps. 

We are pushing the bounds of tactics and capability with the future USS Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD 29). Earlier this year, she was fitted with the Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar (EASR) antenna, marking the first US Navy installation and activation of the SPY-6(V)2, rotating variant S-Band radar. 

The EASR will integrate into the Ship Self Defense System and revolutionize our amphibious fleet, enabling them to detect, track, and engage the enemy.  

Our amphibious ships play a crucial role in testing and validating our newest directed energy weapons technology, including the Laser Weapon System Demonstrator (LWSD). USS Portland (LPD 27) was fitted with LWSD and successfully engaged a marine target in the Gulf of Aden. 

And while I was in San Diego last month, I visited USS Preble (DDG 88), fitted with the HELIOS laser weapon system. 

Directed energy weapons, including high-energy lasers, are the future of warfare—offering a lower cost-per-shot against air and missile defense engagements. 

While our hard kill successes are making the news every day, we are also strengthening our “non-kinetic” shield.  

USS Pinckney (DDG 91) was the first to receive the new AN/SLQ-32(V)7 Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block III, refining and improving the Arleigh Burke class’s overall electronic warfare capabilities. 

The kinetic events in the Red Sea highlight the necessity for quick rearming of our ships’ vertical launch systems to maximize our on-station time. 

And we are seeking out new ways to accomplish missile onloads, including the Transportable Re-Arming Mechanism (TRAM) which is developing in Port Hueneme.  

I have directed an at-sea demonstration of TRAM no later than this summer, and I look forward to both its successful demonstration and subsequent implementation in the fleet. 

And our innovation includes not only material technologies, but also structural changes within our Navy.  

Last month, we introduced the Robotics Warfare Specialist, or “RW” rating. 

Our RWs will enable Robotics and Autonomous System (RAS) operations and accelerate advances in our autonomous technologies. 

The era of uncrewed has begun, and we are rising to achieve a truly hybrid fleet 

At Harvard University last fall, I announced my vision for a new Maritime Statecraft, a call for a whole-of-government effort to build comprehensive U.S. and allied maritime power, both commercial and naval, to prevail in an era of intense strategic competition. 

One of my many priorities as Secretary of the Navy has included finding gaps in our infrastructure, particularly the gaps in our shipbuilding infrastructure.  

Last month, in my remarks at WEST in San Diego, I said that we cannot ask the American taxpayer to make greater public investments while some in the industry conduct stock buybacks and prioritize executive compensation over investments to the industrial base. 

I stand by my statements. 

Industry must deliver platforms and capabilities on time and on budget for the sake of our warfighters who are in harm’s way. 

I recognize the give-and-take nature of the relationship between the Department of the Navy and private industry. 

And as the CEO of the Department of the Navy, I am in the business of taking care of my Sailors and Marines. 

My primary responsibility includes ensuring we have the essential tools—ships and weapons—they need to fight and win our nation’s wars. 

The People’s Republic of China boasts almost fifty percent of the global shipbuilding market while the United States’ capacity for shipbuilding stands at a mere 0.13 percent. 

A few days ago, I returned from a visit to the Indo-Pacific, where I toured shipyards in South Korea and Japan and learned about their shipbuilding infrastructure and modernization. 

And what I took away from this visit was that we must explore any and all opportunities to expand our own shipbuilding capabilities through competition, innovation, and industrial capacity.  

It is impossible to operate a fighting force without ships or equipment, and it is also impossible to run a Navy and Marine Corps under a month-to-month or even week-to-week budget. For the past six months, the government has been funded by continuing resolution stopgaps, severely impeding our ability to effectively plan for the future. 

There exist far too many malign external threats for distractions by our own self-imposed internal problems—we cannot continue operating at maximum capability and capacity under short-term funding. 

I maintain that the government and industry must work together to develop the shipbuilding industrial base. 

And we simply cannot build, maintain, and repair a fleet without proper funding. 

Just as innovation drove victory for the United States during World War II, innovation continues to drive victory at sea today. 

I look forward to the future of Navy and Marine Corps innovation, and I look forward to what you in this audience will provide for our service men and women. 

At his change of command address in 1961, then-Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Arleigh Burke stated: “[I]n this modern world, the instruments of warfare are not solely for waging war. Far more importantly, they are the means for controlling peace.”  

As I mentioned at the beginning of my remarks—we are at a turning point. The world is teeming with strife and conflict. 

But our Navy and Marine Corps Team continues to train and demonstrate its lethality every day. 

And our Sailors and Marines are equipped with the best materials and technology because of the foundational support created by industry. 

I remain committed to a fully integrated team comprised of our Sailors and Marines on sea, land, and air, our DoD civilians and contractors, and our industry partners—working together to ensure mission accomplishment. 

Thank you for your support, and may God bless our Sailors, Marines, civilians, and their families. 

 

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**Speech by:** Carlos Del Toro

**Date Published:** 07 March 2024