 The Department of Navy's Fiscal Year 2017 budget request provides the investment required for the Navy and Marine Corps to execute the Department's mission guidance. In a challenging fiscal environment, it reflects the best balance of investments across people, presence, readiness and capability, funding a larger fleet, a more sustainable deployed Navy and Marine Corps presence, and improved capability. Across the full scope of this request, we've emphasized innovation and reform to sustain advantage and accelerate learning to strengthen our team. For the first time in 25 years, the United States faces a return to great power competition with both Russia and China fielding high-end military capabilities and others exploring the key security environment trends as well. To include North Korea's focus on nuclear weapons and missile programs, Iran's pursuit of advanced missiles and conventional capabilities and non-state actors intent on exploiting the maritime and cyber domains that threaten security around the world. With shipping traffic increasing, new Arctic trade routes opening, and new technologies making undersea resources more accessible, the maritime system overall is more heavily used, more stressed, and more contested than ever before. As commandant to the Marine Corps, General Neller has stated in his guidance, the character of warfare is dynamic. Those who adapt succeed, those who don't die. This budget addresses that imperative by making investments that sustain the Navy Marine Corps' ability to fight with decisive capability over the full range of options, at sea, from the sea, and from expeditionary bases across all domains.