Greenert is visiting the islands to attend a Friday ceremony for a change of command at the Pacific Fleet. He has been stationed in Hawaii several times in the past.
BY AUDREY MCAVOY
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PEARL HARBOR, Oahu — The head of the Navy told sailors Thursday that the Asia-Pacific will be the service’s focus in the future, and he views Hawaii as the gateway to the region.
“Let me give it to you straight, right here. The focus of this department in the future is the Asia-Pacific region, where you are,” Adm. Jonathan Greenert told more than 500 sailors during a visit to Pearl Harbor, one of the Navy’s largest bases. “I look at Hawaii and I say it’s the gateway — it’s the most strategic base — out into the Asia-Pacific.”
Greenert attributed the shift to an evolving world, the U.S. drawdown from operations in the Middle East, and a declining defense budget.
His remarks come after the Obama administration earlier this month unveiled a new defense strategy seeking to enhance the U.S. presence in Asia because of the region’s economic importance and China’s rise as a military power.
The strategy focuses on the Asia-Pacific region but aims to retain American military pre-eminence worldwide, even as budgets are cut to reduce the nation’s deficit.
Greenert explained to reporters afterward that the Navy would channel future investments to meet the needs of the Pacific Command first.
He said ships and aircraft deployments in the Pacific would remain at current levels or be increased.
Greenert is visiting the islands to attend a Friday ceremony for a change of command at the Pacific Fleet. He has been stationed in Hawaii several times in the past.