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Pacific News Center
Unclassified Portions of CSIS Report Released
July 27, 2012
Guam - Congresswoman Madeneline Bordallo's office has released the unclassifed portions of the independent report on the realignment of U.S. Forces in the Pacific.
The report was submitted by the Department of Defense to Congress on Tuesday. The report was done by the Center for Strategic and International Studies [CSIS]. It was requried by Congress as one of the pre-conditions before any further funding for the Guam military buildup is authorized.
READ the unclassified portions of the CSIS report HERE
In a release earlier this week, DoD said the study “supports the department’s approach to enhancing the U.S. Defense posture in the Asia-Pacific” and “highlights some of the key steps that will need to be taken” to achieve that goal.
Next week Wednesday in Washington, the House Armed Services SubCommittee on Readiness will hold a hearing on the report. Congresswoman Bordallo is the ranking democrat on that SubCommittee. [The session will start at 4am Thursday Guam time.]
Testifying from CSIS will be Senior Vice-President and Director of International Security David Berteau and Michael Green, Senior Advisor and Japan Chair.
The Pentagon will also provide two witnesses, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for plans Robert Scher and David Helvey, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asia.
REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:
* Winning the peace is the first objective of U.S. strategy in the Asia Pacific region
* The top priority of U.S. strategy in Asia is not to prepare for a conflict with China; rather, it is to shape the environment so that such a conflict is never necessary and perhaps someday inconceivable.
* It is critical that the United States achieve and maintain a balanced combination of assurance and dissuasion to shape the environment.
* DoD has not adequately articulated the strategy behind its force posture planning nor aligned the strategy with resources in a way that reflects current budget realities.
* DoD needs to explain the purposes of force posture adjustments in light of the new security challenges in the Asia Pacific region.
* DoD needs to work with major allies in Northeast Asia to shore up deterrence capabilities in the wake of emerging anti-access and area denial (A2AD) threats.
1. Recommendation One:
- Better align engagement strategy under PACOM and across DoD, including improved integration of PACOM with its component commands, between PACOM and Service force providers, and among PACOM, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, and key interagency players (e.g., the Department of State).
2. Recommendation Two:
* Implement the April 2012 U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee (SCC) agreement to disperse four Marine Air Ground Task Forces (MAGTFs) across the Pacific, but with the following caveats:
- Ensure that implementation of the distributed lay down plan is incremental, prioritized, and affordable
- Prioritize improvements in Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), particularly training, pipeline protection, and some infrastructure improvements
- Proceed with plans to relocate MCAS Futenma to Henoko while continuing to examine alternative courses of action to mitigate risks
3. Recommendation Three:
* Implement the U.S.-Korea Strategic Alliance 2015, but with the following caveats:
- Track progress toward and adjust schedules for Operational Control (OPCON) transition and Combined Forces Command (CFC) dissolution via demonstrated achievement of scheduled actions and command and control arrangements
- Examine the option of replacing current U.S. ground combat units in Korea with rotations of trained and ready mechanized infantry, full combat artillery and aviation
4. Recommendation Four:
* Add additional capabilities to PACOM :
- Station one or more additional attack submarines (SSNs) in Guam to provide a critical advantage in an A2AD environment
- Deploy a second amphibious ready group (ARG) from the Atlantic to the Pacific to fill lift and maneuver shortfalls for the Marines
- Increase stockpiles of critical ammunition and weapons and replenish and upgrade prepositioned equipment and supplies
- Expand the use of U.S. Marines to develop and refine expeditionary defense capabilities with key allies and partners
- Focus near-term investments in survivability of deployed forces on providing Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) and Patriot Advanced - Capability-3 (PAC-3) units for Guam and Kadena Air Base, dispersal of airfields and expanded runway repair capabilities, dispersal of tanker aircraft (rather than funding for hardening related facilities in Guam), and constructing and upgrading a fuel pipeline on Guam.
5. Recommendation Five:
* Examine possible force posture and basing efficiencies, including squadron consolidation (Misawa, Kunsan) and adjustment of units on Korea no longer aligned with Continental United States (CONUS)-based formations.
(Fwd by Leevin Camacho and Kyle Kajiriro)