Center High-Level Roundtable Finds Growing Need For U.S. Power Projection Capabilities

(Washington, D.C.): As the Congress prepares to begin
its deliberations on the Fiscal Year 1997 defense budget,
the Nation faces some key questions about how much will
be spent on its defenses. For example: What threats to
vital U.S. national interests still exist — or are
beginning to emerge — as the Cold War fades into
history? What level of spending will be required to
ensure that those threats are adequately met? Which
military programs will be necessary for the U.S. to be
able to project the power needed to meet those threats?

In anticipation of the coming debates over these
questions, the Center for Security Policy last fall
convened — and today released a
summary of — a day-long
“High-Level Roundtable Discussion on U.S. Power
Projection Capabilities.” This 20 September 1995
Roundtable was attended by over fifty senior civilian and
military officials — both past and present — as well as
leading journalists and congressional staff members.

Noteworthy participants in this event held on 20
September 1995 included: former Secretary of Defense Caspar
Weinberger; former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense
for Acquisition T.K. Jones; Major General
Charles Link, the Air Force Chief of Staff”s Special
Assistant for Roles and Missions; John Kaskin,
Programs Director, Logistics, Plans and Policy, Strategic
Sealift Division, U.S. Navy; Rear Admiral Brent
Bennitt, Director of Naval Aviation; ⁽¹⁾ and Brigadier
General Dick Vercauteren, the Marine Corps’ Director
of Plans. Also in attendance were senior members of the
Congressional Budget Office, the Arms Control and
Disarmament Agency and industry experts.

The Roundtable featured a thorough discussion of: the
requirements for U.S. power projection capabilities; the
adequacy of U.S. air- and sealift capabilities and
related modernization programs; the future of naval
aviation as an instrument of U.S. power projection and
what it will take to realize that future; and the role of
the Marine Corps in U.S. power projection and what will
be required to execute that role.

Although no effort was made to reach a consensus or
to adopt specific recommendations, the general sentiment
appeared to be that the post-Cold War era is
increasingly characterized by portentous challenges and
ominous instability. As a result of this, there will be
an increased — rather than a decreased — demand
for U.S. power projection capabilities in the future, and
that various steps should be taken now to ensure
that the Nation has the ability to meet that need when it
arises. Click here to obtain a copy
of the summary of this High-Level Roundtable
Discussion on U.S. Power Projection Capabilities.

(1) Admiral Bennitt has since been
promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral and is now
Commander, Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet.