amid increasing threats, a far more
complicated world and an ever-increasing demand for naval forces.”
He stressed the importance of
maintaining a naval presence, attainable only by having the ships to
sustain it.
“In every case, from high-end
combat to irregular warfare to
humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, our naval assets get on
station faster, we stay longer, we
bring what we need with us and,
because our ships are sovereign U.S.
territory, we can act without having
to ask anyone’s permission to get
the job done. To get that presence,
you have to have gray hulls on the
horizon,” Mabus said.
Mabus said the Navy has put
86 ships under contract during his
tenure, on track to increase the size
of the battle fleet from 278 ships in
2008 to 308 in 2021. He also noted
savings of $2 billion in the Arleigh
Burke-class destroyer program and
a similar number in the current
Virginia-class submarine contract.
“Essentially, we got a submarine
for free,” he said. “It’s like having
one of those punch cards: buy
nine, get your 10th sub free.”
Mabus also mentioned the 8,000
new manufacturing jobs in the
shipbuilding industry that added
$37 billion to the national Gross
Domestic Product.
Mabus also focused on his efforts to wean naval forces off an
addiction to fossil fuels and provide alternative forms of energy
to power Navy and Marine Corps
systems and installations.
“So in 2009, I set a number of
specific, ambitious energy goals,
the most significant of which was
to have at least half of naval energy
— both ashore and afloat — come
from non-fossil fueled sources by
2020,” he said. “President Obama
reiterated the goal ashore of 50 per-
cent or 1 gigawatt in his 2012 State
of the Union Address. That is one
of the many reasons why I’m partic-
ularly proud to say to you today, in
my State of the Navy Address, that
we surpassed our goal ashore last
year — five years early. Today, at
our shore installations, we get more
than 1. 2 gigawatts of energy, of our
total requirement for 2 gigawatts,
from alternative sources.”
He said the biofuel that now
is powering some ships costs only
$2.14 per gallon. Oil use by the fleet
has declined 15 percent, and by the
Marine Corps by 60 percent, though
some of the Marine Corps’ savings
has been achieved because of reduc-
tion in combat operations.
Mabus’ third emphasis was on
reforms in the personnel programs.
He defended his controversial decision to name ships for civil- and
human-rights figures in addition
to the more traditional military
heroes, such as Medal of Honor
recipients. He touted his support of
increases in the number of female
midshipmen at the Naval Academy;
opening of all combat positions to
women; ending of the ban on the
service of gay, lesbian and trans-gender personnel; and the opening
of Naval Reserve Officer Training
Corps units at several universities
that once had banned such units.
He also started the 21st Century
Sailor and Marine Initiative to “foster
a professional, supportive and inclu-
As Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus nears the end of his term, he said the Navy has put 86 ships under contract during
his eight-year tenure, and is on track to increase the size of the battle fleet from 278 ships in 2008 to 308 in 2021. He is
shown here in Boston Sept. 19 announcing the names of two future Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oilers,
USNS Lucy Stone and USNS Sojourner Truth.
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