507 



The Assistant Secretary of the Navy, 



'Research and Development, 

 Washington, D.C., May 9, J9G9. 

 Dear Mr. Lennon : Mr. Laird has asked me to reply to your letter of 25 April. 

 This letter dealt with your plan to hold hearings on the Report of the Commission 

 on Marine Science, Engineering and Resources entitled "Our Nation and the Sea." 

 I will he pleased to appear before your committee to testify on the report. It 

 is expected that I will he availahle during the months of June and July, which 

 should he compatihle Avith your general plan. 



Attached are my general views on the Commission report. Only the issues that 

 affect DOD in a major way are addressed in the paper, but I will be pleased to 

 explain my position on other aspects of the report during my appearance. 



The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers presents a unique situation with regard to 

 their civil functions. Because of this aspect, I strongly recommend that you con- 

 sider scheduling the Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army, to present his views on the 

 Coanmission report. 

 Sincerely, 



Robert A. Frosch. 



MARINE science COMMISSION REPORT 



The Commission report represents a careful and responsible analysis of the 

 'Civilian-oriented portion of the national program, and it makes a number of valu- 

 able detailed recommendations. The ideas put forward are imaginative and useful 

 in stimulating a great deal of new thought about various possibilities. 



As the Commission states in its report, it did not specifically examine the 

 national security aspects of marine matters, nor does it comment on these pro- 

 grams as such, other than endorsing and emphasizing the importance of the 

 Navy's research and development in this area to its operations, and noting the 

 importance of continiiing this work. I concur in this view and it is my intention 

 to continue these programs and to strengthen them in appropriate areas as noted 

 in the Commission report. It should be emphasized that our national security 

 is heavily dependent on the marine environment and that civil programs will 

 interface significantly in this environment with the military operations and 

 resources. 



The general tenor of the report is that military and civil functions in the ocean 

 should be coordinated but separated. I concur in this concept, but wish to note 

 explicitly the importance that "spin-offs" from Navy technological programs 

 have had for the development of the civilian side of national marine science 

 development. It is my hope that coordination and cooperation between the mili- 

 tary mission and civil oriented portions of the national program will continue 

 to make this possible. It is certainly desiraJble. 



Since the National Security Program is not directly discussed, the main issues 

 of DOD concern deal with the interactions of DOD programs (including the 

 major civil responsibilities of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) and civilian 

 programs as these may be affected by the organization of the civilian side, and 

 with the effect of proposed legal regimes on national security matters. 



The Navy has played a major role in building the marine science resources of 

 the country by supporting research programs in universities and research insti- 

 tutions. Our requirement for this kind of research support as background to 

 our mission oriented programs continues and, in fact, is increasing. The DOD 

 wishes to continue to supply a major portion of the support for large marine 

 institutions (the University/National Laboratories) since we believe that only 

 thus can we maintain a strong contact with these civil institutions and obtain 

 the kind of research results necessary in the subject areas peculiar to our con- 

 cerns. I believe that our support dovetails well with the propo'sed NSF and 

 NOAA support of these areas. As in the past, the major agencies involved (prin- 

 cil)ally Office of Naval Reesaroh, National Science Foundation, and now, per- 

 haps. NOAA) can work together to support a well integrated national research 

 program in marine sciences. 



As regards possible organizational modes for the civil side, the proposed estab- 

 lishment of NOAA and NACO must both be considered. It seems clear that some 

 form of consolidation of marine functions leading to a somewhat smaller group 

 of federal organizations with major interests in the field would be highly advan- 

 tageous to the national program, both from the point of view of coordination and 



