Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Admiral Gary Roughead, or Supreme Command of the Navy (SCOTN) as he’s referred to in Japan, recently appeared on a Japanese television news program to discuss the US Navy’s global mission, as well as its mission in the western Pacific region. I’ve been saying for a while that I just didn’t understand the point of us being out here, or what exactly it is that we were doing. I think I was so busy expecting something tangible, like our mission was to go from point A to point B and do whatever task, that I missed out on the overall mission. Now that I’ve watched the video about 50 times trying to write a transcript, something that is not easy, I can say I have a better understanding and respect for what we’re doing. I still don’t get some things, but I’m not at the top and don’t have any idea of what the big picture really is. Then again, it’s really not something I should be concerned with.
Below are two videos of the interview, originally posted on YouTube by user “asiapress,” but I reuploaded them to DailyMotion, since YouTube is blocked from Navy networks. For those of you at sea who can’t see the videos, feel free to read the transcript I painstakingly made below. A big thanks goes to reader ve1ez who originally sent me the links.
Transcript of the interview:
Reporter: Admiral Roughead, thank you very much. It’s nice to meet you again.
CNO: It’s good to be with you again
Reporter: And congratulations to your promotion as Supreme Commander of US Navy.
CNO: Thank you very much. It’s an honor to be in this position and to have the privilege of leading our Navy in this very special time.
Reporter: You were, if my memory is correct, skipper of a surface ship?
CNO: That’s correct.
Reporter: And Commander of Pacific Fleet?CNO: That’s correct.
Reporter: And now you are Supreme Commander of US Navy. That’s kind of a dream of a young Japanese boy of my age. (I’m assuming his boyhood dream - Jim)
CNO:
Reporter: Well, I’d like to ask you about your Navy and mission. You have almost 300 ships, and almost 200,000 personnel, and many airplanes. What’s your most important mission at this time?
CNO: Well, right now our Navy is 280 ships. We’re moving to 313 as a minimum Navy, or uh number of ships. Our most important mission, at this time, is to support the war we are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is important to our country, it is important to the region; I believe it’s important to the world. But the Navy of today is also focused on ensuring the free and open movement on the oceans of the world. And, in October, we produced a maritime strategy. The maritime strategy described how the US Navy, in cooperation with the Coast Guard and in cooperation with the US Marine Corps, would go forward into the future. The strategy is one of cooperation; cooperation not just among the American services, but cooperation among the navies of the world, and maritime forces of the world, to be able to ensure peace, stability, and prosperity. In the case of the Navy, to be a global Navy; to be a Navy that can prevent conflict, because we believe that preventing war is as important as winning war. A Navy that can control the sea, a navy that can project power wherever it may need to be. Also, to conduct maritime security operations, again, to ensure the flow of resources and goods on the oceans. And to be able to respond to humanitarian disasters, and to be able to provide humanitarian assistance where possible.
Reporter: I hope you can elaborate something more on the details, such as the place like the Malacca Straight, or the Straight of Taiwan, or the Persian Gulf. First, the Malacca Straight, what are you doing down there?
CNO: Well the US Navy has no desire to patrol in the Straights of Malacca. But the Malacca Straights is a perfect example of what we talked about in our strategy of maritime security. As you may know, a few years ago in the Straights of Malacca, there was a problem with piracy. That piracy was driving up insurance rates, which meant that people were having to spend more money on things that were shipped through the straights. Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia came together and developed practices and policies, and began to work together in such a way that piracy in the Straights of Malacca has almost gone to nothing. So that is an example, I believe, of how nations and countries can come to together to share information, to operate in a cooperative way, so that we can make the oceans a better place to trade, and because of that, make things cheaper for our citizens in their daily lives.
Reporter: How about the Persian Gulf. You said you’re helping the ground war, but free and safe passage of that gulf is very important for oil, and Iran has missiles and it’s becoming a dangerous hotspot.
CNO: Well you’re absolutely right. The Arabian gulf is a very very important body of water. And most importantly are the Straits of Hormuz, where much of the world’s energy resources move through everyday, especially the energy for the western Pacific. Japan, Korea, China, draw much of their energy from the Gulf. We have been in the Arabian Gulf for over 60 years, and we will be in the Arabian Gulf for much longer.
Part 2
CNO: And our presence, and working with other countries there, maintains an environment that allows for that flow of resources. Recently, there have been some incidents with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy, not the Iranian Navy, but the Revolutionary Guard, where they have behaved in a very provocative way. This is not helpful to the way, that we as nations of the world, must live. But other countries in the region have come together and formed coalitions to ensure that the stability of the Gulf remains. I’m very proud, because for the first time in history, an Arab country, in this case Bahrain, took command of one of these coalition task forces. That’s the first time in history that an Arab nation has ever commanded a maritime task force. It’s through those types of efforts that we can build a much more cooperative and a much more peaceful area. And the Gulf is where, I believe, it’s important that we do that. Working with our friends and partners, particularly the countries in the Gulf, to ensure that stability.
Reporter: Fifth Fleet is stationed down there?
CNO: Fifth Fleet is stationed in Bahrain.
Reporter: How many Carriers do you have?
CNO: At the present time, we have one aircraft carrier in the Gulf. It is our practice to maintain a carrier presence in the Middle East and the Gulf. But as you know, we are able to move our carriers around very very quickly. And occasions in the past, we have been able to move additional carriers on very short notice. That’s why the aircraft carrier, particularly the nuclear aircraft carrier, is such a good instrument for security and stability, because it can move very quickly, it has a tremendous amount of power on it, and it can stay at sea for long periods of time. That’s why we’re so grateful to the government of Japan, and the people of Japan, for the forward-deployment of the USS George Washington in a few weeks.
Reporter: (…) The most hotspot is the Straight of Taiwan. Do you have any contingency plan or something? People are talking about some dangerous stories about the Straights of Taiwan.
CNO: Well I think it’s so important, and as our policy has been for many many years, that the use of force, in and around the Straights of Taiwan, is not the way to address the issues there. And I believe it’s important for navies, as part of a broader effort, but in my case, for navies to look for ways to works cooperatively with other navies in the world. In the case of the PLA Navy, I’ve had the opportunity to visit with my counterpart, Admiral Woo-Shan-Lee (I don’t know how to spell it - Jim) on a couple of occasions, and I’ve had the opportunity to visit China, and for the first time, see a US Navy warship tie up in a PLA Navy operating base. I believe these types of activities are helpful to better understand one another, to better provide for a very peaceful region, and to make possible, communications that can occur among the leaders of navies.
Reporter: So can I understand, you are determined to maintain the free passage of that straight, by any other means, not necessarily military, diplomatic, whatever?
CNO: Well the Straights of Taiwan are, it’s an international passage and it’s not unusual for ships to transit through the Straights. But I believe it’s important that we look for opportunities that when our ships are operating in that area, if there are opportunities for some cooperative activities in areas such as search and rescue, or perhaps humanitarian assistance, that we should try to encourage the PLA Navy to participate and gain a better understanding of one another, and remove any suspicions and any doubts about what the intentions would be.
Reporter: You have a huge area to cover. Africa, or South Pole, North Sea, so you are quite busy.
CNO: Well we are busy, but in our maritime strategy we call for the areas of emphasis to be in the western Pacific, and the Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean region, because we believe those are the two areas that contribute significantly to the prosperity of our country and our friends and partners and allies. And from that prosperity, enhances the global economy, and so those are the two areas where we most concentrate. But we are still operating around South America. We just finished some successful operations around Africa, so we will be in all the oceans of the world, but our main areas of focus are the western Pacific,Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean .
Reporter: Thank you.
(END)
Comments 13
I disagree that it’s something you shouldn’t be concerned with. I think everybody in the navy should be concerned with what the mission is. I know that sounds like so much motherhood and all, but the thing is, it impacts so much…my view has always been that if people understood better WHY we are doing things (or not doing things) then they can make their own decisions, usually better ones than if they are just told, ‘that’s the way it is’ or ‘because I said so’. Why guys are out at sea for months…why a carrier is homeported in Japan…why everybody goes to GQ over liberty incidents…I’ve always felt that if somebody can make a decision that impacts my life, and I can’t control it, I had at least better know why they are doing what they’re doing, and why they’re telling me I have to do it too.
So yeah, I think you should be concerned with the mission. And you should be able to explain the bigger picture to guys who work for you. It doesn’t have to be a discourse on global strategy, but a basic understanding of what is going on is not something you can leave to other people all the time.
That said, thanks for posting this, and I applaud your interest.
Posted 31 Jul 2008 at 3:27 pm ¶Things were simpler during the cold war. It was Bi-polar. Us against them. The seas were prowled by two giants staring each other down. An unintended consequence was that the other countries were very aware of this and aligned themselves with the side which they thought would benefit them most. The Soviet Union kept its countries in line and we did the same. All that stopped around 1990. Now its just us which is actually harder because we have to try to keep all the other countries in line. Many of them have their own territorial and economic/political ambitions. They watch us and when they perceive that we are preoccupied with something else, they are emboldened to engage in mischief. Of major concern in the asia region are North Korea and China. Both of these countries are bad actors and will if given the chance, engage in actions detrimental to the region. If the U.S. were to dimish its presence in east asia, a so called power vacuum would develop which would be exploited by North Korea and China. This might result in renewed Japanese militarism in response and we know what that could lead to. I think the Seventh Fleet has a job for now and quite a ways into the future.
Posted 31 Jul 2008 at 9:56 pm ¶Dear friend!
Posted 01 Aug 2008 at 12:37 am ¶I think it is not suitable for you to counterfeit a historical name for some reasons. Persian Gulf is a term which is being used for more than 7500 years and according to UN regulations, nobody has the right to change a registered historical - geographical name for the sake of political lobbies.
It is better for all of us to obey the international laws and instructions and let the historical facts to be protected as they are. So please correct the fake term arabian gulf and use the historical, scientific and valid name “Persian Gulf”
Thanks
@ Kourosh Ziabari: No disrespect was intended by calling the Persian Gulf the “Arabian Gulf.” I just translated the interview, and that is the term that was used. Sorry.
Posted 01 Aug 2008 at 2:56 am ¶Dear Jim,
Posted 01 Aug 2008 at 5:33 am ¶Most of world people don’t know, but we know that the fake term “arabian gulf” is fabricated for very impure purposes. To enfeeble the Iranian nation and break down their unity. have you ever thought that why there is not any fabrication project for, say, “Indian Ocean” or “Gulf of Oman”?
Anyhow, these are things that we have to understand and discover. I am sure that with the intense black propaganda against Iran, you think that our country is an unsecure place such as Iraq, Afghanistan, US or other countries with tensions in them. But I suggest you to take a visit of http://helloyahoomail.net/en , a website that is dedicated to introduce the realistic Iran of 21st century to global opinions.
God bless
Wow Jim, I didn’t realize your readership was so diverse. And, to be treated to such an amusingly awkward attempt at discourse on geopolitical impropriety. As long as we are discussing diplomatic no-no’s, how about that embassy takeover and its staff being held hostage. Here’s an example of one of those nations that I mentioned earlier. The writer asails “propaganda” so I viewed the site provided. It is truly a piece of work and something worthy of the late Joseph Goebels. It amazes me that this contributor actually might expect to be treated seriously. Persian Gulf or Arabian Gulf? Why not call it the U.S. Navy Gulf? After all, we’ve owned it for the past thirty years. The last time that the Iranian Navy attempted to confront us, their vessels were reduced to smoking holes in the ocean in short order. As we’ve seen i.e. Iraq, when you pit the U.S. Military against a bunch of knuckleheads with a lot of military hardware, the outcome is very predictable. Persia was an empire 2500 years ago but then a Greek fellow named Alexander came to town and changed all that. No matter how much Amadina-Wacka-job wants to resurrect the glory of the past, it ain’t happinen’. I guess I’ve been kinda undiplomatic but then again, I didn’t intend to be.
Posted 01 Aug 2008 at 11:48 am ¶To Kourosh Ziabari, I agree that the Persian Gulf is the Persian Gulf, not the Arabian Gulf, and Jim apparently does as well. He apologized and explained that he didn’t write it, but you ignore this and call him the medium of the big black propaganda machine that exists solely to undermine the nation of Iran, which is a tremendous propaganda machine itself. There’s no American campaign to subvert Iran by calling the Persian Gulf the Arabian Gulf. 99% of Americans can’t locate it on a map with help, and don’t care what it’s called, and, unfortunately, probably the same number of people don’t distinguish Persians and Arabs, so the propaganda you read about us overestimates Iran’s role in our lives. Please don’t mistake our ignorance and lack of concern for your “fabrication project,” it was simply an error. Iran is one of the oldest and most influential civilizations in history, but you’re still not good enough at photoshopping missiles to be much of concern. And to Mr. Andresen, bragging about our prowess at imperialism and likening a different opinion to that of one of the most hateful men in human history isn’t the best argument I’ve ever heard. Arguing about whose axe is bloodier is no sort of victory.
Posted 01 Aug 2008 at 7:37 pm ¶Gee Dan. How did it make you feel when you read my words? I want to understand your pain. I sincerely regret it if in anyway you were caused any distress. Try lighting some candles or burning some incense along with playing some new age music. Some meditation might help relieve the stress of reading my remarks. My complements for your command of historical knowlege. After reconsidering my statements, I’ve decided that yes it is a good arguement. In fact it’s a great argument. But let me condense it a bit. So to the erstwhile hasbeen once was the Persian Empire that was conquered and laid waste to by a Greek European, “If you F%*K with the Bull, you get the Horns”.
Posted 01 Aug 2008 at 9:36 pm ¶While I have no polling data to support it, I think you are wrong. I think many are concerned with Iran’s behavior vis-a-vis nuclear weapons development and are not as complacent as you seem to be. Iran is a big threat to regional stability and merits considerable scrutiny. State sponsored propaganda by the islamo-fasciast regime in Tehran is no less evil that that produced by Berlin 70 years ago. The Ayatollahs should be dealt with sooner rather than later. Of course you may prefer a “Munich, Peace in our time” solution; however, that really didn’t work out to well. Now excuse me while I fetch my club and go out to kill something for some red meat to eat. Later I might use the same club to subdue a female and drag her back to my cave.
Wrong about what? Apparently I missed the the part where I said, “Iran isn’t a threat at all. They have no nuclear capabilities, nor do they intend harm to anyone, they just want a hug.” Obviously there’s a reason the US is pumping money into covert action against Iran. Luckily there’s Israel to do our dirty work in cases like this, as we’re too risk averse to really accomplish anything. I think a covert war of subversion is the best course of action, and I’m sorry I don’t agree with “Might is right” but there’s better ways of dealing with petulant children. Really, I don’t know what we’re arguing about because I agree about the threat of Iran, but you’ve already made up your mind that I’d rather chant with flowers in my hair than hit someone with a sledgehammer and burn their house down, and I’m good with that.
Posted 01 Aug 2008 at 10:20 pm ¶@ Dan: Don’t be foolish, 99% of US citizens don’t know where Iran is on a map? Absolute crap. I remember the one year dedicated to Iranian history that I had to take in high school, and I’m pretty sure everyone else had to as well. Ignorant my ass!
For the 1 or 2 of you, who may not know where Iran is…no worries. I’m here to help!
Posted 01 Aug 2008 at 10:32 pm ¶Yeah that’s right Jim. I was there once and almost ran into a kangaroo. Excellent beer! The people wre very friendly to. I don’t understand why we should have any difficulties getting along. I think I’ve been looking at this from the wrong perspective. Yes of course, in the name of peace and tranquility, lets all agree to call that body of water in question the “Persian Gulf”. The nations of the world will once again recognize us for our goodness and a new era mutual understanding will commence. I feel much better now. I think I’ll eat some tofu and wash it down with some herb tea.
Posted 02 Aug 2008 at 12:20 am ¶Kumbaya everybody.
From “The Sand Pebbles”
“Captain Collins: Pray for an early spring… or permission to open fire.”
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 12:57 pm ¶http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8SuCBHqXtQ
You forgot to label South Korea on that map, Jim. GOSH!
Persian Gulf, Arabian Gulf…Dubai should just fill the damn thing in with one giant penis-shaped peninsula and then everyone could call it the Gulf of Vagina. End of discussion.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 7:28 pm ¶Trackbacks & Pingbacks 1
[...] up with a genius plan for Dubai to build a 400 mile long penis-shaped peninsula so people can quit arguing about the Persian Gulf accidentally being called the Arabian Gulf. Instead they can just call it the Gulf of Vagina and no one would ever get it wrong again. I mean, [...]
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