Given China's rapid development of an increasingly capable blue-water navy and their intent to be in broadened command of the Western Pacific operating area, how would a resource-constrained Navy and Marine Corps respond to calls for…

the right mix of operating and generating forces, and the right mix of soldiers, civilians, and contractors.

you stated that you may have to ``freeze civilian hiring'' beyond the first quarter in the event of a continuing resolution.

This committee has heard of specific instances across the Air Force, Marine Corps and Army where work performed by Government employees is being directly converted to contract performance.

The authority to rely on contract security guards is expiring at the end of this fiscal year.

There is significant focus placed on the health and well-being of the industrial base and the impact on the economy as we enter this era of budget decreases for the DOD.

What actions is the Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps taking to ensure that critical and deliberate planning are completed to ensure reductions are directly linked to workload, and that appropriate workforce mix is maintained?

We cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of previous reductions.

So what you are saying, Admiral, is that the reviews are not completely finished; is that correct?

So I am asking to what extent are each of the Services involved with OSD [Office of the Secretary of Defense] in developing this review, what are some of the key tenets of this review?

without a strategic plan in place, why are we proceeding with arbitrary cuts? Why not wait until such a plan is developed?