Robert Stump: “Rear (now Vice) Admiral Michael Mullen, Director of Surface Warfare, testified in March before the SASC Sea Power…”

“Rear (now Vice) Admiral Michael Mullen, Director of Surface Warfare, testified in March before the SASC Sea Power Subcommittee that, in effect, the present absence of naval surface fire support places the lives of Marines "at high risk." Commandant General James Jones testified that "we [Marines] have been at considerable risk in naval surface fire support since the retirement of the Iowa-class battleships." The Navy retired these ships in 1992 even though during the Gulf War they were the only warships we had which could, and did, provide our soldiers and Marines with effective fire support. This left us with zero-capability in this critical area. As the Senate Armed Services Committee declared on July 8, 1995, our decommissioned battleships represent the Navy's "only remaining potential source of around-the-clock, accurate high volume, heavy fire support . . . ." This will remain true for many years to come. As we learned again from Kosovo, bad weather can effectively eliminate air support for our troops in coastal region conflicts. Without surface fire support, they could needlessly suffer heavy casualties. We simply cannot continue taking this risk. It is, therefore, imperative that two battleships be returned to active service as soon as possible to bridge this dangerous fire support gap. Two battleships, Iowa and Wisconsin, could be reactivated and modernized for about the cost of one new destroyer.”