A NEW INITIATIVE 115 



EPILOGUE 



The Report of the President's Council on Marine Resources and Engi- 

 neering Development* noted: "The major challenges which lie ahead of 

 this Nation do not terminate at the water's edge. Neither do the solutions." 

 It is clear then that the Department of Defense will continue to have a 

 major role in developing and implementing the policies which the federal 

 government follows in using the oceans to achieve national objectives. The 

 development of these policies is the responsibility of the federal govern- 

 ment in concert with state and local goverrmients as well as the industrial 

 and academic communities. 



The Council report further states: "The time is ripe to apply our 

 knowledge of the sea. To be sure there is much that we still do not know— 

 this will always be true— but we know more of the sea than our actions 

 towards exploitation might suggest. The technology is ready-new struc- 

 tural materials, miniaturized electronics, computers, nuclear power, under- 

 water vehicles. These tools await utilization." 



The Navy, as the principal agent of the Department of Defense con- 

 cerned with the oceans, has a strong program which has developed or is de- 

 veloping many of these tools. Certain of these tools, such as nuclear power 

 for propulsion and underwater vehicles, were developed initially for na- 

 tional defense systems, but the technology was then applied to Navy 

 oceanographic problems. The spin off value to the national oceanographic 

 program of developments such as the Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle, 

 and the nuclear powered research submersible, NR-1, is obvious. Engineer- 

 ing developments such as these take several years and millions of dollars. 

 They come about through the interaction of scientists and engineers, acting 

 in the government— industry— academic milieu. The Navy will continue to 

 share its knowledge and developments such as these with the other par- 

 ticipants in the vital and expanding national oceanographic program. 



*"Marine Science Affairs- A Year of Transition." The First Report of the President to 

 the Congress on Marine Resources and Engineering Development, Feb. 1967. 



