Inouye blasts plan to shift command
By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye yesterday voiced disapproval of a Pentagon proposal to shift a chunk of Pacific Command military authority to the East Coast as part of a beefed-up homeland defense — a step he likened to the creation of a "fortress America."
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
Under the plan, the Navy's 3rd Fleet, the First Marine Expeditionary Force out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., and the Army's I Corps at Fort Lewis, Wash., could be placed under the administrative control of the Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Va., officials said.
Senators Dan Inouye and Ted Stevens of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, listen to the testimony of Adm. Dennis Blair yesterday at the federal building.
"Some may argue that this is just an administrative change. But it will have a control change," Inouye said. "If this is ever translated in such a way that people in Asia would get the idea that we are beginning to withdraw our forces and thereby show a lack of interest (in the region), then we are in deep trouble."
Inouye made his comments at an Asia-Pacific defense hearing at the Prince Kuhio Federal Building after returning from a trip to Asia, with stops in China, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines.
Navy Adm. Dennis Blair, outgoing commander in chief of Pacific Command, agreed with Inouye's assessment. "I believe that the main combat forces which are on the West Coast should lean toward the Pacific and be part of the Pacific Command," Blair said.
Inouye, D-Hawai'i, chaired the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing with vice chair Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, who also made the Asia trip. Inouye said that "ensuring the defense of the homeland is essential, but the execution of that goal can't come at the expense of our leadership role in the world."
Hawai'i's senior senator said the events of Sept. 11 have forced the nation to reconsider how we defend against terrorism.
"This is necessary and beneficial," he said. "Unfortunately, some think we should re-create fortress America."
The vast region of 43 countries that fall under the Pacific Command's area of responsibility — including seven of the world's eight largest armies — has been at relative peace for more than 30 years, Inouye said, adding that calm has come with a military force capable of deterring any threat, but also active engagement in "peaceful cooperation every day in the region."
"The combination of deterrence and engagement is the reason for the generational peace," Inouye said, adding that a reduction of Pacific Command's military authority would incur risk.
Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in February said the new Northern Command — which will be responsible for homeland defense — would combine elements of the Norfolk-based Joint Forces Command and Colorado-based North American Aerospace Defense Command.
The Pentagon hopes to establish the new command, which will be responsible for U.S. military operations throughout North America, by Oct. 1. Inouye representatives said he will oppose the plan to shift administrative control of the Pacific Command forces.
The Navy's 3rd Fleet, typically comprising one to two aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, submarines and support ships, is headquartered in San Diego and covers the eastern Pacific. The 7th Fleet covers the western Pacific.
The First Marine Expeditionary Force is one of three, while I Corps is a headquarters with a reservoir of active and reserve component units.
On the issue of preparedness, Stevens said both senators are working toward the basing of C-17 aircraft in Alaska and Hawai'i to transport fast-responding Army brigades, and the region should receive 16 of the latest generation cargo planes.
