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    "localId": "4526265",
    "label": "San Diego Council, Navy League of the United States, San Diego, CA, April 1, 1970",
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{
    "id": "4526265",
    "sourceUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4526265",
    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "San Diego Council, Navy League of the United States, San Diego, CA, April 1, 1970",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4526265",
    "collections": [
        "Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers",
        "Speeches"
    ],
    "subjects": [
        "Department of Defense. 9/18/1947-",
        "Federal budget",
        "Military aircraft",
        "Missing in action",
        "National security",
        "Prisoners of war",
        "Vietnam War, 1961-1975"
    ],
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        "logicalDate": "1970-04-30",
        "month": 4,
        "year": 1970
    },
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        "logicalDate": "1970-04-01",
        "month": 4,
        "year": 1970
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    "seq": 1,
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    "type": "document",
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    "ocrText": "The original documents are located in Box D28, folder \"San Diego Council, Navy League of\nthe United States, San Diego, CA, April 1, 1970\" of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press\nSecretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nCopyright Notice\nThe copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of\nphotocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The Council donated to the United\nStates of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.\nWorks prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public\ndomain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to\nremain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid\ncopyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nMinuty Teah House\nYou. Vergin Doll\nInformation\nDIEGO COUNCIL, NAVY LEAGUE OF THE\nUNITED STATES, SAN DIEGO, CALIF\n8\nWEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 1970.\n\"Wison\nMary\nCommunity\nWilson musty.\nGOOD EVENING, GENTLEMEN:\nWHEN I ADDRESS YOU AS REPUBLICAN\nLEADER OF THE HOUSE, YOU PROBABLY EXPECT ME\nTO TALK POLITICS. TONIGHT I AIM TO STAY AS\nCLEAR OF POLITICS AS И IS POSSIBLE FOR A\nPOLITICIAN TO DO.\nwith your undulgence, 2 will\nWHAT 1 AM GOING TO DO ts TALK\nIn Am Diego\nNAVY. THAT SEEMS TO ME TO BE APPROPRIATE.\n1\nI AM GOING TO TALK NAVY\nFROM THE WASHINGTON\nANGLE AND FROM A NATIONAL ANGLE.\nINCIDENTALLY, I FEEL VERY MUCH\nAT HOME HERE\nI've been my good friend Bob Webris quit n mumber Two and,\nIT'S NOT THAT HAVE SPENT line attend\nseveral desiress\nMUCH TIME IN SAN DIEGO BUT I DID SPEND TWO which\nin honor whe 2\nYEARS AS A DECK OFFICER ABOARD THE AIRCRAFT feorge\nCARRIER U.S.S. MONTEREY DURING WORLD WAR\nI\nMurphy.\nSO I DON'T FEEL AT ALL OUT OF PLACE HERE\nB.FORD & LIBRARY GERALD\nDigitized from Box D28 of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\n-2-\nNOT LIKE THE YOUNG MAN OF DOUBTFUL ORIGIN\nWHO SHOWED UP AT A FAMILY REUNION.\nI MIGHT MENTION THAT IN A FEW\nDAYS MY 12-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER, SUSAN, IS GOING\nTO BE CHRISTENING A NAVY PATROL GUNBOAT--THE\nU.S.S. GRAND RAPIDS--AT TACOMA, WASHINGTON.\nWHEN I GOT THE INVITATION FOR SUSAN TO BE\nTHE SPONSOR, I TOLD HER ABOUT THE GUNBOAT\nLAUNCHING AND ASKED HER IF SHE HAD ANY\nQUESTIONS. \"YES,\" SHE SAID, \"HOW HARD DO I\nHAVE TO HIT IT TO KNOCK IT INTO THE WATER?\"\nSERIOUSLY, IT'S A GREAT PLEASURE\nTO BE HERE WITH YOU IN THIS BEAUTIFUL CITY\n--\nONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL IN THE ENTIRE\nCOUNTRY.\nAND IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE WITH\nBRARY\nA GROUP OF AMERICANS WHO ARE DEEPLY DEVOTED\nTO THE IDEALS THAT HAVE MADE THE UNITED STATES\nWhen 2 see\nFOREMOST AMONG THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD\nyour done - your Thongs remand\nThe\nWHEN I THINK OF SAN DIEGO, I SEE mn\nThom havely\npartnots\n-3-\nA CITY WHICH HAS GIVEN MUCH TO THIS COUNTRY.\nI THINK OF PEOPLE LIKE THE 60 SAN DIEGANS\nWHO ARE WIVES AND PARENTS OF FIGHTING MEN\nMISSING OR IMPRISONED IN SOUTHEAST ASIA.\nMORE THAN 1,450 U.S. SERVICEMEN\nARE PRISONERS OF WAR OR ARE MISSING IN ACTION\nIN SOUTHEAST ASIA. I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT\nWE IN WASHINGTON CARE ABOUT THOSE MEN, MEN\nWHO WE KNOW HAVE BEEN TORTURED AND ABUSED.\nthe Pressdent The Sh. noy. the 1 that xthe Rapers\nAND SO WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING IN OUR POWER\nTO BRING THE PRESSURE OF WORLD OPINION TO\nBEAR ON THEIR NORTH VIETNAMESE AND VIETCONG\nCAPTORS.\nCURRENTLY ONLY ABOUT 430 OF THE\n1,450 MEN ARE BELIEVED TO BE PRISONERS OF\nWAR. THERE REMAIN MORE THAN 1,000 MEN WHO\nARE MISSING IN ACTION. AT THIS TIME, THERE\nIS NO WAY OF KNOWING WHETHER ANY OF THESE\nMEN ARE DEAD OR ALIVE. SOME HAVE BEEN LISTED\nAS MISSING FOR MORE THAN FIVE YEARS.\nGERALD\nAIBRARY\n-4-\nOF THE TOTAL WHO ARE MISSING OR\nCAPTURED, NEARLY 800 WERE DOWNED IN NORTH\nVIETNAM; 450 LOST IN SOUTH VIETNAM; AND NEARLY\n200 IN LAOS.\nLITTLE WAS SAID PUBLICLY ABOUT\nTHE PRISONER ISSUE PRIOR TO 1969. TAKING\nTHAT APPROACH PRODUCED NO PROGRESS. AS A\nRESULT, THE NIXON ADMINISTRATION HAS ADOPTED\nA NEW POLICY OF PUBLIC CONDEMNATION OF THE\nNORTH VIETNAMESE, THE VIETCONG, AND THE\nPATHET LAO FOR THEIR INHUMANE TREATMENT OF\nOUR PRISONERS OF WAR.\nIT IS NOT ONLY PEOPLE AT HOME WHO\nHAVE EXPRESSED SUPPORT FOR THESE DEMANDS\nFOR HUMANE TREATMENT OF OUR PRISONERS. IT IS\nSIGNIFICANT THAT SUCH SUPPORT HAS ALSO BEEN\nVOICED BY THE OFFICIALS OF MANY FOREIGN\nCOUNTRIES.\nGERALD FORD LIBRARY\nRECENTLY, THE CONGRESS OF THE\nUNITED STATES ADOPTED A RESOLUTION CALLING\n-5-\nFOR PROPER TREATMENT OF THESE MEN. THIS\nWAS A GESTURE OF SUPPORT FOR THE THOUSANDS\nOF RELATIVES WHO LIVE IN CALIFORNIA AND IN\nEVERY OTHER STATE OF THE UNION. AND A FEW\nWEEKS AGO THE PRESIDENT SIGNED A BILL WHICH\nPERMITS PRISONERS AND MISSING SERVICEMEN TO\nACCUMULATE AN UNLIMITED AMOUNT OF PAY AND\nALLOWANCES IN SPECIAL 10 PER CENT SAVINGS\nACCOUNTS.\nTHE PLIGHT OF THESE MEN ALSO HAS\nBEEN TAKEN UP BY HUNDREDS OF NON-GOVERNMENT\nORGANIZATIONS AND CONCERNED CITIZENS\nTHROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. 2 appland all much demonstrations\nofconcern. and\nBECAUSE OF THIS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE\nEMPHASIS, THE PLIGHT OF OUR MEN HAS BECOME\nAN ISSUE NOT ONLY AT HOME BUT ABROAD. AND\nI CAN TELL YOU THAT EVEN THOSE NATIONS\nSYMPATHETIC TO THE NORTH VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT\nHAVE LITTLE PATIENCE FOR THE ENEMY'S CRUEL\nAND INHUMANE TREATMENT OF OUR MEN AND THEIR\nFAMILIES.\n-6-\nTODAY HUMANE TREATMENT OF\nPRISONERS OF WAR HAS BECOME A BURNING ISSUE\nTHROUGHOUT THE WORLD. TO THAT EXTENT THE\nOur government\nNIXON ADMINISTRATION HAS MADE PROGRESS ON\nTHIS IMPORTANT ISSUE.\nAS YOU KNOW, PRESIDENT AND MRS.\nNIXON MET THIS PAST DECEMBER WITH 26 WIVES\nAND MOTHERS WHO REPRESENTED ALL THE FAMILIES\nOF THE MISSING AND CAPTURED MEN. THE\nSECRETARY OF STATE AND THE SECRETARY OF\nDEFENSE ALSO HAVE DISCUSSED THE PRISONER\nPROBLEM WITH SCORES OF RELATIVES WHO HAVE\nWAITED SO LONG TO LEARN ABOUT THEIR HUSBANDS,\nSONS AND FATHERS.\nWE ARE CONTINUING TO EXPLORE EVERY\nPOSSIBLE MEANS TO RESOLVE THE PRISONER\nQUESTION. WE ARE SEEKING THE EARLIEST\nPOSSIBLE RELEASE OF ALL PRISONERS.\nFORD is LIBRARY GERALD\nTHE VIETNAM WAR IS A TERRIBLE\nHANGOVER FROM THE SIXTIES. WE ARE DEALING\n-7-\nWITH IT IN THE BEST WAY WE KNOW HOW -- IN A\nWAY THAT I BELIEVE WILL ULTIMATELY PRODUCE A\nJUST PEACE IN VIETNAM.\nTHE SIXTIES ARE HISTORY. WE LOOK\nNOW INTO THE SEVENTIES -- A DECADE OF\nDECISION -- AND WE GIVE THOUGHT TO SOME OF\nTHE GREAT CHALLENGES THAT FACE US AT HOME\nAND ABROAD.\nWHILE WE CONTINUE OUR PROGRESS\nTOWARD PEACE IN VIETNAM, WE ALSO ARE ATTACKING\nA HOST OF DOMESTIC PROBLEMS.\nWE ARE ENGAGED IN WHAT I CALL A\nREORDERING OF OUR PRIORITIES -- AND THIS IS\nHowever\nA MOST DELICATE TASK\nAM FEARFUL LEST\nTHOSE WHO ARE SHOUTING ABOUT NEW PRIORITIES\nWILL SHUT THEIR EYES TO CONTINUING\nPRIORITIES -- THE CONTINUING NEED, FOR\nEXAMPLE, FOR THE LEVELS OF STRENGTH AMERICA\nMUST HAVE TO PRESERVE THE GREATEST POSSIBLE\nLEVEL OF PEACE IN THE WORLD.\nGERALD LIBRARY\n-8-\nAS PRESIDENT NIXON SAID IN HIS\nFOREIGN POLICY REPORT TO THE NATION:\n\"DEFENSE SPENDING\nMUST NEVER FALL SHORT OF\nTHE MINIMUM NEEDED FOR SECURITY. IF IT\nDOES, THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTIC PROGRAMS MAY\nBECOME MOOT 2 for one will never depend on henatorial\nrhetric to preserve peace, to stave of appression on WIN a warm\nAS YOU KNOW, THE DEFENSE\nDEPARTMENT IS GOING THROUGH A PAINFUL PERIOD\nOF TRANSITION.\nTHE FISCAL 1971 DEFENSE BUDGET\nHAS BEEN CUT TO $71.8 BILLION. THAT\nGNP GUBSER $\nREPRESENTS THE SMALLEST SHARE OF OVERALL\nConstant\n54\nGOVERNMENT SPENDING IN 20 YEARS.\nTHE NEW DEFENSE BUDGET IS\n$5.2 BILLION BELOW THE SPENDING ESTIMATE\nFOR THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR -- WHICH IN\nTURN IS $4.1 BILLION BELOW THE SPENDING\nLEVEL FOR FISCAL 1970 PROJECTED ORIGINALLY\nBY THE JOHNSON ADMINISTRATION.\nGENALD R,FORD LIBRAR,\nTHAT SHOULD GIVE YOU SOME\n-9-\nCONCEPTION OF THE TREMENDOUS TURNAROUND IN\nSPENDING THAT HAS BEEN TAKING PLACE IN\nWASHINGTON.\nWHERE ARE THE CUTS IN DEFENSE\nDEPARTMENT SPENDING OCCURRING? A\nSUBSTANTIAL PORTION IS IN PLANNED REDUCTIONS\nOF 300,000 MILITARY MEN IN THIS FISCAL\nYEAR'S BUDGET AND 252,000 MEN IN THE BUDGET\nFOR FISCAL YEAR 1971. WITH CIVILIAN\nREDUCTIONS ADDED IN, OUR MANPOWER CUTS\nTOTAL 682,000 FOR FISCAL YEARS 1970 AND 1971.\nAS YOU KNOW, THE REDUCTIONS IN\nMILITARY SPENDING ALSO HAVE MEANT A CUT IN\nOUR NAVAL FORCES OF 140 SHIPS OVER THE PAST\nTWO YEARS -- MANY OF THEM HOME-PORTED IN\nSAN DIEGO.\nWE REALIZE THIS HAS HAD A GREAT\nIMPACT ON SAN DIEGO. YOURS IS A CITY WITH\nCLOSE TIES TO THE NAVY AND ALSO A CITY\nGERALD FORD LIBRARY\nWHICH RECOGNIZES THE NEED TO MAINTAIN A\n-10-\nSTRONG NAVY -- AS I DO. LET ME EMPHASIZE,\nHOWEVER, THAT THE SHIPS WE ARE MOTHBALLING\nARE 20 TO 25 YEARS OLD. WHAT WE NEED NOW IS\nMODERNIZATION. THERE IS A DRAMATIC NEED TO\nMOVE AHEAD WITH FUNDS FOR NEW SHIP\nCONSTRUCTION.\nTHE ONLY WAY WE CAN MODERNIZE\nTHE NAVY IS TO DO SOMETHING AFFIRMATIVELY\nABOUT THE BLOCK OBSOLESENCE PROBLEM. WE\nCANNOT SOLVE THIS HANGOVER OF PAST ERRORS,\nINDECISION, AND NEGLECT IN ONE YEAR, BUT WE\nHAVE AN OBLIGATION TO MAKE A START AND\nHOPEFULLY THE NEW BUDGET IS SUCH A BEGINNING.\nI AM NOT BEMOANING OUR SHIFT IN\nNATIONAL EMPHASIS TO THE HUMANITARIAN\nPROBLEMS WHICH OUR PEOPLE ARE DEMANDING BE\nTACKLED. WE MUST ATTACK WITH GREATER VIGOR\nTHE PROBLEMS OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, POVERTY\nURBAN DEVELOPMENT, AND THE THREATS TO OUR\nLIBRARY\nENVIRONMENT POSED BY AIR AND WATER POLLUTION.\n-11-\nBUT I MAKE THE POINT THAT WE ARE\nBEING SHORTCHANGED ON MODERNIZATION OF OUR\nMILITARY BECAUSE OF ATTACKS NOW BEING MADE\nON DEFENSE SPENDING IN THE NAME OF THE NEW\nPRIORITIES. I SAY THAT THE COUNTRY NEEDS\nYOUR HELP TO SEE TO IT THAT OUR FORCES ARE\nPROPERLY EQUIPPED IN THE FUTURE -- WHATEVER\nTHEIR NUMBER.\nBASICALLY, THE CUTS WE HAVE MADE\nIN MILITARY SPENDING HAVE BEEN DIRECTLY\nRELATED TO THE VIETNAMIZATION OF OUR STRUGGLE\nIN SOUTHEAST ASIA. WE HAVE GRADUALLY BEEN\nTURNING MORE OF THE BURDEN OVER TO OUR SOUTH\nVIETNAMESE ALLIES, AND WE HAVE REDUCED OUR\nARMED FORCES ACCORDINGLY.\nAT THE SAME TIME WE HAVE STRUCK\nA HEAVY BLOW AGAINST THE FORCES OF INFLATION\nBY HOLDING DOWN THE OVERALL LEVEL OF\nwe have attached one The basis cames anflation\nFEDERAL SPENDING. WE HAVE MAINTAINED A\nBALANCED BUDGET AND LIMITED THE EXTENT\n-12-\nTO WHICH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS HAD TO\nGO INTO THE MONEY MARKETS.\nWHAT I RESENT IS THAT THE SAME\nINDIVIDUALS WHO VOTED FOR THE HUGE MILITARY\nBUDGETS OF THE PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION NOW\nARE WIELDING THE AXE IN AN IRRESPONSIBLE\nMANNER AGAINST NIXON ADMINISTRATION DEFENSE\nBUDGETS ALREADY CUT TO THE BONE.\nTHESE ARE ALSO THE PEOPLE WHO\nFUNDED PRIOR-YEARS WEAPONS PROJECTS NOW\nSHOWN TO HAVE HUGE COST OVERRUNS -- PROJECTS\nPROPOSED BY THE PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION.\nTHESE SAME INDIVIDUALS TREAT THE COST\nOVERRUNS AS THOUGH THE PRESENT ADMINISTRATION\nWERE TO BLAME FOR THEM 2 resent the infroence Sec. Defene\nLand who hasto pay bills requed The contracts that cambal the problem.\nIT OCCURS TO ME THAT HAD IT NOT\nBEEN FOR GROSS MISMANAGEMENT BY THE PREVIOUS\nADMINISTRATION, RESULTING IN THESE COST\nOVERRUNS, THERE WOULD BE FAR MORE FUNDS\nFORD & LIBRARY GERALD\nAVAILABLE AT THIS TIME FOR SUCH URGENT\n-13-\nPROGRAMS AS MODERNIZATION OF OUR FLEET.\nTHINK BACK, IF YOU WILL, TO\nWHAT THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT'S CIVIL\nMANAGERS OF THE SIXTIES -- THE SO-CALLED\nWHIZ KIDS -- HATH WROUGHT.\nWE HAVE THE F-111, FOR INSTANCE,\nTROTTED OUT BY THE WHIZ KIDS AS THE GREAT\nCOMMON PURPOSE AIRCRAFT WHICH WOULD SUPERBLY\nSERVE BOTH THE NAVY AND THE AIR FORCE AND\nSAVE THE NATION A LOT OF MONEY.\nAS YOU MAY KNOW, THE F-111 HAS\nBEEN GROUNDED FOR WING FAILURE. BUT ITS\nFAILURES EXTEND FAR BEYOND ITS WING FLAW\nTHE STORY OF THE F-111 IS A SAGA OF TRAGIC\nMISMANAGEMENT.\nby the Dyt. Difince\nAND THE MESS ALL BEGAN WITH\nTHE INSISTENCE OF THE WHIZ KIDS THAT THE\nNAVY AND THE AIR FORCE EMPLOY A SINGLE\nMULTI -PURPOSE AIRCRAFT.\nTHE NET RESULT WAS AN AIRCRAFT\nFORD QERALD LIBRARY\nWHICH COULD NOT MEET ANYONE'S MILITARY\n-14-\nMISSION REQUIREMENTS. THERE WAS TOO GREAT\nAN ORIENTATION TO COMMONALITY AND NOT\nENOUGH EMPHASIS ON MILITARY SERVICE NEEDS.\nTHE NAVY WAS LUCKY. THE NAVY VERSION OF\nTHE F-111 WAS CANCELLED AFTER $200 MILLION\nWAS SPENT ON IT.\nNOW THE AIR FORCE IS STUCK WITH\nA PLANE THAT IS SADLY DEFICIENT BOTH AS A\nFIGHTER AND A BOMBER AND IS COSTING NEARLY\nFOUR TIMES AS MUCH AS THE ORIGINAL ESTIMATE.\nTHE ORIGINAL PER UNIT COST OF\nTHE F-111 HAS RISEN FROM JUST UNDER\n$4 MILLION EACH TO NEARLY $14 MILLION\nAPIECE. AND IF YOU ADD IN NON-ACQUISITION\nCOSTS LIKE GROUND FACILITIES THE UNIT PRICE\nGOES UP TO NEARLY $16 MILLION.\na\nstory book pottlem.\nTHIS F-111 FIASCO IS UTTERLY\nFANTASTIC. TINITIALLY, PLANS CALLED FOR A\nBUY OF 1,750 PLANES. NOW THE FIGURE IS DOWN RD\nTO 547, WITH 493 UNDER CONTRACT\nGERALD\nLIBRARY\n-15-\nTHE MOST FANTASTIC FACT OF ALL IS\nTHAT THE THEN-SECRETARY OF DEFENSE AND HIS\nWHIZ KIDS KNEW AS EARLY AS 1963 THAT THE\nF-111 COULD NOT MEET ITS PRIMARY AIR FORCE\nMISSION -- THAT THE PLANE WOULD NOT DELIVER\nTHE SPECIFIED MANEUVER CAPABILITIES AT\nSUPERSONIC SPEEDS AND THAT ITS DIRECTIONAL\nSTABILITY WAS EXTREMELY LOW AT SUPERSONIC\nSPEEDS.\nTHEN WE HAVE THE C-5A GALAXY AIR\nTRANSPORT, WHICH IS CURRENTLY RESTRICTED.\nCntres same are supper become\nBECAUSE OF A STRUCTURAL DEFECT. THAT PLANE\nWAS INTENDED TO BE A BREAKTHROUGH IN COST\nSUPPRESSION. INSTEAD THE PLANE HAS BECOME\nA PROCUREMENT SCANDAL! ON THE BASIS OF THE\nproblem of magnitude\nORIGINAL ORDER OF 121 PLANES, THE UNIT COST\nWOULD NOW BE $42.7 MILLION INSTEAD OF THE\nORIGINAL $28.1 MILLION APIECE. THANK GOODNESS\nTHE ORDER HAS BEEN CUT BACK TO 81 PLANES.\nWITH THE CUTBACK, THE UNIT COST IS $48.2 MILLION\n-16-\nAS COMPARED WITH $33 MILLION APIECE BASED\nON THE ORIGINAL COST ESTIMATE FOR THAT\nVOLUME OF PROCUREMENT. WHAT IT ADDS UP TO\nIS A $1.6 BILLION COST OVERRUN EVEN WITH\nTHE CUTBACK IN ORDERS. Bad contracting\nAS FOR THE NAVY, WE HAVE\nINHERITED AN OVER-AGE FLEET WHILE THE\nSOVIET UNION HAS BEEN ENGAGED IN STREAMLINING\nITS NAVAL STRIKE FORCES.\nLET ME ASSURE YOU, HOWEVER, THAT\nTHE NIXON ADMINISTRATION IS CONCENTRATING\nON QUALITATIVE PREPAREDNESS. VINTAGE COMBATANT\nSHIPS ARE BEING REPLACED WITH NEW, MORE\nFLEXIBLE AND MISSION-ORIENTED SHIPS.\nDURING THE EARLY PART OF THIS\nYEAR, U.S. SHIPS HAVE TWICE CONDUCTED\nMANEUVERS IN THE BLACK SEA. THIS PROVEN\nTECHNIQUE OF SHOWING THE FLAG IS BEING\nFORD\nEMPLOYED AS A USEFUL INSTRUMENT OF OUR\nFOREIGN POLICY.\n-17-\nUNDER THIS ADMINISTRATION WE\nWILL MOVE TOWARD A NAVY THAT IS MODERN,\nPOWERFUL, BALANCED AND FLEXIBLE.\nTHIS ADMINISTRATION RECOGNIZES\nTHAT WE ARE SUFFERING FROM A MODERNIZATION\nDEFICIT -- THAT WE NEED A REGULAR UPDATING\nOF OUR FORCES BY THE INTRODUCTION OF MODERN\nSHIPS INTO OUR FLEET, BY THE ORDERLY\nREPLACEMENT OF OUR OLDER SHIPS.\nTHE MODERNIZING OF OUR NAVY HAS\nBEEN POSTPONED FAR TOO LONG. IN THIS TIME\nOF TIGHT BUDGETS, IT IS ALL THE MORE\nIMPORTANT THAT WE KEEP ABREAST OF TECHNICAL\nADVANCES AND MAKE THE MOST EFFECTIVE\nPOSSIBLE USE OF WEAPONS AND FORCES.\nWHAT IS MOST DANGEROUS TO OUR\nNATIONAL SECURITY AT THIS MOMENT IS THAT\nCERTAIN MEMBERS OF CONGRESS ARE ATTACKING\nOUR BARE-BONES DEFENSE BUDGET AS THOUGH\nBILLION\nFORD i LIBRARY GERALD\n$10 OR $20 COULD BE CHOPPED FROM IT WITH\n-18-\nIMPUNITY. THEY OBVIOUSLY HAVE FAILED TO\nTHINK THROUGH OUR NATIONAL SECURITY NEEDS\nFOR THE SEVENTIES.\nTO THEM I SAY WE CANNOT MAKE\nPROGRESS TOWARD PEACE BY ALLOWING AMERICA\nTO BECOME WEAK.\nTO THEM I SAY IT IS NOT ONLY\nFOOLHARDY BUT SUICICAL FOR AMERICA TO RISK\nBEING CAUGHT MILITARILY SHORT IN THE\nChankell\nSEVENTIES AS WE WERE IN THE THIRTIES.\nLOOK AT WHAT IS HAPPENING TO\nOUR GREAT COUNTRY AS WE ENTER THE DECADE OF\nTHE SEVENTIES.\nWE ARE EXPERIENCING A REVULSION\nNOT AGAINST THE VIETNAM WAR BUT AGAINST ALL\nTHINGS MILITARY AND AGAINST DEFENSE-ORIENTED\nINDUSTRY. THIS HAS LED TO ATTACKS\nR.FORD\nAGAINST THE DEFENSE ESTABLISHMENT, OUR MEN\nLIBRARY\nIN UNIFORM, AND WHAT IS GENERALLY LUMPED\nTOGETHER AS \"THE MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX.\"\n-19-\nIT HAS PRODUCED A CONCERTED\nCAMPAIGN TO SLASH OUR DEFENSE BUDGET WITHOUT\nANY CONSIDERATION FOR WHAT THIS COUNTRY MUST\nPOSSESS IN THE WAY OF ARMAMENTS TO GUARANTEE\nITS NATIONAL SECURITY AND TO MAINTAIN SOME\nDEGREE OF PEACE IN THE WORLD.\nAS GENERAL GEORGE C. MARSHALL ONCE\nREMARKED, THERE ARE INDIVIDUALS WHO CONFUSE\nMILITARY PREPAREDNESS WITH THE CAUSES OF WAR\nAND THUS INVITE A NATIONAL CATASTROPHE.\nTHERE ARE TODAY AMAZING\nSIMILARITIES BETWEEN 1970 AND THE THIRTIES,\nA PERIOD WHEN WE BELIEVED THAT THE BEST WAY\nTO AVOID WAR WAS TO PRETEND IT JUST COULDN'T\nHAPPEN.\nIN THE THIRTIES SEN. GERALD P.\nNYE OF NORTH DAKOTA PREACHED THE \"FORTRESS\nAMERICA\" CONCEPT. THE ISOLATIONISM BEING\nTALKED IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE TODAY IS\nSTRONGLY REMINISCENT OF THE SENTIMENTS VOICED\n-20-\nBY SEN. NYE.\nIN THE EARLY THIRTIES AN\nINVESTIGATION BY A SENATE COMMITTEE HEADED\nBY NYE RESULTED IN THE NEUTRALITY ACT OF\n1935. THAT LEGISLATION WAS SIMILAR TO A\nRECENTLY-ENACTED SENATE RESOLUTION LIMITING\nTHE USE OF U.S. GROUND TROOPS IN LAOS.\nNEVER MIND THE FACT THAT THE ADMINISTRATION\nHAS NO INTENTION OF USING GROUND TROOPS IN\nLAOS.\nNYE BLAMED WAR ON THE INTERNATIONAL\nBANKERS AND MUNITIONS MAKERS -- CALLED THEM\n\"MERCHANTS OF DEATH.\"\nTODAY WE SEE MILITANTS BURNING\nDOWN OR DAMAGING BANK BUILDINGS, LOOTING\nTHE FILES OF A NAPALM MANUFACTURER, AND\nPREVENTING CAMPUS APPEARANCES BY RECRUITERS\nFOR DEFENSE INDUSTRIES.\nFORD i LIBRARY 938839\nTHERE WERE PROTESTS IN THE 30s\nAGAINST COMPULSORY MILITARY TRAINING, AND SO\n-21-\nA NUMBER OF LAND GRANT COLLEGES MADE MILITARY\nDRILL OPTIONAL. TODAY WE FIND STUDENTS\nFORCING COLLEGE ADMINISTRATIONS TO DROP ROTC\nFROM THE CURRICULUM. AND TODAY, TOO, WE\nHAVE DRAFT CARD BURNING AND THE POURING OF\nBLOOD ON DRAFT CARD FILES.\nIN THE THIRTIES, AMERICA SLEPT.\nLET US NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE TODAY WE\nMADE IN THE 1930s. LET US NOT TEAR DOWN\nOUR NATIONAL SECURITY BY CONFUSING MILITARY\nPREPAREDNESS WITH THE CAUSES OF WAR.\nLET US ACCEPT THE GREAT CHALLENGE\nTHAT CONFRONTS US -- THE CHALLENGE OF MAIN-\nTAINING OUR FREE INSTITUTIONS IN THE FACE\nOF A COMMUNIST MOVEMENT THAT THREATENS TO\nDESTROY THOSE INSTITUTIONS.\nFORD LIBRARY\nLET US REMEMBER THAT THE GREAT\nOCEANS NO LONGER ARE SEAWALLS BEHIND WHICH\nWE CAN HIDE WHILE WE BELATEDLY PREPARE TO\nMEET AN ENEMY THREAT. THERE IS NO TIME LAG\n-22-\nIN WARFARE TODAY GIVING AMERICA THE KIND OF\nOPPORTUNITY TO REARM WE ENJOYED IN 1941.\nWE ARE CONSTANTLY STARING AT THE TIP OF A\nNUCLEAR MISSILE -- AND WE HAD BETTER NOT\nBLINK\nI AM NOT ADVOCATING A REVIVAL\nOF THE COLD WAR. BUT TO ABANDON PRINCIPLE\nIN THE PURSUIT OF PEACE IS TO TAKE THE\nSUREST ROAD TO ULTIMATE DISASTER.\nLET US SEEK A DETENTE WITH THE\nSOVIET UNION, BUT LET US NEGOTIATE FROM A\nPOSITION OF STRENGTH. WE CANNOT BUY PEACE\nWITH A SHOW OF WEAKNESS.\nTHROUGHOUT AMERICA'S HISTORY\nTHE SOURCE OF OUR NATIONAL GREATNESS HAS\nBEEN OUR ABILITY TO SEE WHAT HAD TO BE DONE\nAND THEN TO DO IT. IN THIS DECADE OF THE\nSEVENTIES, LET US AS AMERICANS DO WHAT HAS\nTO BE DONE TO ACHIEVE PEACE IN THE WORLD.\nWE CANNOT AFFORD TO DO LESS.\n-- END --\nDistribution: 10 copies Mr. Ford only\nOffice Copy\nAN ADDRESS BY REP. GERALD R. FORD, R-MICH.\nREPUBLICAN LEADER, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES\nBEFORE THE SAN DIEGO COUNCIL, NAVY LEAGUE OF THE UNITED STATES\nAT SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA\nAT 8 P.M. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 1970\nFOR RELEASE ON DELIVERY\nGood evening, gentlemen:\nWhen I address you as Republican leader of the House, you probably expect\nme to talk politics. Tonight I aim to stay as clear of politics as it is possible\nfor a politician to do.\nWhat I am going to do is talk Navy. That seems to me to be appropriate.\nI am going to talk Navy from the Washington angle and from a national angle.\nIncidentally, I feel very much at home here. It's not that I have spent\nmuch time in San Diego but I did spend two years as a deck officer aboard the\naircraft carrier U.S.S. Monterey during World War II. So I don't feel at all\nout of place here--not like the young man of doubtful origin who showed up at a\nfamily reunion.\nI might mention that in a few days my 12-year-old daughter, Susan, is going\nto be christening a Navy patrol gunboat--the U.S.S. Grand Rapids-- at Tacoma,\nWash. When I got the invitation for Susan to be the sponsor, I told her about\nthe gunboat launching and asked her if she had any questions. \"Yes,\" she said,\n\"how hard do I have to hit it to knock it into the water?\"\nSeriously, it's a great pleasure to be here with you in this beautiful\ncity--one of the most beautiful in the entire country.\nAnd it's a pleasure to be with a group of Americans who are deeply devoted\nto the ideals that have made the United States foremost among the nations of the\nworld.\nWhen I think of San Diego, I see a city which has given much to this country.\nI think of people like the 60 San Diegans who are wives and parents of fighting\nmen missing or imprisoned in Southeast Asia.\nMore than 1,450 U.S. servicemen are prisoners of war or are missing in\naction in Southeast Asia. I want you to know that we in Washington care about\nthose men, men who we know have been tortured and abused. And so we are doing\neverything in our power to bring the pressure of world opinion to bear on their\nNorth Vietnamese and Vietcong captors.\n(more)\nGERALD FORD LIBRARY\n-2-\nCurrently only about 430 of the 1,450 men are believed to be prisoners of\nwar. There remain more than 1,000 men who are missing in action. At this time,\nthere is no way of knowing whether any of these men are dead or alive. Some have\nbeen listed as missing for more than five years.\nOf the total who are missing or captured, nearly 800 were downed in North\nVietnam; 450 lost in South Vietnam; and nearly 200 in Laos.\nLittle was said publicly about the prisoner issue prior to 1969. Taking\nthat approach produced no progress. As a result, the Nixon Administration has\nadopted a new policy of public condemnation of the North Vietnamese, the Vietcong,\nand the Pathet Lao for their inhumane treatment of our prisoners of war.\nIt is not only people at home who have expressed support for these demands\nfor humane treatment of our prisoners. It is significant that such support has\nalso been voiced by the officials of many foreign countries.\nRecently, the Congress of the United States adopted a resolution calling for\nproper treatment of these men. This was a gesture of support for the thousands\nof relatives who live in California and in every other state of the Union. And\na few weeks ago the President signed a bill which permits prisoners and missing\nservicemen to accumulate an unlimited amount of pay and allowances in special\n10 per cent savings accounts.\nThe plight of these men also has been taken up by hundreds of non-government\norganizations and concerned citizens throughout the country.\nBecause of this public and private emphasis, the plight of our men has\nbecome an issue not only at home but abroad. And I can tell you that even those\nnations sympathetic to the North Vietnamese government have little patience for\nthe enemy's cruel and inhumane treatment of our men and their families.\nToday humane treatment of prisoners of war has become a burning issue\nthroughout the world. To that extent the Nixon Administration has made progress\non this important issue.\nAs you know, President and Mrs. Nixon met this past December with 26 wives\nand mothers who represented all the families of the missing and captured men. The\nSecretary of State and the Secretary of Defense also have discussed the prisoner\nproblem with scores of relatives who have waited so long to learn about their\nhusbands, sons and fathers.\nWe are continuing to explore every possible means to resolve the prisoner\nquestion. We are seeking the earliest possible release of all prisoners.\n(more)\n-3-\nThe Vietnam War is a terrible hangover from the Sixties. We are dealing\nwith it in the best way we know how--in a way that I believe will ultimately\nproduce a just peace in Vietnam.\nThe Sixties are history. We look now into the Seventies--a decade of\ndecision--and we give thought to some of the great challenges that face us at\nhome and abroad.\nWhile we continue our progress toward peace in Vietnam, we also are\nattacking a host of domestic problems.\nWe are engaged in what I call a reordering of our priorities--and this is\na most delicate task. I am fearful lest those who are shouting about new\npriorities will shut their eyes to continuing priorities--the continuing need,\nfor example, for the levels of strength America must have to preserve the\ngreatest possible level of peace in the world.\nAs President Nixon said in his Foreign Policy Report to the Nation:\n\"Defense spending must never fall short of the minimum needed for security.\nIf it does, the problem of domestic programs may become moot.\"\nAs you know, the Defense Department is going through a painful period\nof transition.\nThe fiscal 1971 defense budget has been cut to $71.8 billion. That\nrepresents the smallest share of overall Government spending in 20 years.\nThe new defense budget is $5.2 billion below the spending estimate for the\ncurrent fiscal year-which in turn is $4.1 billion below the spending level for\nfiscal 1970 projected originally by the Johnson Administration.\nThat should give you some conception of the tremendous turnaround in\nspending that has been taking place in Washington.\nWhere are the cuts in Defense Department spending occurring? A substantial\nportion is in planned reductions of 300,000 military men in this fiscal year's\nbudget and 252,000 men in the budget for fiscal year 1971. With civilian\nreductions added in, our manpower cuts total 682,000 for fiscal years 1970 and\n1971.\nAs you know, the reductions in military spending also have meant a cut in\nour naval forces of 140 ships over the past two years--many of them home-ported\nin San Diego.\nWe realize this has had a great impact on San Diego. Yours is a city with\nclose ties to the Navy and also a city which recognizes the need to maintain a\n(more)\n-4-\nstrong Navy as I do. Let me emphasize, however, that the ships we are mothballing\nare 20 to 25 years old. What we need now is modernization. There is a dramatic\nneed to move ahead with funds for new ship construction.\nThe only way we can modernize the Navy is to do something affirmatively\nabout the block obsolesence problem. We cannot solve this hangover of past\nerrors, indecision, and neglect in one year, but we have an obligation to make a\nstart and hopefully the new budget is such a beginning.\nI am not bemoaning our shift in national emphasis to the humanitarian\nproblems which our people are demanding be tackled. We must attack with greater\nvigor the problems of health, education, poverty, urban development, and the\nthreats to our environment posed by air and water pollution.\nBut I make the point that we are being shortchanged on modernization of\nour military because of attacks now being made on defense spending in the name\nof the new priorities. I say that the country needs your help to see to it that\nour forces are properly equipped in the future--whatever their number.\nBasically, the cuts we have made in military spending have been directly\nrelated to the Vietnamization of our struggle in Southeast Asia. We have gradually\nbeen turning more of the burden over to our South Vietnamese allies, and we have\nreduced our armed forces accordingly.\nAt the same time we have struck a heavy blow against the forces of inflation\nby holding down the overall level of Federal spending. We have maintained a\nbalanced budget and limited the extent to which the Federal Government has had\nto go into the money markets.\nWhat I resent is that the same individuals who voted for the huge military\nbudgets of the previous Administration now are wielding the axe in an irresponsible\nmanner against Nixon Administration defense budgets already cut to the bone.\nThese are also the people who funded prior-years weapons projects now\nshown to have huge cost overruns--projects proposed by the previous Administration.\nThese same individuals treat the cost overruns as though the present Administration\nwere to blame for them.\nIt occurs to me that had it not been for gross mismanagement by the\nprevious Administration, resulting in these cost overruns, there would be far\nmore funds available at this time for such urgent programs as modernization of\nour Fleet.\nThink back, if you will, to what the Defense Department's civil managers\nof the Sixties the so-called Whiz Kids--hath wrought.\n(more)\n-5-\nWe have the F-111, for instance, trotted out by the Whiz Kids as the great\ncommon purpose aircraft which would superbly serve both the Navy and the Air Force\nand save the Nation a lot of money.\nAs you may know, the F-111 has been grounded for wing failure. But its\nfailures extend far beyond its wing flaw. The story of the F-111 is a saga of\ntragic mismanagement. And the mess all began with the insistence of the Whiz\nKids that the Navy and the Air Force employ a single multi-purpose aircraft.\nThe net result was an aircraft which could not meet anyone's military\nmission requirements. There was too great an orientation to commonality and not\nenough emphasis on military service needs. The Navy was lucky. The Navy version\nof the F-111 was cancelled after $200 million was spent on it.\nNow the Air Force is stuck with a plane that is sadly deficient both as a\nfighter and a bomber and is costing nearly four times as much as the original\nestimate.\nThe original per unit cost of the F-111 has risen from just under $4 million\neach to nearly $14 million apiece. And if you add in non-acquisition costs like\nground facilities the unit price goes up to nearly $16 million.\nThis F-111 fiasco is utterly fantastic. Initially, plans called for a buy\nof 1,750 planes. Now the figure is down to 547, with 493 under contract.\nThe most fantastic fact of all is that the then-Secretary of Defense and\nhis Whiz Kids knew as early as 1963 that the F-111 could not meet its primary\nAir Force mission--that the plane would not deliver the specified maneuver\ncapabilities at supersonic speeds and that its directional stability was extremely\nlow at supersonic speeds.\nThen we have the C-5A Galaxy air transport, which is currently restricted\nbecause of a structural defect. That plane was intended to be a breakthrough in\ncost suppression. Instead the plane has become a procurement scandal. On the\nbasis of the original order of 121 planes, the unit cost would now be $42.7 million\ninstead of the original $28.1 million apiece. Thank goodness the order has been\ncut back to 81 planes. With the cutback, the unit cost is $48.2 million, as\ncompared with $33 million apiece based on the original cost estimate for that\nvolume of procurement. What it adds up to is a $1.6 billion cost overrun even\nwith the cutback in orders.\nAs for the Navy, we have inherited an over-age Fleet while the Soviet Union\nhas been engaged in streamlining its naval strike forces.\n(more)\n-6-\nLet me assure you, however, that the Nixon Administration is concentrating\non qualitative preparedness. Vintage combatant ships are being replaced with new,\nmore flexible and mission-oriented ships.\nDuring the early part of this year, U.S. ships have twice conducted maneuvers\nin the Black Sea. This proven technique of showing the Flag is being employed\nas a useful instrument of our foreign policy.\nUnder this Administration we will move toward a Navy that is modern, powerful,\nbalanced and flexible.\nThis Administration recognizes that we are suffering from a modernization\ndeficit--that we need a regular updating of our forces by the introduction of modern\nships into our Fleet, by the orderly replacement of our older ships.\nThe modernizing of our Navy has been postponed far too long. In this time\nof tight budgets, it is all the more important that we keep abreast of technical\nadvances and make the most effective possible use of weapons and forces.\nWhat is most dangerous to our national security at this moment is that\ncertain members of Congress are attacking our bare-bones defense budget as though\n$10 or $20 billion could be chopped from it with impunity. They obviously have\nfailed to think through our national security needs for the Seventies.\nTo them I say we cannot make progress toward peace by allowing America to\nbecome weak.\nTo them I say it is not only foolhardy but suicidal for America to risk\nbeing caught militarily short in the Seventies as we were in the Thirties.\nLook at what is happening to our great country as we enter the decade of\nthe Seventies.\nWe are experiencing a revulsion not only against the Vietnam War but\nagainst all things military and against defense-oriented industry. This has led\nto attacks against the Defense Establishment, our men in uniform, and what is\ngenerally lumped together as \"the military-industrial complex.\"\nIt has produced a concerted campaign to slash our defense budget without any\nconsideration for what this country must possess in the way of armaments to\nguarantee its national security and to maintain some degree of peace in the world.\nAs General George C. Marshall once remarked, there are individuals who\nconfuse military preparedness with the causes of war and thus invite a national\ncatastrophe.\nThere are today amazing similarities between 1970 and the Thirties, a period\nwhen we believed that the best way to avoid war was to pretend it just couldn't\nhappen.\n(more)\n-7-\nIn the Thirties Sen. Gerald P. Nye of North Dakota preached the \"Fortress\nAmerica' concept. The isolationism being talked in the United States Senate today\nis strongly reminiscent of the sentiments voiced by Sen. Nye.\nIn the early Thirties an investigation by a Senate committee headed by Nye\nresulted in the Neutrality Act of 1935. That legislation was similar to a\nrecently-enacted Senate resolution limiting the use of U.S. ground troops in Laos.\nNever mind the fact that the Administration has no intention of using ground troops\nin Laos.\nNye blamed war on the international bankers and munitions makers--\ncalled \"merchants of death.\"\nToday we see militants burning down or damaging bank buildings, looting\nthe files of a napalm manufacturer and preventing campus appearances by recruiters\nfor defense industries.\nThere were protests in the 30s against compulsory military training, and so\na number of land grant colleges made military drill optional. Today we find\nstudents forcing college administrations to drop ROTC from the curriculum. And\ntoday, too, we have draft card burning and the pouring of blood on draft card files.\nIn the Thirties, America slept. Let us not make the same mistake today we\nmade in the 1930s. Let us not tear down our national security by confusing military\npreparedness with the causes of war.\nLet us accept the great challenge that confronts us--the challenge of main-\ntaining our free institutions in the face of a Communist movement that threatens\nto destroy those institutions.\nLet us remember that the great oceans no longer are seawalls behind which\nwe can hide while we belatedly prepare to meet an enemy threat. There is no time\nlag in warfare today giving America the kind of opportunity to rearm we enjoyed\nin 1941. We are constantly staring at the tip of a nuclear missile--and we had\nbetter not blink.\nI am not advocating a revival of the cold war. But to abandon principle in\nthe pursuit of peace is to take the surest road to ultimate disaster.\nLet us seek a detente with the Soviet Union, but let us negotiate from a\nposition of strength. We cannot buy peace with a show of weakness.\nThroughout America's history, the source of our national greatness has been\nour ability to see what had to be done and then to do it. In this decade of the\nSeventies, let us as Americans do what has to be done to achieve peace in the\nworld. We cannot afford to do less.\n# # #\nDistribution: 10 copile Mr. Ford only\nm office Copy\nAN ADDRESS BY REP. GERALD R. FORD, R-MICH.\nREPUBLICAN LEADER, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES\nBEFORE THE SAN DIEGO COUNCIL, NAVY LEAGUE OF THE UNITED STATES\nAT SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA\nAT 8 P.M. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 1970\nFOR RELEASE ON DELIVERY\nGood evening, gentlemen:\nWhen I address you as Republican leader of the House, you probably expect\nme to talk politics. Tonight I aim to stay as clear of politics as it is possible\nfor a politician to do.\nWhat I am going to do is talk Navy. That seems to me to be appropriate.\nI am going to talk Navy from the Washington angle and from a national angle.\nIncidentally, I feel very much at home here. It's not that I have spent\nmuch time in San Diego but I did spend two years as a deck officer aboard the\naircraft carrier U.S.S. Monterey during World War II. So I don't feel at all\nout of place here--not like the young man of doubtful origin who showed up at a\nfamily reunion.\nI might mention that in a few days my 12-year-old daughter, Susan, is going\nto be christening a Navy patrol gunboat--the U.S.S. Grand Rapids-- at Tacoma,\nWash. When I got the invitation for Susan to be the sponsor, I told her about\nthe gunboat launching and asked her if she had any questions. \"Yes,\" she said,\n\"how hard do I have to hit it to knock it into the water?\"\nSeriously, it's a great pleasure to be here with you in this beautiful\ncity--one of the most beautiful in the entire country.\nAnd it's a pleasure to be with a group of Americans who are deeply devoted\nto the ideals that have made the United States foremost among the nations of the\nworld.\nWhen I think of San Diego, I see a city which has given much to this country.\nI think of people like the 60 San Diegans who are wives and parents of fighting\nmen missing or imprisoned in Southeast Asia.\nMore than 1,450 U.S. servicemen are prisoners of war or are missing in\naction in Southeast Asia. I want you to know that we in Washington care about\nthose men, men who we know have been tortured and abused. And so we are doing\neverything in our power to bring the pressure of world opinion to bear on their\nNorth Vietnamese and Vietcong captors.\n(more)\nGERALD FORD LIBRARY\n-2-\nCurrently only about 430 of the 1,450 men are believed to be prisoners of\nwar. There remain more than 1,000 men who are missing in action. At this time,\nthere is no way of knowing whether any of these men are dead or alive. Some have\nbeen listed as missing for more than five years.\nOf the total who are missing or captured, nearly 800 were downed in North\nVietnam; 450 lost in South Vietnam; and nearly 200 in Laos.\nLittle was said publicly about the prisoner issue prior to 1969. Taking\nthat approach produced no progress. As a result, the Nixon Administration has\nadopted a new policy of public condemnation of the North Vietnamese, the Vietcong,\nand the Pathet Lao for their inhumane treatment of our prisoners of war.\nIt is not only people at home who have expressed support for these demands\nfor humane treatment of our prisoners. It is significant that such support has\nalso been voiced by the officials of many foreign countries.\nRecently, the Congress of the United States adopted a resolution calling for\nproper treatment of these men. This was a gesture of support for the thousands\nof relatives who live in California and in every other state of the Union. And\na few weeks ago the President signed a bill which permits prisoners and missing\nservicemen to accumulate an unlimited amount of pay and allowances in special\n10 per cent savings accounts.\nThe plight of these men also has been taken up by hundreds of non-government\norganizations and concerned citizens throughout the country.\nBecause of this public and private emphasis, the plight of our men has\nbecome an issue not only at home but abroad. And I can tell you that even those\nnations sympathetic to the North Vietnamese government have little patience for\nthe enemy's cruel and inhumane treatment of our men and their families.\nToday humane treatment of prisoners of war has become a burning issue\nthroughout the world. To that extent the Nixon Administration has made progress\non this important issue.\nAs you know, President and Mrs. Nixon met this past December with 26 wives\nand mothers who represented all the families of the missing and captured men. The\nSecretary of State and the Secretary of Defense also have discussed the prisoner\nproblem with scores of relatives who have waited SO long to learn about their\nhusbands, sons and fathers.\nWe are continuing to explore every possible means to resolve the prisoner\nquestion. We are seeking the earliest possible release of all prisoners.\n(more)\n-3-\nThe Vietnam War is a terrible hangover from the Sixties. We are dealing\nwith it in the best way we know how-in a way that I believe will ultimately\nproduce a just peace in Vietnam.\nThe Sixties are history. We look now into the Seventies--a decade of\ndecision--and we give thought to some of the great challenges that face us at\nhome and abroad.\nWhile we continue our progress toward peace in Vietnam, we also are\nattacking a host of domestic problems.\nWe are engaged in what I call a reordering of our priorities--and this is\na most delicate task. I am fearful lest those who are shouting about new\npriorities will shut their eyes to continuing priorities--the continuing need,\nfor example, for the levels of strength America must have to preserve the\ngreatest possible level of peace in the world.\nAs President Nixon said in his Foreign Policy Report to the Nation:\n\"Defense spending must never fall short of the minimum needed for security.\nIf it does, the problem of domestic programs may become moot. \"\nAs you know, the Defense Department is going through a painful period\nof transition.\nThe fiscal 1971 defense budget has been cut to $71.8 billion. That\nrepresents the smallest share of overall Government spending in 20 years.\nThe new defense budget is $5.2 billion below the spending estimate for the\ncurrent fiscal year--which in turn is $4.1 billion below the spending level for\nfiscal 1970 projected originally by the Johnson Administration.\nThat should give you some conception of the tremendous turnaround in\nspending that has been taking place in Washington.\nWhere are the cuts in Defense Department spending occurring? A substantial\nportion is in planned reductions of 300,000 military men in this fiscal year's\nbudget and 252,000 men in the budget for fiscal year 1971. With civilian\nreductions added in, our manpower cuts total 682,000 for fiscal years 1970 and\n1971.\nAs you know, the reductions in military spending also have meant a cut in\nour naval forces of 140 ships over the past two years--many of them home-ported\nin San Diego.\nWe realize this has had a great impact on San Diego. Yours is a city with\nclose ties to the Navy and also a city which recognizes the need to maintain a\n(more)\n-4-\nstrong Navy--as I do. Let me emphasize, however, that the ships we are mothballing\nare 20 to 25 years old. What we need now is modernization. There is a dramatic\nneed to move ahead with funds for new ship construction.\nThe only way we can modernize the Navy is to do something affirmatively\nabout the block obsolesence problem. We cannot solve this hangover of past\nerrors, indecision, and neglect in one year, but we have an obligation to make a\nstart and hopefully the new budget is such a beginning.\nI am not bemoaning our shift in national emphasis to the humanitarian\nproblems which our people are demanding be tackled. We must attack with greater\nvigor the problems of health, education, poverty, urban development, and the\nthreats to our environment posed by air and water pollution.\nBut I make the point that we are being shortchanged on modernization of\nour military because of attacks now being made on defense spending in the name\nof the new priorities. I say that the country needs your help to see to it that\nour forces are properly equipped in the future--whatever their number.\nBasically, the cuts we have made in military spending have been directly\nrelated to the Vietnamization of our struggle in Southeast Asia. We have gradually\nbeen turning more of the burden over to our South Vietnamese allies, and we have\nreduced our armed forces accordingly.\nAt the same time we have struck a heavy blow against the forces of inflation\nby holding down the overall level of Federal spending. We have maintained a\nbalanced budget and limited the extent to which the Federal Government has had\nto go into the money markets.\nWhat I resent is that the same individuals who voted for the huge military\nbudgets of the previous Administration now are wielding the axe in an irresponsible\nmanner against Nixon Administration defense budgets already cut to the bone.\nThese are also the people who funded prior-years weapons projects now\nshown to have huge cost overruns--projects proposed by the previous Administration.\nThese same individuals treat the cost overruns as though the present Administration\nwere to blame for them.\nIt occurs to me that had it not been for gross mismanagement by the\nprevious Administration, resulting in these cost overruns, there would be far\nmore funds available at this time for such urgent programs as modernization of\nour Fleet.\nThink back, if you will, to what the Defense Department's civil managers\nof the Sixties--the so-called Whiz Kids--hath wrought.\n(more)\n-5-\nWe have the F-111, for instance, trotted out by the Whiz Kids as the great\ncommon purpose aircraft which would superbly serve both the Navy and the Air Force\nand save the Nation a lot of money.\nAs you may know, the F-111 has been grounded for wing failure. But its\nfailures extend far beyond its wing flaw. The story of the F-111 is a saga of\ntragic mismanagement. And the mess all began with the insistence of the Whiz\nKids that the Navy and the Air Force employ a single multi-purpose aircraft.\nThe net result was an aircraft which could not meet anyone's military\nmission requirements. There was too great an orientation to commonality and not\nenough emphasis on military service needs. The Navy was lucky. The Navy version\nof the F-111 was cancelled after $200 million was spent on it.\nNow the Air Force is stuck with a plane that is sadly deficient both as a\nfighter and a bomber and is costing nearly four times as much as the original\nestimate.\nThe original per unit cost of the F-111 has risen from just under $4 million\neach to nearly $14 million apiece. And if you add in non-acquisition costs like\nground facilities the unit price goes up to nearly $16 million.\nThis F-111 fiasco is utterly fantastic. Initially, plans called for a buy\nof 1,750 planes. Now the figure is down to 547, with 493 under contract.\nThe most fantastic fact of all is that the then-Secretary of Defense and\nhis Whiz Kids knew as early as 1963 that the F-111 could not meet its primary\nAir Force mission--that the plane would not deliver the specified maneuver\ncapabilities at supersonic speeds and that its directional stability was extremely\nlow at supersonic speeds.\nThen we have the C-5A Galaxy air transport, which is currently restricted\nbecause of a structural defect. That plane was intended to be a breakthrough in\ncost suppression. Instead the plane has become a procurement scandal. On the\nbasis of the original order of 121 planes, the unit cost would now be $42.7 million\ninstead of the original $28.1 million apiece. Thank goodness the order has been\ncut back to 81 planes. With the cutback, the unit cost is $48.2 million, as\ncompared with $33 million apiece based on the original cost estimate for that\nvolume of procurement. What it adds up to is a $1.6 billion cost overrun even\nwith the cutback in orders.\nAs for the Navy, we have inherited an over-age Fleet while the Soviet Union\nhas been engaged in streamlining its naval strike forces.\n(more)\n-6-\nLet me assure you, however, that the Nixon Administration is concentrating\non qualitative preparedness. Vintage combatant ships are being replaced with new,\nmore flexible and mission-oriented ships.\nDuring the early part of this year, U.S. ships have twice conducted maneuvers\nin the Black Sea. This proven technique of showing the Flag is being employed\nas a useful instrument of our foreign policy.\nUnder this Administration we will move toward a Navy that is modern, powerful,\nbalanced and flexible.\nThis Administration recognizes that we are suffering from a modernization\ndeficit--that we need a regular updating of our forces by the introduction of modern\nships into our Fleet, by the orderly replacement of our older ships.\nThe modernizing of our Navy has been postponed far too long. In this time\nof tight budgets, it is all the more important that we keep abreast of technical\nadvances and make the most effective possible use of weapons and forces.\nWhat is most dangerous to our national security at this moment is that\ncertain members of Congress are attacking our bare-bones defense budget as though\n$10 or $20 billion could be chopped from it with impunity. They obviously have\nfailed to think through our national security needs for the Seventies.\nTo them I say we cannot make progress toward peace by allowing America to\nbecome weak.\nTo them I say it is not only foolhardy but suicidal for America to risk\nbeing caught militarily short in the Seventies as we were in the Thirties.\nLook at what is happening to our great country as we enter the decade of\nthe Seventies.\nWe are experiencing a revulsion not only against the Vietnam War but\nagainst all things military and against defense-oriented industry. This has led\nto attacks against the Defense Establishment, our men in uniform, and what is\ngenerally lumped together as \"the military-industrial complex.\"\nIt has produced a concerted campaign to slash our defense budget without any\nconsideration for what this country must possess in the way of armaments to\nguarantee its national security and to maintain some degree of peace in the world.\nAs General George C. Marshall once remarked, there are individuals who\nconfuse military preparedness with the causes of war and thus invite a national\ncatastrophe.\nThere are today amazing similarities between 1970 and the Thirties, a period\nwhen we believed that the best way to avoid war was to pretend it just couldn't\nhappen.\n(more)\n-7-\nIn the Thirties Sen. Gerald P. Nye of North Dakota preached the \"Fortress\nAmerica' concept. The isolationism being talked in the United States Senate today\nis strongly reminiscent of the sentiments voiced by Sen. Nye.\nIn the early Thirties an investigation by a Senate committee headed by Nye\nresulted in the Neutrality Act of 1935. That legislation was similar to a\nrecently-enacted Senate resolution limiting the use of U.S. ground troops in Laos.\nNever mind the fact that the Administration has no intention of using ground troops\nin Laos.\nNye blamed war on the international bankers and munitions makers--\ncalled \"merchants of death. \"\nToday we see militants burning down or damaging bank buildings, looting\nthe files of a napalm manufacturer and preventing campus appearances by recruiters\nfor defense industries.\nThere were protests in the 30s against compulsory military training, and so\na number of land grant colleges made military drill optional. Today we find\nstudents forcing college administrations to drop ROTC from the curriculum. And\ntoday, too, we have draft card burning and the pouring of blood on draft card files.\nIn the Thirties, America slept. Let us not make the same mistake today we\nmade in the 1930s. Let us not tear down our national security by confusing military\npreparedness with the causes of war.\nLet us accept the great challenge that confronts us--the challenge of main-\ntaining our free institutions in the face of a Communist movement that threatens\nto destroy those institutions.\nLet us remember that the great oceans no longer are seawalls behind which\nwe can hide while we belatedly prepare to meet an enemy threat. There is no time\nlag in warfare today giving America the kind of opportunity to rearm we enjoyed\nin 1941. We are constantly staring at the tip of a nuclear missile--and we had\nbetter not blink.\nI am not advocating a revival of the cold war. But to abandon principle in\nthe pursuit of peace is to take the surest road to ultimate disaster.\nLet us seek a detente with the Soviet Union, but let us negotiate from a\nposition of strength. We cannot buy peace with a show of weakness.\nThroughout America's history, the source of our national greatness has been\nour ability to see what had to be done and then to do it. In this decade of the\nSeventies, let us as Americans do what has to be done to achieve peace in the\nworld. We cannot afford to do less.\n# # #"
}