European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 20, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Focus Pentagon fuels Battle of services by Michael r. Gordon the new York times ust Down the hallway from Bill Owens Pentagon office is an elaborate scale Model showing How Oil platforms could be lashed together to create a futuristic floating air base. For now the Mobile offshore base is Only a gleam in Admiral William a. Owens Eye. But if he gets his Way it could become part of a broader technological revolution in equipping and restructuring the military to fight the nation s wars. A former submariner and Oxford University scholar the mild mannered Admiral and vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff has set off an acrimonious debate at the Pentagon. Conducted almost entirely behind closed doors this is not the familiar debate Between civilian and military officials. Rather it is an argument among the military s highest ranking generals and admirals. And the Issue is not just High  also concerns Power namely which military officers will Lead the Way Owens and his staff who Are supposed to transcend the services parochial differences or the chiefs of the army Navy Marine corps and air Force. In the past eight years there has been a concentration of Power in the leadership of the joint chiefs of staff particularly under Gen. Colin l Powell who was chairman from,19fo9 to 1993. Owens with the support of Gen. John Shalikashvil the current chairman of the joint chiefs is trying to build on what Powell accomplished by expanding the authority of the vice chairman s office into one of the services cherished realms equipping and training troops. With billions of dollars and the future Structure of the military at stake the reaction has been decidedly mixed. Owens is really the Energy for change said Deputy defense Secretary John a Deutch a Strong supporter of the cerebral Admiral and another High tech enthusiast. But there Are Many traditional warriors in the Pentagon who think the Admiral has counted too much on the Promise of new technology to conduct push Button warfare and who Are concerned that he will overstep his authority. It. Gen. Ronald h. Griffith the army s inspector general and the Owens xxv a ? a 4ch4- i a if High tech wizardry such As this recent computer improvement in satellite intelligence photography is a key to the debate Over preparing the military for the wars of the future. Commander of the 1st army div during the persian Gulf War said that any Effort by Owens and his staff to involve themselves in decisions on weapon development would be clearly an encroachment on the authority of the secretaries and the chiefs referring to the civilian and military leaders of the branches of the service. Dov s. Zakheim a senior Pentagon official in the Reagan administration observed the debate has been been very heated. The services have spent 30 years fighting against interference by Pentagon civilians. Now they Are being attacked from an entirely different  in a military culture in which often Only the domineering survive Owens has always pressed his theories with solicitude Courtesy and sheer doggedness. A 54-year-old naval Academy graduate he spent much of his military career As a commander of nuclear submarines where some say the isolation from Daylight enabled him to perfect his ability to get by on four hours of sleep a night. He later was the senior military assistant to defense Secretary Dick Cheney and commander of the Navy s 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean after his command Owens returned to the Pentagon to serve As the principal Long Range planner for the Navy where he did not hesitate to stir controversy. He argued that the demise of the soviet Union had Given the United states a historic Opportunity. Without a major threat the Pentagon could afford to Cut Back even More on its forces and Channel Money into the development of reconnaissance systems communications networks and other innovations that would revolutionize the military so that it could Deal with the threats it might face in the next Century. Toward that end for example he was the architect of a plan to Speed the retirement of frigates to free up Money for other programs after Owens left his Navy duties in March to take up his Post As the vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff the chief of naval operations adm. Jeremy m. Boorda reversed the Basic thrust of Owens plan. But Owens has continued his earlier this year a Titan 4 rocket launched a $1 billion military eavesdropping satellite. Crusade using the authority of his new office whose scope has been expanded in past years by Congress. Throughput his soft spoken approach has been one of Subtle seduction not confrontation. Owens said that new electronic surveillance satellites space based heat detecting systems drones and communications systems would enable a military commander to achieve dominant Battlefield  in Pursuit of his vision Owens has flown All Over the country searching for technologies of the future. Friday for example he went to Atlanta to discuss / new satellite broadcasting technology with Tom Johnson the president of can. But there Are Many in the military who believe that Owens is taking a Good thing too far. The technology needs to be transferred Down to the individual Soldier Sailor and Marine said Gen Richard d. Hearney the assistant commandant of the Marine corps. We Are going to have to concentrate on them not just this High tech i can see everything within the 200-mile-by-200 Square area one i do not know whether that is achievable. I also do not think we could pay for it even if it were  sidelight Owens ideas would remake the Pentagon by the new York times even within the Navy adm. William Owens ideas have sparked debate. Adm. Stanley r. Arthur the vice chief of naval operations said Owens had made a contribution by pushing the military to think about advanced technology but he added that some of Owens recommendations about current service programs had been very  Arthur flatly dismissed Owens plan for a v Mobile sea base As a poor substitute for an aircraft Carrier because of its limited mobility but he said the Navy would study it at Owens direction. With each service fighting to preserve its portion of a shrinking military budget the main debate centers hot just on Owens vision but on his Effort to use his new Power to bring it about a. Supporters of the Admiral say that the military services Are often More concerned with protecting their budgets than with planning new ways to cooperate and that the Only Way to bring about change is for Owens to take the Lead strengthen his staff and try to build a consensus within the military. What is under Way could be the biggest change since Mcnamara came to the Pentagon said one official who supports the Admiral s Effort referring to  Secretary Robert s. Mcnamara s decision to introduce rigorous systems analysis to the Pentagon 30 years ago. But it is exactly those sorts of predictions that alarm some of the military services. So far Owens has moved deliberately publicly reassuring the services while establishing a precedent for bolder action. He has revived the moribund joint requirements oversight Council a panel headed by the vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and including the second ranking officials in the military services. Officially the panel is to examine military requirements but that is a vague term that enables Owens and his staff to give advice on what military systems should be developed to suggest what Money should be used for operations and maintenance and to debate the military s changing roles and missions. Already Owens has used the panel to prepare a classified 30-Page analysis of the services budget plans which Shalikashvil has submitted under his own name to defense Secretary William j. Perry. The vice chiefs offered their ideas but were not Given a veto Over the analysis which proposed reallocating billions of dollars and included specific recommendations like cancelling further purchases of the air Force f 111 plane. Zakheim said that if the services and Owens found a Way to work together the big losers in the Power struggle would not be the military services but the civilians who Are supposed to run the Pentagon. For now however the consensus that Owens Hopes to build has proved to be elusive setting the stage for further debates. Next Spring Owens plans to take another crucial step by outlining guidance that he would like Perry to give to the services on what types of programs to pursue. One official said this debate could become even More acrimonious As it moves toward the next program Cycle next  22 the stars and stripes tuesday december 20,1994