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CNN Saturday Morning News

The Novak Zone: Interview With Vern Clark

Aired March 01, 2003 - 09:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: We are going to go to "The Novak Zone" now. The chief of naval operations, Admiral Vern Clark, is talking about war preparations with our own Robert Novak.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT NOVAK, HOST: Welcome to "The Novak Zone." I'm Robert Novak, at the Pentagon just outside of Washington, D.C., with the chief of naval operations, the Navy's senior officer, Admiral Vern Clark.

Admiral, the last reports are that there are 60,000 naval personnel and at least five carrier groups in the war -- the potential war zone in Iraq. Is that enough naval forces to do the job?

ADM. VERN CLARK, CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS: Well, that is the size of the force that's been requested by General Franks, and I absolutely believe that it's sufficient to do the job if we are called upon to go into conflict.

NOVAK: Now, the -- in 1981, sir, the secretary of the Navy, John Lehman (ph), wanted -- was -- made a lot of noise about a 600-ship Navy. The Navy had gone down to about 400 ships under President Carter. He never got to 600. I think he got to about 550. But the Navy now at 308 ships. Are you really under strength, considering all the demands on the Navy today?

CLARK: Well, we have a tremendously capable Navy, and numbers do count. In fact, I like to say numbers have a quality all their own. So numbers do matter.

What I am also quick to point out is that the capability inside those numbers is very important. I have spoken toward a requirement of 375 ships in my testimony before Congress, and that is reaching toward the kind of force that I envision and dream about for the future, the kind of force that I think that we should have.

I believe that our Navy is big enough to get the job done, but I do believe that we need to work toward creating and developing a larger Navy in the 21st century.

NOVAK: Well, 375 ships is not 600. Were 600 too many, or does technology make it possible to do more with less now?

CLARK: Well, have you nailed it exactly, Bob. A ship today is nothing like it was when I came in the Navy, or in 1981, when Secretary Lehman was reaching toward a 600-ship Navy. In fact, the combat reach of our ships today is so dramatically different, the ability to influence a potential battle space is so improved, that these numbers -- it's an apples and an oranges kind of comparison.

NOVAK: The Navy, sir, is described as 51 percent deployed right now. Now, when you're on a ship, it's not quite like being a soldier in a barracks, where you go home with your wife every night and kids. You're out there. They're -- they've -- a lot of people these people are out there with -- for some time. Is there a morale problem of steaming around the high seas for so many sailors and officers?

CLARK: I'm so glad you asked me the question, because it gives me a chance to talk about our people. And I've been in this assignment now for two and a half years, and we have enjoyed tremendous success in the battle for people.

When I came into this office, I made this my top priority. And I would say it like this. We have the greatest retention, the highest retention that we have ever experienced in our 227-year history. We are experiencing that right now in the last two years.

I do have 51 percent of my Navy deployed today. I actually have 64 percent of it out at sea, some of them conducting training operations off the coast and so forth. But the ones that are actually committed forward, the message about what's happening in the Navy today, and when people ask me what I like best, I say, I love the tone of it. The tone of it is caused by the commitment of the young people, the men and women, who want to make a difference.

And that's what's going on in the Navy.

And I was in the Gulf last month...

NOVAK: So the morale is high even with...

CLARK: The morale is sky high.

NOVAK: Admiral, with so much of the Navy committed to the Persian Gulf, are we in a difficulty if there is a crisis in northeast Asia, considering the problem in North Korea? Do we have enough Navy to take care of a two-front war?

CLARK: Well, the new strategy that has been put to paper with the Bush administration and under Secretary Rumsfeld's leadership talks about -- you know, we discarded the two major theater war construct because it wasn't meeting our needs. What we -- we found ourselves involved in many more places than two places at once.

And so the construct is to be able to deter in four places, to be able to swiftly defeat an enemy in two places and to overwhelmingly, decisively defeat, change the regime, if required in one place.

I will tell you, the benefit of the naval forces is that we are mobile. We can move, and we can move rapidly. And we take our support structure with us. And while I said, I've actually got six carriers forward deployed today -- and I won't talk about the rest of my structure, because I don't want it to be out in the public domain exactly where they are, but I will tell you that I've got additional structure behind that, that is in a state of readiness and ready to respond.

So this Navy is more ready than I have ever seen it, Bob, in my entire career, and I came in the Navy in 1968.

NOVAK: Just to pin that down, Admiral Clark, ready for any eventuality if there is a crisis with North Korea?

CLARK: That's correct.

NOVAK: And now the big question for the chief of naval operations, Admiral Vern Clark.

Since the last Gulf War, there has been an increase of women in most combat duties of the United States Navy. You think the American people are prepared for possible casualties of women in this -- if there is a coming conflict?

CLARK: Well, I think what the American people insist on is that they insist on opportunity, equal opportunity for our citizens. And I love to tell the story about operations in Afghanistan. I have a number of women flying F-18s off of our carriers.

The story goes of a special forces troop who was calling for air cover. And, you know, our business was about not just combat power in the four corners of the earth, but persistent -- my new -- one of my new favorite words, Bob, is persistent combat power.

The F-18s were going to the tanker, and the special forces troop called up and said, Hey, I need support down here now. And it happened to be the flight lead was on the tanker, and he said, I'm on the tanker right now. And his wingman, a young woman, said, I'll be right there.

And down she went, and unloading her guns to deal with the problem at hand.

You know, there -- young women are performing all over our force in a splendid way, and we don't even keep track of who's who anymore. They're doing great. And I think that's what the American people want to see. They want to see the principles and the values that this nation holds dear. They want to see it manifested in every walk of our life. And it's manifested in the United States Navy.

NOVAK: Admiral Vern Clark, thank you very much.

And thank you for being in "The Novak Zone."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired March 1, 2003 - 09:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: We are going to go to "The Novak Zone" now. The chief of naval operations, Admiral Vern Clark, is talking about war preparations with our own Robert Novak.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT NOVAK, HOST: Welcome to "The Novak Zone." I'm Robert Novak, at the Pentagon just outside of Washington, D.C., with the chief of naval operations, the Navy's senior officer, Admiral Vern Clark.

Admiral, the last reports are that there are 60,000 naval personnel and at least five carrier groups in the war -- the potential war zone in Iraq. Is that enough naval forces to do the job?

ADM. VERN CLARK, CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS: Well, that is the size of the force that's been requested by General Franks, and I absolutely believe that it's sufficient to do the job if we are called upon to go into conflict.

NOVAK: Now, the -- in 1981, sir, the secretary of the Navy, John Lehman (ph), wanted -- was -- made a lot of noise about a 600-ship Navy. The Navy had gone down to about 400 ships under President Carter. He never got to 600. I think he got to about 550. But the Navy now at 308 ships. Are you really under strength, considering all the demands on the Navy today?

CLARK: Well, we have a tremendously capable Navy, and numbers do count. In fact, I like to say numbers have a quality all their own. So numbers do matter.

What I am also quick to point out is that the capability inside those numbers is very important. I have spoken toward a requirement of 375 ships in my testimony before Congress, and that is reaching toward the kind of force that I envision and dream about for the future, the kind of force that I think that we should have.

I believe that our Navy is big enough to get the job done, but I do believe that we need to work toward creating and developing a larger Navy in the 21st century.

NOVAK: Well, 375 ships is not 600. Were 600 too many, or does technology make it possible to do more with less now?

CLARK: Well, have you nailed it exactly, Bob. A ship today is nothing like it was when I came in the Navy, or in 1981, when Secretary Lehman was reaching toward a 600-ship Navy. In fact, the combat reach of our ships today is so dramatically different, the ability to influence a potential battle space is so improved, that these numbers -- it's an apples and an oranges kind of comparison.

NOVAK: The Navy, sir, is described as 51 percent deployed right now. Now, when you're on a ship, it's not quite like being a soldier in a barracks, where you go home with your wife every night and kids. You're out there. They're -- they've -- a lot of people these people are out there with -- for some time. Is there a morale problem of steaming around the high seas for so many sailors and officers?

CLARK: I'm so glad you asked me the question, because it gives me a chance to talk about our people. And I've been in this assignment now for two and a half years, and we have enjoyed tremendous success in the battle for people.

When I came into this office, I made this my top priority. And I would say it like this. We have the greatest retention, the highest retention that we have ever experienced in our 227-year history. We are experiencing that right now in the last two years.

I do have 51 percent of my Navy deployed today. I actually have 64 percent of it out at sea, some of them conducting training operations off the coast and so forth. But the ones that are actually committed forward, the message about what's happening in the Navy today, and when people ask me what I like best, I say, I love the tone of it. The tone of it is caused by the commitment of the young people, the men and women, who want to make a difference.

And that's what's going on in the Navy.

And I was in the Gulf last month...

NOVAK: So the morale is high even with...

CLARK: The morale is sky high.

NOVAK: Admiral, with so much of the Navy committed to the Persian Gulf, are we in a difficulty if there is a crisis in northeast Asia, considering the problem in North Korea? Do we have enough Navy to take care of a two-front war?

CLARK: Well, the new strategy that has been put to paper with the Bush administration and under Secretary Rumsfeld's leadership talks about -- you know, we discarded the two major theater war construct because it wasn't meeting our needs. What we -- we found ourselves involved in many more places than two places at once.

And so the construct is to be able to deter in four places, to be able to swiftly defeat an enemy in two places and to overwhelmingly, decisively defeat, change the regime, if required in one place.

I will tell you, the benefit of the naval forces is that we are mobile. We can move, and we can move rapidly. And we take our support structure with us. And while I said, I've actually got six carriers forward deployed today -- and I won't talk about the rest of my structure, because I don't want it to be out in the public domain exactly where they are, but I will tell you that I've got additional structure behind that, that is in a state of readiness and ready to respond.

So this Navy is more ready than I have ever seen it, Bob, in my entire career, and I came in the Navy in 1968.

NOVAK: Just to pin that down, Admiral Clark, ready for any eventuality if there is a crisis with North Korea?

CLARK: That's correct.

NOVAK: And now the big question for the chief of naval operations, Admiral Vern Clark.

Since the last Gulf War, there has been an increase of women in most combat duties of the United States Navy. You think the American people are prepared for possible casualties of women in this -- if there is a coming conflict?

CLARK: Well, I think what the American people insist on is that they insist on opportunity, equal opportunity for our citizens. And I love to tell the story about operations in Afghanistan. I have a number of women flying F-18s off of our carriers.

The story goes of a special forces troop who was calling for air cover. And, you know, our business was about not just combat power in the four corners of the earth, but persistent -- my new -- one of my new favorite words, Bob, is persistent combat power.

The F-18s were going to the tanker, and the special forces troop called up and said, Hey, I need support down here now. And it happened to be the flight lead was on the tanker, and he said, I'm on the tanker right now. And his wingman, a young woman, said, I'll be right there.

And down she went, and unloading her guns to deal with the problem at hand.

You know, there -- young women are performing all over our force in a splendid way, and we don't even keep track of who's who anymore. They're doing great. And I think that's what the American people want to see. They want to see the principles and the values that this nation holds dear. They want to see it manifested in every walk of our life. And it's manifested in the United States Navy.

NOVAK: Admiral Vern Clark, thank you very much.

And thank you for being in "The Novak Zone."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com