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A NAECOE RECOMMENDATION ON GOVERNMENT OCEAN ENGINEERING CAPABILITY 



NAECOE recommends that any organization considered by the U.S. Govern- 

 ment for its marine program should ensure that adequate long-range engineering 

 development effort for its program be provided with budgetary priority, alloca- 

 tion, and stability, without separating the effort professionally from the interests 

 of the mission-related marine activities. 



We suggest that a governmental entity, if organized to satisfy these budgetary 

 and professional requirements, should have the following functions: 



1. Support and coordinate the long-'range engineering research and de- 

 velopment required for implementing the U.S. Government's current and 

 future functions and missions in the marine environmeiit. 



2. 'Collect, generalize, and disseminate scientific research and engineering 

 (research and development data and information concerned vpith the ocean. 



3. Avoid unintentional duplication of engineering development within U.S. 

 Government agencies. 



4. Provide a forum to coordinate, as appropriate, the research, the long- 

 range engineering development, and the short-range engineering development 

 among the UjS. Government, the private sector, and state governments. 



iPolicy guidance for such a governmental entity could reside in a group con- 

 sisting of representatives of the line agencies, which have vital requirements 

 for research and long-range engineering development and have responsibility for 

 implementing the U.S. Government's functions and missions in the marine en- 

 vironment ; and representatives of the nongovernmental sector, involved in the 

 development and use of marine resources. 



The Committee and its Panels have been concerned with the appropriate de- 

 velopment of ocean-related engineering capability in-ibreadth and in-depth among 

 and within the U.S. Government agencies. A corollary concern is with adequate 

 communication between the governmental and nongovernmental engineering effort 

 especially in ocean engineering research and development. 



Without intending to overemphasize the role of engineering research and 

 development or to neglect the major role of other aspects of engineering in 

 achieving completion of a program, we have concluded that in the goverimient 

 marine effort there is a critical weakness in the funding and organization for 

 long range engineering development. Within the government we have particu- 

 larly observed that mission-'related projects for which adequate advanced engi- 

 neering development is not available, are involved in continual budget problems 

 and costly changes in scope and content. If advanced and generalized engineering 

 effort is included within the scope of the projects, this effort becomes the primary 

 casualty when funding levels fluctuate. 



Criteria for differentiating between long range and short range engineering 

 development include : magnitude of the effect on current projects, security and 

 proprietary requirements, and degree of multiagency or multipurpose interest. 



'Our concern has focused on the critical area of organization for engineering 

 research and development for the government marine program. We will, of course, 

 be available to discuss other aspects of the ocean engineering function within 

 the government at your convenience. 



CONCLUSION 



We will be pleased to discuss other specific subjects in marine affairs as you 

 continue your deliberations. 

 Sincerely yours, 



Thomas C Kavanagh, Chairman. 



Dr. Kavanagh. If I may conclude my remarks then, please be assured 

 that, ill discussing only some principal issues and recommendations, I 

 am not unaware of some of the outstanding efforts by the Government 

 agencies to establish and implement effective marine programs. 



A-s you proceed with your discussions, the chairman of the panels of 

 our committee and I will be pleased to appear before you and to assist 

 your staff. 



Thank you. 



Mr. LEXisroisr. Thank you. Dr. Kavanagh. 



