Voting
?What about new design for our website
- Excellent
- Very Good
- Good
Voting Number 1647
- 'Birds of Goodness' executes 43rd humanitarian aid airdrop in north Gaza
- EDGE Becomes a Global Player in Non-Lethal Technologies by Acquiring Industry Leader CONDOR
- Birds of Goodness executes 42nd humanitarian aid airdrop in north Gaza
- Birds of Goodness executes 41st humanitarian aid airdrop in north Gaza
- Birds of Goodness delivers over 3000 tons via 40 airdrops since humanitarian operation commenced.
- 'Birds of Goodness' executes 39th humanitarian aid airdrop in north Gaza
- 'Birds of Goodness' executes 38th humanitarian aid airdrop in north Gaza
- Saab delivers fourth GlobalEye to the UAE
- Birds of Goodness executes 37th humanitarian aid airdrop in north Gaza
- Birds of Goodness executes 36th humanitarian aid airdrop in north Gaza
- Birds of Goodness executes 35th humanitarian aid airdrop in north Gaza
- Led by the Commander of Joint Operations .. A delegation from the Ministry of Defense, has initiated several-day visit to the People's Republic of China
- Birds of Goodness executes 34th humanitarian aid airdrop in north Gaza
- Birds of Goodness' executes 33rd humanitarian aid airdrop in north Gaza
- Birds of Goodness delivers over 2,000 tonnes of aid via 32 airdrops since humanitarian operation began
- On the 2nd day of Eid al-Fitr... Birds of Goodness Executes 31st Humanitarian Airdrop and Eid Clothing in North Gaza
- On the first day of Eid Al-Fitr,UAE and Jordan conduct 14th joint food aid airdrop in northern Gaza
- UAE and Jordan conduct 13th joint food aid airdrop in northern Gaza
- 'Birds of Goodness' Executes 29th Humanitarian Aid Airdrop and Eid Clothing in North Gaza.
- UAE and Jordan conduct 12th joint food aid airdrop in northern Gaza
2014-01-01
Vice Admiral John W. Miller: We always appreciate the opportunity to work with the Emirati navy and we look forward to any opportunity in the future
By: Sakha Pramod
VADM John W. Miller, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. 5th Fleet, Combined Maritime Forces, was one of the several top decision makers who attended Offshore Patrol Vessels 2013 conference. Nation Shield spoke to him on a wide range of issues pertaining to maritime security and stability in the Middle East including piracy and safe passage for commerce. Excerpts:
You are stationed at one of the most volatile regions in the world? What are the major challenges you face in this assignment?
Our job is to contribute to maritime security and stability. That is our mission. We do that through a coalition maritime force currently comprising 30 different nations. And each day that is what we do through three task forces: Task Forces 150, 151 and 152. Through those three task forces we cover the Gulf. We cover the entire theater of operations from the Suez Canal to the eastern borders of Pakistan and we cover the current piracy mission.
As the U.S. has withdrawn from Iraq and is slated to pull out of Afghanistan, what will be the new focus for you?
Our focus has not changed since 2001. It is maritime security, maritime stability and ensuring the free flow of commerce. It ensures that a ship that gets underway from anywhere in the world can sail from that port to the northern regions of the Gulf and back home again safely. And that did not change when the United States and the Coalition went to Afghanistan. It did not change when they went into Iraq. It will not change when the mission in Afghanistan is completed. We will be here for a long time to come. We will continue to make sure that the maritime environment is safe and secure.
The U.S. is likely to deploy only one carrier here for years to come. Will your operations be scaled down as the U.S. government has recently seen an unprecedented financial shutdown?
I am satisfied with the force posture that the U.S. has today. I have had an opportunity to review the proposed force structure which is essentially unchanged from what we have today. So I am satisfied that we will have sufficient force structure in order for us to accomplish our mission in the future. Secretary Hagel, when he spoke at the Manama Dialogue, was very clear about an ongoing US commitment to the region. And our maritime force posture, the one we have today, and the one proposed for the future, allows us to fulfill that commitment that the Secretary made.
How do you evaluate the current security threats to Middle Eastern countries?
I will talk about the maritime threat because that is the line I work in. There are potential threats to maritime security here in the region and they are well known. So I do not necessarily need to catalogue them. But we understand them. We work in an environment each day where we sail amongst the Iranian navy and the revolutionary guard units on a regular basis. So we understand them. They understand us. It is a complex environment. But it is an environment we are well aware of and are able to operate in and able to operate comfortably.
As the threats in the region diminish and as the U.S. focus seemingly shifts elsewhere, is there any plan to shift your base from Bahrain?
We have a very long and fruitful relationship with the Bahrainis. We have had forces in Bahrain since 1948. We have significant infrastructure in Bahrain. Bahrainis are great partners; they have always been great partners. I anticipate that they will be great partners for us for the foreseeable future. I think the best example of our ongoing commitment to our base in Bahrain is the fact that we have about half a billion dollars of infrastructure investment ongoing over the next several years that will allow us to replace existing ships, minesweepers and patrol craft with littoral combat ships which are the ships of the future. And so investing in the infrastructure to support those ships shows that we intend to stay in Bahrain in the foreseeable future.
How successful are conferences like OPV in combating the prevalent threat of maritime insecurity in the Indian Ocean?
We talk a lot about building partnerships, capacities and capabilities. For me, partnership is not just one of our coalition partners getting increasing capability or getting increased capacity. But it is getting greater capability or capacity that we can integrate into our operations so it allows us the opportunity to fully integrate and operate together or exercise together. Conferences like this help us to get to know one another; get to understand the needs of individual navies so that we can move forward together, so that if there is a need to operate together we are capable of doing that. Mostly it gives us the opportunity to understand how we can exercise together, so that when we have to operate together we are ready.
A main responsibility of the U.S. Navy is to ensure smooth passage of oil from the region. Do you think the European nations need to pitch in this effort as the U.S. dependence on Middle East oil has fallen over the years?
First of all, it is more than just about oil. It is about the safe passage of every ship regardless of what they are carrying. Secondly, not only do the Europeans already contribute but we have nations in our combined maritime force from virtually across the globe, from Japan who on December 8 joined the Task Force 151, a counter piracy task force, to nations in Europe, to Canada, to Australia and so it really is a global effort ongoing right now. During our International Mine Countermeasures Exercise 2013 in May of this year, we had 40 nations participating from every inhabited continent on the planet. So the effort to maintain security and stability in this region truly is a global effort.
Sometimes you may face a trigger happy enemy. How do you manage to keep restraint to ensure that the provocation does not end up as a serious confrontation?
We provide very specific guidance to our commanders on the need to prevent the opportunity for miscalculation. We are here to maintain security, not to create confrontation.
What impact will U.S. self reliance on oil have on the U.S. military and naval presence in the Middle East?
Oil is a global commodity. Japan gets over 80 percent of its oil from the Gulf and China gets about 70 percent of its oil from the Gulf. If the flow of oil from the Gulf is impeded, it is going to have an immediate impact on the global economy. That is bad for everybody. So no one nation can any longer say that they are self reliant on oil. It is a global commodity and all of us are concerned about oil supply on a global basis and so it is always going to be important, whether it is here or whether it is on the west coast of Africa or whether it is from the United States or North America.
Piracy is another major challenge. What role do you see for newer allies like China and India in combating this threat?
Our Combined Maritime Forces conduct a quarterly conference called “the shared awareness and deconfliction (SHADE) conference”. It is a counter piracy focused conference. We held that conference last week at our headquarters in Bahrain. What we learnt out of that conference is that the Chinese are interested in greater cooperation in counter piracy mission and so I am optimistic that we are making progress in that regard. Last week we met with a senior official from the Indian Navy. They are specifically interested in greater cooperation in the counter piracy mission with the United States. And so we are making great progress in conducting counter piracy missions with the navies of both these countries.
What is your word of advice to the GCC countries on strengthening their naval defense?
We work very closely with the GCC and are helping them increase our partnership, capacity and capability. We conduct about 25 exercises a year with the GCC. Where I am particularly optimistic is that we are seeing greater cooperation among the GCC navies themselves where they are joining together more and more to leverage the capabilities of the entire GCC as an entity as opposed to individual GCC navies. I think that is a very good trend.
In your opinion what is the best way for UAE and U.S. to work in order to boost security and stability in the Arabian Gulf region?
We just need to continue the ongoing cooperation and look for expanded opportunities wherever we can to improve our interoperability, to improve our ability to integrate whether it is in an exercise or an actual operation. As always the exchange of information is going to continue to be important.
Can you tell us about your peacetime operations and how important they are to maintain stability in any region?
One of the things that we are familiar with is that it is always better to be able to operate forward and that is why our base in Bahrain is so important. You cannot build trust unless you work together and that is why it is so important for us to be here. It enables us to attend conferences and also be together in the maritime environment day after day, working side by side toward a common goal which is maritime security.
Your opinion about UAE’s flagship exhibitions IDEX, NAVDEX and Dubai Airshow?
I have attended the IDEX and it was spectacular. I have had a chance to attend all these conferences. As I mentioned this is an opportunity to build personal relationships, it is an opportunity to build trust, it is an opportunity to discuss future initiatives which often times turn into exercises or turn into future conferences. So these events are valuable. I was here for the Dubai Airshow as well.
What message would you like to give to Nation Shield readers?
When we talk about maritime security we often tend to talk about the number of ships, we talk about how big the ships are and what kind of weapons the ships have. What we continually find is the most important aspect of success in the maritime environment is the quality of our sailors- whether they are Americans or Emiratis- and what we find time after time is whenever we can put our sailors together they form a special bond, a special kinship. We always appreciate the opportunity to work with the Emirati navy and we look forward to any opportunity in the future.
biography
Vice Adm. Miller was commissioned an ensign upon graduation from the United States Naval Academy in 1979. He was designated a naval flight officer in June 1980 and received orders to Fighter Attack Squadron (VF) 101 for replacement training in the F-14A Tomcat.
Miller has spent a majority of his operational career deploying to and operating in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. Sea tours include VF 31 as a division officer, VF-84 as maintenance officer, and command of VF-142, VF-101, USS Dubuque (LPD 8), USS Juneau (LPD 10), USS Constellation (CV 64), USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67), and Carrier Strike Group 11.
After promotion to rear admiral, Miller spent a considerable amount of time focusing on the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility serving as deputy commander to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/United States 5th Fleet and deputy director, Strategy, Plans, and Policy (J5); and, chief of staff, U.S. Central Command.
Miller is a distinguished graduate of the Naval War College and holds a master’s degree in International Relations from Salve Regina University.
Miller has accumulated more than 3,500 flight hours and 1,000 carrier-arrested landings in the F-14 Tomcat flying off of John F. Kennedy, USS Nimitz (CVN 68), USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), USS George Washington (CVN 73), USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63), and Constellation.
Miller left command of the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center in October 2011 to serve as the special assistant to the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Operations, Plans, and Strategy (N3/N5) in Washington D.C., before reporting as commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/United States 5th Fleet/Combined Maritime Forces.
His awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal (2), Legion of Merit (5), Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal (3), Strike Flight Air Medal (2), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (5), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and numerous unit and campaign awards.
Visitors Comments
Related Topics
.
No Comments