Crowdsourcing the HASC Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee's 2013 Agenda

As many of you know, Rep. J Randy Forbes was named the next Chairman of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee on the House Armed Services Committee in mid-December. I have written several times on this blog in the past and now serve as Rep. Forbes' Defense Policy Advisor. We are definitely excited about the news and the opportunity it presents to take a larger leadership role on Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force power-projection questions over the next two years.

While we are working to build our 2013 priorities list, I thought I would try and use this particular group to help generate a memo I am building for my boss on the issues the Seapower and Projection Forces community feel are most important for him to consider as the incoming Chairman. Specifically, I have provided a number of questions below that we are looking for feedback on. Please feel free to answer as many or as few as you would like. I will take the answers I receive and put them into a larger memo later this month to provide Rep. Forbes a holistic view of what the broader community is thinking when it comes to these matters.

Please feel free to share your thoughts below or email them to me directly at: Eric.Sayers@mail.house.gov

All the best and a Happy New Year!

Questions

• What are the most important issues for the US Navy in 2013?
• What are the most important issues for US Marine Corps in 2013?
• What is the future of American power-projection? What assumptions regarding this mission have we got wrong or have changed over the last two decades? Are our Navy and Air Force capabilities postured correctly for this future?
• What hearings would you like to see the Subcommittee hold during 2012?
• What is one non-traditional hearing you would like to see conducted that might not otherwise get attention?
• What smart people amongst Navy/MC/AF leadership should Rep. Forbes meet with to consult their opinion beyond the usual suspects?
• What other ideas in terms of policy recommendations and/or messaging opportunities would you like to share?