Will Clinton Ignore the Military’s Advice on Vieques?

(Washington, D.C.): President Clinton has recently acted in a manner sure to intensify
Puerto
Rican separatism by extending clemency to sixteen terrorists serving long sentences in federal
prison for their roles in 130 bombing and other attacks two decades ago. He took this action
over the strenuous objections of the FBI and other law enforcement officials.

Mr. Clinton appears to be poised to compound this ill-advised action by ignoring the
government’s experts — namely, his senior military commanders — in another area of potentially
even more serious import for the national security. The President is reportedly poised to accept
instead the advice of a hand-picked presidential panel that is expected to release its conclusion
next week that, within five years, the U.S. armed forces should stop live-fire exercises on the
island of Vieques off Puerto Rico and make limited use of this, the only such facility in the
Atlantic, in the meantime.

In a prepared statement jointly presented to the Senate Armed Services Committee
yesterday,
Vice Admiral William Fallon (USN) and Lieutenant General Peter
Pace (USMC) — the
Commander, U.S. Second Fleet and Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Atlantic,
respectively — powerfully explained the irreplaceable nature of the Vieques range, and why the
military must be able to continue to make use of it for live-fire training. (Emphasis added
throughout.)

Excerpts from the Prepared Statement of

Vice Admiral William Fallon
and
Lieutenant General Peter Pace

Before the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and
Management Support

“The National Security Need for Vieques”

We would like to thank you for the opportunity to be here today to share with you our
assessment of the national security need for the Vieques training range, and the importance this
training site has to the readiness of the U.S. Second Fleet, and U.S. Marine Corps Forces,
Atlantic….

Our assessment of the importance of the Vieques weapons range on combat readiness has
been
detailed in a written report provided to the Special Panel on Military Operations on Vieques,
chaired by Mr. Frank Rush. We have provided testimony before that presidential appointed
panel, and we welcome the opportunity to answer your questions on this vital issue.

Our perceptions are shaped by our responsibilities. As Commander, U.S. Marine Corps
Forces,
Atlantic, and Commander, U.S. Second Fleet, we are responsible for providing and deploying
well-trained and equipped Marines and Sailors, as directed by the Commander-in-Chief, U.S.
Atlantic Command, to support the requirements of all five geographic combatant commanders.
Unspoken in that mission is the personal responsibility and obligation we have to prepare those
Marines and Sailors to the very best of our abilities. The Vieques weapons range offers
the
best – and most realistic – training available on the East Coast. We owe it to our Sailors
and
Marines – and to their families – to provide the best possible training before sending them into
harm’s way.

This training protects U.S. interests, deters conflict, wins wars and saves American
lives –
as evidenced by the performance of U.S. military forces during recent operations in the Balkans
and in the Arabian Gulf. To deny our Sailors and Marines this training would reduce
our
overall readiness, decrease our likely effectiveness, and place lives of U.S. service members
at greater risk.

Introduction

In June of this year, the Secretary of the Navy directed the Chief of Naval Operations and the
Commandant of the Marine Corps to conduct a comprehensive review of naval activities on the
Island of Vieques, a municipality of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Pursuant to this
direction, Commander Second Fleet and Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Atlantic (1)
examined the military training requirements met at Vieques, (2) explored alternative sites, both
existing and undeveloped, (3) studied the impact of military training on the people of Vieques,
(4) reviewed the requirement for live fire and for the continued use of the facilities at Vieques
Island by Allied and other forces and, (5) assessed what safety improvements, if any, can be
made to operations at Vieques.

A single fundamental truth provides the touchstone for our analysis: Success or
failure in
combat and the risk that we ask U.S. Sailors and Marines to shoulder, are a direct function
of the preparation we afford them prior to combat. The foundation of U.S.
National Security
Strategy is an imperative for worldwide engagement by military forces. The National Military
Strategy is implemented by Naval forces employing complementary concepts of overseas
presence, deterrence, sea and area control and power projection.

Carrier Battlegroups, Amphibious Ready Groups and Marine Expeditionary Units, the
operational organizations of forward deployed Naval forces, are the essential maritime elements
of the U.S. strategy of worldwide engagement. Operating in an uncertain world, the Navy-Marine
Corps Team — highly mobile, self-sustaining, responsive in nature, and forward deployed — is
typically selected as a first response force in crises. Since 1990, forward deployed Naval
forces
have responded to crises on average every five weeks, three times more frequently than
during the Cold War. It is critically important that these forces be as well prepared as
possible
to respond on short notice for a wide array of tasks.

Importance of Vieques Weapons Range

The Vieques Training Range, an integral part of the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Training Facility
is
critically important for pre-deployment training and preparation for East Coast Navy and Marine
Corps forces. It is a range designed to measure, under stress, the performance of people
and
systems in the maritime combat environment. This unique facility is the only location in the
Atlantic where realistic multi- dimensional combat training can be conducted in a
combined and coordinated manner.

It is the only range which offers a live fire land target complex with day and night
capability, an immediately adjacent large area of low traffic airspace, and deep water
seaspace. Co-located are underwater and electronic warfare ranges, amphibious landing
beaches and maneuver areas, a full service naval base and air station and interconnected
range support facilities.

It is the premier U.S. Naval training facility, reflecting more than 50 years of investment and
development, and the only place available to East Coast based forces for training in several
warfare competencies that are essential for combat readiness; most importantly live ordnance
integrated and combined arms training.

The Vieques weapons range is the only range along the Atlantic seaboard that can
accommodate naval gunfire, the only range at which strike aircraft are afforded the use of
air-toground live ordnance with tactically realistic and challenging targets and airspace
which allows the use of high altitude flight profiles. It is also the only range at which
live
naval surface, aviation and artillery ordnance can be delivered in coordination.

Additionally, the Vieques weapons range is the only training location that can accommodate
amphibious landings supported by naval surface fires, air-to-ground ordnance, air-to- surface
mine delivery, and artillery ordnance. The Vieques weapons range also offers the opportunity for
U.S. forces to train with Allied forces in combined naval exercises, enhancing our ability to
operate with potential coalition partners.

Since 1975, Navy and Marine forces have relied mainly on Vieques weapons range to
provide
the training opportunities required to ensure combat ready forces. The entire range complex at
Vieques is designed expressly for integrated fleet operations. Vieques stands alone in its ability
to support senior commanders in evaluating and strengthening the readiness of weapons, systems
and most importantly, people. While it is impossible to predict how individuals or forces will
react to the stress and rigor of actual battle, preparation in the most realistic training environment
possible, under observation by our most seasoned warfighters, offers the best, and most valid
capacity to assess potential for success in combat. Importance of Live Fire in Military Training

Experience with live ordnance and exposure to live fire conditions are essential to
combat
readiness and are prerequisites for Sailors and Marines who may be called to engage in
combat. Foregoing this experience, for whatever reason, is likely to result in increased
casualties
and suboptimized performance in battle.

Exposure to live ordnance rivets the attention of those who manage, handle and employ it
with a
combination of fear and reverence that inert ordnance cannot convey. The uncertainty and
intimidation when working in a live fire environment can be significantly reduced by the
practical experience of live ordnance training. Exposure to live ordnance with fellow Sailors and
Marines operating in a high stress environment, as similar to actual combat conditions as
reasonable, instills confidence in comrades, seniors and subordinates, and in their procedures and
equipment. It provides an opportunity to practice the critical tasks and coordination essential to
survival and success in combat.

It is incumbent on naval leadership to ensure that Sailors and Marines have the highest
probability for success at minimum risk. There is no realistic simulation for this
experience.
The use of live ordnance validates every aspect of weapon employment, including
combat
systems, fusing and arming of weapons, as well as the human factors involved. For effective
delivery of live ordnance, ship, aircraft and combat systems must perform flawlessly from
“magazine to target.” The performance of individuals using weapons loaded with live ordnance
is based on actual results and target damage. Live ordnance training develops individuals who
know when to –or when not to — deliver fires. Such skills are highly perishable, and practice is
absolutely necessary to ensure accurate delivery of fires.

* * *

Alternatives to Vieques

To find potential alternative locations to Vieques, several sites were carefully examined.
Each
site was evaluated as a possible substitute for all or part of the training currently being conducted
at the Vieques weapons range. Sites examined included existing ranges, as well as potential
ranges not yet established that may be of value in training East Coast Naval forces for
deployment and possible combat operations.

* * *

No other existing site could accommodate the sea-based, high altitude flights and
the large
number of strike aircraft required to realistically prepare aircrews for air-to-ground
combat operations. Problem areas included the necessity to re-route commercial air
traffic, and
extremely restrictive entry and egress routes which would result in unrealistic and ineffective
training.

With no single site available to accommodate all the training conducted at Vieques, alternate
sites were evaluated for their suitability to accept a portion of the training. This can be done in
some limited areas, but must not be done in a manner that significantly degrades training to
support the effective integration and coordination of all combined arms. A piecemeal
approach
to training does not allow simultaneous and sequential attack, and would result in an
increased risk to Sailors and Marines and a greater likelihood of casualties in combat.

Readiness Impact

Because no suitable alternative to the Vieques weapons range exists, the curtailment
of
training operations would have an immediate impact on Navy and Marine readiness.
Marine combat forces have limited organic artillery and depend heavily on air and naval gunfire
support to protect and defend engaged troops. The gun crews on U.S. Navy ships must routinely
practice with forward air controllers and spotters ashore, training together to facilitate the
coordination required in combat. The Vieques weapons range is the only range in the Western
Atlantic and on the East Coast where naval gunfire training is conducted. This is a
critical
individual ship qualification, without which, ships must report ‘not ready’ for amphibious
operations and cannot report higher than ‘deficient’ in overall readiness. This week the
John F. Kennedy Battle Group will deploy with one ship in precisely this deficient status due to
the inability to use the Vieques weapons range.

* * *

Special Responsibilities to the People of Vieques

The safe conduct of operations on the island of Vieques has been, and remains the primary
concern of naval personnel who work and train there. The recent tragic death of a security guard
on the Vieques weapons range has raised valid concerns among members of the population about
the safety of training operations on Vieques. The security guard was killed on range
property,
approximately ten miles from the nearest town on the island.

This tragic accident, like any mishap has prompted an intensive review of our safety efforts
to
see whether we can do more to avoid, as much as humanly possible, the risk to anyone, civilian
or military, from our training activities….Vieques island enjoys a large buffer zone that
provides approximately ten miles of separation between the populated areas and the
weapons range.

* * *

Conclusions/Recommendations

Our study has reaffirmed that the Vieques weapons range provides unique training
opportunities vital to military readiness, and contributes significantly to the ability of
naval expeditionary forces to achieve our national strategic objectives.