BPMB
Commanders in the chain of command exercise authority as prescribed by law or by a superior commander. Authority comes in several forms and must be commensurate with the responsibility assigned. Levels of authority include the four types of command relationships: combatant command, or COCOM; operational control, or OPCON; tactical control, or TACON; and support. Although commanders may delegate authority to accomplish missions, they may not absolve themselves of the responsibility for the attainment of those missions. Authority is never absolute. The extent of authority is limited by the establishing instruction, directives, and law.
COCOM is the highest level of command authority and is exercised only by combatant commanders. It provides full authority to organize and employ commands and forces necessary to accomplish assigned missions. It also gives the combatant commanders the authority to assign tasks, designate objectives, and give authoritative direction over all aspects of military operations, joint training, and logistics. COCOM cannot be delegated and resides only with combatant commanders. Normally, this authority is exercised through subordinate JFCs and Service or functional component commanders.
The eight warships the Confederacy commissioned for commerce raiding did not reduce the North's overseas trade, but they did cause insurance rates to increase, which shifted trade to foreign ships and did irreparable harm to the U.S. Merchant Marine fleet. The most effective Confederate ships were:
CSS Alabama CSS Florida CSS Shenandoah
Joshua Humphreys led American naval constructors in creating the "Super Frigate." These ships had:
Close-together timbers able to withstand heavy cannon fire A reinforced hull to resist the pressures of heavier ordnance on deck These characteristics gave the frigate Constitution its nickname "Old Ironsides."
The Coast Guard can also provide a tailored Maritime Security and Response Team. This is an enhanced deployable force capable of rapid response to conduct Maritime Homeland Security and Maritime Homeland Defense operations. The capability includes operating in counter-terrorism situations and addressing problems requiring advanced interdiction skills in a non-compliant or hostile environment. Twelve Marine Safety and Security Teams are special response units created to ensure mobility and security in the maritime transportation system, safeguard the public and protect vessels, harbors, ports, facilities and cargo in a medium threat environment. Their role is largely domestic, and they're located in most of the nation's major ports. These are quick response forces capable of rapid, nationwide deployment via air, ground, or sea transportation, in response to changing threat conditions and evolving port security, harbor defense, and anti-terrorism or force protection mission requirements.
Coast Guard Port Security Units are self-contained, fully deployable assets organized for sustained security operations, including outside the continental United States. A unit deploys through airlift within 96 hours. A unit has six armed, fast, and maneuverable small boats suitable for waterborne security operations and protection of critical maritime infrastructure. Port Security Units are listed in the Joint Strategic Capability Plan and in many Combatant Commander operations plans. Nine-person Tactical Law Enforcement Teams and six-person Law Enforcement Detachments were developed to deploy and operate from national or international host platforms to provide maritime interdiction or law enforcement capability in support of military, enforcement, or security objectives in compliant boarding environments. These teams regularly operate from navy platforms during counter drug and maritime interdiction operations activities.
The criteria for establishing a unified command is that they have a broad, continuing mission under a single commander, and are composed of forces from two or more Military Services. There are currently nine combatant commands established in the UCP. Six are geographic or regional combatant commanders and are each assigned as an AOR by the UCP. These regional combatant commanders are responsible for all operations within their designated areas. There are also three combatant commanders assigned worldwide functional responsibilities not bounded by geography. Generally, these functional combatant commanders support regional combatant commanders who have been charged with executing missions assigned by the President or SecDef. However, there are some special cases when a functional combatant commander can be exercising a mission and supported by a regional combatant commander. We'll explore the concept of supported versus supporting commands in a later lesson.
Combatant commander functions are commensurate with their focus on operations and accomplishing assigned missions. Their general functions are: Giving authoritative direction to subordinate commands and forces necessary to carry out assigned missions. This includes authoritative direction over all aspects of military operations, joint training, and logistics Prescribing the chain of command for all subordinate commands and forces Organizing commands and forces as necessary to carry out missions assigned to the command Employing forces within that command as necessary to carry out assigned missions Coordinating and approving those aspects of administration, support, and discipline necessary to carry out missions assigned to the command, and finally Exercising the authority with respect to selecting subordinate commanders, selecting combatant command staff, conducting administrative functions, and convening courts-martial
The Navy's primary wartime mission was to defeat the German U-boat offensive.
Despite enemy opposition, Allied navies kept troops and supplies flowing to Europe.
Never before have the maritime forces of the United States—the Navy, Marine Corp, and the Coast Guard—collaborated on a new maritime strategy. A cooperative strategy for 21st century seapower—the first major maritime strategy in twenty-five years—stresses an approach that will integrate seapower with other elements of national power as well as those of our friends and allies. This bold new strategy describes how seapower will be applied and implemented around the world with the intention of protecting our present way of life. Execution of this strategy will not only demonstrate our commitment to protecting the homeland and winning our Nation's wars but will also champion a corresponding dedicated commitment to preventing war.
Development of this strategy directly involved the voice of the people. Through a series of public forums, three themes emerged. First, Americans want us to remain strong. Second, they want us to protect them and our homeland. And third, they want us to work with partners around the world to prevent war. Coupling these themes with research, analysis, and debate has led to a maritime strategy that binds our maritime services in a manner that will prove advantageous to the prosperity and security of our Nation.
Members of the 6th Special Operations Squadron provide U.S. military expertise to non-US partner nations supporting US efforts in the War on Terrorism. Their role is to ensure interoperability of non-US air and aviation resources with US forces. Commander Naval Special Warfare Command located at the Naval Amphibious Base in Coronado, California, exercises operational control of all U.S. based Naval Special Warfare forces and has responsibility for providing trained and ready forces to the regional combatant commanders. The major operational components of the Naval Special Warfare Command include Naval Special Warfare Groups ONE and THREE in San Diego, CA, and Groups TWO and FOUR in Norfolk, VA. These components deploy SEAL Teams, SEAL Delivery Vehicle Teams and Special Boat Teams worldwide to meet the training, exercise, contingency and wartime requirements of theater commanders. The Naval Special Warfare Center is the schoolhouse for basic and advanced NSW training. The Naval Special Warfare Development Group develops special operations requirements and techniques, conducts test and evaluation of technology applicable to Naval Special Warfare, and ensures interoperability and equipment standardization within Naval Special Warfare. You should note that in the fight against terrorism, Naval Special Warfare units from the east and west coast are permanently located in Bahrain, Germany, and Guam.
SEAL teams are maritime, multipurpose combat forces organized, trained and equipped to conduct a variety of special missions in all operational environments and threat conditions. SEAL teams tailor force packages and deploy as NSW Squadrons to meet continuing rotational deployments and theater commitments as needed. NSW forces can operate in direct support of Theater SOCs and Joint Special Operations Task Forces or Fleet Commanders as embarked forces on Navy Strike Groups. There are eight active SEAL teams and two reserve SEAL Support Groups. SEAL Delivery Vehicle Teams - Seal Delivery Vehicle, or SDV Teams, are comprised of specially trained SEALs and support personnel who operate and maintain SDV systems, Dry Deck Shelters, and the Advanced Seal Delivery System. When teamed with their host submarines, these systems provide the most clandestine maritime delivery platform capability in the world. SDV - The SDV is a short-range wet submersible that allows clandestine delivery and recovery of SEALs in hostile or denied areas. ASDS - The ASDS is a long-range dry submersible that allows clandestine delivery and recovery of SEALs in hostile or denied areas. DDS - The Dry Deck Shelter allows delivery of SDVs and/or SOF personnel with inflatable combat rubber raiding craft from specially modified submarines.
OPCON is inherent within COCOM and is the authority to perform those functions of command over subordinate forces. This includes organizing and employing commands and forces, assigning tasks, designating objectives, and giving authoritative direction necessary to accomplish the mission. OPCON should be exercised through the commanders of subordinate organizations. Normally this authority is exercised through subordinate JFCs and Service or functional component commanders. OPCON does not, in and of itself, include authoritative direction for logistics or matters of administration, discipline, internal organization, or unit training.
TACON is command authority over assigned or attached forces or commands, or forces made available for tasking. It is narrower in scope than OPCON and is the authority for controlling and directing the application of force or tactical use of combat support assets for an assigned mission or task. TACON is inherent in OPCON and is typically exercised by functional component commanders, such as the Joint Force Maritime Component Commander (JFMCC). TACON is transferable between commands. For example, when a ship is detached from a carrier strike group to conduct maritime interdiction operations with separate coalition forces, its TACON will likely shift to the commander of the coalition maritime interdiction force, while its OPCON remains with the Chairman Staff Group Commander or JFMCC.
The start of large-unit Vietnam combat began in March 1965. Other noteworthy events included:
U.S. Navy advisors worked to improve the Vietnam Navy Naval gunfire support and amphibious forces hit the enemy on the coast Marine divisions defended northern South Vietnam Riverine forces secured South Vietnam's inland waterways Other noteworthy events included: The Military Sealift Command delivered 95% of the ammunition, fuel, vehicles, and supplies used by U.S. forces Naval forces defeated enemy offensives and helped secure the peace The Navy carried out the withdrawal of American, Vietnamese, and Cambodian military and civilian personnel from Cambodia and South Vietnam During the later Cold War years, the Navy experienced more social changes: The Navy acted in support of black and female Sailors Admiral Elmo Zumwalt issued Navy-wide "Z-grams" More changes to the Navy social climate included: Samuel Gravely and Alene Duerk became the Navy's first African-American and female flag officers respectively Rear Admiral Grace Hopper exemplified professional excellence The U.S. Naval Academy admitted its first women
Antiaircraft Defense
U.S. Navy equipped its forces with a broad range of antiaircraft guns. Radar-directed 5-inch/38 caliber dual-purpose guns, destroyed numerous Japanese aircraft, especially during the bloody Kamikaze attacks of the Okinawa campaign.
Battle of Leyte Gulf
U.S. Navy forces devastated the Japanese fleet in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
Amphibious Warfare
U.S. Navy forces further developed pre-war amphibious warfare doctrine. Allied naval forces landed troops in North Africa to join battle with the German army.
Attacks on American overseas trade brought about
brought about the second birth of the U.S. Navy.
The Struggle for Iwo Jima and Okinawa
In 1945, amphibious forces assaulted the island of Iwo Jima. Okinawa was the last major operation of World War Two. One of the most costly battles for American Armed Forces. Almost 5,000 sailors killed during the campaign. Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki ends World War Two.
The NDS: Was published for the first time in 2005 by then-Secretary of Defense (SecDef) Donald Rumsfeld Is derived from and is subordinate to the NSS Focuses on the military instrument of national power and the Department of Defense (DoD) Links the NSS and NMS The SecDef is not required by law to publish an NDS.
In 2005, Secretary of Defense (SecDef) Donald Rumsfeld published the first ever NDS to coincide with the release of the 2004 NMS. The NDS is derived from the NSS. Unlike the NSS, which addresses all instruments of national power across all Federal Agencies, the NDS focuses on the Department of Defense (DOD) and how the military instrument of power contributes to achieving national security objectives. Although the SecDef is not required by law to publish an NDS, the Secretary has found it necessary to publish a document that links the NSS and NMS.
The Navy and Marine Corps developed concepts for carrier warfare and amphibious warfare.
Japanese and German attacks on American warships raised fears the United States was headed for another global conflict.
Battle of Midway Struggle for Guadalcanal
Japanese objective was to destroy the remnants of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. U.S. naval intelligence evened the odds. The Battle of Midway was the most decisive naval action of World War Two. Offensive campaign in the Solomon Islands. Deployment of the 1st Marine Division to Guadalcanal in August 1942 marked the start of a six-month struggle for control of the island.
John Barry
John Barry An able sailor with exceptional integrity and commitment to his country. Last active Continental Navy officer and first U.S. Navy commissioned officer.
Joint doctrine is organized into a hierarchy that provides a framework for the structure of joint doctrine and Joint Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures, or JTTP. The organizational structure includes two capstone publications and six series that follow the traditional lines of a joint staff's areas of responsibility. The number of joint doctrine publications varies, as new publications are developed, and existing ones are periodically reviewed, revised, and sometimes consolidated. This hierarchical structure was developed early in the creation of the joint doctrine development process. Although it has undergone numerous evolutionary revisions and improvements, its concept and basic form have remained essentially the same.
Joint doctrine is developed in a collaborative effort between the services, combatant commands, and the Joint Staff. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has overall responsibility for developing joint doctrine and does so through the Director of J-7 on the Joint Staff. The development process has four stages: initiation, development, approval, and maintenance. The 21-month process includes a first, second, and final coordination draft that ensures all concerned organizations have the opportunity to comment and make recommended changes
Navy doctrine is organized within a hierarchy of four levels, all of which support and are linked to military strategy. Naval Doctrine Publications, or NDPs, are capstone publications that describe the role of naval forces, outline our basic warfighting philosophy, and link the Navy's overarching concepts and national level strategies to fleet operations. Navy Warfare Publications, or NWPs, contain doctrine that covers mission areas, enabling functions, and the organization and support of forces for sustained operations. NTTPs contain tactics, techniques and procedures for platforms and weapons systems, organizations, capabilities and support functions, and normally support a superior NWP. Navy Tactical Reference Publications, or NTRPs, include data which typically does not change, including tables and diagrams, and physical data such as oceanography.
Joint doctrine is the highest level authoritative warfighting guidance for all the armed forces, and provides the principles for integrating and synchronizing all our Service-provided capabilities into an effective and efficient joint team. Like naval doctrine, joint doctrine is not dogmatic—the focus is on how to think about operations, not what to think. Joint doctrine should foster initiative and the conditions that allow commanders freedom to adapt to varying circumstances. Joint doctrine publications and related material are available in the Joint Electronic Library, which is located on the Joint Staff's Internet site.
Operations (continued) The Confederates countered the blockades with blockade-runners based in
in Nassau, Bermuda, and Havana. Wilmington, North Carolina was the last confederate port open to blockade-runners. It fell in January 1865.
Both antagonists realized the key to Canada was
key to Canada was control of the border lakes. Feverish shipbuilding took place for naval mastery of Lakes Erie, Ontario, and Champlain.
The Department of the Navy, headed by the Secretary of the Navy,
was established 30 April 1798.
Union forces controlled the western rivers, dividing the Confederacy and stopping Texas supplies from reaching Confederate troops, a strategic advantage that resulted in greater mobility for Union troops. The Confederacy built strong fortifications at strategic points,
while the North emphasized close cooperation between Army and Navy forces. The Union Navy prevailed by seizing the initiative early and pressing its advantages.
After the Civil War, the Navy fell into neglect while other countries modernized. In the 1880's,
, the Navy was modernized and joined the ranks of major world powers.
Geographically, the region referred to as Eurasia encompasses the entire continents of Europe and Asia. Covering over twenty one million square miles, it is the largest landmass on Earth. It is bounded by the Atlantic, Arctic, and Pacific Oceans to the east, north, and west, while the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, and Mediterranean Seas form its southern border. For purposes of this lesson, Eurasia will refer to the entire continent of Europe and a portion of the Asian continent. The remaining portions of Asia are covered in other lessons. The area referred to in this lesson as Western/Northern Europe has a rich history and evidence of its inhabitation dating back tens of thousands of years. One of the earliest significant civilizations to inhabit this region was that of the Carthaginians who, having founded the city-state of Carthage in what is now Tunis during the 9th century BC, became a major power in the Mediterranean. Over the next few centuries, Carthage extended its empire and trading routes into what is now Spain, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and Malta. This brought it into conflict with the Romans who were extending their own holdings in the region. After a series of three wars between 264 BC and 146 BC, the Carthaginians were defeated. Carthage itself was razed and nearly its entire population killed or enslaved. The Romans then became the major power in the Mediterranean. At its greatest extent, about 117 AD, the Roman Empire encompassed much of Europe and parts of Africa and Asia. The area referred to in this lesson as Western/Northern Europe has a rich history and evidence of its inhabitation dating back tens of thousands of years. One of the earliest significant civilizations to inhabit this region was that of the Carthaginians who, having founded the city-state of Carthage in what is now Tunis during the 9th century BC, became a major power in the Mediterranean. Over the next few centuries, Carthage extended its empire and trading routes into what is now Spain, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and Malta. This brought it into conflict with the Romans who were extending their own holdings in the region. After a series of three wars between 264 BC and 146 BC, the Carthaginians were defeated. Carthage itself was razed and nearly its entire population killed or enslaved. The Romans then became the major power in the Mediterranean. At its greatest extent, about 117 AD, the Roman Empire encompassed much of Europe and parts of Africa and Asia.
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Here are the fundamental concepts that you should take away from this presentation: First, air and space power has unique characteristics that should be applied to enhance theater-wide operations. Air and space power should not be divided to provide limited support to subordinate commanders. Air & space power should be centrally controlled, and decentrally executed. This is the role of the Joint Force Air Component Commander. The Air Force has completed its transformation from a forward-based, garrison force into an expeditionary air & space force capable of responding to the full spectrum of military operations anywhere in the world. The ten Air and Space Expeditionary Forces are how the Air Force provides tailored, combat-ready forces to the Joint force Commander. And finally, the Air Force's transformation efforts will continue to improve the agility, responsiveness, and lethality of its forces to meet the needs of our nation's defense.
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Important naval leaders who formed the foundations of leadership
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In this introductory lesson, we will examine how the President's command authority flows from the White House down to the combatant commanders. We will also look at the entire chain of command—both operational and administrative, and examine how the President exercises command over all military forces.
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One recurring theme from NOC 10 is that the role of the Navy is to provide globally distributed, mission-tailored maritime forces to: contribute to homeland defense in depth; foster and sustain cooperative relationships with more international partners; and to prevent or contain local disruptions before they impact the global system. Today the Navy is deployed world-wide supporting every Combatant Commander and participating in almost every conceivable military mission. The inherent flexibility of naval forces have allowed the U.S. Navy to provide overwhelming combat power both on land, in the skies while remaining the world's preeminent Navy both on and under the sea.
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Strategic, operational, and tactical COGs exist at each level of war—both tangible and intangible. Tangible can be forces, such as an armored battalion and surface strike group, or geographic. Intangible can be the political, military, and leadership elements that can affect morale, unit cohesion, and combat motivation. We must determine: Where is the enemy vulnerable? We should avoid where his attention is focused and he is strongest, and strike where he does not expect us and where we can also cause the greatest psychological damage. We should focus our efforts against a critical vulnerability, a vulnerability that, if exploited, will do the most significant damage to the enemy's ability to resist us. Commanders should always be aware of the changing nature of relative strengths and weaknesses of the opposing forces. As a result, the COG—particularly at the operational and tactical levels—can change. The COG looks at the problem of how to attack the enemy system from the perspective of seeking a source of strength, while critical vulnerabilities look at the same problem from the perspective of seeking weakness.
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The 2011 NMS is significant in that it marks a fundamental shift from a "planning" focus to one centered on redefining the military's leadership approach. The Chairman adopted this strategy to reflect an increased emphasis on expanding security relationships with allies and partners and to stress the need to prepare the military to face an increasingly uncertain future. In the Chairman's view, this guidance is essential to the military's ability to effectively respond to contingencies across the range of military operations. Furthermore, the military will leverage its capabilities and forward presence in order to play several supporting roles in advancing U.S. foreign policy. The military will act as a "facilitator" to help US government agencies and other organizations to advance US interests. It will function as an "enabler" to help others achieve common security goals. The military will be a "convener" that brings others together to foster security ties that address shared challenges, and it will also act as a "security guarantor" to work with allies and partners to deter and defeat aggression.
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The national security strategy requires rapid, effective, and efficient projections of power both at home and abroad. The U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) provides synchronized transportation, distribution, and sustainment, all of which are necessary for power projection. At every moment of every day, around the globe, USTRANSCOM, through its three component commands, provides intermodal transportation across the spectrum of military operations.
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This strategy is derived from a thorough assessment of the Nation's security requirements. It does not presume conflict, but instead, acknowledges the historical fact that peace does not preserve itself. A cooperative strategy for 21st century seapower focuses on opportunities—not threats; on optimism—not fear; on confidence—not doubt. United States seapower is a force for good, protecting this Nation's vital interests, even as it joins with others to promote security and prosperity across the globe.
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Reformers sought to improve the naval service and character of its recruits by experimenting with an apprenticeship system. Some of the Navy reforms include:
1831 - Encouraging temperance on board vessels by allowing sailors to receive money in lieu of the spirit, or "grog" ration 1842 - Denying the spirit ration to men under age 21 1862 - Ending the spirit ration 1850 - Congress abolishing flogging 1855 - Providing the Summary Court-martial 1855 - Creating the Honorable Discharge
Submarines are agile platforms that combine the ability to operate at maximum speed for extended periods of time with access to worldwide communications networks. As a result, they can be on station quickly in all parts of the world's oceans, gathering critical information on developing situations. Fast attack submarines are the ultimate in multi-mission capabilities. For intelligence, warning, and surveillance missions, they can transmit real- time information of critical importance. Covert, they collect information that would normally have to be secured with the presence of surface or airborne assets. They can also deny the use of the sea to an adversary—independently—without having first to achieve air or sea superiority. History has shown that often, the mere threat of a submarine has been sufficient to keep enemy ships in port.
75% of the world's surface is within reach of a submarine launched cruise missile, and the submarine's presence is unknown prior to strike. Additionally, submarines provide a non-provocative presence which can be assumed, implied, or announced. When operating with a strike group, SSNs and SSGNs can provide the mission capabilities listed here, as well as offering a special combat search and rescue platform. And finally, the Navy has a few specially equipped submarines that have a dry deck shelter that allows them to insert special operations forces clandestinely in essentially all the oceans of the world. The same environment that gives the submarine many of its advantages also imposes some limitations. Because of the complex environment in which they operate, Command, Control, and Communications are more complicated than for surface vessels or aircraft. Depending on the type of communications required, a submarine must be at or near the surface. This can put the submarine at risk, and may complicate the performance of its assigned missions. Additionally, An SSN can carry a limited number of weapons. While some submarines have twelve dedicated, vertical launch, tomahawk missiles, every Tomahawk loaded in the torpedo room takes the place of a torpedo, and vice versa. If a submarine fires all of its Tomahawk missiles, it must go alongside a pier or Submarine Tender to re-load its magazine.
A common method used by combatant commanders to employ military forces for assigned missions is the joint task force, or JTF. A JTF is established when the mission has a specific limited objective and does not require overall centralized control of logistics. The mission assigned to a JTF should require execution of responsibilities involving a joint force on a significant scale and close integration of effort, or should require coordination within a subordinate area or coordination of local defense of a subordinate area. Depending on the situation, the establishing authority can assign the JTF geographic or functional responsibilities.
A JTF can be constituted and so designated by the SecDef, a combatant commander, a subordinate unified commander, or an existing CJTF. In most situations, the JTF establishing authority will be a combatant commander. As you can see from this partial list of some recent JTFs, they may take many forms and sizes and be employed across the range of military operations in air, land, or maritime environments. In most situations, JTFs function at the operational level of war and conduct military operations designed to achieve operational level objectives.
Navy's Wartime Mission
A Neutrality Patrol established to protect American merchant ships. U-boats operated throughout the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Caribbean.
Leaders - Andrew Hull Foote
A courageous and competent leader, Andrew Hull Foote was in charge of Upper Mississippi River forces that participated in the captures of: Fort Henry, Tennessee Fort Donelson, Tennessee Island Number Ten, in the Mississippi River near Cape Girardeau, Missouri
The assignment of surface combatants and possibly a submarine, when required, can provide the ARG with both defense against air, surface and sub-surface threats and offensive striking power. The aircraft of the ARG/MEU are primarily helos and tilt-rotors, with a few AV-8B Harriers to support MEU operations and are therefore limited in area defense against enemy air and cruise missiles. Landing craft that will be used by the ARG/MEU will vary between groups, but normally the load out will consist of 5 Landing Craft Air Cushion, or LCACs, and 2 Landing Craft Utility, or LCUs. These landing craft will be employed to transport Marines and their equipment to the beach during Amphibious operations.
A forward deployed and readily available ARG/MEU provides a number of advantages to a Joint Force Commander: Traveling on the high seas, the ARG/MEU is a flexible and mobile combat force independent of any legal restrictions or requirement for compliance or acceptance by local nations. It can project power ashore either vertically by helicopter, or across the beach with LCACs. While helicopters offer speed and range, the LCAC has some unique capabilities. It is a high-speed, fully amphibious landing craft capable of carrying a 60-ton payload, including weapons systems such as the M-1 tank, equipment, cargo, and personnel from ship to shore and across the beach. With a range of 200 miles at 40 knots with a payload, the air cushion allows this vehicle to reach more than 70 percent of the world's coastline, while conventional landing craft can land at only 15 percent of the world's beaches.
The WMD can be high explosives or nuclear, biological, chemical, and radiological weapons, but exclude the means of transporting or propelling the weapon where such means is a separable and divisible part of the weapon. Implied in the definition of deterrence is the realization that deterrence is not purely a military task. While the credible threat of a massive military retaliation for the use of WMD by an enemy certainly plays a role, diplomatic, political, informational, and economic elements are also available for use by the nation's senior leaders. Counterproliferation is a Navy Special Forces mission. Special Operations forces train specifically to this mission to enable such forces to locate, identify, seize and destroy, or capture, recover, and render such weapons safe. As with many of the topics we have discussed, understanding the specific definition of key terms is essential. This is particularly true when discussing the issue of terrorism. Statements such as "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter" are incorrect and such statements are frequently used to blur realities, particularly in irregular warfare.
A full examination of WMD and their effects on operating forces is a career specialty in itself and far beyond the scope of the introductory level of professional military education. As such, our examination of the threat will be necessarily cursory in nature. You will be afforded many other opportunities to study this issue in other military courses and training in the future. However, potential WMD threats are listed here. As is the case with terrorism, insurgency is not a new phenomenon in the world. Any number of historical examples could be pointed to such as Malaysia, the Philippines, and El Salvador. But as history and the ongoing operations in Iraq demonstrate, successfully countering insurgents is an extremely difficult and intensive undertaking. The Central Intelligence Agency's Guide to the Analysis of Insurgency notes that insurgency is a protracted political-military activity directed toward completely or partially controlling the resources of a country through the use of irregular military forces and illegal political organizations. By design, insurgent activity is designed to weaken government control and legitimacy while simultaneously increasing that of the insurgent's. Critically, the common denominator of most insurgent groups is their desire to control a particular area. This objective differentiates insurgent groups from purely terrorist organizations.
John Paul Jones
A man of indomitable will: "I have not yet begun to fight."
Support relationships afford a means to ensure unity of effort for various operations with each component typically receiving and providing support at the same time. For example, a land force may be supported for a deep maneuver, a joint force air component could be supported during theater counter air ops, a maritime force could be supported for sea control and an amphibious forcible entry, and a special operations task force supported during direct action and other missions. The superior commander organizes forces to best accomplish the mission and assigns responsibilities, establishes supported and supporting relationships, and provides any necessary coordinating instructions. The supported commander normally exercises the degree of authority over supporting forces as determined by the joint task force commander (CJTF) to include: designation and prioritization of targets or objectives; timing and duration of the supporting action; and other instructions necessary for coordination and efficiency. The supporting commander exercises OPCON over assigned and attached forces and prescribes the tactics, methods, communications, and procedures to be employed by elements of the supporting force in fulfilling objectives.
ADCON is the direction or exercise of authority over subordinate or other organizations in respect to administration and support. This includes organization of forces, control of resources and equipment, personnel management, unit logistics, individual and unit training, readiness, discipline, and other matters not included in operational missions. For example, a destroyer would likely be under the ADCON of its parent destroyer squadron commander, who would report through the administrative chain of command and ultimately back to the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO). This ADCON relationship does not change when a unit deploys or changes its OPCON. Coordinating authority is when a commander or individual is assigned responsibility for coordinating specific functions or activities involving forces of two or more units. This can be at any level ranging from the Military Departments, joint force components, or two units from the same Service. The commander or individual has the authority to require consultation between the units involved, but does not have the authority to compel agreement. In the event essential agreement cannot be obtained, the matter shall be referred to the appointing authority. Coordinating authority is a consultation relationship, not an authority through which command may be exercised. Coordinating authority is more applicable to planning and similar activities than to operations. DIRLAUTH is the authority granted by a commander at any level to a subordinate to directly consult or coordinate an action with a command or agency within or outside of the granting command. DIRLAUTH is more applicable to planning than operations and always carries with it the requirement of keeping the commander granting DIRLAUTH informed. DIRLAUTH is a coordination relationship, not an authority through which command may be exercised.
Fixed Wing Squadrons - AFSOC fixed wing squadrons are equipped with four different versions of the C-130 aircraft and a variant of the VC-12. MC-130E Talon - The MC-130E Combat Talon is used for low-level, long-range, night, all-weather medium threat infiltration, exfiltration, and resupply of SOF in hostile areas. MC-130P Shadow - The MC-130P Combat Shadow is used primarily for low-level, long-range refueling of Special Operations aircraft. AC-130 Gunship - The AC-130 Specter gunship provides precision fire support for both Special Operations and conventional forces, including: close air support, armed reconnaissance, interdiction, escort, and Search and Rescue. They employ a side-firing 105 millimeter howitzer, a 40 millimeter cannon, and 25 millimeter Gatling gun. EC-130E Commando Solo - The EC-130E Commando Solo aircraft is equipped to broadcast television and radio signals in support of Psychological Operations. U-28A Utility Aircraft - The U-28A Utility Aircraft provides intra-theater support for Special Operations Forces. Performance characteristics include the ability to operate from short and unimproved runway surfaces, including dirt and grass strips.
AFSOC has transitioned its rotary wing squadrons to the CV-22 tilt-rotor Osprey, which combines the vertical takeoff, hover, and vertical landing qualities of a helicopter with the long-range, fuel efficiency and speed characteristics of a turboprop aircraft. Its mission is to conduct long-range infiltration, exfiltration and resupply missions for special operations forces. Offering increased speed and range over other rotary-wing aircraft, the V-22 can perform missions that normally would require both fixed and rotary-wing aircraft. It is equipped with integrated threat countermeasures, terrain-following radar, forward-looking infrared sensor, and other advanced systems that allow it to operate at low altitude in adverse weather conditions and medium- to high-threat environments. Another mission recently given to AFSOC, is manned and unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance support for special operations teams on the ground. The 3rd Special Operations Squadron flies both armed and unarmed versions of the MQ-1 Predator, while the 319th squadron flies the U-28A to provide manned surveillance and light intra-theater airlift support. The 720th Special Tactics Squadron is comprised of six active duty teams of special operations combat controllers, pararescuemen, and combat weathermen, who establish and operate expeditionary airfields in forward non-permissive environments. They also conduct combat rescue and personnel recovery missions, and provide trauma care for injured SOF forces. AFSOC combat weather teams provide specialize weather observation and forecasting in austere and denied areas.
If surface combatants, submarines or land-based aircraft are attached, the ARG/MEU adds the capability to strike with Tomahawk missiles, (either from surface or subsurface platforms) and the covert ISR capability of the submarine. And finally, the ARG/MEU comes with its own robust command and control facilities.
ARGs do have some limitations that must be factored into the planning and employment of these combat forces. First, while the ships in an ARG do have force protection capabilities against surface, submarine and air threats, they possess limited mine countermeasure capabilities. The ships in an ARG are slower than those in a carrier group. This is not always a bad thing, as the carrier may be needed in advance to establish the conditions in the area for the expeditionary group to safely operate.
Power is more than ships, tanks, and aircraft: Diplomatic (i.e., Political) Informational Military Economic "DIME"
According to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as outlined in Joint Publication 1, Joint Warfare of the Armed Forces of the United States, there are four instruments of national power: diplomatic, informational, military, and economic. You may hear these capabilities lumped together in the acronym "DIME." It is the skillful integration and orchestration of these diverse instruments which allows the President to achieve the nation's highest level national security objectives. But the organizations that can effectively employ these instruments are diverse and exist across the entire spectrum of the governmental structure. How can they be used in a synergistic fashion? The guidance provided by the National Security Strategy, and the coordination performed by the National Security Council is the answer. But before we look at the National Security Strategy, let us look at each instrument of power in a little greater detail.
The COG and critical vulnerability are complementary concepts. The COG looks at the problem of how to attack the enemy system from the perspective of seeking a source of strength, while critical vulnerability looks at the same problem from the perspective of seeking weakness. A critical vulnerability is often a pathway of attacking a COG. Both have the same underlying purpose: to target our actions in such a way as to have the greatest effect on the enemy.
Actions within the three levels of war are not associated with a particular command level, unit size, equipment, or force or component type. Instead, actions are defined as strategic, operational, or tactical based on their effect or contribution to achieving strategic, operational, or tactical objectives. Each level of war requires commanders to have a different perspective—the higher the level, the broader the perspective. The strategic level is that level of war at which a nation determines national or multinational strategic security objectives and policy, and develops and uses national resources to accomplish those objectives. At the tactical level of war, commanders plan and execute engagements and battles with assigned tactical units or task forces. For the Navy, the tactical level of war is generally the level at which carrier strike group and expeditionary strike group commanders operate. The focus of an operational level of war is to accomplish the operational/strategic objectives. It connects the strategic level to the tactical level, and links the tactical employment of forces to strategic objectives. It is this linkage between tactics and strategy that makes this level of war such a pivotal location.
Sea Power 21 also addresses the unique environment in which naval forces operate and the challenges that are present in achieving in-theater presence. As outlined by Admiral Clark: "Operational maneuver is now, and always has been, fundamental to military success. As we look to the future, the extended reach of networked weapons and sensors will tremendously increase the impact of naval forces in joint campaigns. We will do this by exploiting the largest maneuver area on the face of the earth: the sea. Sea Basing serves as the foundation from which offensive and defensive combat power is projected. As enemy access to weapons of mass destruction grows and the availability of overseas bases declines, it is compelling both militarily and politically to reduce the vulnerability of U.S. forces through expanded use of secure, mobile, networked sea bases. Sea Basing capabilities will include providing joint force commanders with global command and control and extending integrated logistical support to other Services. Afloat positioning of these capabilities strengthens force protection and frees airlift-sealift to support missions ashore. Sea Basing accelerates expeditionary deployment and employment timelines by pre-positioning vital equipment and supplies in-theater, preparing the United States to take swift and decisive action during crises."
Additionally, Sea Power 21 introduced the concept of FORCEnet. "FORCEnet is the 'glue' that binds together Sea Strike, Sea Shield, and Sea Basing. It is the operational construct and architectural framework for naval warfare in the information age, integrating warriors, sensors, command and control, platforms, and weapons into a networked, distributed combat force."
As we already discussed, there is a separate and distinct administrative chain of command running from the President and the SecDef to the three Military Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. It is under this administrative chain that the three Service Secretaries and four Service Chiefs report. The Chief of Naval Operations, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the Chiefs of Staff of the Army and Air Force exercise administrative control—as opposed to operational control—over their respective Service forces.
Administrative control, commonly referred to as ADCON, is not a command authority, but provides for the preparation of military forces and their administration and support. Specifically, the Military Services organize, train, and equip their forces and provide them to the combatant commanders as directed by the SecDef. The Military Services continue to provide support to their forces—including logistics—even after they have been assigned to a combatant commander. What this means in practical terms, is essentially every military unit has two parallel reporting chains: operational and administrative. Operationally, they report to a combatant commander, and administratively, they report back to their respective Service Chief and Service Secretary.
Ernest J. King
Admiral King led the enormous U.S. naval establishment in World War Two. He was responsible for: Navy wartime planning Navy combat operations All other aspects of personnel, procurement, and logistics
Chester W. Nimitz
Admiral Nimitz took charge of the devastated U.S. Pacific Fleet after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Admiral Nimitz demonstrated confidence in his intelligence staff and acted quickly to order his fleet into action. His leadership qualities endeared the admiral not only to his immediate subordinates but also to millions of Sailors and Marines.
Raymond A. Spruance
Admiral Spruance's thorough planning and careful decision-making led to the success of many combat operations throughout the Pacific campaign. His leadership was exemplified when his U.S. Fifth Fleet drive seized the Gilbert, Marshall, and Mariana island chains, and later Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.
Two major social changes came about during the early Cold War years:
African American Sailors were integrated into the armed forces with President Truman signing Executive Order 9981, 26 July 1948 The Women's Armed Forces Integration Act of 30 July 1948 enabled Navy and other military women to serve as regulars or reservists
Although not as famous as the battles in the Pacific, the American Navy played a vital role in the waters of the Eastern Atlantic, Europe, and the Mediterranean during the Second World War. As in the First World War, combating German U-boats and convoying troops and equipment to Europe was the Navy's primary mission. They also escorted convoys to the Soviet Union, providing that nation with the supplies and equipment they needed to repel the German army. The newly-formed Eighth Fleet (formerly Amphibious Forces, Atlantic Fleet and United States Forces North-West African Waters) conducted amphibious landings in North Africa, Sicily, southern Italy, and southern France. American ships also operated with the British Home Fleet. To control all U.S. naval forces in Europe, including the cross-channel assault at Normandy, Twelfth Fleet (formerly Naval Forces Europe) was established.
After World War II, the U.S. maintained a presence in the Mediterranean to counter Soviet threats to Turkey and Iran. This force was known as Naval Forces Mediterranean and was under the command of Commander in Chief, U.S. Naval Forces, Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean (now designated Commander, Naval Forces Europe). This force was re-designated Sixth Task Fleet in 1947 and Sixth Fleet in 1950.
The past two decades have seen a dramatic increase in naval operations conducted in Fifth Fleet's AOR. This AOR, which corresponds to USCENTCOM's AOR, is significantly smaller than those of the other numbered fleets. This area includes 20 countries, the western portion of the Indian Ocean, the Red and Arabian Seas, the Arabian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Gulf of Aden. Over half of the world's oil reserves are located in this region. Most importantly, about 90 percent of the oil exported from this region transits through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital choke point. Other strategic choke points in this region are the Suez Canal and the Strait of Bab al Mandeb.
After its establishment, Fifth Fleet units participated in a variety of operations—some of which are listed here. Selected operations: 1996 - Operation DESERT STRIKE (missile strike against Iraqi targets in response to Iraqi military operation against Kurds in northern Iraq) 1997-1998 - Operation DESERT THUNDER (surge of Navy forces in area to compel Iraqi cooperation with UN weapon inspection teams) 1998 - Operation RESOLUTE RESPONSE (recovery, rescue, and security support after bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania) 1998 - Operation INFINITE REACH (missile attacks on purported terrorist bases in Afghanistan and Sudan in retaliation for embassy bombings)
The second step in the NPP is the development of friendly COAs. A COA is any concept of operation open to a commander, which if adopted, would result in the accomplishment of the mission. For each COA, the commander must envision the employment of his or her forces and assets as a whole—normally two levels down. He or she must take into account externally imposed limitations, the situation in the AO, and the conclusions drawn up during the mission analysis step and the IPB. Step two should begin with a review of some key information: mission, commander's intent, assumptions, objectives, and centers of gravity (COGs) for both friendly and enemy forces.
After receiving guidance, the entire staff develops COAs for analysis and comparison. The commander's guidance and intent focus the staff to produce a comprehensive, flexible plan within the time constraints. Direct commander participation helps the staff get quick, accurate answers to questions that occur during the process. Course of action development is a deliberate attempt to design unpredictable actions that are difficult for the enemy to deduce. A good COA will also position the force for future operations and provide flexibility to meet unforeseen events. Course of action development normally consists of four subordinate steps: generate options, test for validity, recommend command relationships, and prepare COA statements and sketches. Select the link to take a closer look at the COA development steps.
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After serving under Farragut in the New Orleans campaign, David Dixon Porter assumed command of the Mississippi River Squadron. He cooperated with the Army in the: Capture of Arkansas Post (near Pine Bluff, Arkansas) Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi Red River Expedition (near Alexandria, Louisiana) He commanded the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and led naval forces in the 1864 and 1865 assaults against Fort Fisher, North Carolina. He was the only Union naval commander to receive the thanks of Congress on three separate occaisions.
Leaders - David Dixon Porter Leaders - David Dixon Porter
After serving under Farragut in the New Orleans campaign, David Dixon Porter assumed command of the Mississippi River Squadron. He cooperated with the Army in the: Capture of Arkansas Post (near Pine Bluff, Arkansas) Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi Red River Expedition (near Alexandria, Louisiana) He commanded the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and led naval forces in the 1864 and 1865 assaults against Fort Fisher, North Carolina. He was the only Union naval commander to receive the thanks of Congress on three separate occaisions.
On 24 February 1991, U.S. Army, Marine, and coalition ground forces supported by U.S. Navy battleships, carriers, and other warships stormed into Kuwait. After four days, Saddam sued for peace. Following the hostilities, U.S., British, German, Japanese, and other mine countermeasures units cleared over 1,200 sea mines from the Persian Gulf.
After the Gulf War, U.S. carrier aircraft enforced "no-fly" zones over southern and northern Iraq. In Operation PROVIDE COMFORT, Marines, SEALs, and Seabees deployed to northern Iraq to protect and provide aid to indigenous Kurds.
Between 1890 and 1940, the U.S. became a global power.
After the Spanish-American War, the U.S. gained possession of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam. President Theodore Roosevelt sent the "Great White Fleet" on an around the world cruise. The Navy enforced American foreign policy in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, and protected the Panama Canal.
After the War of 1812
After the War of 1812, Congress created a Board of Naval Commissioners to advise and assist the Secretary of the Navy. The Board was replaced in 1842 by a system of Navy Bureaus, each responsible for a specific aspect of naval administration.
The United States entered World War I on the side of Great Britain and France.
After the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, the U.S., Great Britain, and Japan drastically reduced their battle fleets, hoping to stop the arms race and prevent another global conflict.
The Navy began study in the area of undersea warfare with the commissioning of USS Holland.
Aircraft and aircraft carriers joined the battle fleet. Wireless communications improved the direction of naval operations.
The Logistics Combat Element, or "LCE," is task organized to provide all functions of tactical logistics necessary to support the continued readiness and sustainability of the MAGTF. It is formed around a logistics combat support headquarters and may vary in size and composition from a support detachment to one or more force combat logistics groups. The LCE, operating from sea bases or from expeditionary bases established ashore, extends the MAGTF's capabilities in time and space by sustaining its forces. It may be the main effort of the MAGTF during humanitarian assistance missions or selected phases of maritime pre-positioning force operations.
All MAGTFs share specific characteristics. They do not require pre-existing infrastructure and are initially self-sustaining for a specific duration depending on their size. They are all task-organized to accomplish specific missions with maximum flexibility. They are capable of integrating with other MAGTFs and Marine forces to build sequentially in size and capability. When employed as an amphibious force, they are capable of forcible entry by air and sea. They all have fully integrated, expeditionary air-ground-logistics systems, and they are interoperable with joint and allied forces. Finally, all MAGTFs are strategically mobile via airlift, sealift, Maritime Prepositioning Ships, or amphibious shipping.
The tactics, techniques, and procedures of terrorist networks require a new operational paradigm for the use of the military instrument of national power. Traditional military engagements require relatively low levels of resources to locate one's opponent, but once the enemy is located, large numbers of friendly forces, along with their equally expansive support elements, must typically wage a sustained effort in order to achieve a decisive victory. In the war on terrorism, this model is reversed. Terrorist cells tend to blend almost seamlessly into their environment. Whether in a remote village deep within the ungoverned interior of a developing state, or dispersed within an ethnic community in a large metropolitan city, successful terrorist operators leave few clues as to their actual identities and objectives. Their supporting mechanisms and resources can be easily transported into, or often obtained completely from within the target country itself. As shown by the hijackers on 9/11, the "means" for a terrorist group to wage war against a modern, technologically advanced society can be little more than some determined individuals, a few thousand dollars, and a handful of common household items. Once identified and located however, the terrorist cell can be quickly engaged through a variety of means, including in-theater SOF forces, host nation forces, or even with precision guided munitions launched by conventional forces.
All Special Operations Forces of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps based in the United States are under the combatant command of the Special Operations Command. SOCOM has one sub-unified command, the Joint Special Operations Command, or JSOC, and four Service component commands: The Army Special Operations Command or USASOC, The Naval Special Warfare Command or NAVSPECWARCOM, The Air Force Special Operations Command or AFSOC, and the Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command or MARSOC. All Special Forces personnel permanently assigned outside CONUS, are under the combatant command of their respective geographic combatant commander. USSOCOM's total authorized manpower for FY 2007 was just under 48,000 personnel, with roughly thirteen percent of SOF military personnel coming from the Reserve and National Guard The Joint Special Operations Command is charged to study special operations requirements and techniques to ensure interoperability and equipment standardization, plan and conduct special operations exercises, and training; and develop Joint Special Operations Tactics.
Intelligence plays a critical and continuous role in warfare. It provides knowledge of the enemy to commanders and assists them and their staffs in visualizing the battlespace. Intelligence also contributes to information superiority by attempting to discern the adversary's probable intent and future COA. In peacetime, intelligence operations seek to provide the national leadership with the information needed to make national policy decisions, while providing military leadership with the information needed to plan and conduct operations and implement the national security strategy. During war, intelligence strives to identify the adversary's capabilities, vulnerabilities, and COGs; project possible courses of action; and assist in planning friendly force employment. During irregular warfare, or military operations other than war, intelligence provides assessments that facilitate regional and cultural awareness, and helps commanders decide which forces to deploy; when, how, and where to deploy them; and how to employ them in a manner that accomplishes the mission at the lowest human and political cost. Support to operating forces is the cornerstone of naval intelligence. Because of their mobility and forward deployment, as well as the unique nature of surface, subsurface, air, special and landing force operations, naval forces have special requirements for tailored intelligence on potential threats in both the maritime and littoral environments. Naval intelligence is designed to support operations at sea, from the sea, and ashore, through an organization closely linked with joint and national intelligence centers.
All levels of war have corresponding intelligence operations. The concept of strategic, operational, and tactical intelligence operations aids commanders and their staffs in visualizing the flow of intelligence between levels. The concept facilitates the allocation of required resources and permits the assignment of appropriate intelligence tasks to national, theater, component, and supporting intelligence elements. Strategic intelligence is required for the formation of policy and military plans at national and international levels. At the strategic level, intelligence focuses first on discerning the capabilities and intentions of potential adversaries as well as considering the strategic intentions of allies, potential coalition partners, and other national, international, or transnational actors. Operational intelligence is required for military planning within regional theaters or AOs. It focuses on the military capabilities and intentions of adversaries and potential adversaries, and delivers analysis to support the NPP. This includes assessment of an enemy's critical vulnerabilities and potential COAs at the operational level of war. Further, it assists the commander in deciding how best to employ forces while minimizing risk. Tactical intelligence is required for planning and conducting operations at the component or unit level. It focuses on the adversary's capabilities, immediate intentions, and the battlespace environment. It is oriented more toward combat than long-range planning. Tactical support to operating forces is the primary focus of naval intelligence.
The modern Coast Guard incorporates the United States Light House Service of 1789, the United States Revenue Marine of 1790, the Steamboat Inspection Service of 1838, the Lifesaving Service of 1848, and the Bureau of Navigation of 1884. The modern Coast Guard was created in 1915 by merging several agencies to "be a military service and a branch of the armed forces of the United States at all times." The Coast Guard celebrates its anniversary on August 4th. The Coast Guard is a military service that operates under the Department of Homeland Security. The law provides the President with the option to direct the Coast Guard to operate under the Department of Defense, within the Navy, during time of war. Regardless of which Department has oversight, the Coast Guard, remains responsible for all duties. The Coast Guard is unique in that it can simultaneously serve as a military (Title 10) and enforcement (Title 14) element of the United States Government, providing important strategic, operational, and tactical options to the Joint Force Commander.
All threats . . . All hazards . . . Always ready . . . is a cryptic reminder of the organization's purpose captured in the following mission statement: "The United States Coast Guard is a multi-mission, maritime service and one of the Nation's five Armed Forces. Its mission is to protect the public, the environment, and U.S. economic interests - in the Nation's ports and waterways, along the coast, on international waters, or in any maritime region as required to support national security." That broad mission establishes three core roles for the Coast Guard. The first is maritime safety. The Coast Guard develops forces to ensure the safe operation of the Marine Transportation System and protect the lives and ensure the safety of those on the sea. They respond to maritime disasters, natural or man-made, and ensure safety in United States communities. The second role is Maritime Security. The Coast Guard protects the maritime domain and the Marine Transportation System, and denies their use and exploitation by terrorists as a means for attacks on U. S. territory, population, vessels, and critical infrastructure. They uphold U. S. maritime sovereignty and enforce U.S. law, international conventions, and treaties against criminal activities."
Social Changes in the Navy
America's success was partly due to significant social changes in the Navy. During World War Two: The first African American officers were commissioned Tens of thousands of African American Sailors enlisted The Navy Nurse Corps grew substantially 100,000 American women joined the "Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service" (WAVES) The first African American officers were commissioned and tens of thousands of black Sailors enlisted to fill the ranks. The Navy Nurse Corps grew substantially. 100,000 American women joined the WAVES.
The Persian Gulf was a dangerous place:
An Iraqi jet mistakenly hit the guided missile frigate USS Stark (FFG-31) with two air-to-surface missiles, badly damaging the ship and killing 37 American Sailors—outstanding damage control actions saved the ship from sinking An Iranian-laid sea mine damaged SS Bridgeton, a merchant ship under U.S. escort Navy helicopters and mine countermeasures vessels later protected oil tanker convoys.
There are a number of ways of organizing and graphically depicting the range of military operations in which U.S. forces might participate. This table represents one approach, providing a list of examples along a defined continuum. Much of this course is concentrated on various aspects of the military profession primarily focused on the upper third, or war portion of this diagram. But, as you can see, there are potentially many more missions as listed in the lower two-thirds of the table. It must be acknowledged from the start that precisely defining the range of such missions has proven difficult doctrinally. The terms used to encompass such operations are constantly changing. Once called irregular warfare, the terms "operations other than war" or OOTW, and "military operations other than war" or MOOTW, have come and gone in the military lexicon. Indeed, you can see elements of this transformation in the stated objectives of this lesson. Today, the term "irregular warfare" has reemerged as the all-encompassing umbrella term. To understand those changes, and in particular how they affect the Department of Defense, we will examine these six topics. Joint Publication 3-26, Homeland Security, provides this definition of "homeland," clearly a large geographic area with which to be concerned.
Another approach is to look at conflict along a continuum. Here specific military missions are not shown, rather the range of potential types of military engagements U.S. forces might be involved in are displayed. Finally, some theorists attempt to add an additional layer of analysis to the equation by introducing the concepts of probability and lethality. Here we can see that, while global conflict and strategic nuclear war represent the greatest level of violence humankind might face, they are, in fact, relatively unlikely to occur. As we move away from those higher levels of violence, however, it can readily be seen the likelihood of occurrence increases dramatically. Thus, we are faced with an interesting paradigm with which our military forces constantly struggle. Specifically, we are trained and equipped primarily for the potentially most dangerous threats to our nation which, paradoxically, are the least likely to occur. When faced with difficult missions in other areas, our forces, as can be seen today in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, must adapt. Homeland security, as defined in the National Strategy for Homeland Security, is a concerted national effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, reduce America's vulnerability to terrorism, and minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do occur. The DOD contributes to homeland security through its military missions overseas, homeland defense, and support to civil authorities. Similarly, homeland defense is defined as the protection of U.S. sovereignty, territory, domestic population, and critical infrastructure against external threats and aggression or other threats as directed by the President. The DOD is responsible for homeland defense. Homeland defense includes missions such as domestic air defense. The DOD recognizes that threats planned or inspired by "external" actors may materialize internally. The reference to "external threats" does not limit where or how attacks could be planned and executed. The DOD is prepared to conduct homeland defense missions whenever the President, exercising his constitutional authority as Commander in Chief, authorizes military actions.
More than 4.5 million Muslims migrated west from India into predominately Muslim Pakistan, while 4 million Hindus and Sikhs fled east from Pakistan into India where Muslims were not the majority. More than one million people died during the migration from the violence perpetrated by Muslim, Hindu, and Sikh militias. Two conflicting conceptions of state-building animated the Indian and Pakistani national movements. The Indian leaders agreed on the need for a secular and democratic independent India. The extraordinary cultural, regional, and ethnic heterogeneity of India rendered other possible political arrangements impractical. Conversely, the government of Pakistan is less democratic and has greater religious influence. The violence following the partition resulted in deep scars of hatred and mistrust on both sides. India and Pakistan fought wars over Kashmir again in 1965 and 1971. Both nations now have acquired nuclear weapons, making the prospect of another war even more chilling. For years, attempted talks between the Indian government and Muslim separatist groups from the disputed provinces failed due to separatist demands that Pakistan be included in any dialogue, but India would not deal with Pakistan. Failed peace talks and a terrorist attack by Pakistani nationals on the Indian Parliament in New Delhi in 2001 almost precipitated another war. After a tense ten-month standoff, both sides withdrew their militaries from the disputed border. More recently, both sides have shown greater willingness to resolve their differences peacefully. Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, Britain assumed control of Palestine under the mandate of the Balfour Agreement. Under British rule, the Jewish population increased to almost one third of the population by 1936. In response to Arab opposition to the Zionist movement, Britain restricted Jewish immigration and land sales in 1939. Britain also agreed to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within ten years. However, with World War II and the Holocaust, Jewish immigration to Palestine resumed and grew in size and international support. Britain, preparing to relinquish control of the area, forced the new United Nations (UN) to resolve the growing tension. In November 1947, the UN resolved to partition Palestine into Arab and Jewish areas. The Jews accepted the plan, but the Arabs rejected it as a violation of their right to self-determination. Violence erupted and soon turned into full-scale civil war. Upon Britain's withdrawal from the independent Israel, military forces from neighboring Arab countries, including Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, allied in a war against Israel. Surprisingly, by the time of the cease-fire in 1949 Israel had largely defended itself against these Arab countries and even occupied additional territory west of the Jordan River. Jordan, also now independent of Britain, held the large mountainous areas of Judea and Samaria, which became known as the West Bank. Egypt took control of a small strip of land along the coast, which became known as the Gaza Strip. Large numbers of the Arab population fled or were expelled from the newly-created Jewish state of Israel following this war, resulting in a lasting displacement of Palestinian refugees.
Arabs and Israelis failed to reach a comprehensive peace agreement, and additional wars followed. In an effort to ensure Israel's sovereignty in the face of Arab economic pressure and military threats against Israel, several Western powers provided Israel with substantial support, including military training and hardware. In 1956 Britain and France joined Israel against Egypt in a conflict over control of the Suez Canal, which Egypt was using to economically pressure Israel. Israel, asserting it was acting in self-defense, further expanded its territory by taking the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights, and the Sinai Peninsula (the occupied territories) in the extremely effective Six-Day War of 1967. Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack in 1973 but were pushed back into their own countries in short order by the Israeli army. In October 1974 the Arab League, a political organization of Arab countries that included all those who had originally allied against Israel in 1948, recognized the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), a group founded in 1964 to work toward Palestinian nationhood, as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. In the 1970's, many Middle East Muslims began to seek, often violently, the revival of Islamic law in both governmental and wider social spheres. Several factors contributed to this revival, including poverty, unemployment, inflation, seemingly endless war, and the humiliation of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The most notable establishment of an Islamic state was the result of the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979. In January 1979 the Ayatollah Khomeini and his followers forced Iran's monarch, the Shah, to flee the country. The Shah had been an ally of the United States and the west. Khomeini and his supporters set up an Islamic "republic" by a referendum in April 1979. The revolution surprised the world and profoundly and immediately changed the face of the Greater Middle East. This popular movement overthrew an ancient monarchy thought to be heavily protected by a lavishly financed military, and replaced it with an oppressive theocracy of Islamic jurists. As the Khomeini government was consolidating power, militant university students took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking all the American diplomats hostage. The Iranian government released the hostages over a year later when President Reagan took office, but the severed relationship between the United States and Iran continues. The Iranian Revolution destabilized Iran's relationship with its western neighbor, Iraq. Iraq's general population was predominantly Shia Muslim, as were the Iranian revolutionaries. Iraq's dictator Saddam Hussein and his ruling Baath Party, on the other hand, were Sunni Muslim, traditional rivals of the Shia. Fearing a general rebellion by the majority Shiites and seeing an opportunity to capture oil-rich tracts of Iranian land while the Iranian government and military were in disarray, Hussein invaded Iran in September 1980. This war proved to be one of the most costly and fruitless conflicts of the 20th Century. Western interests in this conflict revolved around the interruption of oil exports from the Persian Gulf. To protect U.S. interests, President Reagan ordered U.S. warships to protect oil tankers from attack in what is now called the tanker war. President Reagan also ordered very successful and decisive strikes on Iranian Navy assets in the Persian Gulf, establishing U.S. Naval superiority in the region that has not been seriously challenged. In 1988, Iran and Iraq accepted a UN resolution calling for a cease-fire.
The Army Special Operations Command, located at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is the Army component of SOCOM. This command trains, validates, and prepares Army Special Forces units to deploy, and executes operational requirements for the unified combatant commanders. It provides Special Forces, Rangers, Special Operations Aviation Regiments, and active component Psychological Operations, and Civil Affairs forces to SOCOM for deployment to combatant commanders around the world. USASOC commands both active and Reserve special operations forces, and provides oversight of Army National Guard Special Operations Force readiness. Additionally, they have oversight of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare center and School.
Army Special Forces, more commonly known as Green Berets, are trained to conduct five core tasks: Special Reconnaissance, Direct Action, Unconventional Warfare, Foreign Internal Defense, and Combating Terrorism. Each of the 5 active and 2 National Guard Special Forces Groups is regionally oriented to support one of the geographic combatant commanders. The 75th Ranger Regiment is comprised of specially organized, equipped, and trained soldiers that can rapidly deploy a credible military force to any region of the world. The cornerstone of the Rangers' mission is direct action, and they are the premiere forced entry unit in the Army. In order to remain proficient in all light infantry skills, Ranger units also focus on mission-essential tasks that include movement to contact, ambush, reconnaissance, airborne and air assaults, and hasty defense.
The blockades created acute shortages of:
Artillery Shoes Blankets Medicine Cotton exports were cut from 2.8 million bales in 1861 to 168,000 in 1863.
The terms "roles," "missions," and "functions" are often used interchangeably in the military. In basic terms, they mean what the Services do. However, they also have very precise and legal meanings in relation to each of the Service's fundamental reasons for existence as an independent branch.
As previously noted, the Department of the Navy primarily consists of the operating forces of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. However, while both Services are addressed in a single chapter of the U.S. Code, Congress clearly outlines the distinct roles of each in different sections of that chapter.
With significant numbers of special operations forces forward based, theater commanders are able to provide quick response capability, either in the form of a Joint Special Operations Task Force, or small special operations teams. On average, about 5,000 SOF personnel - both theater and CONUS based - deploy every year to as many as 150 countries in all theaters of operations. This includes crisis response operations and various activities and missions in support of Theater Security Cooperation Plans. All Special Operations Forces permanently assigned to a theater are under the Combatant Command of the geographic combatant commander. The Combat Commander exercises operational control of these forces through a sub-unified theater special operations command - or theater SOC - comprised of Service components from the Army, Navy and Air Force. The function of Theater SOCs is to provide a clear chain of command, and to ensure that special operations forces are fully integrated into the Combatant Commanders' Theater Security Cooperation Plan and contingency plans or operations. Additionally, Theater SOCs provide geographic Combatant Commanders with the core element for establishing a Joint Special Operations Task Force, or JSOTF. A JSOTF is a command and control element that can be stood up for a specific mission and can be organized on a geographic or functional basis as needed. It can be subordinate to either another JSOTF, JTF, a JFSOC, or a Combatant Commander.
As a joint planner, you should be aware of three coordinating elements that can help ensure unity of effort between conventional forces and special operations forces operating in a joint task force. The first is the Special Operations Command and Control Element, or SOCCE, which is the focal point for synchronizing SOF activities with a supported conventional ground force. It collocates with the supported force, normally the Joint Force Land Component Commander, or JFLCC, but remains under the operational control of the JFSOC or JSOTF. Their principle mission is to deconflict and ensure responsive support to the conventional force. The Special Operations Liaison Element or SOLE, is provided by the JFSOC or the JSOTF to the Joint Force Air Component Commander. The SOLE has air, ground, and naval representatives—to coordinate, deconflict, and synchronize SOF operations. The last coordination element is the Liaison officer, or LNO. SOF LNOs are deployed as required to any unit or organization to facilitate unity of effort. Typically, LNOs are placed with the JTF Commander, and the various commanders at all levels for general coordination and battlespace deconfliction.
The effects of such a changing geo-strategic environment were driven home with the events of September 11, 2001. Since those attacks, the Federal Government has reviewed and strengthened all of its strategies to combat the evolving threat in the Global War on Terrorism. Various departments have each carried out maritime security strategies which have provided an effective layer of security since 2001. Indeed, closer cooperation between the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard has occurred in a number of key areas, as listed here. In December 2004, the President directed the Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security to lead the Federal effort to develop a comprehensive National Strategy for Maritime Security, to better integrate and synchronize the existing Department-level strategies and ensure their effective and efficient implementation. The first National Strategy for Maritime Security was released in September 2005.
As explained in the executive summary to the document, maritime security is best achieved by blending public and private maritime security activities on a global scale into an integrated effort that addresses all maritime threats. This new National Strategy for Maritime Security aligns all Federal Government maritime security programs and initiatives into a comprehensive and cohesive national effort involving appropriate Federal, state, local, and private sector entities. To gain a basic understanding of this critical document, we will examine the three topics listed here.
The CJCS is the principal military advisor to the President, the NSC, and the SecDef. The CJCS outranks all other officers of the Armed Forces, but does not exercise military command over any military forces. The CJCS does, however, assist the President and the SecDef in performing their command functions. He transmits their orders to the combatant commanders as directed, and coordinates all communications in matters of joint interest addressed to the combatant commanders. The CJCS also acts as the spokesman for the combatant commanders, especially on the operational requirements of their commands. These commanders send their reports to the CJCS, who channels them to the SecDef, so the CJCS may better incorporate the views of all the combatant commanders in his advice to the President and the SecDef. In addition to presiding over the JCS, the CJCS has many other responsibilities that help provide focus for our Armed Forces. He develops the national military strategy, reviews operational and contingency plans to determine their adequacy and feasibility, and is responsible for military doctrine, training, and education.
As in the case of the CJCS, the VCJCS does not exercise military command over the JCS, or any of the Armed Forces. However, the VCJCS does outrank all other officers of the Armed Forces except the CJCS. The VCJCS is a full member of the JCS and performs a number of other functions including Chairman of the Joint Requirements Oversight Council, Vice Chairman of the Defense Acquisition Board, and member of the National Security Council Deputies Committee. In addition, he acts for the CJCS in all aspects of the Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution System (PPBES). In the absence or disability of the CJCS, the VCJCS acts as and performs the duties of the CJCS.
While the Warfighting headquarters provide planning and command and control, other forces will likely be needed. On the left is a depiction of the Air force organization discussed earlier. When a combatant commander requests Air Force assets, the Air Force tailors an Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force, or AETF, with the right mix of assets for the assigned mission, drawn from the two on-call Air Expeditionary Forces or AEFs. The AETF will comprise squadrons and perhaps small packets of forces and personnel identified by unit type codes, or UTCs. This increases the AETF's flexibility in meeting the combatant commander's desired objectives. The AETF then CHOPs—or changes operational control—to the Joint Force commander, whereupon its squadrons are referred to as Air Expeditionary Squadrons. Depending upon the number of expeditionary assets or units deployed into the theater, Air Expeditionary Groups or even Wings may be established. For example, an Air Expeditionary Wing at Balad Air Base, north of Baghdad, was responsible for over 6000 Airmen in three geographically separated air expeditionary groups, operating at more than 50 forward locations in Iraq.
As mentioned, forces for an AETF are pulled from two on-call Air Expeditionary Force "modules." All Air Force assets are spread evenly across the 10 AEFs. With current numbers of aircraft, this gives each AEF about 90 combat Air Craft, 31 combat support aircraft, and a number of ISR platforms. The AEF's are not identical, however. With a limited number of B-2's, for example, not all AEF's will have B-2's in it. If the capabilities of a B-2 are required, however, these assets can be requested through normal Request for Forces channels.
Military planning is a comprehensive process that enables commanders and staffs at all levels and in all Services to make informed decisions, solve complex problems, and ultimately accomplish assigned missions. Planning is critical at every level of warfare—strategic, operational, and tactical—and in any situation, regardless if the threat is posed by a conventional military; an asymmetric, unconventional adversary; or a combination of both. Furthermore, military planning can be applied whether conditions permit a lengthy, deliberate process conducted over the course of months, or if the situation forces a compressed timeline where decisions must be made and actions taken within a matter of hours or days.
As naval forces routinely operate as part of joint and multinational forces, naval plans and actions must blend seamlessly with those of the other Services, other Federal agencies, and our allied forces. These operations, under the direction of combatant commanders, occur in the air, on and under the sea, on land, in space, and in the electromagnetic spectrum. The success of these diverse operations depends heavily upon the coordination of all efforts to achieve specific regional and national objectives. Planning at all levels is the key to the coordination of unified efforts. Thus, naval planning must be, and in fact is, an integral part of joint operation planning.
Presidential Decision Directives, National Security Presidential Directives, Homeland Security Presidential Directives, and Executive Orders are the primary means by which the President issues national security policy guidance. There have been a number of key documents issued by the national leadership impacting on the defense of the homeland. The DOD guidelines are promulgated in a variety of documents that include national strategy documents, planning guidance, and DOD directives. These policy documents are consistent with, and complementary to, Federal statutes and national security policy. The DOD directives specifically address missions for homeland and civil support operations. The Posse Comitatus Act places strict limits on the use of military personnel for law enforcement. Enacted in 1878, the act prohibits the willful use of the U.S. Army (and later, the U.S. Air Force) for law enforcement duties, except as authorized by the President, Congress, or the U.S. Constitution, or in certain emergency situations. Although the Posse Comitatus Act, by its terms, refers only to the Army and Air Force, DOD policy extends the prohibitions of the Act to U.S. Navy and Marine Corps forces, as well. Specifically prohibited activities include: interdiction of a vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or similar activity; search and/or seizure; arrest, apprehension, "stop and frisk" detentions, and similar activities; and use of military personnel for surveillance or pursuit of individuals, or as undercover agents, informants, investigators, or interrogators.
As previously mentioned, the overarching operational framework for DOD support to homeland security consists of two mission areas—homeland defense and civil support. These two areas contain a number of unique missions, mission subsets, supporting operations, and enabling activities which can overlap. Synchronization and integration of selected homeland defense and civil support mission areas, supporting operations, actions, programs, and enabling activities will be required. For example, force protection actions and the DOD antiterrorism program are applicable to both homeland defense and civil support missions. Within homeland defense there are air missions, land missions, and maritime missions. Although these missions are described in the context of the defense, homeland defense missions include offensive actions such as preemptive activities to deter, disrupt and destroy adversary capabilities at their source. Supporting operations and enabling activities associated with homeland defense missions may include: critical infrastructure protection when directed, force protection and antiterrorism, space operations, ballistic missile defense, and information operations.
Numbered fleets were established in 1943 by Admiral Ernest King, then Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations. They were established as the basis for task force designations with responsibilities for specific geographic areas. Fleets operating in the Atlantic were given even numbers and those in the Pacific odd numbers. This numbering convention is still in use today.
As seen in a previous lesson, the United States military operates under ten combatant commands (COCOMS) established by the Unified Command Plan. Within that structure are the Navy's six numbered fleets, each commanded by a vice admiral. These fleets each serve a unique purpose and provide the President and Secretary of Defense the flexibility to deploy the right mix of naval forces around the globe. The fleets are headquartered in their geographic areas: the 2nd Fleet is headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia; the 3rd Fleet in San Diego, California; the 4th fleet in Jacksonville, Florida; the 5th Fleet in Manama, Bahrain; the 6th Fleet in Naples, Italy and the 7th Fleet in Yokosuka, Japan. The following lessons will discuss the numbered fleets of the United States Navy, their missions and their associated AORs. The lessons will also discuss the Navy's history in the various areas of operations and how the Navy's fleet organization changed over time in response to national interests and changing threats.
Central Pacific Offensive - Central Pacific Force (later Fifth Fleet): Gilbert Islands campaign (November 1943) — Amphibious assault on Tarawa — Heavy casualties/invaluable lessons Marshall Islands campaign (January - February 1944) — Amphibious assaults on Kwajalein/Eniwetok — Air strikes against Japanese naval base at Truk Mariana Islands campaign (June - August 1944) — Now designated as Fifth Fleet — Amphibious assaults on Saipan/Guam/Tinian — Battle of Philippine Sea
As the Solomon Islands campaign wound down, Admiral Nimitz began a new series of offensive campaigns in the Central Pacific Area. In August 1943 Central Pacific Force was established to conduct this drive. The first move of this offensive was the taking of the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands in November 1943. Although casualties were heavy, the lessons learned greatly facilitated the victories that followed. The next campaign began in the Marshall Islands and included amphibious assaults on the Kwajalein and Eniwetok Atolls in January and February 1944 as well as carrier air strikes against the Japanese naval base at Truk. Next on the Central Pacific drive was the Mariana Islands. Central Pacific Force, now renamed Fifth Fleet consisted of some 800 ships including 15 aircraft carriers and 14 battleships. In addition to conducting successful assaults on Saipan, Guam, and Tinian, Fifth Fleet aircraft all but destroyed Japanese carrier capability in the Battle of the Philippine Sea.
Invasion of the Philippines: Third and Fifth Fleets merged October 1944, MacArthur began invasion of Philippines — Seventh Fleet conducted amphibious assault — Third Fleet supported operation Battle of Leyte Gulf — Four interrelated battles — All but destroyed Japanese Navy
As the U.S. offensive in the Pacific pushed closer to Japan, activities in the Central Pacific area increased while those in the South Pacific area diminished. This led to a merging of the forces of Third and Fifth Fleets into a single organization. In order to maintain a high tempo of operations, both fleet staffs were kept intact—one conducted operations while the other planned the next. Thus, the vast U.S. carrier-based armada in the Pacific theater was identified variously as Third or Fifth Fleet depending on who was in command—the ships remained the same. In October 1944, General MacArthur began his invasion to retake the Philippine Islands. In this endeavor he was supported by Seventh Fleet which conducted the amphibious assault, and Pacific Fleet's carrier and fast battleship armada, designated Third Fleet for this operation. During the four interrelated battles, commonly known collectively as the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the Japanese navy was all but destroyed.
The fundamental purpose of the Armed Forces is to win our Nation's wars. Success, whether engaged in this preeminent purpose or conducting operations in support of other national interests, depends on an effective command structure. Knowledge of the overall national military organizational structure and the relationships between the various elements is an essential responsibility of every Sailor.
As you would expect, an organization as large as the U.S. military, engaged in something as important as defense of our nation, has a complex structure. Though it is complex, it provides for clear responsibilities and a single chain of command for accomplishing operational missions. In addition, there is a separate and distinct administrative chain of command providing for all the necessary support functions of the Military Services. Since the founding of the nation, civilian control of the military has been an absolute and unquestioned principle. The Constitution establishes the President as the Commander in Chief, and only he and the Secretary of Defense have the authority to commit our military forces into combat. Military commanders do not have authority to engage in combat—except in self-defense.
One of the most important contributions to contemporary law of the sea is UNCLOS. This convention was negotiated over a more than 10-year period and saw the involvement of dozens of nations in the writing and negotiating effort. It was ultimately signed in 1982. The convention itself is divided into two major parts: rules concerning rights of the coastal nation for navigation and overflight rights, as well as deep-seabed mining provisions. Although the U.S. signed UNCLOS, it is still pending ratification by the U.S. Senate over 25 years later. While more than a majority of the world's nations have signed and ratified it, the U.S. had reservations with the deep-seabed mining provisions and therefore did not ratify it. But as you have already seen, customary international law plays a large role in operational law and this convention is a prime example. While the U.S. has not yet ratified UNCLOS, our policy is that the first section relating to coastal nation navigation and overflight rights does reflect customary international law, and it is our policy that all U.S. forces will operate in compliance with it.
Aside from the sources we've already discussed, there are a number of other written references on the law of the sea. These sources include U.S. Navy Regulations, Fleet operation orders (OPORDS), theater-specific ROE, the Commander's Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations, and the Department of Defense (DOD) Maritime Claims Reference Manual.
These significant events helped defend the country:
At Plattsburgh, New York, under the command of Thomas Macdonough, the American Lake Champlain squadron defeated a British squadron, causing the invading British Army to retreat back to Canada From the Chesapeake Bay, the British captured Washington, D.C., burning the Capitol and Whitehouse. However, they were thwarted at Baltimore, Maryland by naval and land forces On Lake Borgne, Louisiana, Navy gunboats delayed a British assault on New Orleans long enough for Andrew Jackson to prepare successful land defenses
The Navy's Changing Mission
At end of the 19th century, the Navy's mission changed from defending America's coasts to: Projecting U.S. power overseas Protecting U.S. commercial and diplomatic interests around the world.
According to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, regional expertise and cultural awareness are "key warfighting skills." This lesson provided an introduction to lessons that will educate you regarding the fundamentals essential to understanding regional and cultural concerns of the U.S. throughout the world. Excellent sources of current material for additional study can be found online at the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA's) World Factbook and the U.S. Department of State's Websites.
At present, 38 countries are located in the Western Hemisphere. These countries cover about 8.3 percent of the Earth's surface and contain approximately 15 percent of the world's population, or 900 million people. The Western Hemisphere is culturally diverse and has a rich history derived not only from its native inhabitants, but also from the European nations that sent explorers and settlers to the region. One of the world's most strategic sea lines of communications (SLOCs) is located in the Western Hemisphere—the Panama Canal.
Spanish-American War (1898): Bulk of the Navy was on east coast Asiatic Squadron consisted of a small force of cruisers Battle of Manila Bay — Spanish Squadron destroyed — Allowed landing of U.S. ground troops in Philippines — Established U.S. as a world military power U.S. obtained Philippines and Guam in the Pacific
At the time of the Spanish-American War, the bulk of the Navy, including all but one battleship, was on the east coast. The Navy continued to maintain a small force on the west coast, the Pacific Squadron, and a force of cruisers in the Asiatic Squadron. Within days of America's declaration of war against Spain, the Asiatic Squadron steamed to the Philippines in search of the Spanish Pacific Squadron. During the Battle of Manila Bay, the Spanish squadron was destroyed, opening the way for American ground forces to occupy the Philippines, while at the same time establishing the United States as a world military power. As a result of the peace treaty ending hostilities, the United States gained the former Spanish colonies of the Philippines and Guam.
National security is not solely the responsibility of our uniformed military forces—although they certainly play a major role. In this lesson, we will examine several organizations involved in national security, focusing on the roles of the National Security Council and the Department of Defense, or DOD. As seen here, the DOD is much more than just the Military Departments. The combatant commands, Defense Agencies, Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), and SecDef are all critical elements of the national security structure. In a later lesson, we will examine how the military is directly involved in ensuring the protection of the homeland.
At the top of national security structure is the National Security Council, or NSC. Since its inception under President Truman, the function of the Council has been to advise and assist the President on national security and foreign policies.
Activities in war take place at several interrelated levels, which form a hierarchy. These levels of war are doctrinal perspectives that clarify the links between strategic objectives and tactical actions. Although there are no exact limits or boundaries between them, the three levels of war are strategic, operational, and tactical. Understanding the interdependent relationship of all three helps commanders to visualize a logical flow of operations, allocate resources, and assign tasks. Actions within the three levels are not associated with a particular command level, unit size, equipment, or force or component type. Instead, actions are defined as strategic, operational, or tactical based on their effect or contribution to achieving strategic, operational, or tactical objectives. Generally speaking, the higher the level of war, the larger the objective, and the higher the command echelon.
Because of the difference in scope of the military objectives to be accomplished, each level of war requires commanders and their staffs to have a different perspective. The higher the level of war, the broader that perspective is. The narrowest perspective is at the tactical level, both in terms of physical space and the elements of the situation. At each level above tactical, the perspectives become progressively larger and more complex. The strategic level is that level of war at which a nation, often as a member of a group of nations, determines national or multinational strategic security objectives and policy, and develops and uses national resources to accomplish those objectives. The National Security Strategy, National Defense Strategy, and National Military Strategy, are examples of guidance provided at the strategic level. Strategy involves establishing goals, assigning forces, providing assets, and imposing conditions on the use of force. The Unified Command Plan, or UCP, is another example of guidance at the strategic level of war. It establishes combatant command missions, responsibilities, and force structure, and delineates geographic areas of responsibility for geographic combatant commanders. Generally speaking, it is the President, Secretary of Defense (SecDef), and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) that function at the strategic level of war.
The Ground Combat Element, or "GCE," is task organized to conduct ground operations, project combat power, and contribute to battlespace dominance in support of the MAGTF's mission. It is formed around an infantry organization reinforced with artillery, reconnaissance, assault amphibian, light and heavy armor, and engineer forces. The GCE can vary in size and composition from a rifle platoon to one or more Marine divisions. The GCE normally represents the main body of the MAGTF, and it is the only element that can seize and occupy terrain The Aviation Combat Element, or "ACE," is task organized to conduct air operations, project combat power, and contribute to battlespace dominance in support of the MAGTF's mission by performing some or all of the six functions of Marine aviation. The ACE is formed around an aviation headquarters with air control agencies, aircraft squadrons or groups, and aviation service units. It can vary in size and composition from an aviation detachment of specifically required aircraft to one or more Marine aircraft wings. The ACE may be employed from ships or forward expeditionary land bases and can readily transition between sea bases and land bases without loss of capability.
Because of the limited number of mechanized forces and artillery associated with its role as a naval expeditionary force in readiness, the Marine Corps has developed tactical doctrine and organizations which rely upon organic air power for mission accomplishment. Without organic air at the MAGTF commander's disposal, it would not be possible to accomplish the full range of missions tasked by law. The question of operational control of Marine Corps air assets has often been contested in the past. But now, joint doctrine is clear on the subject, and reflects the needs and functions of Marine forces as well as the overarching requirements of the Joint Force Commander. Joint Pub 1 states that the primary mission of the MAGTF Air Combat Element is the support of the MAGTF Ground Combat Element, and the MAGTF commander will retain OPCON of organic air assets. However, it goes onto say that the MAGTF commander will make sorties available to the Joint force commander for air defense, long range interdiction, and long range reconnaissance. Also, sorties in excess of MAGTF direct support requirements will be provided to the Joint force commander for tasking." Click on the Learn More button to see the specific language in Joint Pub 1, on command and control of Marine organic air assets.
World War II: Pacific theater divided into three areas — Southwest Pacific area - General Douglas MacArthur — Pacific Ocean area - Admiral Chester Nimitz — Southeast Pacific area Two-Pronged offensive — Pacific areas - through the island chains toward Japan — Southwest Pacific area - New Guinea to Philippines
Because of the vast amount of area involved, the Pacific theater was divided into three main areas after World War II began. The Pacific Ocean area was placed under the command of Admiral Chester Nimitz, who was dual-hatted as Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet. Army General Douglas MacArthur was given command of the Southwest Pacific area. A Southeast Pacific area was also established. The Pacific Ocean area was further divided into the North, Central, and South Pacific areas. After the Battles of Coral Sea and Midway, the United States went on the offensive. American strategy in the Pacific consisted of a two-pronged offensive that would steadily advance towards Japan. Admiral Nimitz would advance through the various island chains in the South and Central Pacific areas. In the Southwest Pacific area, General MacArthur would advance through New Guinea toward the Philippines.
The nature of the challenges to our nation demands that the U.S. military operate as a fully integrated joint team. The challenges are best met when the unified action of the Armed Forces elicits the maximum effect from the unique but complementary capabilities of each service and command, and from the synergy that results from their synchronized and integrated action. When joint forces are effectively integrated, they expose no weak points or seams to an adversary, yet can rapidly and efficiently find and engage those adversary weak points and vulnerabilities that assure mission accomplishment. This does not mean that all forces will be equally represented in each operation. Joint force commanders may choose the capabilities they need from the air, land, sea, space, and special operations forces at their disposal. To make this possible, the integrating guidance must be authoritative, must take precedence over subordinate guidance, and must be used. This is why joint doctrine takes precedence over service doctrine and why service doctrine must be made consistent with approved joint doctrine. It is also why joint doctrine is authoritative. That is, the guidance must be followed except, when in the judgment of the commander, exceptional circumstances dictate otherwise. Close
Because service skills form the very core of U.S. military capability, joint warfare relies upon service traditions, cohesion, and expertise embodied in service doctrine. Successful joint operations are made possible by the capabilities developed and embodied in each service, including service cultures, and professional standards. In developing joint doctrine and TTP, existing service and multinational doctrine and TTP are considered, once again highlighting why service doctrine must be consistent with joint doctrine. Conversely, joint doctrine should not include detail that is more appropriate in service doctrine, standing operating procedures, plans, and other publications. Multinational doctrine is another source of warfighting guidance. Our military actively participates at many levels in the development of multinational doctrine. A prime example is NATO doctrine, or Allied Joint Doctrine, where an entire hierarchy of publications and a development process similar to our joint doctrine process exists. The Joint Staff J-7 leads the effort in providing the U.S. military's position on warfighting guidance to all the alliance nations. The policy on the use and precedence of multinational doctrine states that commanders of forces operating as part of a multinational (alliance or coalition) military command should follow multinational doctrine and procedures ratified by the United States. For doctrine and procedures not ratified by the United States, commanders should evaluate and follow the multinational command's doctrine and procedures (where applicable) to the extent consistent with U.S. law and policy.
Benjamin Franklin Isherwood
Benjamin Franklin Isherwood Joined the Engineer Corps in 1844, eventually becoming the corps' most articulate advocate and one if its more creative members. His steam engine design became the Navy's standard for steamships during the Civil War. His steam boiler design was: 40% more efficient Half the size Significantly cheaper He introduced the Navy to the feathering paddle wheel, and demonstrated that standard steam engines were inefficient. As Engineer-in-Chief, he presided over the six hundred-vessel steam fleet and designed the predecessor of the light cruiser.
In 1793
British and French warships began seizing American merchant ships
The Joint Staff is under the exclusive authority, direction, and control of the CJCS. The Joint Staff assists the CJCS in accomplishing his responsibilities for the unified strategic direction of the combatant forces; their operation under unified command; and for their integration into an efficient team of land, naval, and air forces. Comprised of approximately equal numbers of officers from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force, the Joint Staff is the focal point for the CJCS to ensure comments and concerns of the combatant commanders are well represented and advocated during all levels of coordination. The Joint Staff does not operate, nor is it organized as, an overall general staff and it has no executive authority.
Combatant commanders, as the name implies, are the military commanders charged with the responsibility for carrying out military missions assigned by the President or the SecDef. Their chain of command runs directly from the President and SecDef, with communications routed through the CJCS. Combatant commanders exercise an authority called "Combatant Command" (COCOM) over their assigned forces. They exercise command and control in a number of ways, including joint task forces, subunified commands, and component commands, organized either functionally or by military service. Please select the link on the screen to learn more about the military's command authorities.
As you may recall from the lesson National Military Organization, the exercise of authority and control of the Armed Forces runs through two distinct branches of the chain of command. One branch runs from the President, through the SecDef, directly to the combatant commanders for missions and forces assigned to their commands. The other branch, used for purposes other than operational direction of forces, runs from the President, through the SecDef, to the secretaries of the Military Departments and the Service Chiefs.
Command is central to all military action, and unity of command is central to unity of effort. U.S. military power is employed under JFCs. Command includes both the authority and responsibility for effectively using available resources to accomplish assigned missions. Command at all levels is the art of motivating and directing people and organizations into action to accomplish missions. Control is inherent in command. To control is to regulate forces and functions to execute the commander's intent. Ultimately, it provides commanders a means to measure, report, and correct performance.
Charles Wilkes
Commanded the South Sea Exploring Expedition from 1838 to 1842. The six-vessel expedition: Surveyed South Pacific islands Charted continental coastlines Proved Antarctica is a continent Collected natural history and ethnological specimens that formed the basis of the Smithsonian Institution's collections
Two inventions during the American Revolution transformed naval warfare:
Copper sheathing — Increased sailing speed — Discouraged worms and barnacles — Lengthened time between dry-dockings The Carronade ("Smasher") — Shorter range, but heavier ball — A ship could increase its firepower while decreasing deck weight
Not surprisingly, as indicated in the portion of Section 5062 shown here, the United States Navy's principal reason for existence is to conduct combat operations at sea.
Congress also directs that naval aviation shall be an integral part of the naval Service and grants it authority to "develop aircraft, weapons, tactics, technique, organization, and equipment of naval combat and service elements." While such a statement might seem obvious at first glance, without such clear direction from Congress, the roles of the United States Air Force, primarily assigned the role for air operations, and those of Naval Aviation might become muddled or contentious.
The third broad role for the Coast Guard is Maritime Stewardship. In this capacity, the Coast Guard facilitates the economical movement of goods and people through the Maritime Transportation System and maximizes access for recreational and boating safety. They also safeguard marine resources, threatened and endangered species, and the ocean from unlawful acts and environmental degradation. And finally, they conduct maritime recovery operations in the aftermath of incidents of national significance, including transportation security incidents, to ensure the continuity of commerce and other critical port and waterway functions." While seven general operating principles are emphasized during Coast Guard activities, the Coast Guard also considers how the other principles of war embodied in Joint Doctrine apply to operations. Together, these principles describe the organization's general operating style and underpin the ability to operate domestically and internationally across Agency and Sovereign boundaries.
Congress created the Coast Guard with a very broad focus. The legislative mandate in Title 14 of the United States Code includes requirements for the Coast Guard to Enforce or assist in the enforcement of all applicable Federal laws on, under, and over the high seas; engage in maritime air surveillance or interdiction; To administer laws and promulgate and enforce regulations for the promotion of safety of life and property; develop, establish, maintain, and operate, aids to maritime navigation, and rescue facilities for the promotion of safety; develop, establish, maintain, and operate icebreaking facilities on, under, and over waters other than the high seas and waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States; Engage in oceanographic research; and to maintain a state of readiness to function as a specialized service in the Navy during time of war, including the fulfillment of Maritime Defense Zone command responsibilities.
Joint operation planning is further divided into two distinct, yet interrelated processes: contingency planning and crisis action planning (CAP). Contingency planning is conducted principally in peacetime in prescribed cycles, while CAP is the time-sensitive development of joint operation plans and orders to an imminent crisis. Contingency planning is conducted principally in peacetime, and focuses on potential or anticipated emergencies that likely would involve U.S. military forces. These contingencies can include response to military operations by foreign powers, terrorist activities, subversives, natural disasters, or other situations as directed by the President or SecDef. While contingency planning most often addresses military combat operations, plans must account for activities across the range of military operations.
Contingency planning is a structured process that relies heavily on assumptions regarding the political and military environment that will exist when a crisis arises. Combatant commanders use contingency planning to produce four types of plans, listed here, for a broad range of contingencies with varying degrees of detail. An OPLAN is a complete and detailed plan. An OPLAN is normally prepared when the contingency has a compelling national interest, a specific threat, and is critical to national security. A concept plan (CONPLAN) is an OPLAN in an abbreviated format that would require considerable expansion or alteration to convert it to an OPLAN; CONPLANs can be developed with or without time-phased force and deployment data. Functional plans (FUNCPLANs) are OPLANs in abbreviated format that are developed for specific functions or discrete tasks such as nuclear weapons recovery, civil support, or foreign humanitarian assistance. Supporting plans are developed by supporting commanders as tasked by the supported commander. These plans are developed by combatant commanders, component commanders, and combat support agencies. For example, if the U.S. Pacific Command was tasked by the SecDef to develop an OPLAN for the defense of an allied nation, the U.S. Transportation Command would likely be tasked to develop a supporting plan for strategic lift. Joint operation planning also converts these plans into operation orders (OPORDs) ready for execution, if and when required.
SOCOM is one of ten Unified Commands directly responsible to the Secretary of Defense. Like the functional commanders of Transportation Command, Joint Forces Command, and Strategic Command, the commander of SOCOM has responsibilities that are global in nature. USSOCOM's responsibilities are codified in law and include: Ensuring the readiness of forces assigned to the command and monitoring the readiness of SOF deployed overseas Developing both Service and joint special operations strategy, doctrine and tactics Training all assigned forces and monitoring the promotions of SOF personnel in all branches of the military, And, Synchronizing the Global War on Terrorism. Congress has also mandated "Service-like" responsibilities for SOCOM. Under this mandate, SOCOM has authority to allocate resources, develop integrated SOF programs, and advocate SOF resources for inclusion in the DOD budget. The Special Operations Command has responsibility for managing a separate major force program called MFP 11, which ensures that SOF programs have visibility at the Department of Defense and congressional levels. Separate from the Services and unlike the other unified commands, SOCOM also has the authority to conduct research, development, and acquisition of SOF-peculiar items.
Core Tasks - To accomplish their assigned missions, SOCOM has nine core tasks which they train. These tasks are categorized as direct or indirect methods. Click on each number below for a description of these tasks. Button one - Action involves short duration strikes and small scale offensive actions to seize, destroy, capture, exploit, recover, or damage designated targets of strategic or operational significance. Button two - Special Reconnaissance missions are generally directed at strategic or operational intelligence requirements. SOF verify through direct observation or other collection methods information concerning enemy capabilities, intentions, or activities. Button three - Combating Terrorism involves defensive and offensive measures taken to preclude, preempt, and resolve terrorist incidents. SOF is capable of conducting covert, clandestine, or discreet missions in hostile, denied, or politically sensitive environments. These missions include hostage rescue, recovery of sensitive material from terrorist organizations, intelligence operations, attacks against terrorist networks and infrastructures, and non-kinetic activities aimed at the ideologies or motivations that spawn terrorism. Combating terrorism requires extensive interagency coordination and highly unique specialized capabilities. Button four - Counter Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction refers to actions taken to prevent, limit, and/or minimize the development, possession, and employment of WMD and related technologies and materials. Button five - Unconventional warfare involves a broad spectrum of military and paramilitary operations, normally of long duration. UW is predominately conducted by indigenous or surrogate forces trained, equipped, supported, and directed by SOF. Types of activities include guerrilla warfare and other covert or clandestine actions, such as subversion, sabotage, intelligence activities and unconventional assisted recovery of personnel. Button six - Foreign Internal Defense involves cooperation by U.S. civilian and military agencies, in a number of programs undertaken by a foreign government to free its society from subversion, lawlessness, and insurgency. SOF advise, train, and assist host nation military and paramilitary forces in activities to achieve internal stability and defense. Button seven - Civil Affairs Operations are military activities designed to establish, maintain, influence, or exploit relations between military forces and civil authorities. They are conducted through, with, or by several different entities: the indigenous population, international organizations, governmental organizations, or non-governmental organizations. The role of Special Operations Forces in Civil Affairs Operations is in advance of the main force where they survey, assess, and plan for follow-on conventional forces in Civil Affairs Operations. Button eight - Information Operations are the integrated employment of Electronic Warfare, computer network operations, psychological operations, military deception, and operations security. They are conducted in concert with supporting and related capabilities to influence, disrupt, corrupt, or usurp adversarial human and automated decision making while protecting our own. In the context of the Global War on Terrorism, SOCOM J-39 in the Center for Special Operations employs all Information Operations capabilities in support of SOF missions. Their tasks typically include: facilitate PSYOP forces and support; protect operating bases; mask timing and method of operations; isolate targets electronically; and coordinate and facilitate funding, logistics and legal review. Button nine - One of the five core capabilities of Information Operations and arguably one of the best known is Psychological Operations. The purpose of Psychological Operations is to influence approved foreign target audiences and elicit behaviors that advance mission objectives. PSYOP includes actions as well as media products applied via the military planning process to yield effects at the time and place desired by force commanders. It follows that it is not necessary to have PSYOP forces in order to have a psychological impact. Indeed, all military forces, because of their actions and presence, will communicate a message and garner cooperation, goodwill, or otherwise gain compliance. Programs and attendant media products designed by PSYOP forces may support strategic goals or they may be more narrowly focused at the operational and tactical levels. In all cases, PSYOP planners emphasize the correct mix of channels from face-to-face contact to printed matter and broadcast media in order to access denied areas, to influence adversaries in conflict, or to consolidate success in liberated and occupied areas. Since the late 1980s, PSYOP forces were designated SOF and assigned to Special Operations Command. As of 2006, the services have resident capabilities to conduct PSYOP, although much of the planning, capability, and specialized equipment still resides in SOCOM. Button ten - The ninth and final core task is the synchronization of the Global War on Terror. SOCOM synchronizes global operations against terrorist networks in coordination with other combatant commands, U.S. government agencies, and international partners through collaboration and the employment of nation-level systems to maximize these combined effects. This unprecedented and complex effort is maturing rapidly and all parties, both within and outside of DoD, are becoming accustomed to the process. It is important to note that SOCOM does not control Global War on Terror operations, but synchronizes their activities at the global strategic level. This ensures unity of effort and allows SOCOM to look between the seams as terrorist move, communicate, finance, and operate between regions.
Crisis action planning provides the CJCS and the combatant commanders a process for getting vital decision-making information up the chain of command to the President and SecDef. Additionally, CAP allows the President and SecDef to communicate their decisions rapidly and accurately through the CJCS to the combatant commanders, subordinate and supporting commanders, the Services, and combat support agencies to initiate detailed military planning, change deployment posture of the identified force, and execute military options.
Crisis action planning and execution are accomplished within a flexible framework of six phases, as shown here in the blue boxes. The process integrates the workings of the entire JPEC in a single, unified process that sequentially provides for the identification of a potential requirement for military response through the development and selection of a COA, and the implementation of the approved COA. The orders issued by the CJCS on behalf of the President and SecDef are shown in the yellow triangles, while the documents prepared by the combatant commander are shown in the blue triangles. Click on each to learn more.
The effects of climate change may also amplify human suffering through catastrophic storms, global warming, loss of arable lands, and flooding—all of which can lead to loss of life, involuntary migration, social instability, and regional crisis. Wide reaching mass communications will draw heightened attention to the drama of human suffering and the disadvantaged populations will become more aware and less tolerant of their conditions. Thus, extremist ideologies will become increasingly attractive to those in despair.
Current world threat conditions combine to create an uncertain future and cause us once more to rethink the application of seapower. No single nation has the resources required to provide safety and security throughout the entire maritime domain. Increasingly, governments, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector will be required to form partnerships of common interest to counter these emerging threats.
In other cases, Federal agencies will become involved due to other circumstances, as listed on the screen. At the national level, the DHS is the LFA in charge of all homeland security efforts, while the DOD, as previously noted, is responsible for homeland defense and, when tasked, civil support. Here is the organization chart for the Department. As you can see, DHS is organized into five major directorates plus several stand-alone agencies (like the Coast Guard and the Secret Service). There are many agencies, both preexisting and new, under each of these directorates. Homeland Security / Homeland Defense (continued) DHS missions include: Prevent terrorist attacks within the U.S. Reduce the vulnerability of the U.S. to terrorism Minimize the damage and assist in the recovery from terrorist attacks that do occur within the U.S. Ensure that the overall economic security of the U.S. is not diminished by efforts, activities, and programs aimed at securing the homeland Monitor connections between illegal drug trafficking and terrorism, coordinate efforts to sever such connections, and otherwise contribute to efforts to interdict illegal drug trafficking
DHS prevention efforts include: Transportation Security Agency (TSA) airport passenger screening Intel sharing and fusion: Terrorist Threat Integration Center Terrorist watch list Single agency check at land borders Shipping container screening initiatives Threat warning levels Critical infrastructure assessments Cargo and passenger screenings overseas Within the DOD's role, the Unified Command Plan, or UCP, is a key document that establishes the missions and geographic responsibilities among the various combatant commanders. All combatant commanders are tasked with "deterring attacks against the United States." One of the key changes to the UCP was the establishment of the U.S. Northern Command, or USNORTHCOM, a new combatant command assigned to defend the United States and support military assistance to civil authorities. Because the State of Hawaii and some U.S. territories are located outside the geographic limits of USNORTHCOM, the U.S. Pacific Command, or USPACOM, has also been assigned this role. Nevertheless, USNORTHCOM is the combatant command principally responsible for the civil support role.
The Civil War produced many great leaders. Among those were:
David G. Farragut David D. Porter Andrew H. Foote William B. Cushing
Leaders - David Glasgow Farragut
David Glasgow Farragut was a distinguished Union Navy Officer whose leadership was exhibited in April 1862 when he guided his squadron past Confederate forts and captured New Orleans. In August 1864, he led his fleet through a minefield and past Fort Morgan's guns to capture the ironclad CSS Tennessee in Mobile, Alabama. This action sealed off the last major Confederate port on the Gulf of Mexico. Congress recognized his Mobile victory by making him the Navy's first Vice Admiral.
Pearl Harbor Attack
December 7, 1941. Surprise attack on the U.S Pacific Fleet. The attack on Pearl Harbor killed over 2,400 American military and civilian personnel. Submarines and aircraft carriers escaped the fate of other fleet units.
During the period from 1941 to 1945, the U.S. Navy fought to:
Defeat Germany's submarine offensive in the Atlantic Deploy American and Allied troops ashore on the European continent A "Germany First" strategy. Victory in the Battle of the Atlantic Control of the sea was established.
During the American Revolution, a naval force was needed for national missions. To meet this need, the Continental Congress created the Continental Navy, a small force that:
Displayed the flag on the high seas and foreign ports Showed the United States was a sovereign power
Finally, in September 1980, Iraq's leader, Saddam Hussein, ordered an invasion of Iran with the goal of Iraq becoming the leading power in the region while at the same time eliminating the threat to his secular rule posed by the new regime in Iran. The Iranian military had been severely crippled by post-revolution purges of its officer corps as well as by spare parts shortages for its American-made equipment. This conflict soon turned into a costly war of attrition lasting until 1988 and resulting in what has been estimated to be upwards of one million deaths. In an attempt to cripple their opponent's economic trade, both Iran and Iraq began attacking oil tankers and merchant ships, including those of neutral nations. The Navy increased its presence in the area, operating as Joint Task Force Middle East (JTFME) under the new USCENTCOM. In May, 1987 the guided missile frigate USS Stark was struck by two Exocet missiles fired by an Iraqi warplane, an incident declared accidental by the Iraqi government. In July, 1987 in response to pleas of help from the Kuwaiti government, U.S. Navy vessels began convoying Kuwaiti tankers that had been reregistered under the American flag as part of Operation EARNEST WILL.
During Operation EARNEST WILL, USS Samuel B. Roberts struck an Iranian mine in the Arabian Gulf. In retaliation, U.S. surface ships, aircraft and helo-born Marines attacked and destroyed two Iranian oil platforms used as command and control posts and sank one Iranian frigate, heavily damaged another, and sunk a missile patrol boat in Operation PRAYING MANTIS. After the conclusion of the Iran-Iraq War, the Navy presence in the area was reduced again to a handful of ships.
During the 1990s, women experienced great gains and continuing difficulties in the Navy. The Persian Gulf War was instrumental in the postwar opening of combat air squadrons and all major warships, except submarines, to women.
During the September 1991 "Tailhook Convention" in Las Vegas, a number of male officers engaged in sexual harassment of female officers and many more acted inappropriately. This and other episodes led to the early retirement of top Navy Department civilian and military leaders. Afterward, naval leaders instituted service-wide training and awareness programs to educate Sailors about correct personal and social behavior.
Responding to the growing threat that Japan presented, the Navy underwent a major reorganization in 1922 which put most the Navy's fighting forces under a new organization, the United States Fleet. Most of the ships were assigned to the Pacific, while those in the Atlantic—mostly older battleships—operated under the designation Scouting Fleet, which was renamed Scouting Force in 1930. During the 1930's, an increasing number of ships were transferred from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and in 1938 the Atlantic Squadron was re-established. With the possibility of hostilities breaking out in both the Atlantic and Pacific, the Navy again reorganized in early 1941. The Atlantic Squadron became the Atlantic Fleet under the command of Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet. Two other Commanders in Chief were established, one for the Pacific Fleet and one for the Asiatic Fleet. One of these three was also designated Commander in Chief, United States Fleet and tasked to coordinate operations when two or more fleets operated together. Almost immediately after Pearl Harbor, the Commander in Chief, United States Fleet was made a separate billet and its abbreviation changed from CINCUS to COMINCH—for obvious reasons.
During World War II, three numbered fleets were responsible for operations in the Atlantic Ocean: Second Fleet, whose commander was dual-hatted as Commander in Chief Atlantic Fleet, Fourth Fleet, formerly known as Task Force 23 of the Atlantic Fleet, operating out of bases in Brazil and Uruguay and Tenth Fleet, which coordinated and controlled all U.S. antisubmarine activities in the Atlantic. Navy units operating in the eastern Atlantic played a vital, if unglamorous role in the Second World War. Navy ships and aircraft escorted merchant and troop transport convoys to Europe. They also conducted antisubmarine patrols to combat German submarines which operated right up to the American east coast. These operations were key to keeping America's allies in the fight against Nazi Germany.
Heavy fighting ashore during the Philippine-American War ended Filipino resistance to American rule.
During the Boxer Rebellion, Navy and Marine units rescued foreigners from insurgents in China.
Civil War: Union Navy focused on Southern ports and the Mississippi river Commerce raiders presented main threat in Pacific — Confederate States Ship (CSS) Shenandoah - sunk or destroyed 38 American ships, mostly whalers — Commander contemplated attacking San Francisco Pacific Squadron divided into North and South Pacific Squadrons (1866) Asiatic Squadron established during this time
During the Civil War, the Navy's focus was on blockading the Southern ports and conducting operations on the Mississippi River. Thus, only six ships comprised the Navy's Pacific Squadron, most of which were outdated and poorly armed. Although reinforced during the war, their numbers never exceeded sixteen vessels. The greatest threat in the Pacific during the war was from Confederate commerce raiders, the most successful of which was the Confederate States Ship (CSS) Shenandoah which sunk or destroyed 38 American ships, mostly whalers, and whose commander had actually contemplated attacking lightly defended San Francisco. Following the Civil War, the Pacific Squadron was divided into the North Pacific Squadron, responsible for North America and Hawaii, and the South Pacific Squadron responsible for the area from Panama to Cape Horn. Reflecting the growing importance of the area, the Asiatic Squadron, which operated in the western Pacific was also established during this time.
Today's Second and Fourth Fleets are the latest of a number of command designations given to Navy units operating from America's east coast. Prior to the Civil War, ships assigned to protect U.S. coastal commerce belonged to the Home Squadron which was established in 1815. Also operating in the Eastern Atlantic were the West India Squadron, established in 1821 to protect shipping from piracy in the area, and the Brazil Squadron, established four years later in part to deter intervention by European powers in the increasing number of independence movements in South America. During the Mexican-American War, the Home Squadron conducted amphibious landings at Vera Cruz, Mexico from which General Winfield Scott conducted his land campaign which captured Mexico City.
During the Civil War, the Navy's primary duty was to blockade the Confederate Coast. In order to accomplish this mission, the Navy expanded from some forty functional warships scattered around the globe to over 670 ships by war's end, 500 of which were on blockade duty. Ships assigned to this duty fell under the command of either the Atlantic or Gulf (later split into the North Atlantic, South Atlantic, East Gulf and West Gulf) Blockading Squadrons. The Navy also participated in joint operations with the Army in seizing numerous southern ports during the war as well as supporting Army operations on the Mississippi River.
The American Navy had two beginnings:
During the Revolutionary War After the implementation of the Constitution
During the War of 1812,
During the War of 1812, Algiers sided with the British. After making peace with the British, the U.S. declared war on Algiers.
During the War of 1812, Americans continued experimenting with
During the War of 1812, Americans continued experimenting with submarines and mines, and Robert Fulton built the first steam-powered warship, Demologos, also known as the Fulton.
During the mid-1990s, officer communities and enlisted billets were opened to women. The carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower went to sea with a mixed-gender crew and air wing that included 400 female Sailors. Women entered the U.S. Naval Academy in increasing numbers. They: Earned leadership positions in the brigade of midshipmen Graduated with high academic and athletic honors Took commissions in the Navy and Marine Corps
During the last decade of the 20th century, women: Achieved three-star flag rank Took command of aviation units, warships, and shore commands Participated in combat operations in the Persian Gulf and the Adriatic
Between the World Wars: Maintained presence in western Pacific — Protected U.S. citizens in China — Navy vessels stationed in Chinese ports — Patrolled China's rivers Outbreak of War between China and Japan (1937) — Navy vessels protected U.S. neutrality/evacuated U.S. citizens — USS Augusta almost hit by bombs dropped by Chinese planes — USS Panay sunk after being attacked by Japanese aircraft
During the period between the two World Wars, the Navy maintained a presence in the western Pacific. In order to protect U.S. citizens from bandits and other acts of violence related to China's internal power struggles, Navy vessels were on station in several of its port cities. The Navy also actively patrolled China's major rivers. As tensions rose between Japan and China following Japan's occupation of Manchuria, the importance of this presence grew. When war broke out between these two counties in 1937, American naval vessels were used to protect American neutrality and evacuate American citizens from the war zone—often putting them into harm's way. USS Augusta was almost hit by two bombs dropped by a Chinese plane, while USS Panay, which was assisting in the evacuation of American citizens from Nanking, was sunk after being attacked by Japanese aircraft. Nevertheless, U.S. ships continued to maintain a presence in China until the outbreak of hostilities between the United States and Japan.
During the struggle with Napoleon Bonaparte, the British Navy seized American merchant seamen and pressed them into service. In 1807,
During the struggle with Napoleon Bonaparte, the British Navy seized American merchant seamen and pressed them into service. In 1807, the U.S. nearly declared war when Royal Navy deserters were forcibly taken from the American warship, Chesapeake.
Missions are executed across the Atlantic Area and the Pacific Area "theaters" that essentially divide the world in half. Area Commanders maintain operations centers to facilitate a command and control function equivalent to the theater-strategic level joint concept. Planning and execution are largely devolved to District Commands. Conflicts between districts are decided by the Area Commander, who also tactically controls assets outside a District's operations area. Area Commanders influence primary and secondary efforts by apportioning tactical control of pooled resources to districts or as a supporting commander to partners. Each Area is subdivided into Districts for regional focus. District Commanders maintain operations centers to facilitate a command and control function equivalent to the operational-level joint concept. A District Commander's operations area is bound by an adjacent district and the Exclusive Economic Zone. The operating area can be extended by the Area Commander. District Commanders oversee: the regional equivalent of theater security cooperation plans, regular operations for steady-state effort, and pulse or surge operations for abnormal events. District Commander's determine primary and supporting efforts by timing and assigning missions. Partners that require Coast Guard activities to be synchronized with their operations, request cooperation and coordination from the nearest District Commander.
Each District is subdivided into Sectors for local focus. Sector Commanders maintain operations centers to facilitate a command and control function equivalent to the tactical-level joint concept. Commander's at this level exercise tactical control over Coast Guard capabilities operating in ports and across the near-shore waters of the United States, its territories, and its possessions. These Commanders plan and execute missions in a fixed operations area tailored to their capability and capacity for normal operating conditions. Of particular importance to Agencies concerned with homeland defense or homeland security efforts near or within our borders is the Captain of the Port authority that is generally executed at this level of the organization. The general areas of operation associated with the Area and District Commands are shown here. The major commands of Services and Agencies located in the continental United States would normally cultivate relationships with the nearest District Commander. Overseas elements would develop relationships with the nearest Area Commander. Although the Coast Guard does not have the depth of resources that the other services possess, they have many unique capabilities that operational planners should keep in mind. The following slides describe the types of physical resources that can be considered when planning across a range of military and non-military operations. Planners should remember that many Coast Guard assets project authorities that provide a unique leverage point in attaining an objective. The Coast Guard has limited combat power that should be considered in defense planning, but defense planners also need to consider how the Coast Guard's enforcement authorities can impact operations in the global arena.
Alaska is located in the northwest of North America and offers the most dramatic terrain on the continent. The highest peak in North America is Mt. McKinley with an elevation of 20,000 feet. Mountain ranges traverse western North America extending through Canada, the United States, and into Mexico. These ranges spread inland as much as 1,000 miles, extend 2,500 miles from north to south, and include the Alaska, Brooks, Coastal, Cascade, Pacific, Sierra Nevada, Sierra Madre, and the Rocky Mountains. Other significant geographic features in the western United States include the Great Basin, the Mojave Desert, and the Grand Canyon along with numerous plateaus and smaller mountain ranges. The Yukon, Fraser, and Columbia Rivers flow into the Pacific Ocean from North America's western mountain ranges in the north. Canada's longest river, the MacKenzie, flows into the Arctic Ocean. In the southwest United States, the Colorado River cuts through the Grand Canyon and empties into the Gulf of California. The Rio Grande, forming the boundary between the United States and Mexico, flows into the Gulf of Mexico. Mexico is shaped in the south by the extension of gulf coastal plains forming the Yucatan Peninsula. Moving eastward from the Rockies, the second outstanding feature of the continent are the interior plains. From central Canada these fertile regions extend south through the Midwest United States to the coastal lowlands of the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida peninsula. The plains are enriched by the continent's longest river system, the Mississippi-Missouri-Ohio draining most of the United States between the Rockies in the west and the Appalachian Mountains in the east.
Eastern Canada is covered by a horseshoe-shaped area of ancient rock around Hudson Bay called the Canadian Shield. This area lies considerably north of the Great Lakes, which border the United States and Canada. These five large inland lakes are accessed from the Atlantic Ocean by the St. Lawrence River and Seaway entering the continent through the Cabot Straits north of Quebec and the Appalachian mountains. The Appalachian Highlands and Mountains extend south from Quebec to Alabama and guard the eastern region of North America. An intracoastal waterway facilitates transportation along the Atlantic seaboard and the Tennessee-Tombigbee Rivers and Waterway with nearly 1,000 miles of navigable waters serving the southeastern United States. Today, the total population of the United States exceeds 300 million people. In 1790 there were four million people in the Thirteen Original Colonies. The nation grew dramatically at a rate of over three percent annually until the mid-19th century because of immigration from Europe and westward expansion in the 1800's. Since 1900, the annual growth rate of the United States has slowed - it is estimated that population growth in the United States since 2007 is less than one percent per year. Today, approximately 90 percent of the population was born in the United States. By 1980 the population center of the U. S. had moved west of the Mississippi River. In the year 2000, 20% of the people lived in the Northeast, 23% in the North Central, 35% in the South, and 22% in the West. 80% of the United States now lives in urban locations. The largest cities are New York and Philadelphia in the Northeast, Chicago and Detroit in the North Central, Houston and Dallas in the South, and Los Angeles, San Diego, and Phoenix in the West. People of European ancestry, including Hispanics, make up about 75% of the U.S. population. Hispanics include people of Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban ancestry. African-Americans account for 12% of the population, and Asians 3.5%. American Indians make up about 1% and other groups combine to make the remaining 8.5%. There is no official language in the United States. More than 80% of the people speak English and 12% speak Spanish. Languages spoken in the United States include Chinese, French, German, and about two dozen others. The largest single religious group in the United States are Catholics, who make up approximately 25 percent of the population. A little over half the population identify themselves as belonging to various non-Catholic Christian churches. The next three largest religious groups are Jews (approximately 1.4 percent), Muslims (approximately .5 percent) and Buddhists (approximately .5 percent). The United States Constitution provides for freedom of religion and there is no official national religion.
It is only normal that our attention should focus on the use of the Armed Forces of the United States. However, we need to remember the military instrument of national power is most effective when used with, and in support of, the other instruments. In using the military instrument of national power, the Armed Forces maintain the values and constitutional principles of American society. While responsibility for using the other instruments of power rests with the Nation's political leadership, U.S. military leaders are responsible for providing advice on how to best combine the use of the military instrument with the other instruments of national power.
Economic instrument of national power: The economic instrument is influenced, but not controlled, by the Government Individuals and entities have broad freedom of action to pursue their economic goals The Government is responsible for supporting economic and trade relationships worldwide A strong domestic economy that has free access to global markets is a cornerstone of national security The military coordinates with other agencies responsible for using the economic instrument to promote unity of action Support of the economic instrument is coordinated through the National Security Council The economic instrument of national power is influenced, but not controlled, by governmental agencies. In keeping with U.S. values and constitutional requirements, American individuals and entities have broad freedom of action in pursuing their economic goals. The U.S. Government's responsibility is to support economic and trade relationships worldwide that advance America's fundamental national objectives. These objectives are broad, and generally seek to promote the general welfare and support national interests. A strong domestic economy that has free access to global markets and resources is a cornerstone of our Nation's security. The Armed Forces coordinate with other agencies responsible for using the economic instrument to promote unity of action. This coordination is accomplished through the National Security Council.
Edward Preble
Edward Preble Transformed the defense of American commerce into an aggressive blockade and bombardment in War with Tripoli. Trained and inspired young officers who led the Navy in the War of 1812.
Between the War of 1812 and the Civil War, the Navy had a variety of missions:
Enforcement of anti-slave trade laws Suppression of piracy Fight Native Americans Protect and promote commerce
Final Offensive: Battle of Iwo Jima (February 1945) — Fierce fighting on land — Kamikaze attack sank one U.S. carrier — No serious opposition to sea or air control Battle of Okinawa (March - June 1945) — Largest amphibious operation in the Pacific War — First operation in the Japanese home islands — Kamikaze and other air attacks sunk or seriously damaged over 30 ships, and damaged over 300 others — Last major battle of World War II
Even while fighting continued in the Philippines, the U.S. advance toward Japan continued. In February, 1945, Fifth Fleet—with over 800 ships—landed Marines on the island of Iwo Jima. In the month needed to secure the island, nearly one-third of the Marines participating in the battle became casualties. Although Fifth Fleet lost one carrier to kamikaze attack, it had no serious opposition in controlling the sea and air. Continuing on closer to Japan, Fifth Fleet, after nearly a week of intense bombardment by ships and aircraft, launched the largest amphibious assault during the war in the Pacific on the Japanese island of Okinawa. During this operation, Fifth Fleet had over 1,400 ships and craft at its disposal. Kamikaze and other air attacks resulted in over 30 ships being sunk or put out of action and over 300 damaged. Although the fighting on the island was fierce, resistance all but ceased by July.
Historians and military leaders have studied past wars in hopes of uncovering the underlying principles that might explain the foundation of victory or the root cause of defeat. Once discovered, those underlying principles then serve as a framework for conducting future operations. The nine principles of war guide commanders at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels, and are the enduring bedrock of U.S. military doctrine. The principles do not apply in the same way to every situation, and blind adherence to them can be problematic. Instead, the principles of war should be viewed for what they are: a summary of the characteristics of successful military operations. The principles of war should be reexamined after the introduction of new technology or new cultural influences. In other words, they should evolve. In the maritime environment, with its distinctive factors, naval commanders fight using the principles that apply to combat everywhere. Wisdom gained from study of the basic principles of war underscores that war is not the business of managers with checklists; it is the art of leaders and warriors. No one principle is universally more important than another, and often times, are in contradiction. Paradoxically, adherence to one principle frequently demands violation of another.
Every military operation should be directed toward a clearly defined, decisive, and attainable objective. Military commanders focus their operations to achieve political purposes defined at the strategic level. With national strategic purposes identified, they select military objectives and form operational and tactical objectives based on specific missions and capabilities. Whether the objective is destroying an enemy's armed forces or merely disrupting his ability to use his forces effectively, objectives must directly, quickly, and economically contribute to the purpose of the operation. The most significant preparation a commander can make is to express clearly the objective of the operation to subordinate commanders. Commanders should avoid actions that do not contribute directly to achieving the objective.
In order to build confidence, trust, and strengthen alliances and partnerships with other nations. Maritime forces will require an unprecedented level of integration and enhanced cooperation with other instruments of national power and international partners. Seapower will become a unifying force for building a better tomorrow.
Expansion of the global economic system, free trade, and expanding marine activities has increased the prosperity of many nations. However, their continued growth may create increasing competition for resources and capital with other economic powers. This increased competition, coupled with scarcity, may encourage nations to exert wider claims of sovereignty over greater expanses of oceans and natural resources. While aspects of expansion offer new opportunities for growth, they are also a potential source of conflict.
The Iraqi economy was severely weakened by the war with Iran, and the regime of Saddam Hussein became widely unpopular. To divert attention from Iraq's domestic problems, and to punish its small, oil-rich neighbor Kuwait for depressing the price of oil, Hussein ordered his imposing military to invade and annex Kuwait in August 1990. In response, a diverse international coalition led by the U.S. launched an air attack against Iraq in January 1991. After a brief ground war in February, the coalition soundly defeated Iraqi forces and liberated Kuwait. In October 2001, as retaliation for its support of Al-Qaeda, the terrorist organization responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks on America, the United States commenced military operations against the ultra-Islamic fundamentalist government of Afghanistan, called the Taliban. The Taliban was quickly defeated and a new democratic government was set up, but resistance continued for years, coming from deep in the Afghan mountains. The moderate Hamid Karzi assumed office as the first president of Afghanistan, and in 2005, Afghanistan and the United States signed an agreement to maintain a long-term relationship. The United States is investing considerable funds to help rebuild the country, which has been in civil or international war since the late 1970's. Control of ongoing combat operations has been handed over to NATO.
Following the Persian Gulf War, the UN imposed severe economic and military sanctions on Iraq, still ruled by Saddam Hussein. When Iraq did not comply with these sanctions, either by violating the no-fly zone established to protect oppressed groups, by firing on the allied aircraft enforcing the no-fly zone, or by selling oil on the black market, the UN member nations tried to find, but could not agree on an appropriate response. After the shock of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when credible evidence started to accumulate that Iraq was reestablishing and enlarging its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) program, the United States found it to be a credible threat and decided to act, with or without international support. The evidence that the WMD program was active consisted of eyewitness reports and Iraq's denial of access to UN weapons inspectors. Despite ongoing combat operations in Afghanistan, President Bush did not want to risk an attack by terrorists supported by Saddam Hussein. In March 2003 U.S.-led forces invaded Iraq and overthrew the Hussein regime within three weeks. Although significant evidence has been unearthed showing the extreme oppressive measures used by Hussein, little evidence was found that Iraq possessed WMDs or the production facilities needed to manufacture them. However, U.S. and coalition forces did set up a democratic government in Iraq that represents the traditional rival groups of Kurdish, Shiite, and Sunni Muslims. Combat operations are ongoing to fight an entrenched insurgency and stabilize the new Iraqi government. Languages spoken in the Greater Middle East are varied in origin. Each country may have dozens of separate languages and tribal dialects, particularly among rural tribes and villages. The majority of the population in the Middle East speak Arabic. Arabs account for nearly the entire populations of Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the states of the Arabian Peninsula, and about 75% of the population of Iraq. Farsi, also known as Persian, is spoken by descendants of the pre-Islamic people of Iran, about 60% of the current population. Kurdish is spoken by Kurds in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and in the highest concentration in eastern Turkey, where Kurds account for about 19% of the population. Turkish is spoken primarily in Turkey. Since the reforms of the 1920's, Turkey has used a Romanized alphabet, rather than Arabic script. Turkmen is spoken in northern portions of the Middle East and central Asia, including Iran, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan. Turkmen and Turkish are related languages. Hebrew and Arabic are Israel's official languages. Yiddish and Russian are also commonly spoken in Israel, owing to the migration of eastern Europeans to Israel following World War II. India currently has sixteen official languages. Among the most commonly spoken languages are Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Gujarati, Kannada, Punjabi, and English. Pakistan has Urdu as the national language, while English is the official language. Punjabi is also commonly spoken. English and/or French are frequently spoken by the middle and upper classes in major urban areas in most of the Greater Middle East.
A couple of graphics may help clarify the complimentary roles of civilian agencies and the DOD. This graphic is a good way of depicting the inter-relationship between DOD's role in homeland security and homeland defense, and the large part of homeland security that is left purely to the civilian sector. This screen is a graphical look at the delineation of "lead" responsibility, intended to show that the nature of the threat and/or the capability appropriate to counter it determines whether a specific instance is homeland security or homeland defense. Such a depiction helps with a basic understanding of the division of responsibilities between DOD (mostly USNORTHCOM) and the Federal/state/local entities (led by DHS, but really a national effort). It should be noted that in Joint Doctrine, the command relationships "supported and supporting" are defined and understood. In the civilian lexicon, there is an LFA designated and everyone else coordinates or cooperates.
For much of its existence as a sovereign nation, the U.S. has enjoyed the benefits of its geographic location in the world. Long protected from foreign invaders by two vast oceans, and with an economy expanding, in fact dependent, on sea-borne international trade, the nation is clearly predominantly maritime in nature. Such a characterization has perhaps been best captured by the preeminent American naval thinker, Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan. Much of his writing focuses on the attributes that identify the United States as a maritime nation, and how the nation could best exploit and protect its position on the ever more competitive world stage. Technology, however, has eliminated some of our previously enviable advantages. Air travel and high speed shipping, among others, have effectively shrunk the nation's oceanic barriers. Additionally, the sheer volume of commerce entering the country makes effective policing of all vessels an incredibly complex undertaking.
The Marine Expeditionary Unit,, or "MEU," is the standard forward-deployed Marine expeditionary organization. Forward-deployed MEUs provide an immediate sea-based response to meet forward presence and power projection requirements. Note that when a MEU includes a Marine Special Operations Command detachment, it is titled a MEU (SOC). A MEU is commanded by a colonel and deploys with 15 days of supplies, and is normally composed of: A command element that may include additional capabilities such as command and control assets, force reconnaissance company detachments, and signals intelligence capabilities. A GCE composed of an infantry battalion reinforced with artillery, reconnaissance, engineer, tanks, light and heavy armor, and assault amphibian units. An ACE composed of a combat assault and transport helicopter squadron reinforced with utility and attack helicopters, vertical/short takeoff and landing fixed-wing attack aircraft, aerial refueling aircraft, and other attachments as required. The ACE brings a Command and Control slice as well as a Marine Wing Support Squadron capability that allows it to build and operate from an austere airfield. An LCE task organized around a Combat Logistics Battalion. This element will provide general support combat service support to the MEU and have engineering, supply, transportation, landing support, medical services, and maintenance capabilities.
Forward deployed MEUs are embarked aboard Expeditionary Strike Groups, and operate continuously in the geographic regions where quick response forces may be needed. These units provide the President and the Combatant Commanders with forward-deployed units that can conduct a variety of quick reaction, sea-based, crisis-response options in either a conventional amphibious role or in the execution of maritime special operations. MEUs normally operate continuously in the Mediterranean, the western Pacific, and the Indian Ocean or Arabian Gulf regions. During the global war on terror, it has been common for one and sometimes two MEU (SOC)s to be chopped to the U.S. Central Command, and for a MEU (SOC) to be deployed ashore. This is a significant commitment because it takes away the affected theater commander's on-site operational reserve. Prior to deployment, the MEU undergoes an intensive six-month training program focused on its conventional and selected maritime special operations missions. This training culminates with a thorough evaluation and certification process. During this process, a MEU must demonstrate competence across the entire spectrum of required capabilities, be able to plan and execute any assigned mission within six hours of notification, and conduct multiple missions concurrently. Specific MEU and MEU (SOC) missions include: amphibious operations (to include raids, limited objective assaults, and demonstrations); direct action missions; tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; airfield and port seizure; non-combatant evacuation operations; humanitarian aid and disaster relief; and supporting arms coordination. The MEU (SOC)s are also capable of conducting maritime interdiction operations and gas and oil platform operations, and routinely provide mobile training teams during coalition exercises as part of a unified commander's theater security cooperation plan.
The Navy's Cold War mission was to enforce containment of the USSR and its allies through:
Forward deployment of Naval forces to the periphery of Communist bloc nations Deployment at sea of carriers with nuclear-capable attack planes and nuclear-armed submarines to deter Soviet nuclear attack Maintenance of sea control in the world's oceans Military support for America's allies
Wars and Operations - The War for Independence (1775-1783)
From 1775 to 1783, America attacked British commerce by going after its merchant ships, forcing the enemy to divert naval forces from blockading the American coast
Marianas and the Battle of the Philippine Sea
General Douglas MacArthur advanced through eastern New Guinea and prepared to invade the Philippines. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz opened a major drive through the Central Pacific. General Douglas MacArthur advanced through eastern New Guinea and prepared to invade the Philippines. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz opened a major drive through the Central Pacific.
Support is also a command authority and is established by a superior commander between subordinate commands when one organization is needed to aid, protect, complement, or sustain another. Support relationships may be established at any echelon of command from combatant commands on down to an individual ship or unit. For example, during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, the U.S. European Command (along with several other combatant commands) was directed to provide support to the U.S. Central Command. There are four sub-sets of support: general, mutual, direct, or close. Select the links for more about each one.
General support is support which is given to the supported force as a whole, rather than to a particular subdivision thereof. An example of this would be U.S. Transportation Command's support of a geographic combatant commander's operation by providing strategic lift for the forces and equipment. Mutual support is support which units render each other against an enemy because of their assigned tasks, their position relative to each other and to the enemy, and their inherent capabilities. An example of mutual support would be two Army divisions fighting line abreast. Each would support the other by covering their flank and providing fires as necessary. Direct support is a mission requiring a force to support another force and authorizing it to answer directly to the supported force's request for assistance. For example, a division's artillery may be placed in direct support of a specific brigade allowing that brigade to call on the supporting unit for fire whenever needed without going through the division's request system. Another example is a submarine assigned in direct support of a surface action group. Close support is the action of the supporting force against targets or objectives that are sufficiently near the supported force as to require detailed integration or coordination of the supporting action with the fire, movement, or other actions of the force. An example would be naval gunfire support in close proximity to land forces or aircraft attacking an adversary's position close to the friendly ground forces.
During the antebellum years, the Navy grew and made significant contributions to the sciences:
Geography Astronomy Navigation Oceanography Ordnance Revolutionary changes were made in propulsion, ordnance, and ship design as the age of steam and rifled ordnance developed.
American sea power alone did not secure independence. France, Spain, and the Netherlands assisted with their navies. A superior French fleet, led by the Count de Grasse, arrived off the Virginia Capes and held off a British squadron, thus sealing the fate of the British Army at Yorktown. Lord Cornwallis, realizing he could not retreat by sea, surrendered to General Washington's forces.
George Washington observed, "Sea power proved the pivot on which everything turned."
The Air Force employs seven tenets of airpower that are central to their doctrine and complement the principles of war. While the principles of war provide general guidance on the application of military forces, these tenets provide more specific considerations for employing airpower, reflecting the lessons of airpower operations in history. The Air Force views airpower as the synergistic application of air, space, and cyberspace capabilities to project global strategic military power that exploits the vertical dimension to leverage elevation, speed, and range across the operational environment. Click on the tabs to the left to see a description of each tenet. Centralized Control - All air forces should have a single commander because a single air commander, focused on the broader aspects of an operation, can best mediate the competing demands for air and space support against the strategic and operational requirements of the conflict. Delegating execution of air and space power achieves effective span of control and to foster disciplined initiative, situational responsiveness, and tactical flexibility. It allows subordinates to exploit opportunities in rapidly changing, fluid situations. Flexibility - Flexibility allows air and space operations to shift from one campaign objective to another, quickly and decisively; to "go downtown" on one sortie, then hit fielded enemy forces the next; to re-roll assets quickly from a preplanned mission to support an unanticipated need for close air support of friendly troops in contact with enemy forces. Versatility is the ability to employ air and space power effectively at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels of warfare. Synergistic Effects - Air and space power's overwhelming ability to observe adversaries allows us to counter their movements with unprecedented speed and agility. The proper application of a coordinated force can produce effects that exceed the contributions of forces employed individually. Persistence - Air, space, and information operations may be conducted continuously against a broad spectrum of targets. Air and space power's exceptional speed and range allow its forces to visit and revisit wide ranges of targets nearly at will. Air and space power does not have to occupy terrain or remain constantly in proximity to areas of operation to bring force upon targets. Space forces in particular hold the ultimate high ground. Concentration - One of the most constant and important trends throughout military history has been the effort to concentrate overwhelming power at the decisive time and place. The range and speed of Air and Space forces enable concentration. On the other hand, the demand for these forces may often exceed the available forces and result in the fragmentation of the integrated air and space effort in attempts to fulfill the many competing demands. Depending on the operational situation, such a course of action may court the triple risk of failing to achieve operational-level objectives, delaying or diminishing the attainment of decisive effects, and increasing the attrition rate of air forces-and consequently risking defeat. Priority - This tenet complements concentration. The air commander should assess the possible uses of his forces and their strengths and capabilities to support the overall joint campaign, air operations, and the battle at hand. Limited resources require that air and space forces be applied where they can make the greatest contribution to the most critical current Joint Force Commander. Balance - An air commander must balance combat opportunity, necessity, effectiveness, efficiency, and the impact on accomplishing assigned objectives against the associated risk to friendly air and space forces.
Given the Air Force's mission and tenets, certain requirements become clear: Developing trained airman and leaders, leveraging technology, and maximizing joint warfighting capability. These are the Air Force's institutional core competencies, forming the foundation upon which they organize, train, and equip their force. They are the cornerstone of its strength as a military service. First, the men and women of the Air Force are the real source of its combat capability. They alone make strategy, technology, and organization valuable. The total force of Active, Guard, Reserve, and Civilian personnel is the Air Force's largest investment and most critical asset. Therefore, from the moment people step into the Air Force, and throughout their careers, the Service strives to give them the education, training, and professional development necessary to provide a quality edge second to none. This alone will yield a full spectrum of Air Force capabilities. Second, the Air Force believes in technology. In the hands of trained and educated Airmen, technology is a force multiplier. Many of the Service's airframes, munitions, networks, and systems leverage technology to enhance warfighting capabilities—like the Joint Direct Attack Munition, Global Positioning System, F-22, Joint Strike Fighter, etc. Third, integrating all those capabilities into a synergistic, combat-capable whole is pivotal to success. That's a big challenge given the myriad systems and expertise available. Airmen must envision, experiment, and ultimately execute missions using the Air Force's many capabilities.
To be effective, there must be an increased commitment to advance maritime domain awareness and expand intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capability. New partnerships with the world's maritime commercial interests and the maritime forces of participating nations will reduce the dangerous anonymity of the seaborne transportation of people and cargos. Maritime forces will contribute at all times with enhanced information sharing which in turn will energize our capability to neutralize threats to our nation as far from our shores as possible.
Given the disbursed nature of the forces executing this new and enduring strategy, we must properly prepare Sailors, Marines, and Coastguardsmen for the challenges ahead. Maritime forces will normally operate in a less concentrated manner than they do today and junior leaders will be entrusted with a higher level of responsibility and authority. Operations as an integrated team require improved mutual understanding of respective service which will be achieved through interagency teaming of students and instructors throughout training, education, and staff assignments.
Today, the United States and its partners are competing for global influence. Our challenge is to apply seapower in a manner that protects U.S. vital interests, even as it promotes greater collective security, stability, and trust. While defending our homeland and defeating adversaries in war remain the indisputable ends of seapower, it must be applied more broadly if it is to serve the national interest. In other words, we believe that preventing wars is as important as winning wars.
Guided by the objectives articulated in the National Security Strategy, National Defense Strategy, National Military Strategy, and the National Strategy for Maritime Security, the Navy, Marine Corp, and Coast Guard will use the full range of military operations to secure the U.S. from direct attack, secure strategic access of the high seas, and retain global freedom of action.
The United States Pacific Command's, or USPACOM's, AOR stretches from the West Coast of the United States mainland to the East Coast of Africa and from the Arctic to the Antarctic, including the state of Hawaii and the forces in Alaska. It includes 43 countries, 20 territories and possessions, and covers more than 50 percent of the earth's surface and nearly 60 percent of the world's population. Like other regional combatant commands, USPACOM focuses its efforts on engagement with military forces in the AOR in order to enhance regional security and deter aggression. Headquartered in Hawaii, USPACOM's 300,000 military personnel represent 20 percent of all active duty forces, with approximately 100,000 of them forward deployed.
Headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, U.S. Central Command's, or USCENTCOM's, AOR includes 27 culturally and economically diverse nations located throughout the Horn of Africa, South and Central Asia, and Northern Red Sea regions, as well as the Arabian Peninsula, and Iraq. Organized as a headquarters element, USCENTCOM has no war fighting units permanently assigned to it. Instead, all four Military Services provide USCENTCOM with component commands, which along with a joint special operations component, make up USCENTCOM's primary war fighting and engagement organizations. The USCENTCOM's AOR has continued to grow in importance and is the overseas area where U.S. interests are most likely to be directly threatened. Maintaining stability in this volatile region is key to the free flow of oil and other commerce essential to the world economy. With these national interests in mind, USCENTCOM's mission is to enhance regional stability and demonstrate a steadfast commitment to regional security.
Headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has two main elements of its mission. First and foremost, they plan, direct, and execute the Global War on Terrorism as the lead combatant command. They focus on the disruption, defeat, and destruction of terrorists and terrorism around the globe. Second, they have a unique Service-like responsibility to train, equip, and provide combat-ready special operations forces to geographic combatant commanders, American ambassadors, and their country teams. USSOCOM is small and unique. The advantage in their size enables them to combine their Service-like force provider role with their supported warfighter role in unique ways, allowing them to act aggressively with speed, creativity, and boldness.
Headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, the U.S. Strategic Command, or USSTRATCOM, is the command and control center for U.S. strategic forces. They control military space operations, computer network operations, information operations, strategic warning, and intelligence assessments as well as global strategic planning. USSTRATCOM is responsible for both early warning of, and defense against, missile attack and long-range conventional attacks, and is also charged with deterring and defending against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Third Fleet AOR: Approximately 50 million square miles Eastern Pacific Ocean West coast of the United States Headquarters in San Diego, California
Headquartered in San Diego, California, today's Third Fleet is responsible for an AOR encompassing approximately 50 million square miles of the eastern Pacific Ocean from the international date line to the west coast of the United States, meeting with Fourth Fleet's AOR in South and Central America. Major oil and trade sea lines of communication within this area are critically important to the economic health of the United States and friendly nations throughout the Pacific Rim region.
Matthew Calbraith Perry
His naval service included the: War of 1812 Suppression of pirates Anti-slave patrols Establishment of West African settlements for freed African Americans Commanding the Gulf Squadron in the Mexican war Perry is called the "Father of the Steam Navy." His most significant achievement was opening Japan to American commerce, winning the Japanese guarantee for protection of U. S. citizens and American access to two Japanese ports. Two years later the Japanese permitted trade.
Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan published The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, which influenced the modern development of the Navy. Mahan's theory was proven in the Spanish-American War with the sinking of the USS Maine in the harbor of Havana, Cuba.
His theory of Sea Power argued that control of the sea by a powerful fleet could: Prevent an invasion of the United States Protect America's oceangoing trade Help defeat any enemy nation that had overseas colonies and commercial interests The U.S. Navy defeated enemy fleets in Manila Bay and Santiago de Cuba. Spain lost control of the sea and could not attack the U.S. or reinforce Spanish troops in its colonies: Cuba Puerto Rico Philippines
A heritage developed in those conflicts is embodied in today's Navy core values:
Honor Courage Commitment
The Security Cooperation MAGTF is not yet a realized capability, but is part of an emerging Marine Corps operational employment concept called "The Long War Concept." The Security Cooperation MAGTF, which is comparable in size and composition to the MEU, but will be specifically tailored to address the Geographic Combatant Commander's security cooperation tasks. They will have lower firepower requirements and focus on how to best support efforts to build partner capacity, support partner nation security efforts, and-when required and funded-provide mobile training teams to support foreign internal defense. The Marine Corps also fields a few specialized forces, that unlike the rest of Marine' forces, will often be employed outside of the MAGTF construct due to their distinct capabilities.
II MEF has three unique battalions of Marines with special training and capabilities. The Security Force Battalion trains and equips Marines and Sailors for anti-terrorism and physical security missions to protect designated naval or national assets worldwide. The 2,300 Marines and Sailors of this Norfolk-based battalion now serve 72 U.S. Navy bases around the globe. The Battalion also fields three Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team or "FAST" companies that provide rapid, limited duration, global expeditionary contingency response. The Chemical Biological Incident Response Force or "CBIRF" can respond to a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high yield explosive incident in order to assist first responders and the regional combatant commander in consequence management. They are capable of responding to an incident within a matter of hours, and routinely deploy for National Special Security Events. Their response capability was demonstrated in 2001 and 2004 with the Anthrax and Ricin decontamination operations of the U.S. Senate office buildings on Capitol Hill.
In August 1990, Saddam Hussein threatened peace when his armed forces swiftly conquered Kuwait. With the U.S. in the lead, the UN:
Imposed an economic embargo on Iraq Demanded Saddam withdraw from Kuwait Deployed ground, air, and naval forces to the region
In 1776, Turtle, America's first submarine, designed by
In 1776, Turtle, America's first submarine, designed by David Bushnell, failed to attach a powder charge to a British ship in New York Harbor. In 1778, Bushnell floated mines down the Delaware River in a futile attempt to destroy British warships in Philadelphia.
In 1805
In 1805, the Pasha agreed to a treaty, which called for a ransom for the POWs but no more tribute payments.
In 1814
In 1814, after Napolean was defeated, the British had thousands of soldiers available. For the Americans, it now became a matter of defending against invasion.
In 1814, the Treaty of Ghent provided for the
In 1814, the Treaty of Ghent provided for the status quo ante bellum—no adjustment of national boundaries.
Theodore Roosevelt and other "Navalists" persuaded Americans to build a powerful blue-water navy of heavily armed steel battleships.
In 1889, eleven nations had fleets larger than the U.S. But, in less than two decades, only the British Royal Navy was larger.
In 1898, following the sinking of the battleship USS Maine in Havana harbor, the United States declared war on Spain. The Navy's North Atlantic Squadron, along with what was called the "Flying Squadron," blockaded the Spanish fleet in Cuba and in the resulting Battle of Santiago harbor obtained a lopsided victory in which every Spanish ship was either sunk or run aground. Reinforcing the American forces during this battle was the new battleship USS Oregon which had traveled from Seattle, around South America and up to Cuba—a 14,000-mile journey that took 67 days. This journey was an impressive feat—but the time required became a factor in the decision to build an Atlantic to Pacific canal. Completed in 1914, the Panama Canal gave the Navy the ability to more rapidly transfer ships between the two oceans—as an example, the Oregon would have been able to complete its epic journey in less than one third the time if the canal had been available in 1898.
In 1906, the Atlantic Fleet was formed by combining the North Atlantic Squadron (which had been renamed North Atlantic Fleet in 1902), the European Squadron, and the South Atlantic Squadron. During the First World War, nearly every ship in the Navy belonged to the Atlantic Fleet. The Navy's role during this conflict was to provide convoy escort, transport the American Expeditionary Forces to Europe, and patrol for German submarines. The Atlantic Fleet also sent four battleships to serve under the British Grand Fleet as its Sixth Battle Squadron.
Key Events
In 1987, Iran menaced U.S. and international interests in the Persian Gulf. Ayatollah Khomeini attempted to prevent Iraq from shipping its oil overseas. President Ronald Reagan decided the U.S. could not stand by as Iran attacked shipping and threatened global economic systems that depended on Middle Eastern oil and ordered the Navy to escort Kuwaiti ships loaded with Iraqi oil through the gulf. Despite damage to U.S. naval vessels from Iranian mines in the "Tanker War" of 1987 and 1988, U.S. forces kept the sea-lanes open.
Beginning in 1979, several events occurred that led to a significant increase in the U.S. naval presence in the area. In January 1979, the Shah of Iran, after battling widespread unrest in his country, fled to Egypt. Iran, a longtime U.S. ally and buffer between the Soviet Union and the oil rich Middle East, became, almost overnight, an anti-Western/anti-United States nation. Up until this time, the U.S. considered Iran one of the "two pillars" that would maintain stability in the region, the other being Saudi Arabia. Responding to this crisis, the Navy soon had two carrier battle groups in the Arabian Sea—a massive buildup of forces from the handful of ships that normally operated in the area. In November 1979 a militant student group, with backing from the government, took over the United States embassy in Tehran and took 66 American hostages. In April 1980, Operation EAGLE CLAW, a highly complicated rescue operation involving Navy helicopters from USS Nimitz flown by Marine crews, Air Force transport planes, and Army special forces troops, was launched. After one helicopter was forced to turn back and mechanical problems rendered two more unsafe to fly, the mission was aborted. While organizing the retrograde movement from a refueling spot deep in Iran, one helicopter lost control and collided with a parked transport plane—killing eight and destroying both aircraft. While a disaster, many credit the lessons learned from this operation with the increased emphasis on training for joint operations—training that would pay dividends in the future. In January 1981, after diplomatic negotiations, and embroiled in a war with Iraq, Iran agreed to free the hostages.
In December, 1979, the Soviet Union, in order to prop up a communist government in Afghanistan amid an Islamic insurgency and concerned about what it saw as increased U.S. influence in the Middle East and Southwest Asia, invaded that country. Soviet military presence in Afghanistan soon reached approximately 100,000 troops. In response to this, then President Jimmy Carter announced a new policy that became known as the "Carter Doctrine." Referring to the Soviet invasion, he stated: "An attempt by an outside force to gain control of the Arabian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force." To underscore this, the United States Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force (RDJTF) was established with its primary mission focused exclusively on deployment to the Middle East and Southwest Asia. This command was redesignated in 1983 as the United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a regional unified command. In 1989, after suffering over 400,000 casualties (including nearly 14,000 deaths) the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan which led to continued internal fighting and the rise of the Taliban.
In June 1812
In June 1812, the U.S. declared war on Great Britian in an attempt to compel it to recognize America's right to ply the seas. However, its campaign to conquer Canada failed and the U.S. surrendered an army to British forces within the first six months. Indeed, the only positive results of the war for the U.S. were these single-ship victories: Constitution over HMS Guerriere United States over HMS Macedonian Constitution over HMS Java
The U.S. Navy was a vital instrument of U.S. foreign policy in the Persian Gulf in 1987 and 1988.
In Operation EARNEST WILL, U.S. naval units escorted Kuwaiti oil tankers flying the American flag through the Persian Gulf to protect them from: Iranian sea mines Silkworm missiles Fast attack craft
A wide range of political systems exist in the Greater Middle East, including constitutional and absolute monarchies, Islamic republics, parliamentary democracies, and republics. The laws of many Middle Eastern countries are heavily influenced by the dictates and interpretations of Islam. In addition, government and civic policies are often heavily influenced by religious leaders. The right to vote is not universal; in some countries women may not vote or have voting restrictions. In general, the rights of women in the Middle East are significantly less than in western democracies. Middle Eastern states have struggled in the post-colonial era to develop their natural and human resources and to raise their standards of living across the population. Some states have made progress in areas like education and capital investment paid for by oil exports. However, frequent wars, corrupt or imbalanced governments, and conflicting influences from governments outside the region have impeded development in many countries. The vast gap between the wealthy and poor in many Islamic states has led to discontent, mistrust of the West, and subsequent social and political instability.
In September 1960, the governments of Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela met in Baghdad to discuss the reduction in price of crude oil produced by their respective countries. As a result, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was founded to unify and coordinate members' petroleum policies. OPEC is made up of Iraq, Indonesia, Iran, Kuwait, Libya, Angola, Algeria, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. The organization has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, hosting regular meetings between the oil ministers of its member states. The principle aims of the organization are determining the best means for safeguarding their interests, individually and collectively; devising ways and means of ensuring the stabilization of prices in international oil markets with a view to eliminating harmful and unnecessary fluctuations; giving due regard at all times to the interests of the producing nations and to the necessity of securing a steady income to the producing countries; an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consuming nations, and a fair return on capital to those investing in the petroleum industry. OPEC has manipulated oil prices or distribution for political purposes, primarily because of issues stemming from the Arab-Israeli conflict. Since most OPEC members are Arab, they have attempted to use economic pressure via oil production manipulation to reduce international support for Israel.
Radar at Sea
In World War Two, American science and industry provided the U.S. Navy with a wide array of increasingly sophisticated weapons systems. Combatants were equipped with sophisticated surface search, air search, and fire control radars.
The AEF structure provides 10 combat lead wings and five Mobility Lead Wings. These lead units are responsible for the administration and deployment planning for each AEF. The actual forces that make up the AEF come from a cross-section of the Total Force. The AEF Rotation concept is similar in design to the Navy's Carrier Strike Group rotations, but the timing is different. Each AEF can plan to have 22 months of normal training and exercises from their home locations, followed by a 2-month workup and a 6-month deployed or on-call period. This cycle can compress as required in times of higher operations tempo. As mentioned earlier, those assets and units that actually deploy will make up an Air & Space Expeditionary Task Force, or AETF. In addition, certain high-demand capabilities are designated "enablers," and can expect not to have the same cycle predictability as the rest of the force. Examples include special operations, global mobility, and global strike capabilities.
In addition to combat power, each AETF comes with its own combat support forces. Because of its size, an AETF will require one main operating base, a bomber follow-on base—if bombers are part of the force—and at least two other limited operations bases. The key point to remember is that planners should not expect the entire force to operate from a single base. While the AETF rotation concept solves the problem of reduced permanent overseas basing, the significant amount of deploying and redeploying that results, does take a lot of strategic lift. During contingency deployment operations, the sequencing of forces to be deployed, and the assignment of strategic lift, are established in the Time phased Force Deployment Data, or TPFDD, at the direction of the combatant commander.
There are four types of Marine Air Ground Task Forces. In descending order of size, they are the Marine Expeditionary Force, or "MEF"; the Marine Expeditionary Brigade, or "MEB"; the Marine Expeditionary Unit, or "MEU"; and the Special Purpose MAGTF. In the following screens, we will discuss the characteristics, capabilities, and limitations of each in some detail. As we discuss these MAGTFs keep in mind that only MEFs and MEUs have permanent Command Element staffs. MEBs and Special MAGTFs do not. The MEF is the Corps' principal warfighting organization. As a repository of command, control, ground, air, and logistics combat power, it can be assembled in any number of ways to address a multitude of missions, and is capable of conducting and sustaining expeditionary operations in any geographic environment. MEFs are the sole "standing MAGTFs." That is, they exist in peacetime as well as wartime. The size and composition of a MEF can vary greatly depending on the requirements of the mission. A MEF is normally commanded by a lieutenant general, and is typically composed of a standing command element, a GCE of one or more divisions, an ACE of one or more aircraft wings, and an LCE of one or more logistics groups. This slide indicates the standing MEF configuration of one division, one wing, and one logistics group, but there are current theater contingency plans that have MEFs employing as many as four divisions and two air wings. The MEF employed during Operation Desert Storm, which had two divisions and two logistics groups, serves as a case in point.
In addition to exercising command and control of its own units, a MEF can also integrate units from other standing MEFs, the Marine Corps Forces Reserve, other Services and nations, and the Special Operations Command. The MEF in Desert Storm, for example, included the Army's Tiger Brigade, and the MEF in Operation Iraqi Freedom included British forces. The MEF typically deploys by echelon with 60 days of sustainment, but it can extend operations with external support from other U.S. Services or through host nation support agreements. With robust command and control capabilities, the MEF is capable of forming the nucleus for a joint task force or functional component headquarters. MEFs are designed to fight in depth throughout a single, indivisible battlespace. They do not break the fight down into the ACE taking the deep fight, the GCE taking the close fight, and the LCE protecting the rear. Not to fight in depth is to not fully employ the MEF. Although a standing MEF is roughly equivalent in combat power to an Army corps for planning purposes, it must be noted that a MEF can be more or less suitable than an Army corps depending on the mission at hand. An Army corps is made up of three to five divisions that are similar in constitution and mission. A MEF is an asymmetrical corps composed of dissimilar units with various capabilities and, as such, a MEF can be task organized to address any number of missions. It is important to recognize a few things that the MEF is not. The MEF is not a command element designed to act as a referee between components or subordinate commands. The MEF generates its own concept of operations and the subordinate commands must develop their plans to support that concept of operations. It is the MEF commander's fight. Additionally, as we will see in later slides, the MEF is not simply a collection of nine MEUs.
U.S. Naval Leaders and the Pacific Campaign
In addition to the dedication, bravery, and self-sacrifice of American Sailors and Marines, skillful leadership accounted for the victory of U.S. and Allied arms in the Pacific war. Ernest J. King Chester W. Nimitz Raymond A. Spruance
This screen illustrates a typical mix of forces found in an AEF. Each deployment is tailored to meet the needs of the supported combatant commander, and the deploying units will constitute an Air & Space Expeditionary Task Force, or AETF. You can see the size of the combat force - 19,000 people in AEF 1 and 16,400 in AEF 2. AEF 1 appears to be heavier in fighters than AEF 2, and AEF 2 has its own B-1 bomber contingent. In this example, AEF 1 has loaned some of its A10s to AEF 2. ECS, or Expeditionary Combat Support, are small teams and individuals from a wide spectrum of bases to provide support functions such as security, administration, and food services. The 305th Air Mobility Wing provides assets to both AEFs 1 and 2. Additionally, the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard, as indicated by the red and yellow units, make significant contributions to the AEFs, especially in the areas of air refueling and intra-theater airlift.
In addition to the inherent combat power, each AETF deploys with a complement of assets for Battle Management; Intelligence; Surveillance and Reconnaissance; and Combat Search and Rescue. AWACS and the air communications squadron can provide 24 hour battle management coverage. Through judicious planning and scheduling, the combination of U2s, EC135 Rivet Joints, and the Predator UAV can provide round the clock ISR coverage. The organic CSAR package maintains normal alert status throughout the operational periods, but if launched, requires 12 hours to regenerate. Within a 24 hour strike window, one AETF will normally generate 170 strike sorties against 200 targets. Steady state conditions typically allow for 12 hours of operations every day; however, the AETF can surge to 24 hour ops.
The legal basis for Service functions is contained in Department of Defense Directive 5100.1. The functions listed for each of the Services both restate those Title 10 roles assigned by Congress, and provide more specific responsibilities and capabilities for which each Service is charged with "organizing, training, and equipping" their forces. For the Department of the Navy, nineteen primary functions are specified. Of these, one details three USMC-specific tasks while another outlines Coast Guard functions if assigned to the Navy during wartime. The remaining seventeen outline a variety of Navy and/or Marine Corps functions. Of particular importance to our senior Navy leaders, "primary" functions authorize a Service to develop force structure to accomplish them.
In addition to these primary functions, the Department of the Navy is assigned five "collateral" functions. Collateral functions pertain to activities in support of other Services and, in effect, have to be taken "out of hide." Finally, the Department is assigned a number of "responsibilities," which direct support operations in a number of areas. While a review of all assigned functions and responsibilities is beyond the scope of this lesson, the majority of them can be grouped into six broad areas.
Take a moment to study this depiction of the levels of war and the activities that take place at each. Remember, the lines separating the various levels are often blurred and military commanders often find themselves operating at multiple levels simultaneously. Generally speaking, the President, SecDef, and CJCS deal principally at the strategic level; establishing national level policy and guidance. Combatant commanders take that high level guidance and develop their theater strategies, campaigns, and major operations at the operational level of war. At the tactical level of war, JTF commanders, component commanders and other tactical level commanders—such as a carrier strike group commander—employ their forces in battles and engagements with the enemy.
In his book "Nimitz," E. B. Potter noted that under the glass top of Admiral Nimitz' desk were several cards bearing military slogans, and in a central position, one small card with a list: "Objective, Offensive, Surprise, Superiority of Force at Point of Contact, Simplicity, Security, Movement, Economy of Force, Cooperation." Some people call such lists "principles of war," but Nimitz thought of his merely as reminders, a check-off list of things to be considered before launching an operation.
Three broad principles provide overarching guidance to this Strategy. First, preserving the freedom of the seas is a top national priority. The right of vessels to travel freely in international waters, engage in innocent and transit passage, and have access to ports is an essential element of national security. The free, continuing, unthreatened intercourse of nations is an essential global freedom and helps ensure the smooth operation of the world's economy. Second, the United States Government must facilitate and defend commerce to ensure this uninterrupted flow of shipping. The United States is a major trading nation, and its economy, environment, and social fabric are inextricably linked with the oceans and their resources. The adoption of a just-in-time delivery approach to shipping by most industries, rather than stockpiling or maintaining operating reserves of energy, raw materials, and key components, means that a disruption or slowing of the flow of almost any item can have widespread implications for the overall market, as well as upon the national economy. Third, the United States Government must facilitate the movement of desirable goods and people across our borders, while screening out dangerous people and material. There need not be an inherent conflict between the demand for security and the need for facilitating the travel and trade essential to continued economic growth. This Strategy redefines our fundamental task as one of good border management rather than one that pits security against economic well-being. Accomplishing that goal is more manageable to the extent that screening can occur before goods and people arrive at our physical borders.
In keeping with these guiding principles, the deep-seated values enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, and applicable domestic and international law, these four objectives will guide the Nation's maritime security activities. This Strategy does not alter existing authorities or responsibilities of the department and agency heads, including their authorities to carry out operational activities or to provide or receive information. It does not impair or otherwise affect the authority of the SecDef over the DOD, including the chain of command for military forces from the President and Commander in Chief, to the SecDef, to the commander of military forces, or military command and control procedures. The United States recognizes that, because of the extensive global connectivity among businesses and governments, its maritime security policies affect other nations, and significant local and regional incidents will have global effects. Success in securing the maritime domain will not come from the United States acting alone, but through a powerful coalition of nations maintaining a strong, united, international front. The need for a strong and effective coalition is reinforced by the fact that most of the maritime domain is under no single nation's sovereignty or jurisdiction. Additionally, increased economic interdependency and globalization, largely made possible by maritime shipping, underscores the need for a coordinated international approach. Less than three percent of the international waterborne trade of the United States is carried on vessels owned, operated, and crewed by U.S. citizens. The United States also recognizes the vast majority of actors and activities within the maritime domain are legitimate. Security of the maritime domain can be accomplished only by seamlessly employing all instruments of national power in a fully coordinated manner in concert with other nation-states consistent with international law. The advantages articulated by Alfred Thayer Mahan offer diminished returns in the face of technologies that shrink the globe. When dealing with homeland security and homeland defense, it is imperative that all understand the rules of the road as have been outlined in the areas above. By the very design of the laws, the primary responsibility of the military Services is to play a reactive roll, one which we are not accustomed. At the same time, we are to be responsible citizens; vigilant, prepared, and knowledgeable so we might help thwart or minimize the threat.
Informational Informational instrument of national power: The achievement of America's strategic goals requires leaders to make better decisions faster than foreign leaders with competing interests Timely and accurate information is essential to decision making The informational instrument is diffuse and complex—having no center of control Information itself is a strategic resource vital to national security Information operations are often coordinated through the National Security Council The government is limited in its ability to control public access to information
In order to achieve America's strategic goals, our civilian and military leaders are required to make better decisions faster than foreign leaders with competing interests. U.S. leaders' decisions depend heavily upon the receipt of timely and accurate information. Indeed, it can be argued that without such information the effectiveness of the other instruments of national power would be significantly reduced. The informational instrument of national power consists of a diffuse and complex set of components with no single center of control. In American culture, information is freely exchanged with minimal governmental controls. Information itself is a strategic resource vital to national security. This reality extends to the Armed Forces at all levels. Military operations are especially dependent on many simultaneous and integrated activities that, in turn, rely upon information and information systems. Success in military operations requires the collection and dissemination of information. At the same time, this information must be denied to the adversary. The military is responsible for conducting defensive and offensive information operations. Simply put, information operations entail protecting what should not be disclosed while aggressively attacking an adversary's information systems. Information operations may involve complex legal and policy issues that require approval, review, and coordination through the National Security Council. Limits on public access to Government information may be imposed only for national security and individual privacy reasons. All Government officials, including military leaders, must recognize the media's fundamental role as a source of information to American citizens. Accordingly, the Armed Forces must ensure media access consistent with classification requirements, operations security, legal restrictions, and individual privacy.
The events of September 11, 2001, forever changed the American people's perceptions of the vulnerability of our homeland to attack from outside enemies. Responding to that challenge, the President initiated a number of key changes to the way we address national security including the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. Civil support encompasses all DOD support to U.S. civil authorities for domestic emergencies, and for designated law enforcement and other activities. Recent examples of such support are the military's response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita along the American Gulf Coast.
In simplistic terms, as outlined in the previous definitions for the DOD, homeland security is the combination of homeland defense and civil support. The graphic, an excerpt from Joint Publication 3-26, depicts that relationship. The American people and way of life are the primary targets of our enemy, and our highest protective priority. Our population and way of life are the source of our Nation's great strength, but also a source of inherent vulnerability. Our population is large, diverse, and highly mobile, allowing terrorists to hide within our midst. Americans congregate at schools, sporting arenas, malls, concert halls, office buildings, high-rise residences, and places of worship, presenting targets with the potential for many casualties. Much of America lives in densely populated urban areas, making our major cities conspicuous targets. Americans subsist on the produce of farms in rural areas nationwide, making our heartland a potential target for agro-terrorism. America historically has relied heavily on two vast oceans and two friendly neighbors for border security, and on the private sector for most forms of domestic transportation security. Yet, as these statistics demonstrate, modern travel and commerce has effectively eliminated that buffer zone. The shear volume of people and materiel crossing our borders is staggering.
Special Operations Forces, or SOF, have four basic truths that reflect the lessons learned from the history of American SOF employment. These tenets provide insight into the selection of their personnel, and their assessment and training methodologies. First, humans are more important than hardware. The right people, highly trained and working as a team, will accomplish the mission with the equipment available. Second, Quality is better than quantity. A small number of people, carefully selected, well trained, and well led, are preferable to larger numbers, some of whom may not be "up to the task." Third, SOF cannot be mass produced. Intense and lengthy training, in Special Operations schools and units, is required to integrate competent individuals into fully capable units. And finally, Competent SOF cannot be created after the emergencies arise. Employment of fully capable SOF on short-notice requires maintaining highly trained and constantly available SOF units in peacetime.
In summary, Special Operations Forces are serving an increasingly important role in the current international environment. They expand the range of options available to decision makers confronting crises and conflicts below the threshold of war, such as terrorism, insurgency, and sabotage. Their small "footprint" and low-visibility allow the tailoring of U.S. responses, both lethal and non-lethal, while reducing the risk of escalation associated with larger, more visible force deployments. Special operations forces can act as force multipliers in support of conventional forces engaged in major conflicts, thus increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the overall U.S. military effort. SOF is often a force of choice since SOF can shift seamlessly from one mission to another across the full spectrum. They provide unique capabilities for conducting activities in support of noncombatant missions such as humanitarian civic action, security assistance, and peace operations. SOF's role does not compete with conventional forces, but offers capabilities that are not resident in the conventional force structure. And finally, planners must be aware that because of their specialized training and unique capabilities, Special Operations Forces are limited in numbers, and often in high demand.
Here, then, are the key principles of the AEF concept. Simply put, AEFs provide the right mix of forces—active, reserve, and air national guard—in the right numbers, with the properly trained personnel, to meet the needs of combatant commanders. This concept also serves to provide a degree of predictability and stability that helps the Air Force manage its forces and its people wisely. When it comes to tailoring an AETF to meet operational needs, planners should ask for the capabilities they require, rather than for specific aircraft or units. For example: Instead of asking for a given number of F-15 aircraft, planners should think in terms of requesting air superiority coverage over a specified area for a given number of hours per day.
In summary, the Air Force believes air and space power is one part—an equal part—of a decisive joint force and that air and space power can be either a supported or supporting force. The Air Force does not believe air and space power is the only required—or only decisive—component needed for military operations. Air and space power complements combat capabilities in the other mediums of warfare; it does not render them obsolete.
The Army Chief of Staff's transformation guidance is to: Create modular corps and division headquarters for assignment to regional combatant commanders to command and control Army, Joint and multinational forces. Create MODULAR FUNCTIONAL AND MULTIFUNCTIONAL Support Brigades designed to deploy and fight on arrival in support of Joint or Army headquarters and/or Brigade Combat Teams. Standardize the BCTs, Aviation and Fires Functional Brigades so that one looks like another. And use the combination of the modular constructs defined in headquarters and brigades to create flexible, scalable forces in response to regional combatant commander needs. Under the current structure, an Army division is a powerful organization with great utility during major campaigns. However, when a division is broken apart to create these Brigade Combat Teams, it leaves incomplete residual behind. Additionally, reserves will require activation in order to support the deploying brigade task forces. Once overcome, the challenges will give way to organizational advantages such as: Active and Reserve component units will have the same organizational designs. Brigade-sized units are packaged to deploy more rapidly than Divisions. Flexible groupings of modular brigades tailor capabilities to missions. And more units create a larger number available to rotate into operations.
In summary, the Army is a doctrine based organization that performs sustained land combat. As a member of a joint force, you should have an appreciation of the employment considerations for Army forces and an understanding that the Army is flexible enough to be tailored for a given operation. You should also remember that the one major filter that all task organizations must pass through is strategic lift. Additionally, the Army is transforming to a more deployable, lethal, flexible, agile, and lighter force in order to meet the needs of the Combatant Commanders. This completes the main presentation on the US Army.
The U.S. will advance its ends in ways and means that are consistent with the strategy's four enduring interests: Security — Strengthen security and resilience at home — Disrupt, dismantle, and defeat Al-Qaeda and its violent extremist affiliates in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and around the world — Reverse the spread of nuclear and biological weapons and secure nuclear materials — Advance peace, security, and opportunity in the Greater Middle East — Invest in the capacity of strong and capable partners — Secure cyberspace Prosperity — Strengthen education and human capital — Enhance science, technology, and innovation — Achieve balanced and sustainable growth — Accelerate sustainable development — Spend taxpayers' dollars wisely Values — Strengthen the power of our example — Promote democracy and human rights abroad — Promote dignity by meeting basic needs International order — Ensure strong alliances — Build cooperation with other 21st century centers of influence — Strengthen institutions and mechanisms for cooperation — Sustain broad cooperation on key global challenges
In summary: The NSS is America's grand strategy All other strategic documents are subordinate to the NSS The NSS sets the tone for the NDS and the NMS The NSS is America's game plan for achieving its ends and discusses the ways and means of fulfilling them
Such guidance is set out in a series of four key documents. Vision sets our goals and objectives, in other words, where we want our Navy to be in the future. Sea Power 21 is the Navy's vision. Strategy is the way we go about achieving those goals. In the past, documents such as the Maritime Strategy (1986), ...From the Sea (1992), and Forward...from the Sea (1994) provided this direction. In 2006, Admiral Mullen challenged our Navy with developing a new Maritime Strategy—one that addresses today's maritime security environment. Tactics, outlined in the Naval Operating Concept for Joint Operations, are the ways that ships, planes, people etc., are used by the warfighter. In October 2007, Admiral Roughead approved the Navy's new maritime strategy. This strategy, titled, "A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower" describes "...how seapower will be applied around the world to protect our way of life..." and "...advance the prosperity and security of our nation." But Resources are not unlimited. The Navy Strategic Plan helps guide key financial planners in developing the Navy's annual budget. While each document is important at this stage of your naval career, understanding Sea Power 21 is the most important to you.
In the October 2002 issue of the U.S. Naval Institute's journal Proceedings, then-CNO Admiral Vern Clark introduced Sea Power 21 explaining the Navy's vision by stating: "The 21st century sets the stage for tremendous increases in naval precision, reach, and connectivity, ushering in a new era of joint operational effectiveness. Innovative concepts and technologies will integrate sea, land, air, space, and cyberspace to a greater extent than ever before. In this unified battlespace, the sea will provide a vast maneuver area from which to project direct and decisive power around the globe. Future naval operations will use revolutionary information superiority and dispersed, networked force capabilities to deliver unprecedented offensive power, defensive assurance, and operational independence to joint force commanders. Our Navy and its partners will dominate the continuum of warfare from the maritime domain—deterring forward in peacetime, responding to crises, and fighting and winning wars. To realize the opportunities and navigate the challenges ahead, we must have a clear vision of how our Navy will organize, integrate, and transform. "Sea Power 21" is that vision. It will align our efforts, accelerate our progress, and realize the potential of our people. "Sea Power 21" will guide our Navy as we defend our nation and defeat our enemies in the uncertain century before us."
In the Wars of Independence and 1812, America employed new experimental weapons,
In the Wars of Independence and 1812, America employed new experimental weapons, including submarines and mines.
Employment of military forces within the U.S., its territories, and possessions provided under the auspices of civil support, typically falls under the broad mission of military assistance to civil authorities. These operations consist of three subordinate missions. They may overlap and DOD may, depending on the circumstances, provide support to them simultaneously. They are military support to civil authorities, military support to civil law enforcement agencies, and military assistance for civil disturbances. Military activities and operations associated with civil support missions include, but are not limited to domestic weapons of mass destruction (WMD) crisis management, and consequence management, counterdrug operations, maritime security, national special security event support activities, disaster responses, border security, antiterrorism activities, intelligence sharing, emergency preparedness activities, and information operations.
In the military, we are accustomed to top-down chains of command. However, American democracy is rooted in the precepts of Federalism—a system of government in which our state governments share power with Federal institutions. The tenth amendment reserves to the states and to the people all power not specifically delegated to the Federal Government. As a result, state, county, municipal, and local governments fund and operate the emergency services that would respond in the event of a terrorist attack. Ultimately, all manmade and natural disasters are local events—with local units being the first to respond and the last to leave. This is clearly articulated in the National Strategy. Obviously, not all incidents need Federal civilian or military involvement. But there will be times when local authorities need help. So, when are the "Feds" called in? The answer is only for those events that meet certain criteria of "incidents of national significance". Some will be obvious from the start, such as a major hurricane or a WMD incident, while others will grow into needing a Federal response (such as an expanding major forest fire). In all cases, the "locals first" concept applies. Once an incident response is Federalized, the military only gets involved if or when Federal, state, and local civilian responders can't meet the need, either due to the magnitude of the problem, or due to the specific capabilities needed.
The diplomatic instrument of national power is the principal instrument for engaging with other states and foreign groups in order to advance U.S. values, interests, and objectives. However, without the credible threat of force, diplomacy, historically, is inadequate against a determined and powerful adversary. Leaders of the Armed Forces of the United States have a responsibility to understand U.S. foreign policy and to ensure that those responsible for U.S. diplomacy have a clear understanding of the capabilities, limitations, and consequences of military action. Combatant commanders are responsible for combining military activities with diplomatic activities in their geographic regions. The U.S. ambassador and the corresponding country team are normally in charge of diplomatic-military activities in countries abroad. By definition, the country team is the senior, in-country, U.S. coordinating and supervising body, headed by the chief of the U.S. diplomatic mission, and composed of the senior member of each represented U.S. Department or Agency, as desired by the chief of the U.S. diplomatic mission. When directed by the President or Secretary of Defense, the combatant commander employs military forces in concert with the other instruments of national power. In these circumstances, the U.S. ambassador and the country team may have complementary activities (employing the diplomatic instrument) that do not entail control of military forces, which remain under the command authority of the combatant commander.
In the modern Information Age, an adequate up-to-date supply of accurate information is essential for the effective functioning of the other three instruments of national power. The informational instrument of national power has a diffuse and complex set of components with no single center of control. In the American culture, information is freely exchanged with minimal governmental controls. Information itself is a strategic resource vital to national security. This reality extends to the Armed Forces at all levels. Military operations, in particular, are dependent on many simultaneous and integrated activities that, in turn, depend on information and information systems. Success in military operations depends on acquiring and integrating essential information and denying it to the adversary. The Armed Forces are responsible for conducting defensive and offensive information operations, protecting what should not be disclosed, and aggressively attacking adversary information systems. Information operations may involve complex legal and policy issues that require approval, review, and coordination through the National Security Council. Limits on public access to government information normally may be imposed only for national security and individual privacy reasons. It is important that all government officials, including leaders of the Armed Forces, recognize the fundamental role of the media as a source of information to American citizens. The Armed Forces must ensure media access consistent with classification requirements, operations security, legal restrictions, and individual privacy.
Prepare, Prevent, Prevail. These elements of our National Military Strategy are intended to achieve two key national security objectives: Promoting Peace and Stability and, when necessary, Defeating our Adversaries. Four strategic concepts govern the use of military forces as we execute this strategy: Strategic Agility, Overseas Presence, Power Projection, and Decisive Force. As an expeditionary force designed for overseas deployments, the Navy-Marine Corps team characteristically accomplishes the first three strategic concepts and under some circumstances, especially smaller-scale contingencies, it can also be the nations' decisive force. Historically, the majority of Marine Corps has operated at the lower end of the range of military operations. Since the Corps' founding in 1775, over 73 percent of its operations have been conducted in conditions other than war. That percentage increased during the 90's to 83 percent. While current operations in Afghanistan and Iraq have reduced this percentage, it reflects their traditional role of fighting alongside the Army in major wars. Although the Corps has always performed this service during war time, it became prominent during World War I. Click on the Learn More button to review the Range of Military Operations.
In the past 25 years, there have been 101 applications of U.S. amphibious capability. These operations have spanned the range of military operations, and included amphibious assaults, raids, and withdrawals, non-combatant evacuations, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief support. The illustration seen here provides an idea of how and where the nation has employed its Marine Corps in pursuit of its national security objectives over the last quarter century. Marines seek to avoid attrition by maneuvering and striking quickly against an adversary's critical vulnerabilities as a means of shattering his cohesion and collapsing his strength and his will to resist. Marines believe that maneuver warfare is applicable at and from the sea and air, as much as it is on land. The Marine Corps developed the concept of the Three Block War in the mid-nineties. In this concept, Marines are engaged in humanitarian assistance on one block, in stabilization and counter-insurgency operations on the next, and in conventional combat against a determined enemy on the third. They must be able to transition effectively between these different operations within a small space and a short time. The "Strategic Corporal" describes the type of individual the Marines need to succeed in the Three Block War. It means that they must develop Marines with the core values-based character needed to make the right call under conditions of extreme duress without direct supervision, but with the world potentially watching. Marines at all levels must appreciate that their tactical actions can have strategic consequences. Similarly, every Marine is trained as a rifleman so that every Marine, regardless of his or her military occupational specialty, can fight no matter where they meet the enemy in the battlespace: deep, close, or rear. There are no rear echelon Marines. Lastly, the Marine Corps acquires technology and equipment to equip the Strategic Corporal so that he can more capably fight the Three Block War. The Corps does not man equipment. Consistent with the Marine Corps' view of the nature of war, its principle warfighting platform is the Marine.
New Responsibilities In the years before the Civil War, new responsibilities were added to the Navy:
In the years before the Civil War, new responsibilities were added to the Navy: Suppressing West Indian piracy Cruising against slave traders
John Dahlgren designed
In the years before the Civil War, other ordnance innovations were: Pivot guns Rifled guns Improved exploding shells
Operational Law Extremely broad and varied Three major components — Law of the sea — LOAC — ROE Derived from many sources, national and international
In this lesson, we will look at some of the major concepts of operational law. This part of the law is extremely broad and varied and has been developed over centuries of history. In general, operational law applies when the U.S. conducts maritime activities or military operations in other countries. Operational law consists mainly of the law of the sea, LOAC, and ROE. It is derived from a variety of sources that include customary international law, international agreements, treaties and conventions, as well as U.S. domestic law. Although operational law can be divided into many different components, this lesson will present the legal framework that supports the three major components of operational law that apply during all phases of military operations. Each of these areas of operational law will be presented by examining the sources and references of the law along with the basic principles.
The size and complexity of the maritime commons create unique security challenges for the international community as terrorists and criminals leverage the easily accessible, largely unregulated expanse of the maritime domain in order to mask and facilitate their illicit activities. Threats to safety and security include piracy, narcotics smuggling, human trafficking, weapons proliferation, environmental destruction, and the pilfering of natural resources. Identifying, tracking, and neutralizing these threats are essential to U.S. national security and the global economy. Maritime Security operations can occur across the entire spectrum of conflict both in peacetime and in war. Sea Control, however, occurs only during conflict and refers specifically to the armed struggle to control the seas. The sea is vast, the littorals extensive, and the threats to U.S. interests are varied, determined, and persistent. These conditions cannot be sufficiently shaped by the naval service alone, and demand that America partner with nations that share its interest in global maritime security and the prosperity it underpins.
In today's globally connected world, news of humanitarian crises and natural or man-made disasters is reported almost immediately. Although the primary focus of naval forces remains combat effectiveness, their multi-mission capabilities allow those same forces to provide rapid assistance that can mitigate human suffering and restore critical partner capacity. Operating without reliance on ports and airfields ashore, and in possession of organic medical support, strategic and tactical lift, logistics support, robust communications capabilities and premier planning and coordination tools, make globally and regionally distributed naval forces ideally suited for "humanitarian assistance and disaster response" in the littorals where the preponderance of the world's population resides. Usually performed in support of U.S. government partners, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response activities include, but are not limited to, defense support of civil authorities (as seen during JTF Katrina), foreign disaster relief (evidenced during the Haiti Earthquake relief effort), and maritime environmental response operations (seen during the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill disaster).
The principles of war have been proven effective in preparing for combat, but the complexities and disorder of war preclude their use as a simple checklist. Instead, we must be able to apply these principles in war's turbulent environment, to promote initiative, supplement professional judgment, and serve as the conceptual framework in which we evaluate the choices available in battle. These principles provide a solid basis for naval doctrine that complements the experience and operational skill of our commanders by describing a flow of action toward objectives, rather than prescribing specific action at each point along the way.
In war, it is not enough simply to generate superior combat power. It is quite possible that combat power could be dissipated over several unrelated efforts or concentrated on some inconsequential object. To win, we must focus combat power toward a decisive aim. The concept that helps us to think about this is COG. Each belligerent is not a unitary force, but a complex system consisting of numerous physical, moral, and mental components as well as the relationships among them. The combination of these factors determines each belligerent's unique character. Some of these factors are more important than others. Some may contribute only marginally to the belligerent's power, and their loss would not cause significant damage. Others may be fundamental sources of capability.
The nine principles of war guide commanders at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels, and are the enduring bedrock of U.S. military doctrine. The principles of war should be viewed for what they are: a summary of the characteristics of successful military operations. The principles of war should be reexamined after the introduction of new technology or new cultural influences. In other words, they should evolve. No one principle is universally more important than another, and often times, are in contradiction. Paradoxically, adherence to one principle frequently demands violation of another. We must be able to apply these principles in war's turbulent environment, to promote initiative, supplement professional judgment, and serve as the conceptual framework in which we evaluate the choices available in battle.
In war, to win we must focus combat power toward a decisive aim—the concept of COG. Each belligerent is not a unitary force, but a complex system consisting of numerous physical, moral, and mental components as well as the relationships among them. The combination of these factors determines each belligerent's unique character. Prussian military philosopher and theorist Carl Von Clausewitz called the COG the "hub of all power and movement, on which everything depends . . . the point at which all our energies should be directed." In current joint and Navy doctrine, COGs are those characteristics, capabilities, or sources of power from which a military force derives its freedom of action, physical strength, or will to fight.
Globalization is also shaping human migration patterns, health, education, culture, and the conduct of conflict. Conflicts are increasingly characterized by a hybrid blend of traditional and irregular tactics. Concurrently, a rising number of rogue states emboldened and enabled with unprecedented access to the global stage can cause systemic disruptions. Their actions—often designed to purposely incite conflict—will complicate attempts to diffuse and lesson the violence of regional strife.
Increasingly, the U.S. and its partners are being threatened by the proliferation of weapons technology. Additionally, transnational actors now have the capacity to loosen boundaries between countries, challenge maritime access, evade accountability, and manipulate public perception. Even more worrisome—the desire to obtain nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction is growing among nations and non-state antagonists. Further, a tax on legal, financial, and cyber systems could be equally, if not more, disruptive than kinetic weapons.
The Coast Guard serves in an integrated military and law enforcement capacity. These orientations depend on awareness, prevention, protection, and response activities. Capabilities are developed for these modes of operation. Authorities require both near-shore efforts and projecting activities to resolve problems far from the Nation's shores, including maintaining regular patrols in the global commons and supporting combat operations overseas. The depth and breadth of operational reach depends on organic, domestic, Department of Defense expeditionary, and host nation logistics. The Coast Guard integrates four inputs to sustain global activity: Authorities, Capabilities, Competencies, and Partnerships. Authorities include law, regulations, executive orders, national strategies, and policy. Capabilities include capital and consumable resources. Competencies include all aspects of human performance. And Partnerships include national and international agreements and collaborative relationships. The Coast Guard's ability to act against an objective depends on the vertical and horizontal integration of these inputs into force. Many of the Coast Guard's capabilities and competencies are closely aligned with those of the Department of Defense to ensure interoperability. Combatant and Joint Force commanders, in particular, should consider how the broad and unique base of authorities and partnerships the Coast Guard maintains, applies across the complete range of military operations and theater security cooperation plans.
Inputs create the Coast Guard's strategic trident of forces. The Multi-Mission Shore Based Force is a network of commands that integrate safety, security, and stewardship activities for complete port and coastal coverage of the United States across all mission-programs. The Maritime Patrol and Interdiction Force includes afloat and airborne assets that project capabilities to solve problems across mission-programs at the greatest distances from our shores. The Deployable Specialized Force is a collection of capabilities that can be tailored into a deployable component for operating independently, augmenting other Coast Guard forces, or augmenting the elements of other national and international power The Coast Guard's command and control structure evolved to manage variable objectives and changes in the factors of force, time, and space in the operating environment. All commanders are responsible for a multiple-mission portfolio, including resolving conflicts between competing objectives. To do so, the command and control structure leverages attributes shared with the Department of Defense, including joint doctrine concepts defining the strategic, operational, and tactical levels of war.
Effective intelligence operations enable commanders at all levels to apply their available forces wisely, efficiently, and effectively. Just as operational planners have a process, so too does the intelligence community. The intelligence cycle is an important joint doctrinal concept; it provides a simplified model of how intelligence operations are conducted and establishes the basis for common joint intelligence terminology, tactics, techniques, and procedures. Military commanders are more than just consumers of intelligence. The commander's mission provides the focal point for all phases of the cycle. The activities within each phase are conducted continuously and in conjunction with activities in other phases. For instance, planning is updated based on previous information requirements being satisfied and upon new requirements being identified as a result of analysis performed in the production phase.
Intelligence preparation of the battlespace is the analytical process used to produce intelligence assessments, estimates, and other intelligence products in support of a commander's decision-making process. It is also a continuous process that enables commanders and their staffs to visualize the full spectrum of adversary capabilities and potential adversary COAs across all dimensions of the battlespace. Intelligence preparation of the battlespace is conducted prior to and during an operation, supporting not only the initial planning effort, but the ongoing operations as well. Intelligence preparation of the battlespace is a four-step process: define the battlespace environment; describe the battlespace's effects; evaluate the adversary; and, determine adversary potential COAs.
The littoral environment poses additional challenges for defense against air threats to Navy and other joint sea based assets. Local control of the air is critical, as modern cruise missiles can be launched from ships, submarines, shore, or air based platforms. With the potential for high volumes of civilian and other non-hostile air activity, not only is determining which target may be a threat more difficult, but the time to react to a detected threat can also be significantly reduced. A layered defense is provided through organic aircraft from the carrier air wing, surface to air missiles on cruisers and destroyers, and close in weapons systems on most ships. Theater ballistic Missile defense is a critical Navy capability. It allows the Navy to extend ballistic missile defense over the near shore areas in the littorals, with a longer range capability to be developed later. This capability is resident on a growing number of Aegis equipped cruisers and destroyers.
Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, or ISR, is vital to all areas of naval warfare and the Navy has a number of unique ISR platforms that can provide intelligence to the Joint Force Commander. Unmanned aerial vehicles such as the fixed wing Scan Eagle or the rotary wing Fire Scout have been controlled from surface ships for several years and the capability has been recently demonstrated for submarines to control them. Future developments include programs such as Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Unmanned Aircraft System which will provide the Navy with long dwell ISR capability. There are two aircraft in the force, both of them based on the same basic P-3 airframe and involved heavily in ISR missions. The maritime patrol version, the P-3C Orion, has principal roles in maritime surveillance, antisubmarine warfare, and surface warfare; and a growing role in overland surveillance and standoff land attack. The EP-3 Aries is the electronic reconnaissance version of the P-3, and its primary mission is signals and electronic intelligence. The P-3 Orion is due to be replaced within the next 5 years with a 737 variant designated as the P-8 Poseidon. The replacement aircraft for the EP-3 Aries is still in the development process. And as previously mentioned, one of the primary missions of the attack submarine is ISR, as they bring the capability to remain on station for extended periods of time, and have access to areas unavailable to any other platform.
On 17 January 1991, U.S. and coalition forces kicked off Operation DESERT STORM under the command of Vice Admiral Stanley R. Arthur, Commander U.S. Naval Forces, Central Command. In a matter of weeks: U.S. and coalition air forces achieved air superiority over Iraq Naval forces secured control of the northern Persian Gulf Ground forces concentrated in Saudi Arabia for the assault to free Kuwait
Iraqi forces launched a brief unsuccessful attack into Saudi Arabia at Khafji. Enemy mines damaged the U.S. cruiser Princeton (CG-59) and the U.S. amphibious assault ship Tripoli (LPH-10).
The Confederate Navy displayed technological ingenuity by employing:
Ironclads Submarines Underwater mines (torpedoes)
Navy Tactical Reference Publications, or NTRPs, support tactical employment, but are considered stand alone and descriptive in nature. Hence, they are not required to tie directly to the superior publications. Examples of NTRP subject matter include data which typically does not change including tables and diagrams, physical data such as oceanography, acoustic, and electromagnetic discussions, and system operating procedures and guidelines. Like NTTPs, they are authored, reviewed, updated, and approved by designated Fleet Primary Review Authorities and Centers of Excellence. NWDC reviews NTRPs for format and approved Joint and Navy service terminology. Joint doctrine is the highest level authoritative warfighting guidance for all the armed forces and provides the principles for integrating and synchronizing all our service-provided capabilities into an effective and efficient joint team for the defense of our nation. Joint doctrine is defined in Joint Publication (JP) 1-02, Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms, which reads in part as: "Fundamental principles that guide the employment of U.S. Military forces in coordinated action toward a common objective." Specifically, joint doctrine enables the Armed Forces of the United States to conduct the most effective joint activities and unified action. Joint doctrine is based on extant capabilities—that is, capabilities that actually exist—and incorporates time-tested principles for successful military action, as well as contemporary lessons, that together guide aggressive exploitation of U.S. advantages against enemy vulnerabilities. It does this by promoting a common perspective from which to plan, train, and conduct military operations in combat and noncombat situations.
It should be emphasized that the definition of joint doctrine encompasses tactics, techniques, and procedures that are contained in joint publications. The important thing to note is that both are authoritative as doctrine and approved by or on behalf of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Like naval doctrine, joint doctrine is not dogmatic—the focus is on how to think about operations, not what to think about operations. Its purpose is to aid thinking, not to replace it. It must be definitive enough to guide operations while versatile enough to accommodate a wide variety of situations. Joint doctrine should foster initiative, creativity, and conditions that allow commanders the freedom to adapt to varying circumstances. Close
You have been presented with details of the long, great history of the Pacific Fleet. Starting over 200 years ago, in 1800, we began showing our strength and ability as a nation while protecting our own interests in the Pacific Ocean. In many conflicts and several major wars, we have shown over and over that we will stand up when necessary to deter aggression by other nations while protecting our interests and those of our allies. You should also understand that the Pacific Fleet has two subordinate fleets: the Seventh Fleet which has responsibility for the western Pacific and Indian Oceans, and the Third Fleet which is charged with the security of the eastern Pacific and west coast of the United States.
Just as the military has a hierarchical rank structure, a hierarchy of guidance documents also exists which fundamentally informs and shapes naval strategy and operations. Not surprisingly, given our constitutionally mandated system of civilian control of the military, the highest level of strategic guidance comes from the President of the United States. Before we continue, just what, exactly, do we mean by the term "strategy"? "Joint Pub 3-0, Doctrine for Joint Operations," defines strategy as "the art and science of employing instruments of national power in a synchronized and integrated fashion to achieve theater, national and/or multinational objectives." There is an interesting phrase in this joint definition of strategy of which you should take note—instruments of national power. While members of the Armed Forces are most familiar with the use of the military as an instrument of national power, the President has a number of other options at his disposal.
Third Fleet Mission: Protect western sea approaches to U.S. Train and provide deploying forces Conduct international naval exercises
Just like Seventh Fleet, Third Fleet is a subordinate command of U.S. Pacific Fleet, the Navy component command of USPACOM. Third Fleet is tasked with protecting the western sea approaches to the United States as part of America's homeland defense. It is also tasked to train and provide deploying forces—most often to Seventh and Fifth Fleets, but also to wherever directed by higher authority. Finally, through the conducting of multi-national exercises with allied and friendly nations, Third Fleet advances America's national interests in the vital Pacific Rim region. Third Fleet continues to build on the proud naval history in the Pacific begun in 1813 when USS Essex rounded Cape Horn and entered the Pacific.
Mutual interference prevention aims at keeping two submarines out of the same water space at the same time, and water space management prevents "Blue on Blue" engagements, or engaging a friendly unit. Either of these considerations may place some restrictions on submarines or other units. Lastly, while underway, it is very difficult to replenish repair parts or food. Submarines normally load out for a 90 day patrol, with the only limitation being food supplies. Coastal diesel submarines are a difficult and growing threat, as the littoral environment is a tough area for conducting ASW. Detection ranges for all ASW platforms are short due to high background noise and other environmental factors. ASW platforms include ships, submarines and aircraft- often working together as a team. Very often, the most effective platform is the one that can cover the most area in the shortest time, giving preference to aircraft. However, this assumes local air superiority, as ASW aircraft have little in the way of self defense. Submarines on the other hand are very effective at choke points where threats to ships and aircraft are high. Surface Warfare has evolved from the battle of Leyte Gulf, but is still central to exercising sea control. In addition to engaging enemy major combatant ships, surface warfare includes countering fast coastal patrol boats which could be equipped with cruise missiles, an asymmetric and likely a threat that enemies can use to deny access in the littoral areas. Maritime Interception Operations continue to be a common tasking for navy forces to ensure enforcement of arms embargoes and other sanctions. While all surface combatants have capabilities for surface warfare, some are greater than others. These range from naval gunfire, to anti-ship missiles launched from both ships and embarked helicopters.
Let's now turn our attention to Navy mission areas... At first consideration, nautical mines would appear to be a Navy problem and of little concern for the Joint Force Commander. However, a well placed mine field can create serious access problems and become a major show stopper for the entire joint force. The following are some key aspects that planners must consider about mine warfare: First, mine counter measure assets have limited self-defense capabilities and need a safe area to work. It will always be necessary to have control of the sea and air before conducting mine counter-measures operations. And while some MCM assets are forward deployed to the Middle East and Japan, additional assets, if required, will be slow to arrive in theater. Second, mine clearance is a slow probabilistic process. The longer you clear or hunt, the more confident you are that you have found the mines. The amount of time spent clearing mines has to achieve a balance between force, safety and the urgency of the mission. Lastly, mine warfare forces include dedicated Mine Countermeasure ships, Littoral Combat Ships, specially equipped MH-53 helicopters, and special operations divers in detachments around the globe.
Despite being termed an "airfield at sea", the carrier cannot operate like an airfield ashore. It has some limitations that stem from its characteristics as a ship, and planners must take them into account. First, at the tactical level, the carrier needs wind over the deck to launch and recover aircraft, and therefore steams into the wind during flight operations. As a result, a joint commander and the planning staff must realize there will be times when a carrier will have to race downwind in order to get back into an upwind situation. As a result, maneuvering space can be a major factor and must be considered in planning the size of operating areas. The carrier can operate in rough seas up to the point where the deck is pitching about 12-15 feet at the stern. More than that and the risks escalate.
Maneuvering a carrier during launch and recovery makes the ship easier prey for enemy submarines and aircraft. Taking evasive action limits the number of sorties. Also, launching self-defense sorties naturally takes away from strike sorties. Limited crews—both flight deck and pilots—affect the carrier's ability to generate combat sorties. The people who launch, recover, and refuel the aircraft are the same ones that maintain the flight deck and its equipment. Maintenance on some aircraft components requires the use of the flight deck, which is normally incompatible with flight operations.
Amphibious Drives through the South and Central Pacific
Marianas and the Battle of the Philippine Sea Battle of Leyte Gulf The Submarine Campaign The Struggle for Iwo Jima and Okinawa
The US Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, headquartered at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, is scheduled to be fully operational by the latter part of 2008, and will include approximately 2,600 Marines and sailors divided into two Special Operations Battalions, a Special Operations Support Group, a Special Operations Advisor Group, and a Special Operations School.
Marine Corps SOF Operational Units - MARSOC provides the U.S. Special Operations Command with capabilities for direct action, special reconnaissance, foreign internal defense, counter-terrorism, information operations, and unconventional warfare. MSOB - Two Marine Special Operations Battalions are organized, trained, and equipped to deploy for worldwide missions as directed by MARSOC. Each battalion will consist of several companies and be task organized with personnel uniquely skilled in special equipment support, intelligence, and fire support. MSOSG - The Marine Special Operations Support Group is responsible for sustaining the global operations of all MARSOC units. They provide combined arms planning and coordination, special operations communications support, logistics, and all source intelligence source fusion capability. MSOAG - The Marine Special Operations Advisor Group provides tailored combat skills training and advisor support in selected countries. The overall objective is to target nations with active or emerging terrorist groups, bolster the local forces, and thereby avoid major conflicts. MSOS - The Marine Special Operations School trains and certifies personnel and units to SOF standards. It's charged to recruit, screen, assess, and select MARSOC Marines and develop and standardize doctrine and TTPs. Headquartered at Camp Lejeune, it will have training branches on both coasts.
As indicated by these statistics, the Corps is relatively young ... particularly when compared to its sister services. Given the physical demands of its business, the Marine Corps keeps a young force, by design. As high as Marine enlistment standards may be, the Corps' reenlistment standards are far higher. Only around 15 percent of first-term Marines are authorized to reenlist into the career force. It is also important to note that the Marine Corps' officer to enlisted ratio of 1 to 8.5 is the lowest among the five services, with the Navy having the next to lowest ratio of 1 to 6. (The Army and Air Force maintain 1 to 5 and 1 to 4 ratios, respectively.) Understanding the youth of the Marine Corps and its ratio of officer to enlisted is critical to understanding the culture of the Corps. To achieve its assigned roles and missions, the Marine has developed a set of eight core competencies. First, every Marine unit is ready to rapidly task organize, deploy, and employ from CONUS or while forward-deployed, to respond and contain crises or, if necessary, to immediately engage in sustained combat operations. Marines are prepared to deploy into diverse, austere, and chaotic environments on short notice and accomplish assigned missions using our unique command, control, and logistic capabilities to operate independently of existing infrastructure. These unique capabilities allow Marine units to enable joint, allied, coalition operations, and interagency coordination.
Marines fight as integrated air-ground-logistics task forces under a single commander. The Marine Air Ground Task Force, or "MAGTF," commander fights a single battle that unites and enhances the capabilities of his force, whose whole is exponentially greater than the sum of its parts. MAGTFs provide combatant commanders with forces that are tailored to meet specific mission requirements from forward presence and peacetime engagement to sustained operations ashore in a major theater war. Every MAGTF is a scalable force, possessing the ability for today's fight and to rapidly reconfigure (based on a changing situation) to provide the right force for the next fight. Ready, rapidly responsive Marine Reserve forces provide the Marine Corps with depth, flexibility, and sustainment. They are fully integrated into the active forces for mission accomplishment across the complex spectrum of crises and conflicts. Together, the Navy and Marine Corps provide the Nation with its primary capability to project and sustain power ashore in the face of armed opposition. Amphibious forces reinforced, if required, by maritime pre-positioning forces, allow the United States global access to protect our interests and reassure allies that we have the ability to come to their aid.
When forces under Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in August 1990, U.S aircraft carriers Eisenhower and Independence moved to protect the air space over Saudi Arabia. President George Bush: Initiated Operation DESERT SHIELD Called up the Reserves Ordered U.S. naval, air, and ground forces to the Persian Gulf region
Maritime and Military Sealift Command ships began transporting: Tanks Vehicles Fuel Ammunition The U.S. Navy led a multinational maritime interception operation that prevented Saddam from importing weapons and selling his country's oil. When Saddam refused to withdraw his army from Kuwait, President Bush ordered a 500,000-strong U.S. military force that included six carrier battle groups.
As previously mentioned, there are two key strategic documents that guide the US Navy today...CS-21 and NOC 10. CS-21 supports higher level strategic documents such as the National Security Strategy, National Defense Strategy and National Military Strategy. CS-21 was signed by the CNO and the Commandants of the Marine Corps and Coast Guard in October 2007. It supports the framework on which the Naval Operations Concept of 2010 is built. Like CS-21, the NOC 10 is also signed by all three service chiefs and explains what missions will be conducted and how they will be executed. In other words, CS-21 is the document that defines the strategic "ends" for the naval services while NOC 10 discusses the "ways" by which these ends will be achieved. The speed, flexibility, agility and scalability of maritime forces provide joint or combined force commanders a range of options for responding to crises. Additionally, integrated maritime operations, either within formal alliance structures such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or more informal arrangements such as the Global Maritime Partnership initiative, send powerful messages to would-be aggressors that we will act with others to ensure collective security and prosperity. The Cooperative Strategy creates a unified maritime strategy that stresses an approach to integrate seapower with other instruments of national power as well as with our friends and allies. The strategy defines 6 core capabilities for the U.S. Navy: Forward Presence; Deterrence; Sea Control; Power Projection; Maritime Security; and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response. Maritime Forces will utilize these core capabilities to build confidence and trust among nations through collective security efforts and mutual interests in an open, multi-polar world. The ability to operate freely at sea is one of the most important enablers of joint and interagency operations. Sea control requires capabilities in all aspects of the maritime domain, including space and cyberspace. Sea control also ensures conditions under which our maritime forces are not impeded from freedom of maneuver and freedom of access. It further ensures we do not permit an adversary to disrupt the global supply chain by attempting to block vital sea-lines of communication and commerce. Our globally postured Navy forces provide capabilities and readiness to impose local sea control wherever necessary, ideally in concert with friends and allies, but by ourselves if we must.
Maritime forces are forward deployed, especially in an era of diverse threats to the homeland. Operating "forward," enables familiarity with the environment, as well as the personalities and behavior patterns of regional actors. Should peacetime operations transition to war, maritime forces have already developed the environmental and operational understanding and experience to quickly engage in combat operations. Forward presence also allows us to combat terrorism as far from our shores as possible. Where and when applicable, forward deployed maritime forces, (preferable in conjunction with coalition forces), can isolate, capture or destroy terrorists, including their infrastructure, resources and sanctuaries. Power projection is more than just naval aviation and sea-based cruise missiles. Other naval capabilities enable power projection from the sea. Amphibious Forces, Naval Special Warfare forces, Navy Cyber Forces, Naval Expeditionary Combat Command forces, and the Navy's Sealift forces all bring unique naval capabilities to support our national interests. Our ability to overcome challenges to access, project and sustain power ashore is the basis of our combat credibility. Our advantages are sustained through properly sized forces, innovative technologies, understanding of adversary capabilities, adaptive joint planning processes and Navy proficiency and ingenuity. We will maintain a robust strategic sealift capability to rapidly concentrate and sustain forces, and to enable joint and/or combined campaigns. This capability relies on the maintenance of a strong U.S. commercial maritime transportation industry and its critical intermodal assets.
To successfully implement the cooperative strategy for 21st century seapower, the sea Services must collectively expand the core capabilities of U.S. seapower to achieve a blend of peacetime engagement and major combat operations capabilities. The six capabilities that comprise the core of U.S. maritime power are forward presence, deterrence, sea control, power projection, maritime security, and humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
Maritime forces will be forward-deployed, especially in an area of diverse threats to the homeland. Operating forward enables familiarity with the environment and regional actors in the event of a crisis. Should peacetime operations transition to war, maritime forces will have already developed the environmental and operational understanding and experience to quickly engage in combat operations. Forward presence also allows us to combat terrorism as far from our shores as possible.
During times of war our ability to impose local sea control, overcome challenges to access, force entry, and project and sustain power ashore makes our Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard maritime forces an indispensable element of the joint force. This advantage must be maintained in order to provide joint force commanders with the ability to defend the homeland, operate in and from forward regions, swiftly defeat adversaries, and achieve decisive enduring results.
Maritime forces will defend the homeland by identifying, disrupting, and neutralizing threats as far from the United States as possible—from fostering critical relationships overseas, to screening ships bound for our ports, or rapidly responding to any threats approaching our coastline. Our homeland defense effort will integrate joint maritime services, international partners, and the private sector in order to provide the highest level of security possible. Additionally, when directed, maritime forces will promptly support civil authorities in the event of an attack or natural disaster on our shores.
Expanded cooperative relationships with other nations will contribute to the security and stability of the maritime domain through humanitarian assistance, regional frameworks for maritime governance, and mutual enforcement of the rule of law. Although our forces can surge when necessary to respond to crises, trust and cooperation cannot be surged. They must be built over time. Sea service members equipped with cultural, historical, and linguistic expertise must become proficient at forging international partnerships in coordination with other U.S. Services and government departments.
Maritime forces will work with others to ensure an adequate level of security and awareness in the maritime domain. In doing so transnational threats, terrorists and extremists, proliferators of weapons of mass destruction, pirates, and traffickers will be constrained. By being forward-deployed and engaged in mutually beneficial relationships with regional and global partners, maritime forces will promote communication frameworks that enhance security. Additionally, when natural or man-made disasters strike, our forward-deployed maritime forces can provide humanitarian assistance and relief as necessary. By participating in cooperative activities, maritime forces will be postured to support other joint or combined forces in order to mitigate and localize disruptions at the earliest instance.
Matthew F. Maury
Matthew F. Maury advanced the understanding of ocean currents and the Navy sponsored astronomical expeditions and important explorations, including the South Sea expedition in which Charles Wilkes discovered Antarctica.
Matthew Fontaine Maury
Matthew Fontaine Maury Earned the title "Pathfinder of the Seas" for his contributions to ocean science. As director of the Naval Observatory, he: Advanced meteorology and hydrography Published the first modern work on oceanography His seasonal wind changes and current charts helped ships' captains select more efficient sea routes and his ocean depth data determined the track used for laying the first transatlantic cable. Charles Wilkes Commanded the South Sea Exploring Expedition from 1838 to 1842. The six-vessel expedition: Surveyed South Pacific islands Charted continental coastlines Proved Antarctica is a continent Collected natural history and ethnological specimens that formed the basis of the Smithsonian Institution's collections
Mexican War
Mexican War The most decisive victory for combined American arms before the Civil War. The Navy's role was large: Blockading Mexico's port cities Transporting Army men and materiel Directing troop landing and bombarding Vera Cruz Seizing and garrisoning enemy territory The nation now: Defended two seacoasts Was propelled into Pacific affairs Had tactical experience that both Northern and Southern officers drew on during the Civil War
Doctrine outlines the principles upon which military forces are organized, trained, and equipped. It explains how those forces attain both enduring and evolving national objectives, emphasizing participation in joint and multinational operations. At the operational level of war, doctrine tells how we plan for and conduct a major combat operation or campaign as well as operations of smaller scale. There are several types of military doctrine and this lesson focuses on two: Navy doctrine and Joint doctrine. Both of these provide broad guidance for the Navy team: active, reserve, and civilian, and every naval professional must understand them
Military doctrine is a level of military planning that bridges national strategy and unit-level tactics, techniques, and procedures. A commander cannot operate solely under the guidance of broad strategy. Neither can he make appropriate mission decisions if guided only by tactics and techniques. Doctrine guides actions toward well-defined goals and provides the basis for mutual understanding within and among the services and national policymakers. Doctrine provides a shared way of thinking about military problems, but does not direct how military problems will be solved. Doctrine is conceptual—a shared way of thinking that is not directive. Commanders are always expected to exercise their own judgment in carrying out their missions. To be useful, doctrine must be uniformly known and understood. With doctrine we gain standardization, without relinquishing freedom of judgment and the commander's need to exercise initiative in battle.
A mobility wing has the same general organization as a bomber or fighter wing with some additional mission support areas, such as the Aerial Port Squadron. Additionally, many Airlift wings, such as the one located at McChord Air Force Base in Washington State, have Reserve Airlift Wings on the same base. Here is an example of an Air Force non-aviation wing. You can see it has the standard group and squadron organizational structure. This Network Warfare wing will be co-located with another Air Force Wing to provide it the mission support assets it lacks—for example, Medical services. Now that we've talked Air Force competencies and organization, let's see how these come together in the range of military operations.
Military operations will most often be joint, and have designated component commanders. For air operations, tasking authority for assigned air and space assets will be assigned to the Joint Force Air Component Commander, or JFACC. Practically speaking, the JFACC will come from the Air Force, as this has become a core Air Force capability. The Navy and Marine Corps, in smaller situations, can also coordinate air activities. When large-scale, theater-wide, intensive combat air operations are envisioned, the most likely choice for JFACC is an Air Force officer because of the robust theater-wide command & control capability of the Air Force's Falconer Air Operations Center. To see a complete list of typical JFACC responsibilities, click on the "Learn More" button. Air Force planning and execution experts are found in the Warfighting headquarters located within each of the six regional combatant command areas of responsibility. One or more numbered Air Force headquarters within an AOR serves as a warfighting headquarters for Air Force combat operations in that theater. Each warfighting headquarters is supported by an Air Force weapons system called the 'Falconer' Air Operations Center, or 'AOC.' The AOC has the personnel and communications to provide command & control for joint air operations anywhere in the theater. For example, in the Pacific Command AOR, the 13th Air Force Warfighting Headquarters can support joint air combat operations of the U.S. Pacific Command through its Air Operations Center at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. If necessary, the numbered air force warfighting headquarters commander, usually a two or three-star general, can serve as the Joint Force Air Component Commander in a Joint Task Force.
In this lesson, we will first outline the basics of military planning from the strategic level on down, and examine the role of combatant commanders in the joint operation planning process. Next, we will demonstrate how the Navy Planning Process (NPP) is synchronized with the joint operation planning process. Finally, we will briefly highlight the important role intelligence plays in planning military operations. By the end of this lesson, you should be able to: understand the basics of joint operation planning, know how the Navy Planning Process (NPP) complements joint operation planning, and recognize the key role intelligence plays in military planning.
Military planning consists of joint strategic planning with its three subsets: security cooperation planning, joint operation planning, and force planning. We will discuss all three subsets next; however, we will focus on joint operation planning, which will be shown last.
Latin America is routinely considered, for national security purposes, to encompass all of the Western Hemisphere south of the United States, including islands of the Caribbean. The region encompasses a wide variety of cultures, geographies, and peoples. It has been, and still is, heavily influenced by the European colonial programs, especially those of Spain and Portugal, from the 15th through the 18th centuries, as well as by the dynamic native civilizations that called the region home prior to the colonial period. The Latin American region was home to many indigenous peoples and advanced civilizations including the Aztec, Toltec, Inca, and Maya prior to European colonization. The height of the Mayan period began about 250 with the Aztecs and Incas emerging into prominence in the early 14th century and mid-15th centuries, respectively. With the arrival of the Europeans, which began in the late fifteenth century, indigenous elites, such as the Incans and Aztecs, were driven from power. Hernando Cortes destroyed the Aztec power in Mexico with the help of local groups who disliked the Aztec elite, and Francisco Pizarro defeated the Incan rule then centralized in Peru in Western South America.
Much of the political, cultural, and social behaviors that currently exist in Latin America can, in some way, be dated to the colonial experience. The rivalry between Spain and Portugal to claim the newly discovered lands led to a series of papal decrees and treaties between the two nations beginning in 1493, which resulted in dividing the world into two hemispheres within which the two nations could claim lands not already governed by a Christian ruler. Within the "New World" the dividing line was a pole-to-pole line at approximately 40 degrees west longitude. Lands east of the line were open for Portuguese control, those west of the line for Spain. Spain was quick to exploit the region and by the 16th century was exporting literally tons of gold and silver a year back to Europe—some of it mined, some of it the result of melting down artwork and other items of the indigienous people. While many European powers, lured by the opportunity to exploit the natural resources of the region, were involved in colonizing the region, Spain and Portugal remained the major players.
In the current NSS, published in May of 2010, the President indicates that this strategy covers all branches of the Federal Government when he states, "To succeed, we must update, balance, and integrate all of the tools of American power and work with our allies and partners to do the same. Our military must maintain its conventional superiority and, as long as nuclear weapons exist, our nuclear deterrent capability, while continuing to enhance its capacity to defeat asymmetric threats, preserve access to the global commons, and strengthen partners. We must invest in diplomacy and development capabilities and institutions in a way that complements and reinforces our global partners."
National Security Advisor (and former U.S. Marine Corps general) James L. Jones, in an overview of the new NSS, stated: "The new U.S. National Security Strategy is one of renewal and global leadership..." "The U.S. must be strong economically to be a power internationally..." "American innovation must be the foundation of American power..." "We will pursue comprehensive engagement around the world." "Going forward, there should be no doubt the United States of America will continue to underwrite global security. We will do so through our military advantage..." Note the linkage of these comments to America's instruments of national power (DIME).
As the level of globalization increases, U.S. interests in Latin America will become more important. Destabilization in the region, whether political, economic, or of some other nature, will have spillover effects in the U.S. Events in Latin America can impact U.S. national interests including U.S. geostrategic concerns, the increased interdependence between U.S. and Latin American economies, the Global War on Terrorism, the proliferation of illegal drugs, and immigration issues. The U.S. is a major trading partner with nearly all of the nations of Latin America, and depends on those nations for a number of critical materials. The U.S. is the major importer of Venezuelan oil, imports agricultural products from most Central American nations, and has fostered trade relations for both raw materials and manufactured products with Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. Instability in these countries that affect the flow of these critical materials could severely impact the U.S. economy as well as national defense. Located approximately 200 miles north of Colombia in the nation of Panama, the Panama Canal physically divides Latin America. While the Canal is no longer considered by U.S. commanders as a major route for warships, it is vital to world commerce, and the United States continues—three decades after control of the Canal was turned over to Panama—to consider the Canal strategically important. The Canal is a critical economic path for commerce between the east and west coasts of the U.S., as well as between Asia and the east coast of the U.S. Indeed, 13 to 14 percent of U.S. seaborne trade passes through it. Latin America has been a major source of illicit drugs in the United States for decades. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), 82% of heroin in the U.S. comes from Latin America. Colombia alone produces three quarters of the world's cocaine supply. Additionally, most of the foreign marijuana available in the United States has entered through Mexico. Over the past fifteen years, the U.S. has spent more than $25 billion on source country eradication and interdiction and drug seizures continue to set records. Despite these efforts, the price of cocaine and heroin are at record lows while purity is at a record high—evidence that these drugs are more available than ever. Combating the illegal drug problem has proven to be problematic. The groups involved in these activities are well organized and, due to the large amounts of money involved, well financed. In countries where large percentages of the population live in poverty, the lure of employment with these groups is strong. Money also allows the criminals to bribe local officials and if that proves unsuccessful they have had a long history of violence—targeting judges, police, military personnel, journalists, and political leaders brave enough to stand up against them. Additionally, many of these criminal groups have been able to join up with local insurgents who are more than willing to protect criminal activities in exchange for cash. A number of commentators would suggest that the number one security problem in Latin America concerns these very powerful illegal drug groups. The centers of activity for these are Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru. Recent news reports suggest that cartels in Mexico are also flourishing and using tactics typically ascribed to various terrorist groups to advance their agendas. Close
National resources and agricultural products have traditionally been the primary U.S. imports from Latin America. Today the leading U.S. imports from the region are oil and petroleum products mainly from Mexico and Venezuela with Ecuador also providing some supply. Other natural resources exported from the area include copper, mainly from Chile and Peru; iron ore, from Venezuela, Brazil, Chile, and Peru; tin from Bolivia; manganese from Brazil; tungsten from Peru and Brazil; and zinc from Peru. Agricultural products are an important part of Latin America's export market. Coffee, until displaced by oil after World War II, was the region's leading export in dollar amount to the U.S. At one time Latin America provided over 90 percent of U.S. coffee imports. While still the major supplier, the region's dominance in coffee is being challenged by places such as Africa and Vietnam. Leading coffee exporters include Brazil, Colombia, and many of the nations in the Caribbean and Central America. Other agricultural products that are exported from the region include: sugar from Brazil, Peru and some Caribbean nations; bananas, primarily from Ecuador and Central America; cocoa from Brazil and Ecuador; and processed meats from Argentina. Manufactured products accounted for about five percent of South American exports to the United States in 1950 and about twelve percent in 1970. This has continued to rise in recent years due to the expanded role of U.S. and other foreign investments in South American manufacturing production. For example, by 2000, U.S. direct investment in South America reached $80 billion. Brazil alone received $35 billion in U.S. investment, a sum greater than the total U.S. investment in economies such as Australia, Italy, and Sweden. The United States is now the largest trading partner of Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Moreover, the U.S. is one of the top three trading partners of virtually every other Latin American country. The U.S. dollar operates as the de facto currency in many parts of the region. Most economists expect that the early 21st century will see an expansion of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to much of Latin America, thereby creating the world's largest free trade zone. This increase in U.S. trade with and investment in Latin America has made the economies of all the nations interdependent. Economic downturns or the loss of trade with these countries either through government action, civil or labor unrest, or conflict (either between nations or within a nation) can have a severe impact on the United States. One only has to read a newspaper or watch the television news to see that immigration, legal or otherwise, has become a critical issue within the United States. While not differentiating between legal or illegal status, the 2000 Census estimates that the immigrant population in America increased from just under 20 million in 1990 to nearly 31 million in 2000 with half of this immigrant population from Latin American countries. Additionally, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (USGAO) has estimated that between 400,000 and 700,000 unauthorized migrants have entered the United States each year since 1992 with a large percentage of them coming from Latin American countries. Many experts have argued that one way to decrease migration from Latin America to the United States would be to increase stability and economic opportunities in that region. For example, the 2000 Census has estimated that there are nearly half a million immigrants in the United States from Guatemala—a nation with an estimated population of only 12.8 million. Factors contributing to this exodus may include: A 36-year guerrilla war ending in 1996 resulting in over 100,000 deaths and creating, by some estimates, some one million refugees; more than half the population lives below the poverty line—one of the highest levels in Latin America; and an economy so poor that money sent home from Guatemalans living in the U.S. to relatives in Guatemala is that nation's largest source of foreign income, exceeding the total value of exports and tourism combined. Of course it is impossible to predict whether increasing a nation's stability and economic opportunity will result in a decrease in immigration, but it does provide some food for thought. Whatever the cause, the issue of immigration has become a very important issue in relations between the U.S. and many of the Latin American nations.
NOC 10 describes when, where and how U.S. naval forces contribute to: enhancing security, preventing conflict, and prevailing in war in order to guide Maritime Strategy implementation in a manner consistent with national strategy. NOC 10 also describes the ways with which the sea services achieves the ends articulated in CS-21. NOC 10 identifies how naval forces blend "soft" and "hard" power in support of the approach, objectives and enduring national interests articulated in the National Defense Strategy. These enduring interests include: "protecting the nation and our allies from attack or coercion, promoting international security to reduce conflict and foster economic growth, and securing access to world markets and resources." NOC 10 also expands the discussion of the role of U.S. naval forces in each of CS-21's six core capabilities. U.S. Navy doctrinal development is overseen by the Navy Warfare Development Command (or NWDC) located in Norfolk, Virginia. While Navy doctrine does not occupy the equivalent position of significance that Army or Marine Corps doctrine occupies, it remains essential to all levels of naval operations. The majority of Navy doctrine is focused at the tactical level of war. NWDC coordinates the development of concepts, concepts of operations, doctrine, experimentation, and Navy lessons learned in direct support of the fleet.
Naval Doctrine is broken down into a hierarchy of publications. Click on each level for a definition Naval forces have two chains of command. The first is administrative in nature and consists of those organizations within the Navy dedicated to the provision of trained and equipped naval forces for employment by the Combatant Commanders. This administrative chain of command starts with the CNO. The CNO reports to the Secretary of the Navy as well as being a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Within this administrative chain of command, there are two commands directly involved in what is collectively called "Title 10 Functions" after Title 10 of the US Federal Code. These functions encompass the Navy's efforts to recruit, organize, supply, equip, train, mobilize, demobilize, administer, service, and maintain the Navy. These two commands are US Fleet Forces Command and US Pacific Fleet.
Mobility is a key to decisiveness in naval operations. Mobility allows naval forces to position themselves in order to monitor a situation, remain on station, respond to a crisis, or maneuver in combat with authority. In anticipation, naval forces relocate rapidly within or among theaters of operation without concern for fixed logistic sources. Naval mobility ensures an adversary cannot take hostile action with any confidence that the expanse of oceans will protect him from retaliation. Mobility makes naval forces difficult to target and severely taxes an enemy's ability to either launch an effective attack or to position forces adequately to provide for his defense.
Naval forces are designed to travel significant distances without replenishment. They possess the striking power of aircraft, missiles, guns, Marines, and special operations forces, and can execute operations immediately without an assembly period or lengthy logistics buildup. Naval forces sustain themselves and remain on station for extended periods through re-supply by combat logistics ships at sea. This sustainability provides the combatant commanders with a combat force that can remain on station as long as necessary. Operating at sea and in the world's littorals, naval forces are able to shift quickly and easily from low-profile, forward-deployed operations to high-tempo and high-impact combat. In this environment, naval forces are truly expeditionary in character. They are a force whose readiness, flexibility, mobility, and self-sustainability can deter and, if necessary, win regional conflicts, resolve international crises, and serve effectively as the naval component of a joint force in support of national strategy.
Doctrine outlines the principles upon which military forces are organized, trained, and equipped. It explains how those forces attain both enduring and evolving national objectives, and while authoritative, allows commanders to exercise sound judgment. There are several types of military doctrine: Joint, Service, multi-service, multinational, and allied.
Naval forces are organized for fighting at sea—or from the sea. Key characteristics that distinguish naval forces and ensure their utility to combatant commanders are their readiness, flexibility, sustainability, and mobility. These qualities permit naval forces to be expeditionary—that is, being able to establish and maintain a forward-based, stabilizing presence around the world. Naval expeditionary operations are offensive in nature, and employ integrated task forces of the Navy and Marine Corps.
Naval forces differ from air and land forces. These differences largely devolve from the character of the medium in which they operate—the sea and its littoral regions—which determine the manner of their employment and their affect upon events ashore. Naval forces are organized for fighting at sea—or from the sea. Key characteristics that distinguish naval forces and ensure their utility to combatant commanders are their readiness, flexibility, mobility, and sustainability. These qualities permit naval forces to be expeditionary—that is, being able to establish and maintain a forward-based, stabilizing presence around the world. Naval expeditionary operations are offensive in nature, mounted by highly trained and well equipped integrated task forces of the Navy and Marine Corps, organized to accomplish specific objectives. Naval forces operate forward with everything needed to assist friends, deter potential adversaries, and conduct prompt, sustained, and violent combat operations should deterrence fail. Since the early 1800's and the defeat of the Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean Sea, the United States has used naval forces to defend its vital interests abroad by maintaining a forward presence. Operating forward enables forces to attain and maintain situational awareness that is critical in gaining the upper hand during the early stages of a conflict. By operating in the places and climates where conflict is expected, naval forces gain familiarity with the environment and its effects on people and equipment. The presence and readiness of deployed naval forces often provide the combatant commander with the core of an initial response in a crisis, allowing a credible response without the debilitating effects of lengthy transits and force generation delays. Forward deployed naval forces, including selected U.S. Coast Guard assets, demonstrate that the United States is involved and committed to shaping events in the best interests of itself, its allies, and its friends
Naval forces provide our decision makers a wide range of lethal and nonlethal options. Aircraft carriers, amphibious task forces, surface combatants, submarines, cutters, and aircraft, either independently or as the naval component of a joint force, provide the tools to respond to a full range of missions, from foreign humanitarian assistance to forcible entry and strike operations. Inherent operational flexibility allows naval forces to shift focus, reconfigure, and realign to handle a variety of contingencies. Selective positioning of forces afloat can provide the perception and potential for action without committing forces. Flexibility of naval forces provides options to combatant commanders and diplomats, in time of crisis, war, or peace
American Sailors and Marines fought afloat and ashore during World War I:
Naval personnel in Europe operated submarine-searching aircraft and fought against German planes and dirigibles In the 1920's and 1930's, Sailors and Marines fought to: — Enforce U.S. foreign policy — Defend U.S. interests — Protect American citizens in China, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Mexico In 1937, Japanese aircraft attacked and sank—supposedly by accident—the river gunboat USS Panay (PR-5) Naval strategists refined War Plan Orange for a conflict with Japan in the Pacific.
Naval Doctrine Publications, or NDPs, are capstone publications that describe the role of U.S. Navy forces, outline our basic warfighting philosophy, and disseminate operational level principles for employment. NDPs are promulgated by the NWDC, and approved by the CNO and Commandant of the Marine Corps. As the highest level of Navy doctrine, they link the Navy's overarching concepts and national level strategies to fleet operations. Operations at the unit level are governed by the principles and philosophy contained within these publications. Currently there are five NDPs that cover Naval Warfare, Naval Intelligence, Naval Logistics, Naval Planning, and Naval Command and Control. Eventually, all five NDPs will be consolidated into a single Naval Doctrine Publication titled Naval Warfare.
Navy Warfare Publications, or NWPs, contain doctrine that covers mission areas, enabling functions, and the organization and support of forces for sustained operations. An example of a Navy Warfare Publication is NWP 3-07.2, Navy Doctrine for Antiterrorism / Force Protection. NWPs may also contain amplifying tactics, techniques, and procedures for the employment of Navy forces. NWPs are promulgated and approved by the Commander of NWDC. NTTPs contain tactics, techniques and procedures for platforms/weapons systems, organizations, capabilities and support functions, and normally support a superior NWP. An example is NTTP 3-07.2.1, Antiterrorism and Force Protection. This publication provides specific measures to deter and defeat terrorist attacks against Navy forces, and is meant to be used in conjunction with NWP 3-07.2. NTTPs are authored, reviewed, updated, and approved by designated Fleet Primary Review Authorities and Centers of Excellence. The Navy Warfare Development Command reviews NTTPs for format and approved Joint and Navy service terminology. NWDC also verifies the contents support Navy doctrine.
Technological Developments
New technologies changed the Navy. Heavily armed and armored battleships and other warships joined the fleet. New fossil-fuel power plants propelled steel naval vessels.
New technology included iron-hulled steamships armed with
New technology included iron-hulled steamships armed with wrought iron guns and exploding shells. The second steam warship was built in 1837 and, in 1842, the first steam warships capable of service at sea were launched. Steam remained auxiliary to wind. Steam warships used sails to conserve coal, but fought under steam.
Where conflict threatens the peaceful global system and our national interests, maritime forces will be ready to respond alongside other elements of national and multinational power to give political leaders a range of options for deterrence, escalation, and de-escalation. Maritime forces can deter the ambitions of regional aggressors, assure friends and allies, gain and maintain access, and protect our citizens while working to sustain global order.
No other disruption is as potentially disastrous to global stability as war among major powers. Maintenance and extension of our seapower advantage is a key component of deterring major power war. While war with another great power may strike some as improbable, the near certainty of its ruinous effects demands that it will be actively deterred using all elements of national power. The character of maritime forces are lethality, global reach, speed, endurance, and operational agility—provide the joint commander with a variety of deterrent options. We will pursue an approach to deterrence that includes a creditable and scaleable ability to retaliate against aggressors conventionally, unconventionally, and with nuclear forces.
The Marine Expeditionary Brigade, or "MEB," is the "middle-weight" MAGTF. It is a crisis response force capable of forcible entry and enabling the introduction of follow-on forces. It can serve as part of a joint or combined force and can provide the nucleus of a joint task force headquarters. It is unique in that it is the smallest MAGTF with a fully capable aviation element that can perform all six functions of Marine aviation, and it is self-sustaining for 30 days. A MEB is capable of rapid deployment and employment, and it can deploy by air in combination with Maritime Prepositioned Shipping, or by amphibious shipping. The MEB can conduct the full range of combat operations and may serve as the lead echelon of the MEF. The MEB is not a standing organization; rather it is imbedded within the MEF. As a result, MEBs are task organized for specific missions from within the assets of the MEF. The MEB conducts the mission or prepares for the subsequent arrival of the rest of the MEF or other joint or combined forces. However, the deployment of a MEB does not necessarily mean that all the forces of the MEF will follow.
Normally commanded by a Brigadier General, the MEB's command element may include additional assets such as enhanced command and control capabilities, Force Reconnaissance Company assets, signals intelligence capabilities, and enhanced engineering capabilities. It is also capable of controlling the forces of other Services and nations in missions ranging from full-scale urban combat to disaster relief. The GCE for the MEB includes an infantry regiment reinforced with artillery, reconnaissance, engineer, light and heavy armor, and assault amphibian units, and other attachments as required. The MEB's ACE is composed of a reinforced Marine Aircraft Group comprised of combat assault, transport, utility, and attack helicopters; short takeoff and landing fixed-wing attack aircraft, air refuelers, and other attachments as required. The LCE for the MEB is task organized around the Combat Logistics Regiment (Forward). This element consists of a headquarters and one or more Combat Logistics Battalions. The logistics element will have engineering; supply; transportation; services; medical, dental, and maintenance capabilities, as well as landing support for beach, port, and airfield operations.
To support the command and control of both naval and joint operations, the Navy has two Command ships which can provide communications and accommodations for a fleet commander and staff, or a joint force commander and staff. The Blue Ridge and Mount Whitney were both initially designed for an amphibious command ship role; however, they were subsequently modified as fleet flagships. The Blue Ridge is the command ship for 7th Fleet in Japan, and Mount Whitney is the 6th Fleet command ship in the Mediterranean.
Now that we have examined the Navy's forces and its command and control, we'll take a look at the operational factors of time and space, and how they impact the employment of Navy forces. Much has been said about the pace of globalization and how it draws the nations of the world closer together than ever before. Nevertheless, geography has not changed. ...the world is a big place...physical distance continues to be important...and there is an advantage in "being there" with sovereign, flexible combat power to influence events beyond our shores. The image you see here is a composite photograph of the earth at night. The areas of light show where people live, and is graphic evidence that nearly 75% of the world's population and 80% of the world's capital cities are located in the littoral regions near the sea. This is the space where naval expeditionary forces operate.
During this lesson on The Civil War and its Aftermath, these subjects were discussed:
Operations: — Protecting U.S. commerce — Blockades and attacks — Joint operations with the Army Technological developments: — Monitor-like iron-clad vessels — Submarines — Underwater mines (torpedoes) Leaders: — David G. Farragut — David D. Porter — Andrew H. Foote — William B. Cushing Post-War Navy: — Naval decline and resurgence — Modern technologies — Officer corps professional development » Albert Abraham Michelson » David Watson Taylor » Robert Edwin Peary — Naval Institute and the Naval War College
So, we must determine: Where is the enemy vulnerable? In battlefield terms, this means we should generally avoid his front, where his attention is focused and he is strongest, and seek out his flanks and rear, where he does not expect us and where we can also cause the greatest psychological damage. We should also strike at a moment in time when he is vulnerable. For example, if the COG is a large adversary force, you might attack it indirectly by isolating it from its command and control, severing its lines of communications and defeating or degrading its air defense and indirect fire capability. When vulnerable, the adversary force can be attacked directly. Simply put, commanders should employ an integrated and synchronized combination of operations to expose and attack adversary COGs through weak or vulnerable points—seams, flanks, specific forces or military capabilities, rear areas, and even military morale and public opinion and support.
Of all the vulnerabilities we might choose to exploit, some are more critical to the enemy than others. Some may contribute significantly to the enemy's downfall, while others may lead only to minimal gains. Therefore, we should focus our efforts against a critical vulnerability, a vulnerability that if exploited, will do the most significant damage to the enemy's ability to resist us. Commanders should always be aware of the changing nature of relative strengths and weaknesses of the opposing forces. As a result, the COG—particularly at the operational and tactical levels—can change. Changes take place for a number of reasons, including changes in objectives of different phases of a major operation, the introduction of a new or highly advanced weapon, or higher than expected attrition of enemy forces. The enemy's COG can also shift from one type of force to another even though the objective has not changed. An example of this shifting took place in the Falklands/Malvinas conflict in 1982. Before the British landed forces on the islands, their operational level COG was their two carriers. Without them, the British would not have landed their troops. After the landing had occurred, their operational COG changed to the 3 Commando Brigade—which was what the British needed to obtain its objective. Close
The Supreme Court of Justice is composed of 21 members who are appointed by the President. The Supreme Court selects members of the circuit and district courts, with a tier of lower courts generally supporting the President's policies
One of America's primary interests in North America is that of physical security. Relatively secure borders with friendly nations coupled with the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans have long protected the United States from foreign attack. The 1993 World Trade Center attack as well as the events of September 11, 2001, brought to the forefront a new form of threat to American security - the transnational terrorist group, in this case al-Qaeda. Employing a hidden infrastructure with state and non-state support, these groups use terrorism on a global battlefield that threatens U.S. interests both at home and abroad. Although based abroad, today's transnational terrorist groups often install "sleeper" cells within a target country able to lie low for years before taking action.
Operation ENDURING FREEDOM was the U.S. response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Members of Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda terrorist organization hijacked four U.S. jetliners, crashing two into New York's World Trade Center and one into the Pentagon. A fourth crashed in a rural area of Pennsylvania after passengers attempted to combat the hijackers. Afghanistan, which had been ruled by the repressive Taliban regime following the Soviet withdrawal from that country, was home to numerous Al-Qaeda training camps and other facilities. When the Afghan government refused to close the terrorist camps and hand over Al-Qaeda leaders, the U.S. launched Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, the first operation in the global war on terrorism. Fifth Fleet carrier-based aircraft and Tomahawk missiles launched by ships and submarines became the first volleys fired in this war. Operations in support of ground troops engaged in combat operations led to the expulsion of the Taliban regime and restoration of a democratic form of government. Notably, Navy and Marine aircraft executed almost 80 percent of the U.S. strike operations in Afghanistan. Efforts continue in Afghanistan to rebuild and train its new army, support the government and growing economy, and defeat remaining terrorists and Taliban fighters.
Operation ENDURING FREEDOM (2003-2010): Coalition response to 9/11 terrorist attacks — Terrorist attacks conducted by Al-Qaeda — Al-Qaeda operatives based in Afghanistan — Al-Qaeda leadership protected by the Taliban regime in Afghanistan — Afghan government refused to close camps and hand over terrorist leaders — Ground troops, supported by naval air and surface fires expelled Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters Efforts continue to defeat the Taliban insurgency and support Afghanistan's democratic government In Iraq, Saddam Hussein continued to oppress the people of his country and to pose a threat to the global community. Not deterred by previous retaliatory strikes, he refused to comply with UN resolutions and hindered the ability of UN weapon inspectors from confirming the presence of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). U.S. leaders feared that Saddam, who had already used WMDs against his enemies and his own people, would one day employ them against U.S. forces or provide them to Al-Qaeda terrorists.
In March 2003, the United States and a coalition of like-minded nations launched Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, which in three weeks defeated Saddam's military, toppled his government in Baghdad, and liberated the Iraqi people from the tyranny under which they had suffered for decades. As they did in Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM, U.S. and coalition Navy units, now organized under Fifth Fleet command, played a major role. In addition to hitting key targets with surface- and submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles and aerial bombing by Navy and Marine Corps aircraft, which conducted nearly half of the strike missions in Iraq, coalition naval forces seized Iraqi oil platforms in the northern Arabian Gulf and oil rigs in southern Iraq. This action prevented the enemy from destroying these vital installations which would have resulted in environmentally devastating oil spills. Also, coalition mine countermeasures ships as well as aircraft and explosive ordnance disposal teams cleared mines from the waterway that connected the sea to Umm Qasr, Iraq's main port, enabling humanitarian and other supplies to flow into the country. Fifth Fleet units continue to support Maritime Security Operations (MSO), along with conducting visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS) missions, protecting key infrastructure nodes and conducting combat operations in the area as directed. Effective 1 September 2010, Operation IRAQI FREEDOM ended and Operation NEW DAWN began. The purpose of Operation NEW DAWN is to align U.S. strategic communications with the military's diminishing role in Iraq. Operation NEW DAWN sends what Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said is a "...strong signal that Operation IRAQI FREEDOM has ended and our forces are operating under a new mission.
Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (continued): Military combat operations toppled Saddam's regime — Navy ships and submarines used Tomahawks against key targets — Naval aircraft flew nearly 50 percent of strike missions — Naval forces seized Iraqi oil platforms and rigs — U.S.-led coalition forces cleared mines Fifth Fleet units continue to support operation — Maritime security operations (MSO) — Visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS) — Protect key infrastructure — Combat operations Effective 1 Sep 2010, Operation IRAQI FREEDOM ended and Operation NEW DAWN began — Aligns strategic communication with military's diminishing role — Reflects focus of coalition forces on stability operations — Continued transfer of security responsibilities to Iraqi forces
This lesson presents an overview of the Navy during the Civil War and the War's impact on the Navy. It will discuss the role of the Navy during the Civil War and the building of the new Navy after the Civil War. Four areas of interest will be discussed:
Operations Technological Developments Leaders Post-War Navy
As a legacy of Spanish and Portuguese colonization in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, the predominant religion of the mainland countries is Roman Catholic. One of the goals of the Spanish and Portuguese colonists was the conversion of the indigenous populace to Catholicism. In fact, converting the native population was a condition accepted by Spain in return for receiving the Pope's blessing to claim much of the region. While conversion was at times marked with coercion and even violence, Catholicism, mixed with some local religious practices became the accepted religion throughout most of the region. Over the years of colonial domination, the Church acquired huge landholdings and tremendous wealth. This tended to align the interests of the Church with the colonial landholders against the native populations during the wars of liberation. As a result of these conflicts, the properties of the Church were often expropriated by the new national governments as they came into power. In some instances, such as in Mexico, the Church was outlawed for a period of time, although it has regained prominence through the 20th century. During the early 1800's, with the European powers embroiled in the Napoleonic Wars, independence movements throughout Latin America grew. In 1804, Haiti, after years of on-again, off-again slave revolt against the French colonial power, declared independence after defeating a French military force. Haiti thus became the second independent country in the New World and the only successful slave rebellion in history. Brazil achieved independence from Portugal in 1822 and by 1825 all of Spain's Latin American colonies, except for Puerto Rico and Cuba, also gained independence. Over the next several decades various independence movements, led by leaders such as Miguel Hidalgo, Simon Bolivar, and Jose de San Martin, appeared throughout the region. The U.S. feared other European nations would attempt to capitalize on the collapse of the Spanish and Portuguese and assert themselves into the region. In response, President James Monroe, in an 1823 message to Congress, declared that American continents were no longer available for European colonization and any attempt by the European powers to gain influence in the region would be considered as "dangerous to our peace and safety." The United States would not interfere in Europe and expected Europe to stay out of the Americas. This policy became known as the Monroe Doctrine. Latin Americans resented the Monroe Doctrine, because it was promulgated by the U.S. without any consultation, and set up U.S. dominance in the region. Indeed, the Monroe Doctrine was used to legitimize U.S. military interventions in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Other events have led to feelings of mistrust between some Latin American countries and the United States, which, in some instances, are still present today. During the mid-1800's the United States gained nearly half of Mexico's territory as a result of the Texas annexation in 1845, the Mexican War from 1846 to 1848, and the Gadsden Purchase of 1853. Many in Mexico feel that the U.S. stole these lands. In 1898, the Spanish-American War led to Spain losing its remaining colonies in the region. The U.S. obtained ownership of Puerto Rico, gained control of Cuba, and ensured that Cuba, which had seen numerous insurgent uprisings since the early 1820's, was essentially a U.S. protectorate. The Spanish-American War highlighted the need and difficulty of shifting parts of the U.S. Fleet between the two oceans. Then President Theodore Roosevelt convinced Congress building a canal across the Isthmus of Panama should be undertaken. At the time, Panama was part of Colombia which was involved in an internal war. When Colombia rejected U.S. proposals, the U.S. backed Panama in its bid for independence. In 1903, Panama proclaimed its independence and the following year construction of the Panama Canal, a project that would take ten years, began. The U.S. would control the Canal and the land adjacent to it until a 1977 treaty was signed between the U.S. and Panama, giving full control to Panama in 2000. In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt modified the Monroe Doctrine with what has been called the Roosevelt Corollary in response to a combined British, German, and Italian naval blockade of Venezuela in 1902 when that country could not pay its debts. The Corollary claimed that the United States had the right and the moral duty to exercise "international police power" in the Western Hemisphere. Under this doctrine, which was and remains highly controversial, the U.S. was involved in numerous military operations throughout Latin America during the following decades. In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt advanced a policy aimed at improving relations with the nations of Central and South America. Emphasizing cooperation rather than military force to maintain stability, he stated in his first inaugural address that "In the field of world policy I would dedicate this nation to the policy of the good neighbor—the neighbor who resolutely respects himself and, because he does so, respects the rights of others." This was quite a shift from previous presidents that could be summarized by Theodore Roosevelt's assertion that America had "the right to knock their heads together until they should maintain peace." U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull attended the Montevideo Conference of 1933 where he backed the declaration that "No state has the right to intervene in the internal or external affairs of another." As a result of this new policy, trade between the United States and Latin America tripled from 1932 to 1941 as the U.S. entered into trade agreements with nearly all the countries of the region. More than just words, there were no U.S. military interventions in the region during Franklin Roosevelt's years even when Bolivia and Mexico nationalized the holdings of U.S. oil companies in those countries. This policy has been credited with most of the nations in Latin America giving unified support to the Allies during World War II. Many in the region today point to the Good Neighbor Policy as a model for good hemispheric relations. During the Cold War, U.S. policy became one of countering the Soviet Union and its allies. Containing communism throughout the world was a major U.S. goal. Frequent U.S. intervention and involvement in the internal affairs of Latin American nations marked the Cold War era. U.S. interventions in the region included supporting the overthrow of popularly-elected governments in Guatemala in 1954 and Chile in 1973; support of leaders of autocratic regimes such as Omar Torrijos of Panama, Anastasio Somoza of Nicaragua and Alfredo Stroessner of Paraguay; and support of insurgents against governments seen as communist such as the Contras of Nicaragua who fought against Somoza's successors and the Cuban exiles who were supported in a failed invasion of communist Cuba in 1961. More directly, in 1983, at the urging of other leaders in the Caribbean, the U.S. placed troops in Grenada to counter Cuban involvement on that island. U.S. policy and actions in Latin America during the Cold War undid much of the good relations built up during the years of the Good Neighbor Policy. The ramifications are still being felt today.
In January 1991 U.S. and allied military forces launched Operation DESERT STORM. The operation:
Ousted Iraqi armed forces from Kuwait Returned sovereignty of Kuwait back to the Kuwaitis Forced Saddam to end nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons programs Despite this defeat, Saddam: Suppressed internal opposition to his rule Subjected his people to cruelties and hardships Threatened neighboring countries For the rest of the 1990s, U.S. military forces patrolled the skies and carried out attacks in response to Saddam's aggressive acts.
The total land area of the Greater Middle East, without India and the central Asian nations, is roughly 14.9 million square miles, which is approximately one and a half times the size of the United States. the Greater Middle East primarily consists of arid and semi-arid desert among flat plains and low plateaus. Some countries have small areas of grasslands, forests, and fertile river lowlands. The southern third of the Arabian Peninsula is the Rub' al Khali Desert. The Syrian Desert lies at the junction of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq. Southern portions of Yemen and Oman contain rugged mountains. Mountainous terrain stretches through Turkey, northern Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, and northern India. Besides the obvious importance of oil production, water resources influence population locations and trade routes. Several aquifers supply large portions of the Middle East with water, but shortages are a significant problem. While rapidly growing populations are demanding more water, salinization and pollution threaten the current supplies. Major rivers, including the Nile and the Euphrates, provide sources for irrigation water to support agriculture. The Suez Canal is a vital chokepoint for the region's sea lines of communication (SLOC). The export of oil from the countries surrounding the Persian Gulf relies on secure passage through not only the Suez Canal, but also other chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz, which separates the Persian Gulf from the Gulf of Oman, and the Bab El Mandeb Strait, which separates the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aden. Islam is the prevailing religion in the Greater Middle East. Setting aside India, which is 80% Hindu, and Kazakhstan, which is 44% Russian Orthodox, more than 90% of the region's population are Muslims. Christians form the next largest group with 4%, and Jews account for about 2% of the population, centered in Israel. Islam is centered on the divine revelations of the prophet Muhammad with the primary text being the Quran. The Quran is the equivalent of the Bible in Christianity. Islam is divided into two major groups, Sunni Islam (around 85% of the world's Muslims) and Shia Islam (15% of the world's Muslims). The two groups separated over the issue of supreme religious authority after the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632. Briefly, Sunnis believe that the first four caliphs were the rightful successors of Muhammad, but after that, since God did not name the leaders of the community, they had to be elected. Shiites reject the religious authority of the caliph, accepting only Ali's descendants (Ali was the cousin of Muhammad) as legitimate religious authorities, called Imams. Shia Muslims believe they have no right to elect a religious leader. The seminal event in Shia history is the martyrdom in 680 of Ali's son Hussein, who led an uprising against the "illegitimate" caliph. Since then, Shia Muslims have been considered outside Islam's mainstream. Although in most places Shia and Sunni coexist peacefully, tension between them can occasionally flare up into violence. Although the Middle East is the birthplace of Christianity, it no longer has the preeminent position there. Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have a substantial population of Russian Orthodox Christians and other Christians can be found in small groups in Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. Christian beliefs center on the teachings of Jesus Christ, believed to be both divine and human. Christians in the Middle East fall into two basic categories: Catholic and Eastern Orthodox. Catholicism is split between the large Roman Catholic Church in the west, under the authority of the Pope, and smaller denominations of Eastern Orthodox, which together comprise most of the Catholics in the Middle East. The Orthodox Church is less centralized, and is descended from the Christianity of the Byzantine Empire. Its main denominations are the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches. Although tensions have existed between Catholic and Orthodox Christians in the past, very little remains between them now. Due to the small overall percentage of Christians in Middle Eastern countries, they have little influence on government policies and law.
Over 650 million people live in the Greater Middle East with an additional 1.1 billion people in India. Population density varies greatly throughout the region, with a general trend of migration from rural to urban areas. As is common in most regions of the world, ethnic identity is closely related to religion and either the language or the dialect of the language spoken. Nearly all Jews in the Greater Middle East live in Israel, the world's only Jewish state. Judaism centers on the covenant relationship between God and the Jewish people. Within Israel, Orthodox Jews who adhere closely to traditional Judaic practices maintain the most influence in religious and political affairs. Reform Jews, who want to adapt tradition to contemporary circumstances, and Conservative Jews, who hold a position between the two, are notable minorities. Abraham, considered to be the patriarch of the Jewish faith, is also considered to be the patriarch of the Islamic faith and Christianity, both of which trace their religious lineage to him. Much of the tension that exists between the Jewish and Muslim faiths in the Middle East is attributable to the creation of Israel, which displaced the Muslim Palestinians and came to govern Jerusalem and other sites considered holy to Muslims. Over 80% of the Indian population is Hindu and since India is so populous, Hindu is the world's third largest religion. Hinduism also dates to 3,000 BC, making it the world's oldest religion that is still widely practiced. Few Hindus are found in large concentrations outside of India. Prominent themes in Hinduism include Dharma (ethics and duties), Samsara (continuing cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth), Karma (action and subsequent reaction), and Moksha (liberation from the cycle of samsara). A key religious text is the Bhagavad Gita. Although most of the Indian population identifies themselves as Hindu, around 13% of the population is Muslim, giving India the world's second largest Muslim population. While usually peaceful, the relations between the majority Hindus and minority Muslims occasionally causes tension within India. Religious tension is also evident in India's relations with Pakistan, the predominantly Muslim nation on its western border. The great majority of Sikhs live in the very populated Indian province of Punjab. Despite only comprising about 2% of India's overall population, Sikhism is one of the world's largest religions. Founded in the 15th Century, it has its roots in the ancient religious traditions of northern India and focuses on attaining unity with God through devotion and acts of charity. Often mistaken for a sect of Islam, Sikhism has a set of customs and traditions distinct from both Islam and Hinduism. Sikhism is not a proselytizing religion and they do not actively attempt to gain converts. In the partition of India in 1947, many Sikhs were caught up in the violence and had to migrate into the Indian province of Punjab from their ancestral homes in what became Pakistan.
The idea of a unified special operations command had its origins in the aftermath of Operation Eagle Claw, the disastrous attempted rescue of hostages at the American embassy in Iran during 1980. The tragedy occurred when an H-53 helicopter crashed onto a C-130 Hercules in an isolated Iranian area known as Desert One. In the ensuing explosion and fire, eight U.S. servicemen died. The Holloway Report and the investigation that followed the mission, cited command and control and inter-service coordination as significant factors in the failure of the mission. Among the recommendations were the creation of a standing Joint Task Force, tasked with a Counter Terrorism mission. It was the operations in Beirut that caused Congress to pass the Goldwater-Nichols legislation that fundamentally reorganized the Department of Defense. The U.S Special Operations Command, or USSOCOM, was formally established as a functional unified command at Macdill Air Force Base, in Tampa, Florida in April 1987.
Over the ensuing 20 years since its creation, the US Special Operations Command has both grown and evolved. Originally comprised principally of service members from the Army, Navy and Air Force, SOCOM now includes a Marine Corps service component - the Marine Corps Special Operations Command. In support of national objectives, SOCOM has conducted numerous significant special operations around the globe, including operations in Panama, Somalia, Haiti, the Balkans and others. However, since the events of 9/11, the focus and role of SOCOM has changed dramatically. Recently, the mission of, "...disrupt, defeat, and destroy terrorist networks..." was added to SOCOM's mission to emphasize their operational responsibilities in the Global War on Terrorism. The Unified Command Plan of 2003 directed that SOCOM would synchronize all efforts in the Global War On Terrorism for the Department of Defense. Despite this new emphasis, SOCOM has not divested itself of any of its historical responsibilities, and can still serve as both a supported and supporting combatant commander, depending on the situation for other assigned missions. However, they have added many functions as the lead for DoD in the Global War on Terrorism. Their operations in insurgent training areas such as Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, and Afghanistan are examples of SOCOM's efforts to strengthen civil institutions, improve quality of indigenous security forces, and deny sanctuary to those groups proposing harm to the U.S.
Peace in Europe prepared the way for
Peace in Europe prepared the way for peace in America.
Allied Forces Fight for Survival
Pearl Harbor Attack Battle of Midway Struggle for Guadalcanal
One particular attribute of the Coast Guard is emphasized through the other Law Enforcement Program. While several laws give the Coast Guard an explicit responsibility to engage in regulation and law enforcement activities, the broadest enforcement authority is expressed in Title 14, Part 89, of the United States Code. "The Coast Guard may make inquiries, examinations, inspections, searches, seizures, and arrests . . . for the prevention, detection, and suppression of violations of laws of the United States . . . and for such purposes . . . use all necessary force to compel compliance . . ." The Coast Guard can exercise this authority from any Coast Guard or partner platform. This flexibility has important implications across the spectrum of joint and international operations, as the Coast Guard can project the nation's enforcement powers from its own units, assets of the DoD or a partner nation. Also, the Coast Guard's ability to execute enforcement is not suspended when participating in the activities of other executive departments, including homeland defense and homeland security operations. Law enforcement or other mission activities can run in parallel to military or security activities to strengthen the effort to attain a national desired end state. The unique ability to simultaneously be both a military and enforcement power in the maritime domain places the Coast Guard in an important position to support the United States' National Security Strategy and derivative strategies.
Potential partners also need to be aware of one other broad authority... that of the Captain of the Port. A Coast Guard Officer serves as Captain of the Port, and in that capacity influences or controls domestic port and coastal activities, including those associated with defense operations. These authorities are broad in nature and encompass oversight and monitoring of federally regulated waterfront facilities, establishment and enforcement of safety and security zones, and commercial vessel movement in the coastal zone. The Captain of the Port also exercises concurrent federal jurisdiction with state and local agencies for all safety and security response related activities in the Captain of the Port Zone. The Coast Guard accounts for the factors of space, time, and force in planning and execution. Within that framework, in particular, the Coast Guard aggressively manages a diverse human factor built of external relationships across constituencies, partners, competitors, and adversaries, and internal relationships across functional communities. The dominant emphasis in the Coast Guard is on mission execution, where a clear objective guides activities and serves as the fulcrum for addressing space-time-force relationships. By law, the Coast Guard must maintain a forward presence in a global operating environment that is threat-rich, and regionally, physically, politically, and diplomatically diverse. The Coast Guard's peace and conflict environments are defined by: humanitarian, environmental, safety, security, regulatory, enforcement, economic, and military interests.
The Navy's mastery at sea was one of the decisive factors that brought the Union victory in the Civil War. The Navy's responsibilities included:
Protecting U.S. commerce Blockading the Southern coastline Attacking ports Operating with the Army Securing Army lines of communication
Special Operations Aviation - The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment provides aviation support to Army Special Operations Forces. The unit is composed of four active duty battalions with modified OH-6 Light Observation Helicopters, MH-60 Utility Helicopters, and MH-47 Medium-Lift Helicopters. OH-6 Light Observation Helicopter - The Little Bird is a single-engine light helicopter used for personnel transport; escort and attack missions; and observation. MH-60 Utility Helicopter - The MH-60 is a twin-engine medium-lift helicopter used for overt or covert infiltration, exfiltration, and resupply of Special Operations Forces. MH-47 Medium-Lift Helicopter - The MH-47 is a tandem-rotor heavy-lift helicopter used for transporting artillery, ammunition, personnel, and supplies. It may also perform rescue, medevac, and aircraft recovery operations.
Psychological Operations, or PSYOP, units plan and conduct transregional, operational, and tactical level PSYOP activities to influence the behavior of approved foreign target audiences. A Joint PSYOP Support Element is assigned to the Center for Special Operations at SOCOM Headquarters, and is responsible for transregional PSYOP programs in support of GWOT objectives. Army Civil affairs forces offer unique capabilities that not only enhance the military mission but also ultimately advance the U.S. diplomatic, informational, economic, and military interests. CA units are organized, equipped and trained to accompany special operations forces, conventional forces and interagency organizations. The majority of the Army civil affairs forces are in the reserve component and belong to the US Army Reserve Command. However, the Army's active component - the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade belongs to USSOCOM and is capable of rapidly deploying one of its six regionally aligned Civil Affairs companies to meet initial support requirements. The Air Force Special Operations Command was established in May 1990, with its headquarters at Hurlburt Field, FL. It consists of 19,000 specially selected and trained personnel that are organized under two active-duty wings, two reserve wings, three National Guard wings, two overseas groups, and the Air Force Special Operations School. AFSOC aviation elements operate uniquely equipped, fixed and rotary wing aircraft to conduct SOF insertion, extraction and resupply, aerial fire support, refueling, and PSYOP. Recently, Predator UAV squadrons have been added to AFSOC to provide dedicated surveillance and armed reconnaissance support.
The U.S. Navy was involved in four conflicts between 1798 and 1815:
Quasi-War with France War with Tripoli War of 1812 War with Algiers
Technological Developments
Radar at Sea Antiaircraft Defense Underway Replenishment
On August 2, 1990, Iraq invaded and occupied Kuwait. During the five months of Operation DESERT SHIELD (the protection of Saudi Arabia) and the month-and-a-half long combat campaign of Operation DESERT STORM (the expulsion of Iraqi forces from Kuwait), naval forces contributed significantly to the U.S.-led coalition's victory over Iraq. Less than a week after Iraq's invasion, two carrier battle groups were on station ready to commence combat operations. This force would eventually include six carrier battle groups, two battleships and a 31-ship amphibious task force with 17,000 Marines embarked. In order to adequately command this vast armada, Commander, Seventh Fleet was selected to fill the role of USCENTCOM's naval component commander. Navy ships and aircraft played many roles during Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM. Enforcing UN economic sanctions against Iraq, Navy ships led the effort to ensure there would be no resupply of war goods for the Iraqi military and no outflow of oil to provide Iraq with hard currency. Additionally, U.S. control of the seas enabled the safe passage of 9.2 million tons of equipment and supplies to flow into the region. Indeed—more than 90 percent of the material needed to support the campaign was delivered by over 240 ships. During Operation DESERT STORM, Navy and Marine Corps aircraft, flying from carriers in the Arabian Gulf and in the Red Sea, as well as from land bases, flew over one third of the combat sorties. Navy ships and submarines launched nearly 300 Tomahawk missiles while battleships provided gunfire support for Marine Corps ground operations. So concerned was the Iraqi high command with the idea of an amphibious assault, it committed 80,000 troops to defend against an attack that never came—troops that were sorely needed elsewhere. Upon the cessation of hostilities, Navy and Allied units cleared over 1,200 mines from the Arabian Gulf, reopening Kuwait to oceangoing commerce. U.S. carrier aircraft began enforcing "no-fly" zones over southern and northern Iraq as part of Operations SOUTHERN and NORTHERN WATCH.
Recognizing the increasing importance of naval presence within USCENTCOM's AOR, Fifth Fleet was established on July 1, 1995. Currently, USCENTCOM's naval component commander, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command is "dual-hatted" as Commander, Fifth Fleet. Fifth Fleet is currently headquartered in Manama, Bahrain. Fifth Fleet, like Fourth Fleet, does not have any operational units permanently assigned to it. Forces in the Gulf region are rotationally deployed, or chopped, to Fifth Fleet from the Navy's other fleets. Fifth Fleet's mission is to conduct maritime operations in USCENTCOM's AOR to promote and protect U.S. national interests, maintain freedom of the seas and keep vital choke points open, combat terrorism, conduct exercises with allies and coalition partners and respond to contingencies.
The Navy improved the conditions of service for Sailors:
Recruited better-educated Sailors Increased pay and benefits Reformed rating and promotion systems
American Sailors paid a price during Cold War operations:
Risked and sacrificed their lives to gather intelligence and maintain control of the world's oceans Long-range Navy patrol planes were shot down Many Sailors and Marines died due to — Heavy seas — Fierce winds — Arctic cold — Submarine disasters (Cochino and Thresher) Israeli forces mistakenly attacked the intelligence ship USS Liberty (AGTR-5) The submarine USS Scorpion was lost at sea
Sea Warrior: "The Sea Warrior program implements our Navy's commitment to the growth and development of our people. It will serve as the foundation of warfighting effectiveness by ensuring the right skills are in the right place at the right time. Sea Warrior will develop naval professionals who are highly skilled, powerfully motivated, and optimally employed for mission success. Traditionally, our ships have relied on large crews to accomplish their missions. The crews of modern warships are streamlined teams of operational, engineering, and information technology experts who collectively operate some of the most complex systems in the world. As optimal manning policies and new platforms reduce crew size further, we will increasingly need Sailors who are highly educated and expertly trained. Introducing our people to a life-long continuum of learning is key to achieving our vision. In July 2001, we established Task Force EXCEL (Excellence through our Commitment to Education and Learning) to begin a revolution in training that complements the revolution in technologies, systems, and platforms for tomorrow's Fleet. We are dedicated to improving our Sailors' professional and personal development, leadership, military education, and performance. Our goal is to create a Navy in which all Sailors—active and reserve, afloat and ashore—are optimally assessed, trained, and assigned so they can contribute their fullest to mission accomplishment."
Sea Enterprise: "Among the critical challenges that we face today, are finding money to upgrade the Navy. We must replace Cold War-era systems with significantly more capable sensors, networks, weapons, and platforms if we are to increase our ability to deter and defeat enemies. Sea Enterprise is key to this effort. It seeks to improve organizational alignment, refine requirements, and reinvest savings to buy the platforms and systems needed to transform our Navy. Our Navy values operational excellence as its highest priority, and the vast majority of our training is devoted to sharpening tactical skills. However, it is also important that our leaders understand sound business practices so we can provide the greatest return on the taxpayer's investment. We must also extend this understanding to the deckplates, so that our future leaders gain experience in a culture of strengthened productivity and continually measured effectiveness. Increased interservice integration also holds great promise for achieving efficiencies. For example, the Navy and Marine Corps tactical aviation integration plan will save billions of dollars for both Services, enhance our interoperability, and more fully integrate our people. Such efforts must not just continue; they must expand. Savings captured by Sea Enterprise will play a critical role in the Navy's transformation into a 21st century force that delivers what truly matters: increased combat capability."
Sea Power 21 states: "Projecting decisive combat power has been critical to every commander who ever went into battle, and this will remain true in decades ahead. Sea Strike operations are how the 21st century Navy will exert direct, decisive, and sustained influence in joint campaigns. Knowledge dominance provided by persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance will be converted into action by a full array of Sea Strike options—next-generation missiles capable of in-flight targeting, aircraft with stand-off precision weapons, extended-range naval gunfire, information operations, stealthy submarines, unmanned combat vehicles, and Marines and SEALs on the ground. When we cannot achieve operational objectives from over the horizon, our Navy-Marine Corps team moves ashore. Using advanced vertical and horizontal envelopment techniques, fully netted ground forces will maneuver through the battlespace, employing speed and precision to generate combat power."
Sea Power 21 also changes the way the Navy looks at defense: "Traditionally, naval defense has protected the unit, the Fleet, and the sea lines of communication—the 'highways of the sea.' Sea Shield takes us beyond unit and task-force defense to provide the nation with sea-based theater and strategic defense. Sea Shield will protect our national interests with layered global defensive power based on control of the seas, forward presence, and networked intelligence. It will use these strengths to enhance homeland defense, assure access to contested shorelines, and project defensive power deep inland. Achieving battle-space superiority in forward theaters is central to the Sea Shield concept, especially as enemy area-denial efforts become more capable. In times of rising tension, pre-positioned naval units will maintain access for friendly forces and maritime trade by employing new surveillance grids and advanced systems to locate and track enemy threats. Perhaps the most dramatic advancement promised by Sea Shield will be the ability of naval forces to project defensive power deep overland, assuring friends and allies while protecting joint forces ashore. A next-generation long-range surface-to-air standard missile, modernized E-2 Hawkeye radar, and cooperative engagement capability will combine to extend sea-based cruise missile defense far inland. This will reinforce the impact of sea-based ballistic missile defense and greatly expand the coverage of naval area defense."
As described in Sea Power 21, there are three fundamental concepts that are the key to the Navy's continued operational effectiveness: Sea Strike, Sea Shield, and Sea Basing. Admiral Clark points out, "...these concepts build upon the solid foundation of the Navy-Marine Corps team, take advantage of our military strengths, and improve joint combat effectiveness."
Sea Power 21 introduces a new effort to tie these concepts together. "Sea Strike, Sea Shield, and Sea Basing will be enabled by FORCEnet—an overarching effort to integrate warriors, sensors, networks, command and control, platforms, and weapons into a fully netted, combat force. We have been talking about net-centric warfare for a decade, and FORCEnet will be the Navy's plan to make it an operational reality." Let's examine each of these in slightly greater detail.
Sea Power 21 also introduced three initiatives that "will align and accelerate the development of enhanced warfighting capabilities for the Fleet." Sea Trial, Sea Warrior, and Sea Enterprise will support development of Sea Strike, Sea Shield, and Sea Basing. The following screens contain excerpts from Sea Power 21 which describe these initiatives.
Sea Trial: "To outpace our adversaries, we must implement a continual process of rapid concept and technology development that will deliver enhanced capabilities to our Sailors as swiftly as possible. Sea Trial will be Fleet-led. The Commander of the U.S. Fleet Forces Command will serve as Executive Agent for Sea Trial, with Second and Third Fleet commanders sponsoring the development of Sea Strike, Sea Shield, and Sea Basing capabilities. The Navy Warfare Development Command will coordinate Sea Trial. They will do this by identifying candidates with the greatest potential to provide dramatic increases in warfighting capability. These technologies and concepts will then be guided through a process of rapid development and Fleet experimentation. The Sea Trial process will develop enhanced warfighting capabilities for the Fleet by more effectively integrating the thousands of talented and energetic experts, military and civilian, who serve throughout our Navy. Working together, ...we will fulfill the promise of 'Sea Power 21'."
Today, the U.S. Second and Fourth Fleets are headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia and Jacksonville, Florida respectively. Second Fleet's AOR consists of the western portion of the Atlantic Ocean, from the waters surrounding Puerto Rico, including the Gulf of Mexico, to the North Pole. Its AOR boundaries are based on those of USNORTHCOM. Fourth Fleet's AOR is based on the boundaries of USSOUTHCOM. Its waters extend from the Carribbean Sea and surround Central and South America. Combined, Second and Fourth Fleet's AORs cover more than 38 million square miles.
Second Fleet and Fourth Fleets perform a variety of missions in support of Navy, joint, and geographic combatant commander objectives. One of those missions is to train, certify and provide maritime forces to respond effectively to global contingencies. They are also tasked to conduct maritime and joint/combined training in support of Unified and Allied Commanders. These vital missions play a role in determining how the Second and Fourth Fleets fit into the military command structure. Second Fleet is a subordinate of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, the Navy component of U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM), the combatant command tasked to train and deliver joint forces and capabilities to the regional combatant commanders. Fourth Fleet is the Navy component of USSOUTHCOM, the geographic combatant commander responsible for operations in Fourth Fleet's AOR.
Following World War II, the Navy reorganized and the U.S. Eighth Fleet was formed to operate in the Atlantic. The Fleet was later named Second Task Fleet in 1947 and then Second Fleet in 1950. As the Navy continued its drawdown during the post-war era, Fourth Fleet was disbanded and its responsibilities absorbed by Second Fleet in 1950.
Second Fleet units continued to provide naval forces for numerous operations since World War II up to the present day. Examples of their involvement include the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, the 1965 crisis in the Dominican Republic, Operation URGENT FURY in Grenada in 1979, and relief efforts as part of Joint Task Force Katrina in 2005. Now that you know some of the history of the Second and Fourth Fleets, let's look at its mission and responsibilities as they stand today.
Second Seminole War
Second Seminole War The longest and costliest Indian war fought east of the Mississippi. Navy contributions included: Blockading the Florida coast, preventing gunrunners from supplying weapons to the Indians Conducting amphibious operations The "Mosquito Fleet" mounted expeditions into the interior via inland waterways. This Riverine warfare brought the war home to Native Americans, breaking their resistance in Florida.
The Navy fought in two wars between 1815 and 1860:
Second Seminole War (1835-1842) Mexican War (1846-1848)
Joint strategic planning occurs primarily at the national and theater strategic levels to help the President and Secretary of Defense (SecDef) define political and military objectives and end states, develop strategic concepts and options, and allocate resources. At the national strategic level, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS), in consultation with other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), performs joint strategic planning. At the theater strategic level, combatant commanders prepare theater strategies and plans to accomplish their assigned missions based on strategic guidance and direction from the President, SecDef, and CJCS. Their theater strategic plans provide authoritative direction by assigning missions, tasks, forces, and resources that are integrated into subordinate or supporting plans.
Security cooperation planning consists of bilateral and multilateral defense activities conducted with foreign countries to serve U.S. security interests and build defense partnerships. The SecDef identifies security cooperation goals, while geographic combatant commanders prepare security cooperation strategies for review by the CJCS and approval by the SecDef. These strategies incorporate the military capabilities of the functional combatant commands, Services, and combat support agencies, all of which ensure their security cooperation activities align with the SecDef's security cooperation goals.
The Navy's vessels:
Seized enemy supplies Carried correspondence and diplomats to Europe Provoked diplomatic crises that helped bring France into the war Brought the war to British home waters and ports
Concentration of military power is a fundamental consideration. Joint forces strive to operate with overwhelming force, based not only on the quantity of forces and material committed, but also on the quality of their planning and skill of their employment. Properly trained and motivated forces armed with superior technology and executing innovative, flexible, and well-coordinated plans, provide a decisive qualitative edge.
Seizing and maintaining the initiative is an American military tradition. Because the United States is not an aggressor nation, we may be initially forced to fight defensively. However, all actions should be offensive in spirit, exploiting the full leverage of available forces to confuse, demoralize, and defeat the enemy. Taking calculated risks to throw an opponent off balance or achieve major military advantage may be required. In any case, retaining the initiative relies on the ability of military personnel to think for themselves and execute orders intelligently—the ingenuity that has always been an American trademark.
Since the end of the Second World War, Sixth Fleet has conducted numerous operations within its AOR, a few of which are listed on the screen. Forward-deployed, Sixth Fleet stands ready to continue the Navy's mission of supporting U.S. interests.
Selected post-World War II operations include: 1958 - Operation BLUE BAT (Bolster pro-western government in Lebanon) 1967, 1973 - Deterred Soviet intervention during Arab-Israeli Wars 1973-1974 - Operations NIMBUS STAR/NIMBUS MOON (Mine clearance of Suez Canal and its approaches) 1981 - Freedom of Navigation operations in Gulf of Sidra 1986 - Operation ELDORADO CANYON (Air strikes on Libya in retaliation for terrorist bombings in Germany) 1990 - Operation SHARP EDGE (Noncombatant Evacuation Operation of American and other foreign nationals from Monrovia, Liberia) 1997 - Operation SILVER WAKE (Noncombatant Evacuation Operation of American and other third- country nationals from Tirana, Albania) 2001-Present - Operation ACTIVE ENDEAVOUR (NATO operation designed to prevent movement of terrorists and enhance security of shipping in the Mediterranean)
The breakup of Yugoslavia led to open warfare among Balkan ethnic and religious groups.
Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic's army and Bosnian Serb irregulars employed a campaign of "ethnic cleansing" against Bosnian Croats and Muslims. The UN responded with an economic embargo against Serbia and established a "no-fly" zone over Bosnia.
The area encompassed by the U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM) is vast, covering over half of the world's surface—approximately 105 million square miles. Nearly 60 percent of the world's population lives within its AOR. More importantly, 35 percent of U.S. trade is within the region which also includes six of the world's largest armed forces (People's Republic of China, the United States, Russia, India, North Korea, and South Korea). USPACOM's Navy component command is U.S. Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT), headquartered in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Two subordinate numbered fleets comprise USPACFLT: the Seventh Fleet operates in the western Pacific while the Third Fleet operates in the eastern Pacific.
Seventh Fleet AOR: Over 48 million square miles Western Pacific and Indian Ocean Half the world's population within AOR Forward deployed — Headquarters in Yokosuka, Japan — Carrier and expeditionary strike group homeported in Japan Today's Seventh Fleet is responsible for an AOR encompassing over 48 million square miles of the Pacific and Indian Oceans—from the International Date Line to the 68th east meridian, which runs from the India-Pakistan border and from the Kuril Islands in the north to the Antarctic. Half of the world's population lives within this AOR. Seventh Fleet's headquarters is in Yokosuka, Japan. Homeported in Japan are a permanently assigned carrier strike group and an expeditionary strike group providing a potent force that can quickly respond to any crisis in the area. Additionally, Seventh Fleet includes additional carrier and expeditionary strike groups and other units deployed to its AOR.
The fleet was often used in support of U.S. foreign policy:
Seventh Fleet evacuated of 300,000 Vietnamese civilians from communist North Vietnam in Operation Passage to Freedom Carrier task forces deployed to waters off China to prevent Chinese Communist invasion of Taiwan Sixth Fleet employed to help end the 1956 Suez Crisis, and two years later to support friendly Lebanon government Navy ships blocked Soviet missile shipments into Communist Cuba during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis
During the demobilization of the Navy following World War II, the Pacific Fleet saw major reorganization. The western Pacific was still the responsibility of Seventh Fleet, renamed Naval Forces Western Pacific. This force was redesignated Seventh Task Fleet in 1949 and Seventh Fleet the following year. Third Fleet was designated a reserve fleet and decommissioned from active service. Fifth Fleet was redesignated First Task Fleet and later First Fleet with its headquarters in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. In 1973, First Fleet and ASW Forces Pacific were merged and became Third Fleet.
Seventh Fleet units have also participated in numerous non-combat operations. Two examples would be the 1991 evacuation of U.S. military personnel and their families from the Philippines following the eruption of Mount Pinatubo and provision of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief after the earthquake off Sumatra and the resulting tsunamis ravaged much of Southeast Asia in 2004. The fast response to other AORs was and continues to be repeated as part of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, where Seventh Fleet warships conducted the first strikes on terrorist strongholds inside Afghanistan, and during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. Additionally, Seventh Fleet plays a vital role in U.S. foreign relations and supports America's national interests by taking part in countless exercises with allied and friendly naval forces.
Seventh Fleet Mission: Support USPACOM theater strategy Provide USPACOM and other combatant commanders with naval forces Perform other missions that may include — Protection of sea lanes — Support of allied forces ashore — Combat operations — Humanitarian operations
Seventh Fleet's mission is to support USPACOM's theater strategy and provide USPACOM and other combatant commanders with combat-ready naval forces. This mission can include the protection of sea lanes that not only link the U.S. with its Pacific allies, but are the maritime highways for a significant percentage of the world's economic trade, supporting allied forces ashore and conducting combat, humanitarian and other operations as assigned. Moreover, Seventh Fleet's forward presence is a strong deterrence to potential aggressors in the region.
After the war, the Continental Navy was dissolved. When the U.S. Constitution was implemented, the United States Navy and the Department of the Navy were formed to:
Show foreign powers the new nation was not defenseless Protect American merchant ships on the high seas
Significant technological developments
Significant technological developments — Copper sheathing — The carronade ("Smasher") — "Old Ironsides"
Climax of the Cold War (1964-1989) In the mid-1960s, the United States committed its armed forces to defending South Vietnam:
Simmering confrontation came to a boil when North Vietnam attacked the destroyer Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin U.S., South Vietnamese, Australian, and South Korean forces operated in Southeast Asia War in Southeast Asia demonstrated America's commitment to its allies
Pacific Fleet History (continued) Southwest Pacific Offensive: Conducted by General MacArthur — Naval Forces Southwest Pacific (later Seventh Fleet) — Series of land battles and amphibious operations to retake all of New Guinea Advance toward the Philippines
Simultaneous to the Solomons and Central Pacific Campaigns, a second "prong" of the U.S. offensive in the Pacific was undertaken in the Southwest Pacific area. Supported by the successor to the Asiatic Fleet, U.S. Naval Forces Southwest Pacific (later redesignated Seventh Fleet), General MacArthur began his campaign to retake the Philippines. In a series of land battles and amphibious assaults, MacArthur advanced through New Guinea in preparation for his planned invasion to retake the Philippines.
Selected post-World War II operations: Korean War (1950-1954) Taiwan Strait Crisis (1950-1954) Vietnam War (1962-1975) Operations DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM (1990-1991)
Since the end of World War II, Seventh Fleet has conducted numerous operations in support of U.S. national interests within its AOR. In 1950, in response to the invasion of South Korea by North Korean forces, Seventh Fleet was able to rapidly get on station and through aerial and surface ship bombardment help stem the advancing communist forces. Later that year, Seventh Fleet conducted amphibious assaults at Inchon and Wonson which broke the back of the communist offensive. Throughout the war Seventh Fleet units were actively engaged in providing air and naval gunfire support. Simultaneous with the outbreak of the Korean War, Seventh Fleet units were sent into the strait separating the communist People's Republic of China and the Republic of China, on the island of Taiwan, in order to deter either side from attacking the other. During the Vietnam War, Seventh Fleet was actively engaged in providing air and naval gunfire support from ships offshore and the patrolling of Vietnamese rivers. At one point, over 200 ships were involved in operations in the area. Seventh Fleet's forward deployed stance allowed it to rapidly send forces to U.S. Central Command's (USCENTCOM's) AOR when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990. Throughout Operations DESERT STORM and DESERT SHIELD Seventh Fleet provided warships to USCENTCOM.
While Sixth Fleet is most popularly known as the United States' force in the Mediterranean Sea, a quick look at the map shows that its AOR is actually much larger. Among his many responsibilities, Sixth Fleet is also the deputy commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and U.S. Naval Forces Africa. Thus, in addition to the Mediterranean, Sixth Fleet's span of responsibility covers approximately half of the Atlantic Ocean as well as the Adriatic, Baltic, Barents, Black, Caspian, and North Seas—nearly 20 million square nautical miles of ocean. The AOR touches three continents and encompasses more than 67 percent of the Earth's coastline, 30 percent of its landmass, and nearly 40 percent of the world's population. Unlike the other numbered fleets, Sixth Fleet's AOR corresponds to the area of two geographic combatant commands, U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM).
Sixth Fleet AOR Sixth Fleet's AOR is 20 million square nautical miles of ocean and 14 million square miles of land: Eastern Atlantic Ocean Mediterranean Sea Adriatic Sea Baltic Sea Barents Sea Black Sea Caspian Sea North Sea Sixth Fleet's AOR corresponds to two geographic combatant commands, U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM).
Wartime employment concepts were developed.
Skilled and courageous U.S. naval leaders were brought to the forefront.
Finally, the third major branch of operational law is made up of the rules of engagement (ROE) and the use of force. What do we mean by rules of engagement? As explained in Joint Publication 1-02 part of the definition of ROE consists of "directives issued by competent authority which delineate the circumstances and limitations under which U.S. forces will initiate and/or continue combat engagement..." The key source for guidance on ROE and the use of force is CJCS instruction 3121.01B "Standing Rules of Engagement/Standing Rules for the Use of Force for U.S. Forces". This instruction is classified and provides details about these topics. Suffice to say, anytime you begin an operation, ensure you are briefed on the latest ROE for that specific situation. As rules change, make sure you understand the changes as soon as possible.
So what, ultimately, is the purpose of ROE and why do we need them? Quite simply, it is a highly effective tool for command and control of military forces. These rules provide guidance and clarification from the highest level in the chain of command, down to the lowest level, as to how force may be used. For our national civilian leaders, ROE not only provide guidance for the implementation of self-defense, but for how the mission is to be accomplished. For our military commanders, the rules provide guidance on self-defense and mission accomplishment, as well as ensuring our compliance with civilian strategic goals.
Early Cold War confrontations between the United States and the Soviet bloc:
Stalin pressured Turkey and Iran for territorial and other concessions Chinese Communists conquered China and allied themselves with the Soviet Union In 1950, U.S. and United Nations forces rushed to the defense of South Korea. The U.S. ended up playing an important role in the Korean War and South Korea's independence and subsequent rise to economic power.
The United States has always been a maritime nation, conducting trade with various countries throughout the world. Today, over 40 percent of America's nearly $2 trillion in imports arrive on ships in various U.S. port cities. Indeed, the Port of Los Angeles alone handles over 20,000 containers of cargo worth nearly half a billion dollars every day. Additionally, land trade with Mexico and Canada, the two major trading partners of the United States, add significantly to the American economy. In El Paso alone, over 2000 commercial trucks cross the U.S. - Mexican border every day moving cargo to and from the entire United States. Finally, airborne cargo is making up an increasingly significant percentage of U.S. international trade. Maintaining this two-way flow is a vital U.S. interest. Immigration, legal or otherwise, is a major issue currently facing the United States as is the security of our borders. The 2000 Census estimated that the immigrant population in America increased from just under 20 million in 1990 to nearly 31 million in 2000. The U.S. Government Accountability Office has estimated that between 400,000 and 700,000 unauthorized migrants have entered the United States each year since 1992, with a large percentage of them coming from Latin American countries. The vast majority of these enter by crossing the U.S. Mexican border. There are concerns that the ease in which people can enter the United States illegally strain social systems such as health care and education and aid terrorists and other criminals intending to harm the country.
Stemming the flow of illicit drugs into the United States is a major U.S. interest. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), 82% of heroin in the U.S. comes from Latin America. A significant percentage of the world's cocaine supply also originates in this area. These enter the country in various ways including overland through Mexico. Additionally most of the foreign marijuana available in the United States has entered through Mexico. Recent news reports suggest that Mexican drug organizations are flourishing and using tactics typically ascribed to terrorist groups to advance their agendas. Although Latin America is probably the most well-known source of illicit drugs, it must be noted that illicit drugs enter the United States from virtually every corner of the globe. The United States has interests in North America far beyond the few discussed here. These are, however, sufficient to show the challenge that exists when attempting to address interests. For example: there is a vital national interest in conducting thorough inspections of incoming maritime cargo containers, trains, and trucks to ensure hazardous materials, including weapons of mass destruction, are not imported. There is also a competing interest however, to ensure the fast and efficient transport of incoming goods in order to prevent disruption of the national economy. Another good example of a popular idea with its accompanying dilema is that the construction of an impenetrable, highly patrolled border may stop the flow of illegal immigrants and reduce the amount of illicit drugs entering the country, but how much would it cost and what other U.S. interests such as health care and education may suffer for lack of funds? Would such action affect foreign relations with our neighbors? Which interests have the highest priority? Balancing acts such as these are undertaken by all levels of government when determining the best policy to achieve and protect U.S. interests throughout the world, but are even more vital when addressing interests in North America due to the ramifications that may result from a wrong decision.
In step five, the staff uses the commander's guidance and CONOPS to develop the required plan or order. A plan is prepared in anticipation of operations and it normally serves as the basis of a future order. An order is a written or oral communication that directs actions and focuses a subordinate's tasks and activities toward mission accomplishment. While various portions of the plan or order have been developed during the planning process, this is the step to put them into the approved format. Since plans and orders normally contain only critical or new information—not routine matters found in standard operating procedures—they should be clear, as concise as possible, and focused on the mission developed. Mouse over each characteristic for a short description.
Step 5 - Plans and Orders Development: Staff uses commander's guidance and CONOPS to develop the plan or order Characteristics of a well-written plan / order — Clarity — Brevity — Authoritativeness — Simplicity — Flexibility — Timeliness — Completeness — Command organization Mouse over text for a short description, or click the advance button to continue
Stephen Decatur
Stephen Decatur Burned the frigate Philadelphia in Tripoli Harbor. The Navy's most charismatic officer during the age of sail.
Stephen Decatur sailed into
Stephen Decatur sailed into Algiers harbor and dictated peace terms that ended America's tribute payments to the regents of Barbary.
The U.S. drew back from overseas commitment as Americans focused on domestic problems:
Stock Market crash of 1929 Great Depression of the 1930's German Nazis under Adolph Hitler and Italian Fascists led by Benito Mussolini came to power. German and Italian attacks sparked the outbreak of World War II in Europe. Japanese aggression and intimidation threatened to bring about war between Japan and the United States.
To handle littoral and other missions, the Navy introduced advanced: Arleigh Burke class destroyers Seawolf and Virginia class attack submarines
Super Hornet F/A-18E/F strike fighter To improve command and control in the Persian Gulf region, the Navy created the U.S. Fifth Fleet.
Maintaining freedom of action is vital. There are many components to securing the freedom to act. Effective diplomatic, economic, military, and informational instruments of power are needed to provide the freedom to act at the national level. Adequate logistic support is essential, as is maintaining the security of plans and gaining the fullest possible surprise. Having a force structure that provides insurance against unanticipated developments or the underestimation of enemy strengths is important as well. Several aspects of modern warfare tend to restrict freedom of action. Sophisticated information technology and the nature of modern news reporting, for instance, make the tasks of ensuring operations security and surprise more difficult. Joint forces should understand that these sorts of very demanding security precautions are a likely part of future operations and should accommodate stringent operations security in exercises and training in order to practice staff efficiency and public affairs activities under realistic conditions.
Sustaining operations at the strategic and operational levels underwrites agility, extension of operations, and freedom of action. Strategic and theater logistics and deployment concepts are integral to combat success. These concepts are driven by the plans and orders of JFCs and are supported by other supporting commands, the Services, and often by support from allies and friends. Logistic standardization—to include deployment and redeployment procedures and equipment interoperability where practical—also enhances sustainment of joint force operations. Because modern warfare is inherently complex, plans and operations should be kept as simple as possible. Clarity of expression should predominate, using common terms and procedures. This is particularly important when operating with allies or coalitions. Knowledge of self is required for effective joint operations. The first priority is to have a full and frank appreciation for the capabilities and limitations of all friendly forces. JFCs must also have a clear appreciation of friendly centers of gravity which are their key sources of strength, so operations may assure their protection from adversary attack. Knowledge of the enemy is a preeminent but difficult responsibility. Traditionally, emphasis has been on understanding enemy capabilities; but knowledge of enemy intentions can be equally or even more important, to the extent that light may be shed on enemy plans, permitting timely and effective action to blunt them.
In 1999, the NATO alliance launched a massive air assault against Serbia.
The 78-day campaign compelled Milosevic to submit. Serbian forces evacuated Kosovo and UN-sponsored forces occupied the province. Eventually, Milosevic was forced from office, imprisoned, and tried for crimes against humanity. He died of a heart attack on 11 March 2006 while in a prison cell at a UN detention center near the Hague.
A battle group conducts underway replenishments—or "unreps"—often enough to stay topped off with aviation fuel, ammo, spare parts, and food. During these UNREPS, the battle group is most vulnerable, because it must maintain a steady course and speed for up to 4 hours. What all these constraints mean is that one carrier can provide sustained operations for 12 hours a day indefinitely. If the joint force commander needs continuous 24/7 power projection, two or more carriers are required.
The ARG/MEU's primary purpose is providing forward presence and power projection capabilities, ranging from humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, to crisis response and full scale combat operations. By virtue of its forward presence and self-contained capability, the ARG can be one of the initial forces to react to a crisis or area of concern. The ARG has a mix of amphibious and landing assault ships, including one "large deck" assault ship, either LHD or LHA; one Amphibious Transport Dock, or LPD; and one Dock Landing Ship, or LSD. Embarked onboard these ships is the Marine Expeditionary Unit.
The Air Force leverages its core strategic capabilities—global power, global reach, global vigilance, and agile combat support—to ensure joint air, space, and cyberspace dominance; strengthen joint warfighting capabilities; and implement total force integration. The Air Force strategic capabilities on the previous slide are broad areas, and are broken down into seventeen functions that can be matched to meet the joint warfighter's needs. Click each number to view each functional area. Now that we've discussed the basics of what we believe, let's review how we organize to support our mission
The Air Force comprises approximately 658,000 active duty, reserve, air national guard, and civilian personnel. About 331,000 active duty members serve side by side with about 154,000 civilian personnel. Of active duty personnel, 65,000 are officers and 266,000 enlisted—a roughly 1:4 ratio. 67,000 reservists and 106,000 Air National Guardsmen serve part time, ready to be called to active duty when required. Approximately 25 percent of the active force is stationed overseas. At any given time, about 1 in 15 Air Force members is deployed to support operations in various theaters. The Service refers to its combined Active Duty, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve team as its "Total Force" concept.
In December 2005, Air Force leaders released a new mission statement. It states the Air Force will deliver sovereign options for the defense of the United States of America and its global interests, *and will fly and fight in air, space, and cyberspace. This mission reflects that the Air Force can—and must—provide the President, Secretary of Defense, and combatant commanders with an array of options not limited by distance, time, or strength of our enemy's defenses. The Air Force has its roots in the Army Air Corps during the First and especially Second World War, becoming a separate Service in 1947. Leading edge technology has underpinned the Air Force's capabilities throughout its evolution, demonstrated in platforms like the B-17, F-22, Minuteman ICBM, Global Hawk, armed UAVs, and to space-based communication and navigation.
The Air Force operates in both air and space. While some air-breathing aircraft can fly as high as 16 miles above the surface, most operate up to about 10 miles altitude. Satellites operating in Low Earth Orbit, such as weather satellites, are positioned from 100 to 550 miles altitude. Navigation satellites are in Medium Earth Orbit, at about 12,500 miles altitude. Geosynchronous orbit, where warning and communications satellites operate, is at about 22,000 miles altitude. The characteristic of altitude gives air and space platforms a unique vantage point over the territory of potential adversaries.
Naval Leaders and the Anti-Submarine Effort
The Allies countered the German U-boat offensive on a broad front and established new staffs and operational commands. U.S. Naval leaders strengthened anti-submarine training and tactics. U.S. ship production quickly outpaced German successes at sea.
Superior intelligence and equipment were vital to Allied success in the Atlantic.
The Allies defeated German communication protection efforts. Superior locating equipment, aircraft, ships, and weapons sank hundreds of U-boats. U.S. and British amphibious forces executed several landings in the Mediterranean. On D-day, Allied navies successfully landed combat troops in enemy-occupied France. Amphibious operations helped ensure the defeat of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.
The Army is a doctrine based organization and has been for many years. The key thing to remember is that doctrine is authoritative, not prescriptive. But, in order to deviate from it, you must first understand it. Doctrine is the concise expression of how Army forces contribute to unified action in campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. While it complements joint doctrine, Army doctrine also describes the Army's approach and contributions to full spectrum operations on land. The Army often task-organizes its forces to meet the specific needs of a combatant commander. Doctrine helps the Army to standardize the way its forces operate and gives it a capability to rapidly combine units for an operation that might not habitually train together. It is important to further note, that where conflicts between Army and joint doctrine arise, joint doctrine takes precedence. The five tenets of Army operations characterize both the substance and form of full spectrum operations and permeate Army doctrine. They describe the characteristics of successful operations. While they do not guarantee success, their absence risks failure. Initiative is setting or dictating the terms of action. Agility is the ability to move and adjust quickly and easily. Depth is the extension of operations in time, space, and resources. Synchronization is the arrangement of activities in time, space, and purpose to mass maximum combat effects at a decisive place and time. And Versatility is the ability to meet the global diverse mission requirements of full spectrum operations.
The Army views battlespace as the environment, factors, and conditions that commanders must understand to successfully complete the mission. It includes air, sea, land, space, enemy, friendly, facilities, weather, terrain, and information environments. Battlespace is conceptual—a higher commander does not assign it. Commanders determine battlespace based upon the concept of operations, mission, and force protection. It is important to note that battlespace is not the same as an Area of Operations or AO. An AO is an operational area defined by the Joint Force Commander for land and naval forces. An Area of Influence is an area in which a commander can directly influence operations by maneuver or fire. An Intermediate Staging Base, or ISB, is a temporary location used to stage forces prior to inserting them into an area of operations. An Area of Interest is the commander's area of concern. It extends into enemy territory, and to objectives for future operations. It serves to focus intelligence collection. The information environment is the aggregate of individuals, organizations, or systems that collect, process, or disseminate information, this also includes information itself. The critical task, regardless of how we describe this, is the simultaneous and synchronized attack across the depth of the battlespace to destroy or neutralize the enemy's center of gravity. As part of the military decision making process, commanders visualize their battlespace and determine how to arrange their forces. The battlefield organization is the allocation of forces in the AO by purpose. It consists of three all-encompassing categories of operations: decisive, shaping, and sustaining. Purpose unifies all elements of the battlefield organization by providing the common focus for all actions. Commanders organize forces according to purpose by determining whether each unit's operation will be decisive, shaping, or sustaining. These decisions form the basis of the concept of operations.
The U.S. Navy has long operated in waters that are a part of the current Sixth Fleet AOR. During the American Revolution, U.S. Navy ships—most notably under the command of John Paul Jones—raided British commerce and coastal cities. By taking the fight to the enemy homeland, such actions diverted British naval resources from blockading the American coast, and increased the peace sentiment in England by directly hurting the financial interests of British merchants. During the first years of the 19th century, U.S. naval forces operated in the Mediterranean Sea combating the various Barbary States of North Africa that had been plundering American merchant ships and extracting tribute money or ransom. These successful operations gained worldwide respect for the new nation. The Navy's Mediterranean Squadron was established in 1807, with its headquarters at Port Mahon on the Spanish island of Minorca—the Navy's first overseas installation. In the decades prior to the Civil War, Navy ships operated off the coast of West Africa as the African Squadron suppressing the slave trade, which had been declared piracy by Congress in 1819. While blockading southern port cities was the principal mission of the Navy during the Civil War, Navy ships operated throughout the world protecting U.S. commerce and pursuing Confederate commerce raiders. The most well-known of these actions was the sinking of the Confederate commerce raider Alabama by USS Kearsarge outside the French port of Cherbourg.
The American Navy played a subordinate role in European waters during the First World War. Navy ships escorted convoys transporting troops and supplies from the U.S. to Europe, protecting them from German submarines (U-boats). The Navy also contributed a division of battleships to operate as part of the British Grand Fleet as its Sixth Battle Squadron. Additionally, the U.S. North Sea Mine Force laid some 60,000 mines in the North Sea in an effort to deny U-boats access to the open sea. After the cessation of hostilities, Navy minesweepers worked to clear the minefields.
The Army has one Air Assault Division, the 101st Airborne, located at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. They are a good choice for high tempo operations, and are well-suited for close terrain, night operations, and stability and support operations. They offer anti-armor and helicopter firepower, along with excellent tactical mobility. Capable of deep operations into the enemy rear areas, the 101st was put to good use early in Desert Storm and most recently in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Of the light type Divisions, the 101st is the only one with a truly organic deep fight capability. Air assault forces should be considered "heavy" where strategic lift is concerned, as there are over 300 helicopters in the division. These helicopters are normally shipped via surface transport which means this division would take about the same time as a heavy division to arrive in theater. Weather is also a significant consideration when it comes to helicopter assaults and unit resupply. Further, this unit consumes a lot of fuel and repair parts. In summation, offensive missions for light maneuver forces include attacking key command and control nodes and logistic centers, interdicting lines of communication, and securing key choke points or mobility corridors. Defensive missions include tactical scenarios requiring economy of force and situations that deny the enemy use of close or restricted terrain. In other words, light maneuver forces work best in restricted terrain, operating at night, and away from the enemy's heavy forces. Now that you have seen how the Army organizes itself, we need to turn our attention to how the Army gets to the battlefield. Earlier, we saw that the bulk of the Army forces are no longer forward deployed in the theaters where they might be committed. As such, one of the greatest planning challenges is how to get the right type forces into theater in a timely manner. Take a moment to study this chart that lists the total number of people, short tons of equipment, and square footage required to be moved by the various types of Army combat divisions. The key point is the contrast between the short tons and square feet associated with a light division versus a heavy division. For example, note that a light division requires lift for a little over 17 thousand Short Tons of equipment, while a heavy division weighs almost 6 ½ times more, thus requiring a substantial increase in strategic lift.
The Armor and Mechanized Divisions are the Army's heavy divisions. The Army currently has five heavy divisions. They are designed to be highly mobile, and they possess the Army's greatest organic firepower and sustainment capabilities. Heavy Divisions offer exceptional tactical mobility, armor protected firepower, survivability, and decisive counterattack capability. The terrain best suited for mechanized infantry and armor employment is open terrain, such as deserts and lightly wooded plains. Armor and Mechanized Divisions want to avoid areas that restrict their movement, such as heavily forested areas, cities, jungles, and mountains. Though they can operate in these environments, they become extremely vulnerable to attack by light infantry. Additionally, in view of the large number of armored vehicles, they are extremely difficult to move strategically and once in theater, they consume an enormous amount of logistic support. Armored Cavalry Regiments, or ACRs, are exceptionally versatile forces with a significant combined arms firepower capability and a substantial organic support structure. Generally, they work directly for the Corps Commander and are commanded by a Colonel. Since the Corps Commander normally employs them forward of the other ground forces, they are considered the Corps Commander's "eyes and ears." Other employment options include covering force, a reserve, exploitation or pursuit force, and special purpose operations. Additionally, any missions requiring economy of force are well suited for this robust regiment. To recap the types of missions that could be assigned to heavy forces in the offense and defense...heavy maneuver forces can attack key enemy armor forces, offensively exploit and pursue, and can breach critical enemy obstacle systems. Defensively, heavy maneuver forces can defend against enemy armor forces and in a defensive posture, counterattack. Remember, heavy forces provide the decisive combat power to defeat enemy mechanized and armor forces and the mobility to cover great distances at fairly high rates of ground speed.
The Army's focus is on prompt and sustained land combat specifically aimed at defeating enemy land forces and seizing, occupying and defending land areas. This role is in contrast to the Marines who conduct expeditionary land operations incident to maritime campaigns. Like all services the US Army has the "... organize, train, and equip..." requirement. Under Title 10, the Army also picks up other specific requirements such as theater sustainment and port opening. The Army's focus is on prompt and sustained land combat specifically aimed at defeating enemy land forces and seizing, occupying and defending land areas. This role is in contrast to the Marines who conduct expeditionary land operations incident to maritime campaigns. Like all services the US Army has the "... organize, train, and equip..." requirement. Under Title 10, the Army also picks up other specific requirements such as theater sustainment and port opening.
The Army addresses the requirement to conduct PROMPT and SUSTAINED combat operations through a force structure mix of light and heavy forces and prepositioning. Prompt and sustained is also key to the Army's Transformation Plan. The Army Chief of Staff's vision is that the Army will remain the pre-eminent land power - composed of adaptive and innovative soldiers, led by experienced leaders, organized into deployable elements, and enabled by advanced technologies, all of which assure domination in any scenario as directed by our nation. Fulfillment of the job requires that the Army embrace a joint and expeditionary mindset. The Army must not only reset forces quickly, but also implement force stabilization. The Active and Reserve Components must be re-balanced to better posture existing force structure to meet global commitments. The Army is also charged with providing logistics and support to enable the other Services to accomplish their missions, and supporting civil authorities in time of emergency, when directed. Further, the Army must increase the number of available combat brigades through Modular Reorganization which is discussed later in this presentation.
The capabilities of light forces include strategic mobility, close and urban terrain, night operations, and infiltration. Stability and support operations or SASO, are exceptionally manpower intensive and well suited to dismounted light infantry. In fact, light infantry is best employed in close terrain such as, mountains, woods, built up areas, and jungles - those types of terrain that prove difficult for larger armored vehicles to negotiate. In addition, light infantry forces are well equipped and trained to operate at night. When considering the employment of a light division, you should be aware that the light division has little tactical mobility and limited anti-armor protection. As such, we would want to avoid placing this type of organization head to head with a heavily equipped armor or mechanized infantry unit in terrain that was not favorable to the light unit. Also, the light division does not posses a robust logistics capacity, and as a result, lines of communication and a sustainment flow will have to be established for this force quickly upon its employment.
The Army has one airborne division, the eighty-second. This force is also considered light, though it is a bit more robust than a light division. They are quick to deploy, but they also have limited anti-armor capability and sustainability. In recent years they have increased the number of anti-armor systems and their lethality, but they are still light. The eighty-second out of Fort Bragg, NC played a key role in Grenada, Panama, Desert Storm, the Balkans, Afghanistan, and most recently in Iraq. The Airborne Division offers essentially the same mission profiles and limitations as the light infantry divisions. The one significant difference is the ability to conduct Forcible Entry operations. Like the light division, they have no organic tanks. Additionally, weather also becomes a critical limitation associated with mass tactical parachute operations. Winds above 13 knots will significantly increase the likelihood of personnel injuries. The Army also has a "standalone" Airborne Brigade, the 173rd, located in Italy. This smaller and forward deployed force is used often for contingencies in that region of the world, as we saw in Operation Iraqi Freedom when the Brigade jumped into northern Iraq. Its parent headquarters commanded by a Major General is frequently used as the basis for a small Joint Task Force Headquarters.
Joint operation planning is conducted within the operational chain of command that runs from the President to the combatant commanders and is primarily the responsibility of the CJCS and the combatant commanders. The national structure for joint operation planning and execution includes the civilian leadership—the President and SecDef, and the joint planning and execution community (JPEC), consisting of the CJCS, the Services, the combatant commands and their subordinate commands, and defense agencies. Planning for joint operations is continuous across the full range of military operations using a collaborative and adaptive process called the Joint Operation Planning and Execution System (JOPES). The JOPES integrates the planning activities for the entire JPEC, but the focus is on the interaction, which ultimately helps the President and SecDef decide when, where, and how to commit U.S. military capabilities in response to a foreseen contingency or an unforeseen crisis.
The CJCS, as the principal military adviser to the President, National Security Council, and the SecDef, is assigned specific responsibilities in the areas of joint strategic planning and joint operation planning. The CJCS prepares the national military strategy (NMS), which provides guidance to the combatant commanders as they develop their joint operations plans. The CJCS also reviews the major plans to ensure they are adequate. In carrying out these responsibilities, the CJCS consults with and seeks the advice of other members of the JCS and combatant commanders. The combatant commanders are responsible for the development and production of joint operation plans. During peacetime, they act to deter war and prepare for war by planning for the transition to and from war and military operations other than war. During war, combatant commanders plan and conduct campaigns and military operations to accomplish assigned missions. The SecDef, with the advice and assistance of the CJCS, establishes supported and supporting command relationships among the combatant commands. The supported commander has primary responsibility for all aspects of a task assigned and prepares operation plans (OPLANs) in response to requirements generated by the President or the SecDef. Supporting commanders provide forces, assistance, or other resources to a supported commander, and prepare supporting plans as required. Under some circumstances, a commander may be a supporting commander for one operation, while being a supported commander for another.
So, we ask ourselves: Which factors are critical to the enemy? Which can the enemy not do without? Which, if eliminated, will bend him most quickly to our will? These are COGs. Prussian military philosopher and theorist Carl Von Clausewitz called the COG the "hub of all power and movement, on which everything depends . . . the point at which all our energies should be directed." In current joint and Navy doctrine, COGs are those characteristics, capabilities, or sources of power from which a military force derives its freedom of action, physical strength, or will to fight.
The COGs exist at each level of war. There will be a strategic, an operational, as well as a tactical COG—all of which may be different—because the objectives differ at each level. Successful plans for employment of combat forces at any level of war hinge on the proper determination of a COG for both the enemy and one's own and friendly forces. Generally, neutralization or destruction of a force's COG is the key to defeating an adversary. However, it is also vitally important to identify friendly COGs so they can be protected. For example, our ability to project power from the continental U.S. or supporting theaters could represent a COG. National will can also be a COG, as it was for the United States during the Vietnam and Persian Gulf Wars.
The Coast Guard's adaptation of the levels-of-war link to levels-of-command, which have assigned operations areas. The Coast Guard geographically divides its global area of operations into nested layers to establish a hierarchy of command and control for planning and execution. The geographic divisions are: Commandant, Area Commander, District Commander, and Sector Commander. The Coast Guard establishes additional operations-areas for geographically fixed or mobile Commanders for specific situations. There are responsibilities associated with each level-of-command, particularly with regard to sustaining force readiness, but also in terms of mission execution. The concept of ultimate accountability associated with maritime military service is part of the Coast Guard's leadership fabric. Coast Guard command and control involves chain-of-command relationships to leverage the principle of unity-of-command. Activities involve both superior-subordinate and peer relationships across shared responsibilities. Top-down, bottom-up, and lateral links create a self-policing and self-healing structure that supports continuity-of-operations when a command node is disrupted. This linked model suggests a traditional view of partitioning responsibility and oversight. However, the actual command and control arrangement is more complex. Unity-of-command is only one facet of command and control.
The Coast Guard also uses the principle of unity-of-effort to maximize performance. All commanders need a perspective that encompasses the vertical strategic-to-tactical nature of an objective and horizontal relationships to the objectives of other partners. In parallel to the concept of command and control, the Coast Guard cultivates a culture and protocols to emphasize cooperation and coordination across boundaries. To address mission-program and regional diversity, planning processes ensure Commanders at every level contribute to and draw from various perspectives, including local-to-global, federal-to-state, government-to-industry, private-to-public, and tactical-to-strategic. Unity-of-effort is coequal to unity-of-command. The Commandant is responsible for global mission performance. Headquartered in Washington DC, the Commandant maintains an operations center to facilitate a command and control function equivalent to the national-strategic level joint concept. Planning and execution are largely devolved to subordinate Area Commands. The Commandant broadly determines primary and secondary efforts by apportioning resources across mission categories and between the Area Commands. National and international partners that require the integration of Coast Guard capabilities will generally request those capabilities directly from Headquarters.
The Coast Guard's National Strike Force is comprised of the National Strike Force Coordination Center and the three deployable National Strike Teams. Three teams conduct military and domestic environmental response operations and coordination, serve as advisors to Combatant Commanders, and rapidly deploy equipment and protective gear by air across the United States or overseas. Team members are trained in special tactics to manage an adverse oil, hazardous materials, chemical, biological, or radiological event.
The Coast Guard is a unique member of the armed services of the United States, and brings some very specialized capabilities to combatant commanders. Here are some key points for you to remember: Simultaneously, and always, the Coast Guard is a member of the Armed Forces and an independent Law Enforcement Agency. As such, it can engage in both military and law enforcement action on behalf of the United States. Cutters, aircraft, law enforcement detachments, port security units, and other capabilities are interoperable to DoD standards and can be requested for direct integration into joint operations. The Coast Guard may be the supported commander for maritime security objectives in a homeland security scenario, and can serve as a supporting commander for homeland defense activities. Eleven legislated mission-programs require sustaining a daily footprint of regular operations throughout the maritime domain, including overseas.
Marines are organized in expeditionary, combined arms teams called Marine Air Ground Task Forces, or "MAGTFs" to conduct missions across the range of military operations. These MAGTFs are modular and scalable to account for different types of operations and scopes of conflict and are self-sustaining for a specific duration. This building block approach makes reorganization a matter of routine. MAGTFs are specifically tailored for rapid deployment by air or sea and they are ideally suited for a forward presence role. All MAGTFs are comprised of four core elements: a Command Element, a Ground Combat Element, an Aviation Combat Element, and a Logistics Combat Element. A MAGTF provides the naval, joint, or combined commander with a readily available force that can be employed in a number of different roles. The MAGTF can serve as: The landing force of an amphibious task organization. A land force in sustained operations ashore. A land force or the landward portion of a naval force conducting operations such as non-combatant evacuations, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, or the tactical recovery of an aircraft or aircrew. A forward deployed force providing a strong deterrence in a crisis area. And a force conducting training with allied forces as part of a theater security cooperation plan.
The Command Element, or "CE," is the MAGTF headquarters. As with all other elements of the MAGTF, it is task organized to provide the command and control capabilities necessary for effective planning, execution, and assessment of operations across the operational functions. Additionally, the command element has the capability to exercise command and control within a joint force from the sea or ashore and to act as a core element around which a joint task force headquarters may be formed. The MAGTF CE can provide interagency coordination and conduct "reach back." Command elements may include additional command and control and intelligence capabilities from national and theater assets, force reconnaissance company assets, signals intelligence capabilities from the radio battalion, and a force fires coordination center. It is capable of employing additional major subordinate commands such as naval construction regiments or Army maneuver, fire support, or engineering units. The MAGTF Commander can come from any community—ground, air, or logistics—and his function is to ensure a single battle approach at the tactical level.
Sixth Fleet NATO Responsibilities Sixth Fleet's commander also serves as NATO's Commander, Naval Striking Support Force, which involves: Deterring aggression against NATO members Preserving regional security Conducting maritime strike and amphibious/expeditionary operations when necessary The Commander reports to NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), which is also Commander, USEUCOM.
The Commander, Sixth Fleet wears two hats, also serving as the NATO's Commander, Naval Striking and Support Forces, Southern Europe (COMSTRIKFORNATO, formerly COMSTRIKFORSOUTH). STRIKFORNATO's mission includes deterring aggression against NATO-member countries, preserving regional security, and being prepared to conduct maritime strike and multinational amphibious/expeditionary operations. When conducting NATO operations, COMSTRIKFORNATO reports to NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR) who is also "dual-hatted" as Commander, U.S. European Command (COMUSEUCOM).
U.S. Revolution seaborne forces consisted of armed ships from:
The Continental Army State navies Privateers The Continental Navy
With its headquarters located in Miami, Florida, the United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) is the combatant command responsible for all U.S. military activities on the land mass of Latin America south of Mexico, the waters adjacent to Central and South America, the Caribbean Sea—with its 13 island nations, the Gulf of Mexico, and a portion of the Atlantic Ocean. The AOR encompasses 32 countries and represents about one-sixth of the world's landmass. USSOUTHCOM supports U.S. interests in three principal ways: Building regional cooperative security Assisting Latin American and Caribbean armed forces in their development of appropriate force structures and doctrines, and Supporting the national counterdrug strategy by providing military support to the counterdrug efforts and programs of U.S. agencies and committed allies
The DOD established the United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) in 2002 to consolidate existing missions under a single unified command that were previously executed by other military organizations. USNORTHCOM's area of operations is America's home front, and includes air, land, and sea approaches, and encompasses the continental United States, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, and the surrounding water out to approximately 500 nautical miles. It also includes the Gulf of Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The defense of Hawaii and our territories and possessions in the Pacific remain the responsibility of USPACOM. From its headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, USNORTHCOM plans, organizes, and executes homeland defense and civil support missions, but has few permanently assigned forces. The command will be assigned forces whenever necessary to execute missions as ordered by the President. The commander of USNORTHCOM is "dual-hatted" as commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD.
In almost any profession, key definitions are important when trying to understand the field. This is certainly the case in the military
The Department of the Navy is, by Congressional statute, composed of: the Office of the Secretary of the Navy, the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, the Headquarters Marine Corps, the entire operating forces of the Navy and of the Marine Corps (including the reserve components of each), and all facilities, field activities, bases, etc., under the control or supervision of the Secretary of the Navy.
Spanish-American War (1898): Reorganization of 1902 — Asiatic Squadron designated as a fleet — North Atlantic Squadron designated as a fleet — Later the Pacific Squadron designated as a fleet (1907) — Major operating base and repair facility established at Cavite in Manila Bay Reorganization of 1922 - United States Fleet — Battle Fleet (later Battle Force) stationed in the Pacific — Scouting Fleet (later Scouting Force) stationed in the Atlantic Reorganization during the 1930's — Scouting Force (Atlantic ships) transferred to the Pacific — Small squadron of ships remained in the Atlantic
The Fleet reorganization of 1902 resulted in the Asiatic Squadron being designated as the Asiatic Fleet and the North Atlantic Squadron as the North Atlantic Fleet. The acquisition of the Philippines allowed the Navy to establish a major operating base and repair facility at Cavite in Manila Bay. In 1907 the Pacific Squadron became the Pacific Fleet with the ships of the Asiatic Fleet forming its First and Third Squadrons. When this proved unwieldy, the Asiatic Fleet was reestablished and remained an independent fleet into the early months of American involvement in World War II, although greatly reduced in numbers. The rising threat of Japan resulted in the bulk of the Navy's fighting forces being reorganized in 1922 into the United States Fleet with two major subordinate organizations; Battle Fleet (later Battle Force), made up of the Navy's newest and most powerful units in the Pacific, and Scouting Fleet (later Scouting Force) in the Atlantic. This was the first time that the major weight of American sea power was assigned to the Pacific. During the 1930's, Scouting Force was transferred to the Pacific leaving only a small squadron of ships in the Atlantic.
In customs, traditions, and language, the Marine Corps' heritage and future are tied closely to the Navy. The Corps is equally at home ashore or afloat, in combat, or in other expeditionary operations. Whether first on the scene, part of, or leading a joint or multinational force, Marines instinctively understand the logic and synergy behind joint and multinational operations. Based on our experience operating as combined-arms, multi-dimensional MAGTFs, Marines seamlessly integrate into and operate as part of a joint or multinational force. Shifting focus to the strategic level, the Marine Corps is structured as a separate Service under the Department of the Navy, and the Commandant reports directly to the Secretary of the Navy. Under the Commandant, the Marine Corps is organized in four broad components: Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps; the Marine Corps Supporting Establishment; Marine Forces Reserves; and, most significantly, the Operating Forces, which the other components support and reinforce.
The Headquarters, Marine Corps consists of the Commandant and those staff agencies that advise and assist him in discharging his responsibilities prescribed by law and higher authority. Like his counterparts in the other services, the Commandant is responsible for the administration, discipline, internal organization, training requirements, efficiency, and readiness of the Marine Corps. Within the Department of the Navy, the Commandant is equivalent to the Chief of Naval Operations, and since 1978, has been a full member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Marine Corps supporting establishment consists of the personnel, bases, and activities that support the Marine Corps' operating forces. This infrastructure consists primarily of 15 major bases and stations in the United States and Japan. Approximately 32,000 Marines serve in the supporting establishment, and includes the Marine Corps Recruiting Command, Marine Corps Combat Development & Integration Command, Marine Corps Systems Command, and Marine Corps Logistics Command. Sixty-four percent, or approximately 114,000 of our active duty Marines are located in the operating forces, with nearly 34,000 regularly forward deployed. These operating forces provide the combat power that is immediately available to the Geographic Combatant Commanders for employment. Marine Forces are made available to the Combatant Commander through Marine Forces Command or "MARFORCOM" and Marine Forces, Pacific or "MARFORPAC." MARFORCOM was formerly known as "MARFORLANT." The combat capabilities of these components are resident in the Marine Expeditionary Forces, or "MEFs", augmented by the reserve component.
The primary purpose of IPB is to support the commander's planning and decision-making needs by identifying, assessing, and estimating the adversary's COG, critical vulnerabilities, capabilities and limitations, intentions, and most likely and most dangerous COAs. To support the decision-making process, the IPB effort must remain dynamic—constantly integrating new information into the initial set of facts and assumptions. Intelligence preparation of the battlespace is a versatile process that can be adapted to support a wide range of naval or joint activities including countering an adversary's use of asymmetric warfare. Intelligence preparation of the battlespace helps to counter an adversary's strategies by encouraging commanders and staffs to systematically consider how the battlespace environment might enable or constrain the adversary's actions, given their nature and capabilities, and translate that into a range of enemy COAs to plan against. The process equally supports deliberate or crisis planning and is applied across the full range of military operations—from peace through war.
The IPB process assists commanders and their staffs in achieving information superiority by identifying adversary strategic and operational COGs, focusing intelligence collection at the right time and place, and assessing the effects of the battlespace environment on military operations. However, IPB's main focus is on providing predictive intelligence designed to help the commander anticipate the adversary's probable intent and most likely COA. Simply stated, IPB helps the commander stay inside the adversary's decision loop—that is, to react faster and make better decisions than the adversary. The Intelligence Directorate—the N-2, or J-2 of a joint staff—coordinates and supervises the IPB effort to support planning. All staff elements fully participate in the IPB effort by providing battlespace information and data relative to their areas of expertise.
The basic IPB process remains the same across the range of military operations, regardless of the level of war. Nevertheless, specific IPB planning considerations may vary considerably between strategic, operational, and tactical level operations, due to obvious differences in mission, available resources, and size of the operational areas and areas of interest. Strategic level IPB must examine the instruments of national power: diplomatic, informational, military, and economic. Intelligence preparation of the battlespace support to the operational level is inherently joint, and is concerned with analyzing the AO, assessing how its characteristics will amplify or restrict belligerent capabilities and major actions, facilitating the flow of friendly forces in a timely manner, sustaining those forces, and then integrating and employing their tactical capabilities at the decisive time and place. Intelligence preparation of the battlespace support to tactical operations generally requires a greater level of detail over a smaller segment of the battlespace than is required at the strategic and operational levels. Although the four steps in the IPB process remain the same across the spectrum of conflict, they may be compacted or expanded as time permits. During contingency planning, when time is not critical, each step is given in-depth attention. In a crisis situation, the steps may be extremely time limited.
The IPB supports military planning by identifying significant facts and assumptions about the total battlespace environment and the adversary. Intelligence assessments and products are used to execute the NPP and develop the CONOPS, and to produce the various staff estimates. These estimates, in turn, form the basis for the operational plan by identifying, developing, and comparing friendly COAs. The IPB analysis enables the commanders and their staffs to visualize and assess the full spectrum of adversary capabilities across all dimensions of the battlespace. Intelligence preparation of the battlespace analysts identify, describe, and compare the opposing advantages and disadvantages afforded by the military characteristics of the battlespace, and assist in determining how to gain strategic or operational advantage and initiative over the adversary. It is important to remember that IPB does not identify the COA the adversary will take—the enemy gets that vote—but it helps identify and rank possible COAs. The IPB also provides the basis for formulating friendly COAs available to the joint force, and drives the wargaming process that allows the commanders and joint force staffs to select and refine those COAs.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and the Joint Staff itself, hold a unique position within the national military organization. They are not in the operational chain of command, yet play vital functions in the planning and execution of any military operation.
The JCS, consist of the Chairman, the Vice Chairman, the Chief of Staff of the Army; the Chief of Naval Operations, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and the Commandant of the Marine Corps. The collective body of the JCS is headed by the Chairman who sets the agenda and presides over JCS meetings. The Military Service Chiefs are often said to "wear two hats." As members of the JCS, they offer advice to the President, the SecDef, and the NSC. They may also submit advice in addition to, or in disagreement with, the Chairman. As the Chiefs of the Military Services, they are responsible to the Secretaries of their Military Departments for management of the Services. However, their duties as members of the Joint Chiefs take precedence over all other duties. The Commandant of the Coast Guard is a Military Service Chief, but is not a member of the JCS. When appropriate, the Commandant of the Coast Guard may be invited by the Chairman or the Service Chiefs to participate in meetings or to discuss matters of mutual interest to the Coast Guard and the other Services.
One of the key things to remember is that all of the operating forces fall under one of the three Marine Expeditionary Forces or MEF's. MEFs are the Martine Corps' standing operational organizations, and any Marine unit or force smaller than a MEF is formed from forces out of one of the MEFs. A MEF is both a standing organization and the largest type of MAGTF when it deploys for combat. One MEF, headquartered at Camp Pendleton, includes forces based throughout southern California and Arizona. Two MEF, headquartered at Camp Lejeune, maintains its forces at multiple bases in North and South Carolina. Finally, three MEF, headquartered on Okinawa, also has forces on mainland Japan and in Hawaii. Each of the three standing MEFs deploys a MEU(SOC) on a continuous basis to provide forward presence and crisis response capabilities to the combatant commanders. The MEF fights at the tactical level to achieve the Joint Force Commander's operational objectives. To understand how a MEF fights, we have to understand where it fits in the range of military operations. The rings, illustrated here, may overlap to a greater or lesser degree depending on the operation. Note that this diagram represents the higher end of the range of military operations. The MEF Commander may actually serve as the Joint Force Commander in short duration or smaller scale contingencies. The MEF Commander may also serve as the functional component commander. Finally, and again depending on the scope and scale of the operation, the same diagram may be applicable to the MEB, MEU, or Special MAGFTF.
The Joint Force Commander may conduct operations through the Service component. In this case, the organization is as depicted in this illustration. Conducting operations through Service components is appropriate when stability, continuity, economy, ease of long-range planning, and the scope of operations dictate maintaining organizational integrity of Service forces. Because the individual Services are organized, trained, and employed using the Service's doctrine, this arrangement fully exploits the capabilities and experience that the individual Service can bring to a joint command. The downside to Service componency is that it can result in similar capabilities, such as air and ground forces, being spread throughout the entire joint force, thereby making coordination more difficult. Click on the Learn More button for additional service component information. The second way the JFC can organize to fight is by functional components. The JFC can centralize selected functions and reduce his span of control by placing forces with similar capabilities under a functional component commander. The drawback to functional componency is that it generally is ad hoc—it is not how the forces were trained, organized, or equipped. Also it introduces new command relationships. Click on the Learn More button for additional functional component information.
The Anti-Terrorism Battalion rapidly deploys specially trained and sustainable forces to detect, deter, and defend against terrorism, as well as to conduct crisis response in the event of a terrorist attack. It consists of over seven hundred Marines and Sailors, and possesses capabilities such as intelligence and counter-intelligence cells, combat engineers, enhanced Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical teams, Explosives Ordnance Disposal, military working dogs, linguists, electronic warfare assets, and riflemen trained in advanced urban combat. The AT Battalion is the most robust anti-terrorism force available in DoD. The primary mission of the Marine Security Guard Battalion is to provide internal security at designated U.S. diplomatic and consular facilities to prevent the compromise of classified material and equipment vital to U.S. national security. Under emergency circumstances, Marine Security Guards provide protection for U.S. citizens and government property located within designated diplomatic and consular premises. MSG Marines are under the operational control of the Department of State, and they report to their individual Ambassador or Consulate General.
The Marine Special Operations Command or "MARSOC" conducts direct action, special reconnaissance, foreign internal defense, counterterrorism, information operations, and unconventional warfare. MARSOC is under the operational control of USSOCOM, and it consists of one Special Operations Support Group at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; two Special Operations Battalions with four and five companies each; twenty-four Foreign Military Training Units with two companies of twelve teams each; and a Special Operations School. Additional information is provided in the presentation on Special Operations Forces. As an operational planner or member of a joint staff, you should remember several key points about the Marine Corps and what they offer a combatant commander. First, they are an integrated, combined arms force with their own organic air and ground combat elements with logistic support. Second, they are an expeditionary force that has combat units forward deployed and ready to immediately respond to crises or contingencies. They are task organized in the form of Marine Air Ground Task forces, and are scalable from small special purpose task forces, up to large Expeditionary forces for major operations. And finally, their doctrine and concept of operations are based on the principles of maneuver warfare, where they use the freedom of the high seas to gain a position of advantage over their adversaries.
The Navy establishes logistics hubs afloat, which receive commodities—fuel, ordnance, and stores from shuttle vessels and aircraft—and then distributes them to the on-station combatant ships. The UNREP hub is comprised of Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force ships operated by the Military Sealift Command; and occasionally commercial-hire ships. In normal operations, one or more logistic ships accompany a strike group while underway, providing necessary supplies during a 20- to 30-day period. As these logistics ships must remain on station with the strike group, other ships designated as shuttle ships bring resupply materiel to the on-station ships from advanced support bases or even from U.S. ports. In this way, on-station support remains constant. The responsibility of coordinating these functions to maintain a ready force falls to the theater and strike group commanders.
The Military Sealift Command is a unique organization within the Navy. The commander of MSC is a Rear Admiral who works for the CNO through U.S. Fleet Forces Command for Navy-specific tasking and for the Commander of U.S. Transportation Command for Joint requirements. Military Sealift Command currently operates 112 non-combatant, civilian-crewed ships worldwide. In addition, the command has access to 51 other ships that are kept in reduced operating status, ready to be activated if needed. Those ships are divided into four categories: the Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force which supplies Navy ships at sea; Special Mission Program ships which carry on a wide array of unique functions for the entire U.S. government; the Afloat Pre-position Ships which contain military equipment that can be rapidly moved to an area of conflict or disaster; and finally the Sealift fleet which has vessels dedicated to movement of stores and supplies worldwide.
The NDS: Lays out DoD strategic objectives (ends) Discusses ways DoD will achieve its objectives Describes how the strategy will be implemented
The NDS: Discusses the means of achieving national security objectives Points the way ahead to force planning Is one of the two capstone documents for DoD (the other being the NMS) Describes the desired characteristics of the future joint force The NDS also discusses the means of achieving national security objectives by pointing the way ahead to force planning. As one of the two capstone strategy documents for DoD (the other being the NMS), the NDS guides planning, employment, and the development of future military forces. It enables the joint chiefs to shape their doctrine, training, and force structure in ways that achieve the strategy's objectives.
The NMS is guided by the NSS and the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR). It is issued by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) and serves as one of the two capstone documents for the DoD (the other being the NDS). The primary purpose of the NMS is to implement the NDS.
The NMS sets the strategic direction for the Armed Forces by describing the ways and means to achieve supporting military objectives. The NMS, in conjunction with the NDS, provides strategic guidance to translate national policy into military strategy and forces. The NMS is one of the core documents that provide the common thread to integrate and synchronize the planning and activities of the Joint Staff, combatant commands, services, and combat support agencies.
Military commanders are required to make decisions constantly. Every day, they and their staffs resolve simple, routine and complex problems. To help them think through their options when faced with a force employment decision, commanders use a decision-making tool referred to by many names. In the Navy, it is the NPP, the Marines use the Marine Corps Planning Process or MCPP, and the Army uses their Military Decision Making Process or MDMP. While each of the individual Military Services has their own specific names and acronyms for their planning processes, they all share a common process in harmony with the joint operation planning process.
The NPP is a logical process of reasoning by which a commander considers all the circumstances affecting a military situation and arrives at a decision as to a COA to be taken in order to accomplish an assigned mission. Through the NPP, a commander effectively can plan for and execute operations, ensure the employment of naval forces is linked to operational and strategic objectives, and integrate naval operations seamlessly with the actions of a joint force. The NPP does not provide a guaranteed solution but, when combined with a commander's knowledge, experience, and judgment, it helps objectively focus the decision maker on possible options and provides a methodology for choosing between possible COAs. The COA selected then becomes the basis for the development of plans and the issuing of combat orders.
The NPP provides Navy commanders and their staffs a means to organize planning activities, transmit plans to subordinates, and share a critical common understanding of the mission. Interactions among various planning steps allow a concurrent, coordinated effort that ensures flexibility, makes efficient use of available time, and facilitates continuous information sharing. The NPP has six progressive steps that enable the commander and staff to: analyze the assigned mission and the battlespace develop friendly COAs analyze those COAs by wargaming them against projected enemy courses of action (ECOAs) compare friendly COAs against the commander's criteria and each other, and then select a COA prepare an OPLAN or OPORD for execution, and finally transition the OPLAN or OPORD to subordinates tasked with its execution See how similar these steps are to the joint phases we examined earlier?
The NPP is the foundation for all Navy operation planning, and is used in both contingency planning and CAP. It can vary from a short, almost instantaneous mental estimate to a carefully written document that requires months of preparation and the collaboration of many staff officers. The NPP products created during contingency planning can and should be used during CAP, when time may not be available for a thorough revision and where existing factors have not changed substantially. While the time available to plan may change, the process does not. The NPP should be, within available time constraints, as comprehensive as possible. The steps in the NPP may be expanded or condensed according to the nature of a problem. However, to maintain the logical sequence of reasoning, and to ensure consideration of pertinent factors, all the steps should be followed.
The NSS is intended for multiple audiences: Federal Government - guides the formulation of subordinate strategies Allies, friends, and partners - inspires and assures Adversaries - deters aggression through communication of likely U.S. responses and consequences of actions
The NSS is intended for multiple audiences. For the Federal Government, it guides the formulation of subordinate strategies. The NSS inspires and assures friends, allies, and partners around the world and may help guide the formulation of their own strategies. For America's adversaries, the NSS deters aggression by communicating likely U.S. responses and consequences of their actions.
The Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986 requires Presidents to: Publish a national security strategy Submit an annual "comprehensive report on the national security strategy of the United States" Publish a national security strategy not later than June 15th of the first year of their administration National security strategies should address the: Worldwide interests, goals, and objectives of the U.S. Foreign policy, worldwide commitments, and national defense capabilities necessary to implement the NSS Short-term and long-term uses of the instruments of national power (DIME) Adequacy of America's capabilities to carry out the strategy
The NSS is prepared for Congress as required by the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986. Under this law, Presidents are required to submit an annual "comprehensive report on the national security strategy of the United States," as well as a national security strategy not later than June 15th of the first year of a new administration. Generally speaking, national security strategies should address the following items: the "worldwide interests, goals, and objectives" of the United States; the "foreign policy, worldwide commitments, and national defense capabilities" necessary to implement the strategy; the short-term and long-term uses of the informational, economic, military, and diplomatic instruments of national power; and the adequacy of America's capabilities to carry out the strategy.
National Security Strategy (NSS) Prepared by the executive branch of Government and signed by the President Provides a framework for establishing national priorities Aids the coordination of U.S. response to world events Places the focus on long-term national interests rather than short-term narrow ones All other U.S. strategies are subordinate to and derived from the NSS
The National Security Strategy (NSS) is top-level guidance that is prepared by the executive branch of Government and is signed personally by the President of the United States. Functionally, the NSS provides a framework for establishing national priorities, choosing a strategic approach, and allocating the resources necessary to achieve national goals. Without a national security strategy, U.S. response to the strategic environment would become uncoordinated and reactive, and scarce resources would be allocated on the basis of short-term, narrow interests rather than long-term, national ones. All other U.S. strategies are subordinate to the NSS. The strategic direction of every federal agency is derived from the NSS.
The MPF is a strategic power-projection capability that combines the lift capacity, flexibility, and responsiveness of surface ships with the speed of strategic airlift. Strategically positioned around the globe, the Maritime Prepositioning Ships, or "MPS," provide Geographic Combatant Commanders with forward presence and rapid crisis-response. The MPF is organized into three MPS Squadrons. MPS1, based in the Mediterranean; MPS2, based in the Indian Ocean; and MPS3, based in the Guam-Saipan area. These three interoperable squadrons are each designed to couple with a Fly-In-Echelon to support the rapid closure of a MEB. MPF can also support smaller or larger MAGTFs by employing as few as one or as many as 16 ships. For example, assets from all three MPSRONs can be employed to source a MEF. When needed, these ships move to a crisis region and offload either in port or in-stream. Offloaded equipment and supplies are then married up with Marines arriving at nearby airfields. The end result is a combat-ready MAGTF rapidly established ashore, using minimal reception facilities.. The capability provided by MPF can also support regional crises that involve humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. Note the planning considerations for employing the MPF. Offload requires a secure port or beach, airfield, and route between the two. Additionally, timely deployment of the naval support element is critical to the proper offload of the ships. Also noted on the slide, the operating areas assigned to each MPS makes it possible for them to reach the littoral areas within those areas within seven days.
The Norway Prepositioning Program is the only ground prepositioning program for the Marine Corps, and provides the equipment for one MEB supporting a slightly lighter force of approximately 14,000 Marines. The program was financed by NATO and the Government of Norway during the Cold War era. The agreement has been modified to allow for the movement of equipment from Norway; and combined and joint exercises in the Baltic region have used portions of the equipment. It is also plausible to use this equipment to reconstitute an afloat MPS squadron whose equipment has been committed and whose combatant commander requires quick reconstitution. This program enhances all Geographic Combatant Commanders operational responsiveness by providing mission tailored, prepositioned war reserve materiel that supports global Marine Corps expeditionary employment at the lower end of the range of military operations. The war reserve materiel is stored in six cave sites and two airfields throughout Norway and is available for rapid preparation and marshalling to aerial, sea, and rail ports of debarkation in support of deploying MAGTFs.
Because we must not permit the threat of terrorism to alter the American way of life, we have to accept some level of terrorist risk as a permanent condition. We must constantly balance the benefits of mitigating this risk against both the economic costs and infringements on individual liberty that this mitigation entails. The strategic objectives of homeland security, in order of priority, are to: Prevent terrorist attacks within the United States Reduce America's vulnerability to terrorism, and Minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do occur
The National Strategy for Homeland Security aligns and focuses homeland security functions into six critical mission areas: intelligence and warning, border and transportation security, domestic counterterrorism, protecting critical infrastructure, defending against catastrophic terrorism, and emergency preparedness and response. The first three mission areas focus primarily on preventing terrorist attacks, the next two on reducing our Nation's vulnerabilities, and the final one on minimizing the damage and recovering from attacks that do occur. The Strategy provides a framework to align the resources of the Federal budget directly to the task of securing the homeland. As noted, Joint Publication 3-26 provides high-level guidance for the Armed Forces. We will examine four key aspects of this document.
The Navy established the Navy Nurse Corps and Yeoman (F) rating.
The Naval War College fostered professional development.
Naval forces alone however, never were intended to have every military capability needed to handle every threat or crisis our nation may face. Just as using complementary capabilities within our naval forces compounds our overall strength, combining the capabilities and resources of other services and other nations in joint and multinational operations can produce overwhelming military power. To be prepared for those challenges, we must maintain our ability to conduct day-to-day operations with other services and other nations. Naval doctrine emphasizes the importance of honing the teamwork needed to operate efficiently in the joint and multinational environment. Naval Doctrine Publication (NDP) 1 describes the ways naval forces accomplish their missions and execute their roles as part of the joint military team of the future.
The Navy Warfare Development Command, or NWDC, is responsible for the overall management of development, evaluation, and dissemination of Navy doctrine. Additionally, NWDC serves as the U.S. Navy's primary authority and representative for the development, review, and evaluation of joint doctrine, joint tactics, techniques, and procedures, multi-service doctrine, and allied doctrine. Naval doctrine is organized within a hierarchy of four levels, all of which support and are linked to military strategy. All military doctrine—service and joint—provides information to senior civilian leaders charged with the development of the national security strategy, as to the core competencies, capabilities, and limitations of military forces.
Theaters of Operation
The Navy and Marine Corps operated throughout Asia, Latin America, and Europe
Organizational and Social Changes
The Navy became more professional. The General Board of the Navy investigated fleet improvements. The Secretary of the Navy created the Chief of Naval Operations position.
President Reagan built up the defense establishment:
The Navy commissioned a new class of ballistic missile submarines Defense industries and the Navy developed and deployed new surface ship classes The Navy designed and developed advanced missiles The naval aviation community received new and improved aircraft Modernized battleships returned to the fleet
Reorganization of 1941: Three Fleets — Pacific Fleet — Asiatic Fleet — Atlantic Fleet Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet also designated Commander in Chief, United States Fleet
The Navy reorganized in 1941 into three fleets; Asiatic, Pacific, and Atlantic—each under a Commander in Chief. The Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet was also designated Commander in Chief, United States Fleet. Recognizing Japan's growing threat in the area, the Pacific Fleet was moved from the U.S. west coast to Pearl Harbor during this time.
During this lesson of The Navy on a Global Stage, these topics were discussed:
The Navy's changing mission Technological developments Organizational and social changes Theaters of operation
Early Cold War (1945-1963)
The Navy's contribution to victory in the early Cold War relates directly to its current global mission. After WW II, the United States faced a new global threat to: Democracy Basic human rights Freedom The USSR menaced the United States and its allies and promoted Marxism worldwide. President Truman adopted a "Containment Strategy" to build a wall around the Soviet Union and its allies.
The Navy's major wars and operations
The Navy's major wars and operations — Quasi-War with France — War with Tripoli — War of 1812 — War of Algiers
The Navy's origin and its missions
The Navy's origin and its missions — The Continental Navy — Establishment of the Navy and the Navy Department
Surface strike groups are usually created from already deployed ships. Frequently, they are split off from a carrier strike group for a separate independent mission. They are constituted according to mission requirements and their composition can vary widely. They are most frequently used in presence roles, maritime interception operations, counter piracy, and in exercises or theater security cooperation events with other navies. They can be used independently for strike or power projection missions that do not require a carrier or ARG. Surface combatants are able to support small detachments from other units to support specific missions. For example, a U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement vessel may be employed during counter-narcotics patrols, or Naval Special Warfare units may employ surface combatants as a staging base or lily-pad for their operations.
The Navy's submarine force is comprised of three different platforms, fleet ballistic missile submarines, or SSBNs; Fast Attack submarines, or SSNs, and Guided Missiles submarines, or SSGNs. Click on each tab to learn more. A submarine does not require elaborate defensive measures to facilitate mission accomplishment. Accordingly, when assets are limited or early in the deployment phase, an SSN or SSGN has unique advantages that may make it the platform of choice to bring strike, surveillance, or sea denial capabilities into an area of operations. Two of those advantages are stealth and nuclear power. Stealth is designed into the system and augmented by its operating environment, providing for covertness, surprise, survivability, freedom of movement, and self-defense. Nuclear power enables significant endurance, which in turn, permits the submarine to stay on station for an extended period of time, and when they do turn over, it is always covertly. Additionally, they are independent and require very limited logistics or forward support bases.
South Pacific Force (later Third Fleet): Battle of Guadalcanal (August 1942 - February 1943) — Battle of Savo Island — Battle of Cape Esperance — Battle of Tassafaronga Solomon Islands campaign — Battle of Santa Cruz — Battle of Empress Augusta Bay — Battle of Cape St. George — Air strikes against Japanese harbor at Rabaul
The Pacific offensive began in the South Pacific AOR. Naval forces operating here were designated South Pacific Force, later designated Third Fleet in the 1943 reorganization. In August, 1942 American Marines landed on Guadalcanal, an island in the Solomon Islands chain. After six months of heavy fighting, the Marines were victorious and the island was secured. Several naval battles were fought during this time, including the Battles of Savo Island, Cape Esperance, and Tassafaronga as well as numerous engagements in the waters surrounding the island. South Pacific Force suffered significant losses of ships in these battles, but succeeded in protecting the landing force and stopping the Japanese Navy from supporting its own ground forces. While the fighting continued on Guadalcanal, South Pacific Force also conducted the Solomon Islands campaign, a series of naval battles and amphibious operations. This campaign included the Battles of Santa Cruz, Empress Augusta Bay, and Cape St. George, as well as the bombing of Japanese ships at Rabaul.
Atrocities by Milosevic's forces against Kosovo ethnic Albanians in 1999 triggered Operation ALLIED FORCE, the first military campaign in NATO's history. Tomahawk missiles and precision guided bombs hit Serbian: Troop units Power plants Bridges Air defense sites Defense factories Command and Technological Developments The Goldwater-Nichols Defense Reorganization Act of 1986: Increased the authority of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Enhanced the control of joint and specified commanders over theater operations Mandated closer cooperation or "jointness" among the armed services
The Persian Gulf War proved to be a catalyst for the Navy's transition from a Cold War to a post-Cold War strategy. "From the Sea" and the "Forward . . . From the Sea" strategic directives: Navy promulgated in the mid-1990s Navy announced its primary mission would be to project power ashore in the littoral regions of the world rather than prepare for war at sea with another navy U.S. Marine Corps adopted "Maneuver from the Sea"
The strategy's ends are rooted in America's four enduring national interests: Security Prosperity Values International order Each of these interests are inextricably linked to the others: No single interest can be pursued in isolation Positive action on one interest can advance the other interests
The President discusses the current strategy's ends in terms of America's four enduring national interests. He writes, "To achieve the world we seek, the United States must apply our strategic approach in pursuit of four enduring national interests: Security: The security of the United States, its citizens, and U.S. allies and partners Prosperity: A strong, innovative, and growing U.S. economy in an open international economic system that promotes opportunity and prosperity Values: Respect for universal values at home and around the world International order: An international order advanced by U.S. leadership that promotes peace, security, and opportunity through stronger cooperation to meet global challenges Each of these interests is inextricably linked to the others: no single interest can be pursued in isolation, but at the same time, positive action in one area will help advance all four. The initiatives described below do not encompass all of America's national security concerns. However, they represent areas of particular priority and areas where progress is critical to securing our country and renewing American leadership in the years to come."
Intelligence disciplines are well-defined areas of intelligence collection, processing, exploitation, and reporting, using a specific category of technical or human resources. Intelligence sources are the means or systems that can be used to observe and record information relating to the condition, situation, or activities of a targeted location, organization, or individual. Intelligence sources can be people, documents, equipment, or technical sensors. Intelligence sources are grouped according to one of the seven intelligence disciplines you see listed here.
The Role of Intelligence in Military Planning (continued): Intelligence sources: The means or systems used to observe and record information relating to the enemy Intelligence disciplines: — IMINT: imagery intelligence — HUMINT: human intelligence — SIGINT: signals intelligence — MASINT: measurement and signature intelligence — OSINT: open-source intelligence — TECHINT: technical intelligence — CI: counterintelligence Mouse over text for a short description, or click the advance button to continue.
The rules of engagement are divided into two key areas. First, they provide guidance on when and how U.S. forces can and should use force in self-defense. Second—and just as important—they provide guidance on the use of force for mission accomplishment and include supplemental measures for specific missions. Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, with which you are undoubtedly aware, is one such example.
The SROE require commanders to defend their unit from hostile acts and demonstrations of hostile intent. Hostile acts are usually self-evident and involve an attack or a use of force against U.S personnel or facilities. Hostile intent can also justify actions taken in self-defense, but is much more difficult to describe. Hostile intent involves the threat of the use of force against the U.S. and its forces, and in certain circumstances, our citizens and their property. However, since there may not be an overt act, this decision can be extremely difficult. Commanders must weigh the negative consequences of being wrong against the possible risk of destruction of their unit and make the best decision they can based on the situation.
The Navy did not restrict its Cold War operations to the Pacific theater, it also operated in the Mediterranean and Caribbean Sea areas:
The U.S. 6th Fleet worked to counteract Soviet military presence Navy mine countermeasures forces cleared the Suez Canal The Sixth Fleet combated Libyan terrorism Naval forces were deployed to Grenada and Panama
Technological Developments The "Battle of the Ironclads," between the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia (also known as Merrimac) brought about the construction of more armored warships.
The U.S. Navy built sixty Monitor-like vessels, which were used to fight Southern Harbor defenses and in western rivers. Differently-designed Union ironclad gunboats saw combat before the Monitor-Virginia encounter. The Civil War demonstrated the superiority of ironclad warships and revolutionized naval warfare.
The U.S. Navy sought peace by
The U.S. Navy sought peace by blockading the port of Tripoli and bombarding the city. In the process, the frigate Philadelphia ran aground and 300 American Sailors became prisoners of war (POW).
Inside the U.S., SRUF apply first, to all military assistance given to civilian authorities. One of the best examples is the support provided during and after Hurricane Katrina. In the recovery effort that followed this disaster, U.S. military forces operated under SRUF. Second, the rules apply during routine Military Department functions occurring within either U.S. territory or U.S. territorial seas, including any anti-terrorism-force protection duties. Third, SRUF applies during all law enforcement and security duties on all DOD installations around the world. Fourth, SRUF applies during all official DOD off-installation security functions around the world. Finally, SRUF applies during any land homeland defense missions occurring within the U.S. So in order to determine whether SROE or SRUF applies to any specific situation, you need to consider both the anticipated mission and location.
The SRUF allow DOD forces to use force, including at times up to deadly force, in a number of situations. These situations involve, for the most part, defense of lives and defense of specific types of resources. Whenever force is used, two principles will be applied to that use of force—necessity and proportionality. Necessity means that DOD forces will only use force when all other means available to avert the threat have been exhausted. In order to exhaust those means, the force used should initially be the minimum amount necessary to counter the threat, and then escalated incrementally, becoming more lethal as the threat fails to disperse and/or grows stronger. A good example of escalation of force would be the use of some or all of the following methods in order: verbal warnings, show of weapons, physical force and/or apprehension, baton, military working dog, non-lethal weapons, and finally the use of firearms. The second principle is proportionality. Proportionality means that the force used must be reasonable in proportion to the threat, based upon a totality of the circumstances. Think again of the two sides of our scales of justice. In this case the type of force used must never outweigh the intensity, duration, and magnitude of the threat.
The National Security Council is chaired by the President. In addition to the President and Vice President, the NSC's statutory members are the Secretaries of State and Defense. Other regular attendees include the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Additionally, the President can invite others to attend as the situation dictates. By law, there are two advisors to the NSC—the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for military matters and the Director of National Intelligence for intelligence matters. The NSC functions to advise and assist the President by presenting assessments and options for decisions reflecting all relevant government agencies and considerations. It also coordinates the dissemination and monitors the implementation of Presidential and other high-level national security decisions among the various government agencies.
The SecDef is responsible to the President for national unity of effort for creating, supporting, and employing all military capabilities. He is the President's principal defense policy advisor and is responsible for the development of general defense policy, planning, resource management, fiscal, and program evaluation. The SecDef is in both the operational and administrative chains of command. Under the direction of the President, and using the CJCS as his communications conduit, the SecDef issues orders to the combatant commanders and their subordinates to engage in combat.
The U.S. Navy's numerical ship inferiority induced the building of frigates with
The U.S. Navy's numerical ship inferiority induced the building of frigates with superior strength, speed, and armament that were strong enough to defeat ships of their class, yet fast enough to escape larger ships.
Diplomatic instrument of national power: National power is the primary means by which the U.S. engages with foreign nations or groups Diplomacy is the preferred method of advancing America's values, interests, and objectives Diplomacy in the absence of credible military force is usually ineffective Military leaders are responsible for ensuring diplomats understand the capabilities, limitations, and consequences of military action Combatant commanders must coordinate with the embassies in their region Diplomacy continues during military action
The U.S. employs the diplomatic instrument of national power to engage with other states and foreign groups in order to advance America's values, interests, and objectives. However, history shows that without the credible threat of force, diplomacy is inadequate against a determined and powerful adversary. U.S. military leaders have a responsibility to understand American foreign policy and to ensure that those responsible for diplomacy have a clear understanding of the capabilities, limitations, and consequences of military action. Combatant commanders are responsible for combining military and diplomatic activities in their geographic regions. The U.S. ambassador and the corresponding country team are normally in charge of diplomatic-military activities in foreign countries. By definition, the country team is the senior U.S. coordinating and supervising body, headed by the chief of the U.S. diplomatic mission. Country teams are composed of the senior member of each represented U.S. Department or Agency, as desired by the diplomatic chief of mission. When directed by the President or Secretary of Defense, the combatant commander employs military forces in concert with the other instruments of national power. In these circumstances, the U.S. ambassador and the country team may have complementary activities (employing the diplomatic instrument) that do not entail control of military forces, which remain under the authority of the combatant commander.
The U.S. won on Lake Erie and captured the
The U.S. won on Lake Erie and captured the upper Northwest under the command of Oliver Hazard Perry. Neither rival ever attained superiority on crucial Lake Ontario.
There are two parallel chains of command within the national military organization—operational and administrative. The President and the SecDef are at the top of both chains of command, and are the only two people with the authority to commit American Armed Forces into combat. This is the essence of civilian control of the military. The President and SecDef exercise their operational authority through the unified combatant commanders—both regional and functional. The unified commanders in turn exercise combatant command—commonly referred to as COCOM—through their subordinate commanders. Commanders of unified commands can organize their forces in a number of different ways, including joint task forces, subordinate unified commands, and Service component commands. The combatant commanders' responsibilities focus is on operational matters, such as planning and conducting military operations. The CJCS, although not in the operational chain of command, plays a critical role in the organization. Not only is the CJCS the principal military advisor to the President and SecDef, he also serves as the communication channel between the President and SecDef and the combatant commanders, and oversees their activities. The President and SecDef exercise administrative control through the Secretaries of the three Military Departments who are assisted by the respective Service Chiefs of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force. They, in turn, are responsible for providing combat-ready forces to the combatant commanders, in the form of the Service component commands. The primary functions of the Military Services then are recruiting, training, and equipping their forces for service under the combatant commanders. It is important to remember that even after forces have been trained, equipped and provided to a combatant commander, the Service Chiefs and Secretaries are still responsible for providing logistic support to these forces.
The UCP, prepared by the SecDef and signed by the President, sets forth basic guidance to all combatant commanders. A combatant command is one having a broad mission under a single commander and having forces from two or more Military Services. There are nine combatant commands - six with geographic or regional responsibilities, and three with functional responsibilities around the globe. Combatant commander functions include giving direction to subordinate commands, prescribing the subordinate chain of command, organizing, coordinating and approving administrative functions for assigned missions, and selecting subordinate commanders and command staff. The six regional commands are the U.S. Pacific Command, U.S. European Command, U.S. Central Command, U.S. Southern Command, U.S. Northern Command, and U.S. Africa Command. The three functional combatant commands are the U.S. Special Operations Command, U.S. Transportation Command, and U.S. Strategic Command.
Underway Replenishment
The Underway Replenishment Group concept enabled warships to range the vast Pacific without having to return thousands of miles to base for fuel, ammunition, and supplies.
Responsible directly to the SecDef and the President, combatant commanders employ the Armed Forces of the United States to accomplish assigned missions. We will now examine how combatant commands are formed, and the specific responsibilities of each.
The Unified Command Plan, or UCP, is the document setting forth basic guidance to all combatant commanders. Prepared by the SecDef and signed out by the President, the UCP establishes combatant command missions, responsibilities, and force structure, and delineates geographic areas of responsibility (AOR) for geographic combatant commanders. It also specifies functional responsibilities for functional combatant commanders. The command structure generated by the UCP is flexible, and changes as required to accommodate evolving U.S. national security needs.
Although the different types of doctrine—joint, service, multi-service, and multinational—may differ in application, they share a common definition. Doctrine is the fundamental principles by which military forces or elements thereof guide their actions in support of national objectives. In general, doctrine provides: A nation's highest military objectives, The general mission of the armed service or branch ("who we are") General concepts of how the service or branch shall perform its functions ("what we do") Concerns and cautions in carrying out their functions ("how we should do it"), and Lessons learned and historical examples ("how we did it in the past") Military doctrine changes, or should change, as the nature of warfare and the specific threat to a nation changes. A classic example of this is the Marine Corps development of amphibious doctrine prior to World War II for use in the operations in the Pacific Theater.
The United States, the most powerful nation on earth, depends upon transoceanic links—both commercial and military—with allies, friends, and national interests. Our nation's maritime strength has enabled us to endure more than two centuries of global crisis and confrontation that have reflected the world's unending religious, ethnic, economic, political, and ideological strife. Whenever these crises have threatened our national interests, our leaders traditionally have responded with naval forces.
Here is a depiction of how the UCP has divided up the globe into AORs for the six geographic combatant commanders. Let's take a closer look at the specific responsibilities assigned to each of the geographic combatant commands. The commanders of U.S. European Command, U.S. Pacific Command, U.S. Central Command, U.S. Southern Command, U.S. Northern Command and U.S. Africa Command are each responsible for military activities and accomplishing missions with assigned and/or attached forces within their AORs.
The United States European Command, or USEUCOM, is a regional combatant command, with responsibilities for all of Europe, most of Africa, and parts of the Middle East, including 91 countries and territories. With their headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, USEUCOM is the only regional combatant command with a headquarters forward deployed outside the United States. During the Cold War years, USEUCOM's focus had been to preserve the peace in Europe. Since then, USEUCOM has deployed forces in support of over 95 contingency, noncombatant evacuation operations, or NEOs, humanitarian operations, and Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM throughout the theater and beyond. USEUCOM is called upon not only to maintain ready forces to conduct unilateral operations, but also to work in concert with allied and coalition partners. USEUCOM enhances transatlantic security through support to NATO. They also promote regional stability and advance U.S. interests in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Russia through numerous theater engagement initiatives, such as Partnership for Peace programs, military-to-military contact programs, and peacekeeping and peace enforcing and training operations.
In 1995, Serbian forces continued attacking other ethnic groups.
The United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members mounted air operations against Milosevic's forces in Bosnia. The air campaign, along with a ground offensive by Croat troops, compelled Milosevic to sign the Dayton Accords authorizing UN-sponsored forces to oversee a ceasefire in Bosnia.
Canada has a population of 32 million people. Canada's northern regions are thinly populated because of severe climate and rugged terrain. Eighty percent of the population lives in urban areas, primarily in cities on the Great Lakes or along the St. Lawrence River. These cities include Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, and Hamilton. Other large cities are Vancouver on the west coast, Edmonton and Calgary in Alberta, and Winnipeg in Manitoba. People of European ancestry make up 80 percent of the population, while Asians make up 10 percent, and American Indians and Inuits make up four percent of the population. Canada has two official languages—English and French. English is spoken by 60 percent of the population and French is spoken by 23 percent of the population, primarily in Quebec. Other languages include Chinese, Italian, German, Punjabi, Spanish, and a variety of others. The largest religious denomination in Canada is Roman Catholic. Catholicism was introduced by French settlers in the 1600's and now accounts for about 45 percent of the population. More than 80 percent of the people in Quebec are Roman Catholic and there is a Roman Catholic majority in New Brunswick. Most other Canadians - about 30 percent - belong to non-Catholic Christian churches while 17 percent of Canadians claim no religious affiliation. Other groups include Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, and Sikhs. Canada has always maintained an informal separation between church and state. The total population of Mexico is 108 million people with more than half of the population in the country under 20 years of age. In 1970 the population was 48 million. Rapid growth has resulted from a traditionally high birthrate and a decreasing death rate because of improved living conditions and expanded health care services. Twenty-five percent of the population lives in a rural environment, but the majority live in cities. The population of metropolitan Mexico City, the capital, exceeds 17 million people. Other urban areas of note include the Federal District, and the states of Nuevo Leon and Baja California. Cities with over a million people are Guadalajara, Ecatepec, Netzahualcoyotl, and Puebla in the south, and Juarez, Tijuana, Monterrey, and Leon in the northern states. The ethnic makeup of the country is almost entirely Mexican, most people being mestizos, people of mixed Spanish and Indian ancestry. Almost all Mexicans speak Spanish, the official language of the country. In 2001, approximately 90 percent of the population identified themselves as Roman Catholics while approximately 6 percent identified themselves as members of various non-Catholic Christian denominations. The 1917 Constitution provided for the separation of church and state. In 1929, a practical arrangement was reached for the church to operate the schools and churches and to stay out of political affairs.
The United States of America is a Federal republic of 50 states governed according to the Constitution with specific powers given to federal and state governments. The Federal Government is divided into three branches—the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judicial branch—represented by the President, Congress, and the Supreme Court. The 50 states have similar structures paralleling the federal design. Executive authority in the Government resides with the President who is elected every four years by electors chosen from each state and the District of Columbia democratically. The President serves as head of state, Commander-in-Chief, and head of the Government formulating policy and legislation. The Government is located in Washington, D.C. The Cabinet of the President includes the Secretaries of State, Treasury, Defense, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Education, Energy, Veterans Affairs, and the Attorney General who are appointed by the President and approved by the Senate. The Executive Office of the President also includes the Office of Management and Budget, the Council of Economic Advisors, and the National Security Council. Legislative power is vested in Congress composed of the Senate and House of Representatives, which passes laws to levy taxes, borrow money, and regulate interstate commerce, among other matters. Revenue bills must originate in the House. The President may veto a bill, but Congress can override the veto by a two-thirds majority. The 435 members of the House representing each state are elected every two years, the number based on population. The term for the 100 members of the Senate is six years arranged so that one third of the members are elected every two years. Standing committees in each legislative body guide national matters for consideration. The Supreme Court is composed of nine justices appointed by the President with the consent of the Senate. Decisions rendered by the Supreme Court, including decisions involving the constitutionality of federal and state laws and actions, are binding. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction to rule on appeals from lower federal courts or, in some circumstances, the highest court of a state. It may also, in very limited circumstances, act as a trial court. Federal and state courts are three-tiered with trial, appellate, and supreme courts for national and state governments. Canada is an independent parliamentary state with a federation of ten provinces and three territories based on the British North America Act of 1867. Although Britain's nominal influence in Canada's constitutional matters ended with the Constitution Act of 1982, the head of state is the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. Parliament is the national legislature consisting of a House of Commons and a Senate. The 308-member House is elected by universal suffrage every five years. The leader of the majority party in the House automatically becomes the Prime Minister. The Queen of England's symbolic representative, the Governor General, is appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Governor General with advice from the Prime Minister appoints the 105-member Senate from the Atlantic provinces, the Western provinces, Quebec, and Ontario. The Government of Canada is located in Ottawa, Ontario. The Cabinet is made up of members of the House and occasionally the Senate who continue in office as long as the Prime Minister maintains majority support. The judiciary is essentially a three-tiered system with the Supreme Court as the highest court of appeal composed of nine justices appointed by the Prime Minister. The Federal Court has a trial and appeals division with Federal judges appointed by the Governor General with the advice and consent of the Cabinet. The provinces and territories have district, county, and superior courts.
Our security and prosperity are inextricably linked with the security and prosperity of others. Because of this linkage, our maritime forces will be deployed to protect and sustain the peaceful global system comprised of interdependent trade, finance, people, and governance. In other words, U.S. seapower will be globally postured to secure our homeland and citizens from direct attack and to advance our interests around the world.
The United States will employ the global reach, persistent presence, and operational flexibility inherent in our seapower to accomplish six key tasks or strategic imperatives. These tasks are: Limit regional conflict with forward-deployed decisive maritime power Deter major power war Win our Nation's wars Contribute to homeland defense in depth Foster and sustain cooperative relationships with more international partners, and, Prevent or contain local disruptions before they impact the global system
Preventing war is preferable to fighting wars. Deterring aggression must be viewed in global and regional terms via conventional, unconventional, and nuclear methods. We will use forward-based and forward-deployed forces, space-based assets, sea-based strategic deterrence, and other initiatives to deter those who wish to harm us.
The ability to operate freely at sea is one of the most important aspects of joint operations and requires certain capabilities in all aspects of the maritime domain including space and cyber space. The current and most significant challenge to sea control is the growing number of nations operating diesel and nuclear submarines. We will continue to hone our tactics, our training, and the technologies needed to neutralize this growing threat. We will not permit conditions under which our maritime forces would be impeded nor will we permit an adversary to disrupt the global supply chain. We will be able to impose local sea control wherever necessary ideally in concert with friends and allies—but by ourselves, if we must.
The operational chain of command of the U.S. Navy in support of the Geographic Combatant Commands is a bit complicated due to many commanders holding multiple commands simultaneously. This is commonly referred to as "dual-hatting." Click on each numbered button below to learn more. A Numbered Fleet Staff will typically align attached forces into functional Task Forces. In some cases a Task Force may be one unit conducting multiple missions, or it could be multiple units all conducting a single mission such as Logistics or Antisubmarine Warfare. Each Numbered Fleet may have slightly different naming and numbering conventions, but most follow a similar construct as the U.S. Seventh Fleet which is depicted on this slide.
The aircraft carrier and its associated strike group continue to be the centerpiece for Navy forward presence. There is an often mentioned story that whenever there is a crisis, the first question the President asks, is: "Where are the carriers?" The Carrier Strike Group, or CSG, is composed of an aircraft carrier and its embarked air wing, surface combatants, submarines, and combat logistic ships. It operates as a contained, self-sustaining force, with little dependence on shore based support, able to operate for long periods of time in international waters and airspace. Listed here is the makeup of a notional carrier strike group and Airwing and the functional capabilities each platform contributes. In practice, no two carrier strike groups will be exactly the same. They are often tailored to the specific missions assigned, or the threats expected.
In the years before the Civil War, other ordnance innovations were: The antebellum Navy produced accomplished leaders in:
The antebellum Navy produced accomplished leaders in: International diplomacy Science Exploration Technology
As with law of the sea, there are many sources of LOAC. First among them are many international agreements, conventions, declarations, protocols, and statutes. The list of such agreements is far too long to be discussed here, and this list shows just a few. The Hague Convention of 1907 remains one of the leading sources of the law on means and methods of warfare. The United Nations (UN) Charter, in addition to forming the UN, also tried to lessen the effects of war on innocent people. The Geneva Conventions of 1949 were written in the aftermath of the Second World War and are best known for codifying the treatment of persons during war. The 1949 conventions were followed by the Additional Protocols in 1977. While the U.S. is not a signatory to the Additional Protocols, the U.S. does consider some aspects of it to be customary international law. There is also plenty of U.S. domestic law that relates to LOAC, including the War Crimes Act.
The applicability of LOAC to U.S. policy is explained perfectly by the following quote. "The Armed Forces of the United States will comply with the law of war during all armed conflicts, however such conflicts are characterized and, unless otherwise directed by competent authorities, will comply with the principles and spirit of the law of war during all other operations." As outlined in the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) instruction, the law of war will always apply during all armed conflicts and other operations—period.
Most JTFs are dissolved when their purpose has been achieved or when they are no longer required. However, a JTF could become semi-permanent. This occurs when their mission has changed and a decision was made not to dissolve, but rather to have it continue with a revised mission. An example that could have transitioned to semi-permanent was Operation PROVIDE COMFORT. The humanitarian mission changed to a security and humanitarian mission, and then to a security mission largely as a result of events occurring in northern Iraq. Some JTFs are established on a permanent basis where the mission is enduring in nature. For example, in 1984 the U.S. Southern Command, (USSOUTHCOM), established JTF Bravo in Honduras to organize and support exercises, humanitarian, counterdrug, and disaster relief operations in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility (AOR). JTF Bravo continues to support military activities in the USSOUTHCOM AOR today.
The authority establishing a JTF designates the commander and assigns the mission and forces. The JTF commander in turn has full authority to assign missions, establish command relationships, and direct coordination among subordinate commanders. Normally, the JTF commander exercises OPCON over assigned forces, however he or she does have the authority to delegate both OPCON and TACON to subordinate commanders as appropriate.
As the first step, mission analysis drives the entire planning process. Its overall purpose is to give the commander, staff, and planning team an overall assessment of the situation, and focuses on two important aspects—the adversary and the assigned mission. Before the planning team can begin mission analysis, they must understand the possible area of operations (AO), available forces, and political, military, and cultural characteristics of the area. The planning team acquires information from higher headquarters, national level intelligence sources, other military and interagency organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and their innate knowledge of the battlespace. The adversary, and its impact on the mission, is viewed using the intelligence preparation of the battlespace (IPB) process, which will be explored in the next topic of this lesson. Through the IPB—a process separate from, but integral to the NPP—the commander's staff, led by the intelligence section, focuses on the impact of the environment in which the potential operation will occur, adversary capabilities, and possible ECOAs.
The commander is responsible for analyzing the given mission and formulating a mission for subordinate commanders so they can begin their own planning efforts. Mission analysis is used to study the assigned mission and to identify all tasks necessary to accomplish it. This is a critical step, because it provides direction to the staff, enabling them to focus effectively on the problem at hand. During the mission analysis process, all tasks—both specified and implied—and their purposes, are clearly stated to ensure planning encompasses all requirements. Limitations, which include restraints (things you can't do), and constraints (things you must do), should be identified on actions the commander or subordinate forces may take. When the commander receives a mission, analysis begins by looking at the who, what, where, when, and why that comprise a mission statement. Further analysis would be a preliminary look at forces made available for the mission.
Revolutionary technological changes were even more pronounced:
The composition of the fleet was dramatically altered by the introduction of: — Jet aircraft — Angled-deck aircraft carriers — Nuclear-powered carriers, cruisers, and submarines Admiral Hyman Rickover directed the effort to develop the USS Nautilus and follow-on nuclear-powered attack and ballistic missile submarines CNO Admiral Arleigh Burke oversaw the development of George Washington-class submarines carrying Polaris intercontinental missiles
Our ability to overcome challenges to access of the high seas and to project and sustain power ashore is the basis of our combat credibility. Our advantages will be sustained through properly sized forces, innovate technologies, understanding of adversary capabilities, adaptive joint planning, and through proficiency and American ingenuity. We will maintain a robust strategic sealift capability in order to rapidly concentrate and sustain military forces as well as to facilitate joint programs. The ability to project power relies on a strategically integrated maritime force and the maintenance of a strong U.S. commercial maritime transportation industry.
The creation and maintenance of security at sea is essential to mitigating threats short of war, include piracy, terrorism, weapons proliferation, and drug trafficking. Countering these irregular and transnational threats protects our homeland, enhances global stability, and secures freedom of navigation for the benefit of all nations. Domestic and international law is enforced through established protocols such as the Maritime Operational Threat Response Plan. U.S. maritime forces also join with other maritime forces around the world to police global common interests and suppress common threats.
In the late 2nd millennium BC, the Arameans established the nation of Aram in modern-day Syria. They spoke Aramaic, a Semitic language from which both Hebrew and Arabic are derived. An offshoot of this nation, a confederation of Hebrew tribes called the Israelites, settled in the region of Palestine during the same period. The Israelite religion and institutions were shaped under the Hebrew prophet and lawgiver Moses about 1300 BC, and subsequently under Saul and David (the first 2 kings of ancient Israel) in the 11th and 10th centuries BC. The Israelites believed that they, the Jews, were the chosen people of their one God. They were the first ethnic and religious group to adopt monotheism—the belief in one God. Judaism differed from many religions of that time in that central authority was not vested in a person or group, but in sacred texts and traditions. In the 8th and 6th century BC, the region was attacked by invaders from Assyria and Babylon (Mesopotamians), sending thousands of Jews into exile. Christianity began in Jerusalem as a Jewish sect that believed in the divinity of Jesus Christ, a recently executed Jewish man. The movement rapidly grew after his death in about 30 AD, and soon separated from the Jewish faith. The Romans, whose religion demanded emperor worship, perceived the new religion as a threat to their control and persecuted Christians for three hundred years. In the 4th century AD the Roman emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and established it as the official religion of the empire. By 600 AD, much of Europe, the Fertile Crescent, and Northern Africa, had been converted to Christianity. Differences in beliefs led to councils defining Christian doctrine. But not all Christian communities agreed, leading to the formation of different denominations. The fall of the Roman Empire in the west in the 5th century undermined the unity of Christianity. The religion split into the Church of Rome in the west (Catholicism) and the Church of Constantinople (modern Istanbul) in the east (Orthodox/Byzantine Church) when the Eastern Christians wouldn't accept Rome as the center of church authority. The schism became permanent by the 11th century. By the 8th century AD, Islam had replaced Christianity as the dominant religion in most of the Greater Middle East. The decisive event in the formation of the Greater Middle East as a distinct cultural region was the rise of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula. Around 610 AD, Muhammad, an Arab prophet, began to proclaim divine revelations and other teachings. After his death in 632, his followers conquered Mecca and Medina and quickly gathered strength. His followers defeated a Byzantine army for control of the Fertile Crescent in 636 at the Battle of Yarmuk, near the Golan Heights. This battle is considered by many historians to be the most influential of all time. The Muslims conquered Palestine in 636, Mesopotamia in 637, and Syria and Egypt in 640. Though many of their lands were taken, the Byzantine Empire succeeded in preventing the Arab Muslims from seizing Anatolia (a peninsula of Western Asia which forms the greater part of the Asian portion of Turkey), which remained Christian until the arrival of the Turks 400 years later. The majority of the population in the areas conquered by the Arabs converted to Islam within just two generations, creating a permanent cultural frontier between Europe and the Muslim world. During the following "Golden Age of Islam" the Arab world was the center of cultural and economic activity in western Asia and Europe. While Europe endured repeated invasions (Muslim armies penetrated Europe as far as Spain and southern Italy) and saw its population and economy decline sharply from the days of the Roman Empire, the great Muslim cities such as Cairo, Alexandria, Basra, Damascus, and Baghdad supported large populations, prosperous trading economies, and rich cultural life. Arab literature, architecture, medicine, and science were at their peak between the years 750 and 1250. Close
The dominance of the Arabs within Islamic culture came to a gradual end in the mid-11th century with the arrival of the Seljuk Turks. Migrating south from homelands in Central Asia, the Seljuk Turks conquered Persia, Iraq (capturing Baghdad in 1055), Syria, and Palestine, as well as defeating a Christian Byzantine force at the Battle of Manzikert. Egypt held out until 1169. The Seljuk Turks, who were Muslim but not Arab, ruled most of the region for the next 200 years, but their empire soon broke up into a number of smaller sultanates. This fragmentation of the region allowed the Christian west, following its low point in the 7th century, to stage a remarkable economic and demographic recovery and once again be a major international power. European Christians attempted to "recapture" the Holy Land from the Muslims, but largely failed in a series of campaigns in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries, known as the Crusades. Though occupation of some key cities by European invaders occurred at various periods, ultimately the Muslim armies reclaimed most of the land, with only isolated pockets of Christianity remaining. Some notable results of the Crusades were the expansion of Arabic and Muslim scientific, linguistic, and artistic influences into European cultures. The last nomadic group to migrate west from inner Asia, the Mongols, arrived in the Middle East in the 13th century. By 1258, the Mongols had overrun Iran and Mesopotamia and destroyed Baghdad. Originally pagans, the Mongols soon embraced Islam and became its defenders. The Mamluks, a militarily and politically powerful group of former slaves highly trained in warfare, halted the Mongol invasion of Egypt and Syria in 1258 and 1260. Mamluk general Baybars I became sultan of Egypt and united Egypt and Syria into a single state which survived for the next 250 years, falling to the Ottoman Empire in 1517. The Ottoman Empire had its origins following the invasion of the Seljuk Turks, when a group of independent Muslim states in Anatolia allied at the end of the 13th century. Gaining strength, the new nation invaded Constantinople and destroyed the Byzantine Empire in 1453. At its peak, the Ottoman Empire extended from modern-day Hungary and Romania, east through Iran, south down the coast of the Red Sea, and west across North Africa. The Ottoman Empire was the principal political force in the western Islamic world for 600 years. In the early 1900's, reformers seized control of the Ottoman Empire with ambitious goals for modernization. However their plans alienated the Arabs in the Empire, and drove the empire deep into debt. Their fatal mistake was aligning themselves with Germany in World War I against the Allied Powers. After the armistice, the Ottoman Empire was dissolved into many of the Middle Eastern countries we know today. In 1923, General Mustafa Kemal Ataturk led the creation of the democratic, independent, secular nation of Turkey, which continues to be the most "Westernized" state in the region, although currently there is a small movement in Turkey to roll back some of the reforms.
Greater Middle East is an imprecise term for the geographical region of the world centered on the Persian Gulf. It extends roughly to the Caucasus Mountains and Caspian Sea in the north, Pakistan in the east, the Gulf of Aden in the south, and Turkey and the Mediterranean Sea in the west. More broadly defined, it can be conceptually extended to India, Egypt, and some nations of Central Asia which share a similar historical, cultural, and geostrategic background and significance. The term "Middle East" was first used by the British in the 19th Century to describe this area from a Euro-centric standpoint. The Middle East is commonly used today to more narrowly define the area that includes the current countries of Bahrain, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. The Greater Middle East is incredibly important to U.S. interests, so its plethora of social, political, religious, and military conflicts must be keenly understood. To understand the current status of the Greater Middle East, it is necessary to grasp the complex history of the region. The Fertile Crescent, an area of land now encompassed by Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Turkey, is considered to be one of the cradles of civilization. The Indus River valley in Pakistan is also considered home to one of the earliest civilizations. The recorded history of these areas dates back several thousand years. Five of the world's major religions originated in the Middle East: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Sihkism. It is located at the trading crossroads between the former empires of Europe and China and is now important for its petroleum production. Due to its historical and religious significance, its location between Europe and East Asia, and its abundance of easily-accessible petroleum, the Middle East has always and will continue to play a major role in world affairs.
The earliest civilizations in the Greater Middle East were established around 3000 BC in Egypt and Mesopotamia, the region around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in modern-day Iraq. The Sumerians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Israelites, and others later built important states in Mesopotamia, Syria, and Palestine. From about 500 BC onward, several empires dominated the region, beginning with the Persian Empire, followed by the Macedonian (Greek) Empire of Alexander the Great, and other kingdoms such as Ptolemaic Egypt and the Seleucid state in Syria. In the Arabian Peninsula (modern-day Saudi Arabia) the early Arabs appeared around 800 BC and established powerful and influential cultures that facilitated trade for many centuries. In the 1st century BC, the expanding Roman Republic absorbed the whole eastern Mediterranean area (which included much of the Middle East). Soon, under the Roman Empire, the region was united with much of Europe and North Africa in a single political and economic unit. This unity facilitated the spread of Christianity, and by the 5th century AD, much of the Middle East was Christian. The rule of Rome was succeeded in the late 4th century AD by that of Constantinople, which led to the creation of a Greek-speaking Christian empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire, which ruled from the Balkans to the Euphrates.
During this lesson on the Cold War, these subjects were discussed:
The early Cold War period (1945 - 1963) — The U.S. strategy for dealing with the USSR and how the Navy carried out its mission — The first major conflict of the Cold War — The two Navy leaders who had a profound impact on the Navy of the 1950s — The two actions that improved opportunities in the Navy for all Sailors, regardless of race or gender The climax of the Cold War (1964- 1989) — The U.S. Strategy for dealing with the USSR in the later years of the Cold War — The first African American and female officers promoted to flag rank — The admiral who had a major impact on social changes in the Navy during the later years of the Cold War — The fleet improvements introduced into the Navy — The largest and longest-lasting conflict of the Cold War
It is only normal that our attention should focus on the use of the Armed Forces of the United States. However, we need to remember the military instrument of national power is most effective when used with, and in support of, the other instruments. In using the military instrument of national power, the Armed Forces maintain the values and constitutional principles of American society. While responsibility for using the other instruments of power rests with the nation's political leadership, U.S. military leaders are responsible for providing the advice on how to properly combine the use of the military instrument with the other instruments of national power.
The economic instrument of national power is influenced but not controlled by governmental agencies. In keeping with U.S. values and constitutional requirements, American individuals and entities have broad freedom of action pursuing their economic goals. The responsibility of the U.S. Government is to support economic and trade relationships worldwide that advance fundamental national objectives, such as promoting the general welfare and supporting security interests and objectives. A strong domestic U.S. economy with free access to global markets and resources is a strong contributor to the general welfare and national security. The Armed Forces coordinate with other agencies responsible for using the economic instrument to promote unity of action. This coordination is accomplished through the National Security Council.
Depending on the situation, COGs may be intangible characteristics such as resolve or morale. They may be capabilities, such as armored forces or aviation strength. They may be localities, such as a critical piece of terrain anchoring an entire defensive system or control of a restricted waterway. They may also be the relationship between two or more components of the system, such as the cooperation between two arms, or the relations in an alliance. In short, COGs are any important sources of strength. If they are friendly, we want to protect them, and if they are enemy, we want to take them away.
The essence of operational art lies in being able to mass effects against an adversary's sources of power in order to destroy or neutralize them. In theory, destruction or neutralization of adversary COGs is the most direct path to victory. However, while we want to neutralize that source of enemy strength, we do not necessarily want to attack directly into that strength. We obviously stand a better chance of success by concentrating our strength against some relative enemy weakness.
The Latin American region, including Central and South America and the Caribbean, is one and one half times the size of the United States. The region spans two continents. In North America, the countries of Central America form a northern boundary to the region. In addition to the eight nations of Central America, this part of the region also includes some fourteen island nations in the Caribbean Basin. In South America, there are thirteen nations ranging from Venezuela and Colombia in the north to Argentina and Chile in the south. The region is bounded on the east by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. Running along the Pacific coast of the region are the Andes Mountains—continuations of the mountains that line the western parts of the U.S. In the mountainous regions of South America the local economies have relied on a number of mining industries, notably copper and tin. As the prices for those commodities have fluctuated, the ability of those economies to prosper has waxed and waned. The Pacific Ocean in this area has consistently been one of the world's major fisheries, and has served both to feed the population of the adjacent nations and to form the basis for a substantial export industry. The geography east of the Andes Mountains ranges from tropical rain forests to agricultural regions located in the temperate zones of the continent. The largest river basin in the world—the Amazon River basin—cuts midway through Brazil and flows east from the Andes to the South Atlantic Ocean. Western reaches of this massive region have not been fully explored and have mostly remained unchanged for over 1,000 years. Further south, especially across south central areas of Brazil and the interior of Argentina, there are substantial agricultural regions with tremendous capabilities to produce both grains (such as wheat and oats) and livestock. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the total population grew from about 166 million people in 1950 to about 513 million in 2000. As a comparison the United States' population in 2005 was approximately 300 million. Overall, the population of the region is expected to grow to over 800 million by 2050. If realized, this growth will certainly increase environmental and other pressures on less developed areas such as the Amazon basin where urban areas have grown considerably over the past decade. Moreover, this growth will also present a challenge to both the region's struggling economies and governments in their ability to provide for their populations, a large percentage of which live in poverty. While urbanization is increasing across the region, there are four major urban areas, all of which date to the 16th century or earlier. Mexico City, Mexico; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil are the major population centers in the region.
The ethnic makeup of the people of Latin America is also a reflection of its colonial past. Immigration from Europe, the exposure of the indigenous people to diseases from which they had no natural immunity, armed conflict, economic priorities and resource distribution have all had its effect. The result is that in many areas remnants of the native population are virtually non-existent. For example, nearly 97 percent of Argentina's population may be classified as European (mostly Spanish or Italian) with only three percent being Amerindian or mixed Caucasian-Amerindian. By contrast, 45 percent of Peru's population is considered Amerindian, 37 percent mixed Caucasian-Amerindian and only 15 percent European. In between these two extremes are countries such as Mexico, El Salvador, and Paraguay where the majority of the population can claim both European and Amerindian ancestors. The bringing of African slaves to the region during the colonial era to work on plantations has led to the majority of the populations of nearly all the Caribbean nations having African ethnic roots. Similarly, the bringing in of indentured laborers from India led to Indians making up the majority of the population of Guyana and the largest ethnic group in Suriname. Thus, Latin America is anything but a homogeneous region as far as ethnic makeup is concerned. The languages spoken in Latin America are a direct reflection of the colonial era. Throughout the region, Spanish and Portuguese are the dominant languages, with Spanish being the official language of the vast majority of the nations in the region. However, in even those nations where Spanish is the official language, the percentage of people speaking Spanish varies. In Chile and Nicaragua, for example, nearly the entire population speaks Spanish. The percent of the Spanish speaking population in other Latin American countries is markedly lower, as in Guatemala where only 60 percent of the population speaks Spanish. English is spoken in many areas and is the prevalent language of many of the Caribbean Island nations. English is the official language of Guyana and Belize—former English colonies—although it is only spoken by a small percentage of the people of Belize. Other languages include French, spoken in Haiti and French Guiana; and Dutch, spoken in Suriname and the Dutch Antilles. In many remote regions of Latin America, especially in the Andean regions, it is still possible to find peoples using native languages that date from the Mayan, Aztec, and Inca periods. In fact, approximately 40 percent of the population of Guatemala speaks one of the many indigenous Amerindian languages. Catholicism has long been the dominant religion in the region. During the 1950's, approximately 90 percent of the population identified themselves as Catholic. Ninety-two percent of Argentines and ninety-five percent of Bolivians consider themselves Catholic. However, Protestants are gaining a following and now more than 20 percent of the population consider themselves Protestants. More than 40 percent of Guatemalans are Protestants while the majority of the population of many of the Caribbean nations identify themselves with the various non-Catholic Christian denominations. Some countries have no clear-cut majority religion. Examples would include Suriname and Guyana where Hinduism has a significant following (27 percent and 34 percent respectively) and where Muslims make up a significant minority (twenty percent and nine percent respectively).
The departure of the European powers from direct control of the region, the establishment of Israel, and the importance of the oil industry influenced the creation of modern Greater Middle East. These developments led to a growing presence of the United States in Middle Eastern affairs. Many consider the U.S. to be the ultimate guarantor of the stability of the region, and from the 1950's, the dominant force in the oil industry. When revolutions brought radical anti-western regimes to power in Egypt in 1954, in Syria in 1963, in Iraq in 1968 and in Libya in 1969, the Soviet Union, seeking to open a new arena of the Cold War in the Greater Middle East, allied itself with Arab rulers such as Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt and Saddam Hussein of Iraq. These regimes gained popular support through their promises to destroy the state of Israel, defeat the U.S. and other "western imperialists," and to bring prosperity to the Arab masses. When they failed to deliver on their promises, they became increasingly despotic. In response to this challenge to its interests in the region, the U.S. felt obliged to defend its remaining allies, such as the conservative monarchies of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iran, and the Persian Gulf emirates, even if the ruling regime was not democratic. Iran, in fact, was a key U.S. ally until the overthrow of the Shah in 1979. The U.S. interests in the region were preventing the Soviet Union or unfriendly regimes from interrupting the continuous supply of oil from the Middle East to the West, whose economies and militaries depended on it.
The fall of the Soviet Union and the collapse of communism in the early 1990's had several consequences for Greater Middle East. It allowed large numbers of Soviet Jews to emigrate from Russia and Ukraine to Israel, further strengthening the Jewish state. The collapse also cut off the easiest source of credit, armaments, and diplomatic support to the anti-western Arab regimes, weakening their position. It opened up the prospect of cheap oil from Russia, driving down the price of oil and reducing the west's dependence on oil from the Arab states. And it discredited the model of authoritarian state socialism which Egypt, Algeria, Syria, and Iraq had been following since the 1960's, leaving these regimes politically and economically stranded. Rulers such as Saddam Hussein in Iraq increasingly turned to Arab nationalism as a substitute for socialism. More recently, besides the steady flow of oil, the U.S. has been concerned with how tolerance for Islamic fundamentalism within some Middle Eastern countries may impact political relations with the west and perpetuate social polices that conflict with recognized human rights. The U.S. is also interested in the rapid expansion of an advanced market within India and its subsequent increasing demand for oil. Finally, the U.S. is interested in the ecological impact that the growing populations of Middle Eastern countries will have on the limited water and food resources in the region.
As you learned earlier, plans and orders come in many forms. They include: operation plans, concept plans, functional plans, and operation orders, warning orders, planning orders, alert orders, execute orders, and fragmentary orders. In most cases, the directive will be standardized in a five-paragraph format. In Paragraph 1—situation—the commander's summary of the general situation ensures subordinates understand the background of the planned operations. It will often contain sub-paragraphs describing the higher commander's intent, forces, and enemy forces. Paragraph 2—mission—the commander inserts his or her restated mission-essential tasks developed during the mission analysis. Paragraph 3—execution—contains the commander's intent that enables commanders two levels down to exercise initiative while keeping aligned with the overall purpose of the mission. It also specifies objective assignments for subordinates. Paragraph 4—administration and logistics—describes the support, logistics, personnel, public affairs, civil affairs, and medical services. Paragraph 5—command and control—specifies the relationships, succession of command, and overall plan for communications.
The final step in the NPP is the transition, which is an orderly turnover of a plan or order as it is passed to those tasked with the execution of the operation. It provides information, direction, and guidance relative to the plan or order, which will help facilitate situational awareness. The transition is an ongoing, concurrent process that is especially important at the operational level of war, where typically there are separate staff sections responsible for planning and execution. Additionally, the transition provides an understanding of the rationale for key decisions necessary to ensure there is a coherent shift from planning to execution. There is often a formal transition brief to subordinate or adjacent commanders. There may be a confirmation brief by the subordinate commander after he or she has received the order to ensure a complete understanding of intent, tasks and purposes, and command relationship. While the NPP is conducted by Navy staffs, it is fully integrated with and supports joint operation planning. Accordingly, and as you have just seen, the terminology, products, and concepts in the NPP follow the joint operation planning process, adhere to joint doctrine, and are compatible with the other Services. The NPP supports both peacetime contingency planning as well as the time-compressed requirements of CAP. It can be used regardless if the Navy commander is facing a conventional threat, such as from another nation's navy, or is in a conflict dominated by asymmetric tactics and unconventional forces. While the NPP can be used at any echelon—from a single ship or naval special warfare squadron, to a carrier strike group or task force—its greatest utility is at the operational or operational/tactical levels. Joint force maritime component commanders or Navy forces commanders and their staffs must be fully versed and proficient in the NPP.
This lesson addresses the diverse geography and peoples of the Western Hemisphere using a two-part approach. The first part addresses the continent of North America. The second part of the lesson covers Latin America and includes Central America and South America. By the end of this lesson, you should be able to describe the history, geography, people, governments, and U.S. interests in North America and in Latin America. North America extends a distance of nearly 6,000 miles from north to south, bounded by the Arctic Ocean in the north and the Mexican border with Guatemala in the south. At its widest point in the north, the North American continent extends approximately 5,000 miles from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Atlantic Ocean in the east. In comparison, the United States extends about 3,000 miles from coast to coast. Of the 9.4 million square miles making up North America, Canada occupies 47 percent of the total, the United States (including Alaska) 45 percent and Mexico 8 percent. Seven percent of the continent's population lives in Canada, 68 percent in the United States and 25 percent in Mexico. The North American continent has numerous deepwater ports on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Great Lakes. Sea-lanes of communication for the coasts are relatively open and accessible. However, seven of the busiest ports in the United States are on the Gulf of Mexico, where there is a potential chokepoint between Florida and Cuba in the Straits of Florida. Over half of U.S. crude oil and petroleum requirements are imported through these ports on the Gulf of Mexico. Another possible choke point is the Cabot Strait—the mouth of the St. Lawrence Seaway leading to the Great Lakes—where ports handle 50 million tons of cargo every year. After declaring independence from Great Britain in 1776 and winning the Revolutionary War, the United States of America became a sovereign nation under terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1783. Over the next 100 years, the United States expanded westward across the continent and increased in size from its original 13 colonies to 50 states with overseas possessions. The Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865 between the United States and eleven Southern states which seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America. The outcome of the war was preservation of the Union and an end to slavery in the United States. By 1900, industrialization of the United States had made the country strong economically and militarily able to respond effectively during World War I. Following World War I, the United States increased in stature both economically and as a military world power. Recovering from the Great Depression of the 1930's and emerging victorious from World War II, the United States became a world leader. By the end of the Cold War struggle with communism in the early 1990's, the country was clearly the most powerful nation in the world with an economy marked by steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and remarkable advances in technology. Select the link to see a list of U.S. conflicts and treaties.
The first known inhabitants of North America were native tribes who migrated from Asia and inhabited the land for more than 15,000 years. In 1492, Columbus arrived in the "New World" from Europe. Over the next 300 years, three nations—the United States, Canada, and Mexico—were established. The United States of America gained its independence from Britain in 1783; the Dominion of Canada was established in 1867; and the Republic of Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1823. Canada was settled by the French and English in the 1600's. Rivalry over control of Canada ended in 1763 when the British gained control of the Colonies. Development of the eastern Colonies, rivalry over French rights, westward expansion, and conflict with the United States during Canada's early years challenged the young country. In 1867, the British North American Act established the Dominion of Canada with four provinces and the prospect of adding more territories in the West. The Constitution Act of 1982 in Canada eliminated the need for British approval of amendments and replaced the British North American Act as the basic governing document of Canada. This nation has developed economically, technologically, and militarily in close step with the United States across an unfortified southern border. With a strong commitment to its environment Canada is developing abundant energy resources, its health care and education services, and managing the concerns of both a French and English population. At the time of the Spanish conquest in 1521, early civilizations and tribes had been living in the region of Mexico for 20,000 years. Like the United States and Canada, Mexico did not gain its independence from European colonial powers for almost 300 years. Beginning in 1810, a series of insurrections culminated in 1823 with independence from Spain, the declaration of a republic, and election of a Congress. The next 100 years included revolts, war with the United States and loss of territory, a new constitution, French occupation, dictatorship, rebellion, and revolution in 1910 ending with a new constitution adopted in 1917. Since then, Mexico has responded to a variety of economic challenges with economic growth, political reforms, development of energy resources, currency devaluation, fiscal responsibility, and foreign investment. The challenges of poverty, unemployment, and immigration remain.
The five strategic objectives of the 2008 NDS include: Defend the homeland Win the war Promote security Deter conflict Win our nation's wars In summary, the NDS is derived from the NSS and is published by the SecDef. It is designed to link the NSS and the NMS and to provide the military's leaders with the guidance they need to shape the future force and develop subordinate strategies.
The five strategic objectives of the 2008 NDS include: 1. Defend the homeland. The U.S. military protects the physical integrity of the country through an active layered defense. The Department must also maintain the capacity to support civil authorities in times of national emergency such as in the wake of catastrophic natural and man-made disasters. 2. Win the war. For the foreseeable future, winning the war against violent extremist movements will be the central objective of America's Armed Forces. 3. Promote security. The best way to achieve security is to prevent war when possible and to encourage peaceful change within the international system. 4. Deter conflict. The challenge is to present a credible deterrent to a broad range of national and non-state actors. Deterrence requires influencing the choices of an adversary by making its leaders understand that either the cost of an action is too great, is of no use, or is unnecessary. 5. Win our nation's wars. Although improving the military's irregular warfare capabilities is DoD's top priority, the U.S. does not have the luxury of preparing for that single challenge only. America must maintain the superiority of its conventional forces.
The United States developed the Maritime Strategy to exploit Navy strengths:
The fleet planned to attack along Soviet Union borders Secretary of the Navy John Lehman generated support for a "600-ship" Navy At the end of the Cold War, the Navy operated the most powerful ocean-going fleet on earth The U.S. military buildup facilitated the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War
The heart of the commander's estimate process is the analysis of opposing courses of action. This analysis is nothing more than wargaming—either manual or computer assisted. Its aim is to develop a sound basis for determining the feasibility and acceptability of our COAs, by conducting an analysis of the probable effect each ECOA has on the chances of success of each friendly COA. This analysis also provides the staff with a greatly improved understanding of their COAs and helps identify which one best accomplishes the mission and positions the force for future operations. Wargaming is a disciplined process, with rules and steps that attempts to visualize the flow of the operation. The process considers friendly dispositions, strengths, and weaknesses; enemy assets and probable COAs; and characteristics of the physical environment. It relies heavily on joint doctrinal foundation, tactical judgment, and operational experience. It focuses the staff's attention on each phase of the operation in a logical sequence of action, reaction, and counteraction. Each retained friendly COA should at a minimum, be wargamed against both the most likely and most dangerous adversary COAs. As the wargame progresses, the commander and his or her staff may change an existing COA or develop a new COA after identifying unforeseen critical events, tasks, requirements, or problems.
The fourth step in the NPP is a comparison of the friendly COAs remaining after the wargaming process. The commander and staff consider each COA's advantages and disadvantages, identify actions to overcome disadvantages, make final tests for feasibility and acceptability, and weigh the relative merits of each. The comparison starts with the staff analyzing and evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of each COA. Each staff member presents his or her findings for the others' consideration. Using criteria called governing factors, the staff then outlines each COA, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses. Comparing the COAs identifies their advantages and disadvantages with respect to each other. After completing its analysis and comparison, the staff identifies its preferred COA, makes a recommendation to the commander who in turn selects the COA most effective to accomplish the mission. If the commander rejects all developed COAs, the staff will start the process again. The commander can also modify a proposed COA or give the staff an entirely different one, and the staff must then wargame the revised or new COA. The staff will continue to refine, analyze, and synchronize the selected COA to produce the CONOPS and the commander will issue any additional guidance on priorities Once a COA is selected, the staff builds the CONOPS. This is the commander's clear, concise statement of where, when, and how he or she intends to concentrate combat power to accomplish the mission according to his or her higher commander's intent. It broadly outlines considerations necessary for developing a scheme of maneuver. It also includes designation of the decisive operation and key shaping operations, the plan to defeat the enemy, and specific command and support relationships.
Joint warfare is team warfare. The engagement of forces is not a series of individual performances linked by a common theme. Rather, it is the integrated and synchronized application of all appropriate capabilities. The synergy resulting from the operations of joint forces maximizes combat capability in unified action. Joint warfare does not require all forces to participate in a particular operation merely because they are available. The joint force commander, or JFC, has the authority and responsibility to tailor forces for the mission at hand, selecting those that most effectively and efficiently ensure success. Joint doctrine stipulates joint operations be guided by the principles of war, the adaptation of these principles to military operations other than war, and the fundamentals of joint warfare that result from applying the basic principles to actual experience of American arms in warfare.
The fundamentals that guide joint operations are anchored in the application of the time-tested principles of war and the actual experience of American arms in warfare. These fundamentals do not supersede the principles of war. Rather, both must be considered together when conducting joint operations. The fundamentals of joint warfare that follow should be applied broadly, avoiding literal or dogmatic interpretations. Unity of effort demands that all undertakings be directed toward achievement of common aims. Unity of effort is first achieved at the national level when the President develops the National Security Strategy or (NSS). In support of the NSS, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS), in consultation with the other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, advises the President and Secretary of Defense (SecDef) concerning the application of military power. The resulting National Military Strategy (NMS) provides strategic focus for all U.S. military activity. Cooperation among the combatant commanders and their supporting component commanders is crucial.
Regional expertise and cultural awareness are critical "warfighting skills" that are integral to both naval and joint operations. Lessons learned from Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM prove this force-multiplying capability can save lives and ensure mission accomplishment throughout confrontation, conflict, and stabilization operations. This chapter of the course will provide you with the fundamentals essential to understanding how geostrategic factors influence naval operations around the world. By the end of the lessons, you will be prepared to meet the following objectives for each region: Discuss the region's history, explain the region's major geographical features, Describe characteristics of the region's population, Discuss the major languages spoken in the region, List the major religions practiced in the region, Describe the region's predominant styles of government, and Discuss the United States' strategic interests in the region The following screens describe in detail the type of information covered in each lesson in this chapter.
The history topic of each lesson in this chapter will provide you with the background needed to understand how and why a region is the way it is today; how past military conflicts within these regions influenced their development; and historical treaties, alliances, and relationships with both the U.S. and other major world powers. The geography topic of each lesson will highlight the region's major geographic features that influence military operations. These features include such items as deserts, rain forests, mountains, plains, and choke points that have the potential to affect sea lines of communication (SLOCs). The population topic describes the characteristics of each region's major population clusters. Specifically, you will discover the size of a region's population; the number of countries within a region; the identity of the region's population centers; and the region's ethnic groups, their distribution, and why they are important. The language topic describes the major languages spoken in each region. An awareness of the languages spoken in each region will provide you with insight into the challenging nature of the Navy's global operations. Familiarization with a region's major religions is important to gaining an understanding of the region's culture. This topic of each lesson provides an awareness of the major religions in a particular region and their location. The government topic of each lesson describes the various types of governments in the region and highlights their location and the key leaders of those governments that are of particular interest to the U.S. Where applicable, this section also addresses the relationship between government and religion and its effects on U.S. interests. The strategic interests topic of each lesson explains the geostrategic situation of each region and the U.S. interests in the region. This section covers such topics as regional stability; terrorist infrastructure and activity; humanitarian concerns; the region's economy, industry, raw materials, and key trading partners; the region's current relationship with the U.S.; and key alliances and rivalries within the region.
This screen provides you some idea of the size and operational orientation of Army units. Although the Naval War College cautions not to associate a particular organizational echelon with "operational" warfare, the Army does consider that its first "operational level commander" is at the corps level. Normally, a Corps is the lowest level that can form the nucleus for a Joint Task Force, though there have been exceptions when a Division Headquarters served in that role. The Army modular force initiative involves the total redesign of the operational Army into a larger, more powerful, more flexible, and more rapidly deployable force. In doing so, it moves away from a division-centric structure to one built around the Army's new modular combat team. In this presentation we will discuss how the Army is changing their formations and echelons of command structure, to better serve the Joint Force Commander. There are two branches to the US military chain of command. Subject to the authority, direction, and control of the Secretary of Defense and the provisions of Title 10 United States Code, the Department of the Army operates under administrative command of the Secretary of the Army with the advice of the Chief of Staff. In carrying out its functions prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, the U.S. Army reorganized in February 2006 into three Army Commands and ten Army Service Component Commands under the unified or sub unified combatant commands. Note that the Army Forces Command, or FORSCOM, is both an Army Command and an Army Service Component Command.
The image seen here reflects the Active Component Division and Brigade Combat Team or BCT stationing, and includes the Army's plan to return up to 20,000 soldiers from overseas locations by the end of the decade. This stationing decision ensures the Army is properly postured to maintain a high degree of readiness needed to meet its strategic commitments, including ongoing global operations. The BCT organization is covered in greater detail later in this presentation. The Army has 10 Divisions: The 2nd Infantry Division in Korea The 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii The 4th Infantry Division at FT Carson, CO The 1st Cavalry Division at FT Hood, TX The 1st Armored Division will reposition to FT Bliss, TX The 1st Infantry Division at FT Riley, KS The 101st Airborne (Air Assault) Division at FT Campbell, KY The 3rd Infantry Division at Ft Stewart, GA The 82nd Airborne Division at Ft Bragg, North Carolina And the 10th Mountain Division at FT Drum, NY. There are approximately 600,000 soldiers on active duty today including reserve and National Guard soldiers. 235,000 of them are serving overseas in 80 countries. 136,000, or over half, are serving in our primary theaters of operation in the War on Terror. Many are serving their second or third tours. The tempo and pace placed on Army forces to meet the needs of Combatant Commanders has placed a strain on equipment and personnel. Although the Army is moving away from a Division-centric organization in their modular redesign, the following slides provide an overview of the basic capabilities of the Army's organizations. The Army has basically two types of divisions in terms of fighting power on the ground; "heavy" and "light".
Another major operation during the mid-1990s was the UN-sponsored intervention in Somalia:
The intervention failed to end the chaotic situation Somali irregulars killed 18 American soldiers President Clinton withdrew U.S. forces
There are a number of ways to integrate Coast Guard capabilities into an operational or tactical effort, or synchronize operational or tactical efforts with Coast Guard activities. Generally speaking, to facilitate integrating Coast Guard capabilities into a Combatant or Joint Force Commander's activities, the Commandant's staff needs to be engaged as early as is feasible. To facilitate the synchronization or deconfliction of independent activities in the same operating space, Combatant and Joint Force Commanders can benefit from a deliberate sharing of information with affected Area and District Commanders' staffs. Any Executive Department can initiate planning directly with the Secretary of Homeland Security, who would then task the Coast Guard. Also, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Combatant Commanders, and the Chief of Naval Operations can work directly with the Commandant through a "request for forces" to obtain Coast Guard capabilities for shorter periods. For longer term commitments, a request for forces goes to the Joint Staff, identifying the needed capability. The Joint Staff validates the requirement and tasks the Joint Forces Command to vet the request with the Commandant. The Coast Guard currently provides a level of rotational forces to Combatant Commanders through the Global Force Management Process.
The issue of capacity is problematic. The Coast Guard is not budgeted for a strategic or operational reserve. Assets are largely scheduled for regular operations and mission areas of emphasis are determined during an annual planning cycle. Partners must understand that the operating concept of the Coast Guard does not include having a reserve capacity for any particular capability. Reapportioning capabilities in time or space will impact the current and future activities of other commanders. When a substantive national interest is at stake, the program or geographic level-of-effort in a particular mission area can be cannibalized based on a risk-gain assessment. This is a highly political endeavor since the Coast Guard's constituencies often demand a consistent level-of-effort and variations are quickly recognized at the local and regional levels of the nation. There are a number of specialized capabilities located across the country that can be tailored into a deployable force component to support achieving military enforcement, security, humanitarian, or environmental objectives. To engage these forces in a rapidly developing situation, planners need to contact the nearest Coast Guard operations center and be prepared to discuss what is known about the operating environment, the desired national objective, the needed capability, and how that capability will be used. The operations center will start a coordination process aiming at tailoring and delivering the needed capability. For longer planning windows, Coast Guard headquarters should be engaged through the agency's request for forces process.
"If I could describe the new National Defense Strategy in one word, it would be "balance," balance between the range of capabilities to prevail in the persistent asymmetric or irregular conflict, and sustaining our conventional and strategic force superiority as a hedge against rising powers." Robert M. Gates Secretary of Defense 31 July 2008 The latest NDS: Published in 2008 (based on the 2006 NSS) Emphasizes irregular warfare and describes an uncertain security environment Contains five key strategic objectives
The latest NDS, published in 2008, is based upon guidance contained in the 2006 NSS. It emphasizes irregular warfare and describes an uncertain security environment that presents continuous and emerging challenges. The NDS also presents five key strategic objectives linked to America's security.
The NMS describes the strategic environment and the opportunities and challenges that affect U.S. national interests and security. It goes on to cover the most significant regional threats as well as international threats posed by terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and other security challenges.
The latest NMS, published in 2011, is derived from the 2010 NSS and the 2008 NDS, both of which guide the establishment of National Military objectives. These four objectives are to (1) counter violent extremism, (2) deter and defeat aggression, (3) strengthen international and regional security, and (4) shape the future force.
Starting in the mid-18th century, France and Britain were fighting for control of India. Since the Ottoman Empire and Iran were in the middle of the route between Europe and India, both countries began to take a strategic interest in the area. With the Royal Navy's defeat of the French at the Battle of the Nile in 1798, the French position in the Middle East was severely weakened and Britain was therefore able to secure dominance in India without European interference. Overall, the value of European trade with the region increased tenfold during the 19th century. The movement to reunite the Jewish people in Palestine, called Zionism, had begun to gain strength in Europe, also around the turn of the 19th century. The first waves of Jewish settlement in Palestine from Europe began in 1882. In 1916, during World War I, the Allies secretly negotiated the Sykes-Picot Agreement, which resulted in the Arab part of the Ottoman Empire being divided among Britain, France, Italy, and Russia after the war. In addition, the British promised their support for the "establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people" in the Balfour Declaration of November 1917 to win worldwide Jewish support for Britain's war effort. After the war, the League of Nations—predecessor of the United Nations—granted Britain control over the territories of Iraq, Palestine, and Transjordan (now Jordan), and granted France control over Syria and Lebanon. The anti-Ottoman sentiment that had been a part of Arab sentiments for so long quickly turned into anti-European sentiment after the shift of sovereigns. Uprisings and independence movements against the installed European governments led to Iraq's formal independence in 1932, Lebanon's independence in 1943, and Syria's and Transjordan's independence in 1946. A key event occurred at the end of World War II—the beginning of large-scale oil production by oil-rich countries in the Middle East. Coinciding with the worldwide expansion of the automobile and internal combustion engine, this event led to a huge power shift in the region.
The most significant event in the modern history of the Greater Middle East was the discovery of oil, first in Persia (now Iran) in 1908, in Saudi Arabia in 1938, then in other Persian Gulf states, as well as Libya and Algeria. The Middle East, it turned out, possessed the world's largest easily accessible reserves of crude oil, the most important commodity in the modern industrial world. Although western oil companies pumped and exported nearly all of the oil to fuel the rapidly expanding automobile industry and other western industrial developments, the kings, emirs, and ruling class of the oil states became immensely rich. This wealth enabled them to consolidate their hold on power but also, conversely, gave them a stake in preserving western hegemony over the region, due to dependence on the western oil companies. Oil wealth unfortunately also had the effect of stifling whatever movement towards economic, political, or social reform might have emerged in the Arab world. British rule over India encountered its first major organized resistance in the first half of the twentieth century from nationalist political parties such as the Indian National Congress. Led by Mohandas Gandhi, millions of native Indians participated in a campaign of civil disobedience and non-violent protest, which resulted in independence from Great Britain in 1947. Prior to 1947, the Muslim League, an Indian political party, pushed hard for the partition of British India into two nations: one for the Muslims and the other for all non-Muslims. The partition was driven by the Muslims' fear of being underrepresented in a democratic country where Hindus outnumbered them three-to-one. Hindus and Sikhs, who were influenced by the political vision of Gandhi and Nehru, were against separating—or partitioning—British India along religious lines. Eventually the Indian nationalist leadership accepted the demand for partition, as it seemed to be the only way to stop the violence among Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs. Pakistan—made up of a group of provinces on the western side of British India—gained its independence on August 14th, 1947. The leaders also decided to partition a province on the east side of India, known after 1971 as Bangladesh. India gained its independence the next day. The borders of the newly created countries, as declared by the last British viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten, were hotly disputed. Some quasi-independent principalities on the border were immediately seized by each country. One of these states, Kashmir, at first sought to remain independent, but soon its Hindu ruler decided Kashmir would join the India Union in exchange for military assistance to counter persistent intervention by Pakistani tribal insurgents. Pakistan wanted Kashmir because it is a Muslim-majority state contiguous to Pakistan. Pakistan did not recognize Kashmir's decision and the resulting crisis led to the first India-Pakistan war over Kashmir.
Traditional midshipman training was aboard ship. The need
The need for experts in steam propulsion brought about the establishment of the Engineering Corps in 1836. Because of discontented staff officers lobbying for assimilation, the Navy Secretaries granted rank to: Medical Corps in 1846 Pursers in 1847 Engineers in 1859 Navy Constructors in 1866
The ice operations mission program has two elements: domestic and polar ice breaking. The objective of the domestic ice breaking program is to ensure all-weather access to critical waterways essential to the economic, energy, and military functioning of the United States. The objective of the polar ice breaking program is to ensure scientific, enforcement, and potentially military access to Polar Regions. The objective of the Ports, Waterways, and Coastal Security mission program is to reduce terrorism risk, prevent attacks outright, decrease the nation's vulnerability to attacks, and respond to and recover from attacks as they occur in the maritime environment. The mission program has direct implications for homeland defense and homeland security efforts in the maritime domain. The drug interdiction mission program manifests the Coast Guard's responsibility as the lead agency for maritime drug interdiction under the National Drug Control Strategy. Drug interdiction is a multi-agency and multi-national effort that involves local and regional patrol efforts, as well as projecting interdiction forces across the global commons into the territorial waters of other nations. The Coast Guard executes drug interdiction efforts of its own, and in conjunction with DoD, and the defense and enforcement platforms of other countries who also carry out this global mission.
The objective of the migrant interdiction mission program is to contribute to a network of efforts that secure national borders. Operations are an increasingly important area of concern in regards to national security. These operations include domestic near-shore and coastal efforts and the projection of capabilities to confront the threat far from the borders. The nation's mass migration operations plans include significant Department of Defense participation, with the Coast Guard serving as the lead agency. The Coast Guard, as one of the five armed forces, is a supporting commander for homeland defense. They have many deployable capabilities that are interoperable with those of the Department of Defense. The Department Secretaries, the Chief of Naval Operations, and the Commandant of the Coast Guard have agreements that identify five specific national defense activities the Coast Guard can offer a combatant commander: Maritime interception operations, Port operations, security, and defense; Environmental defense operations; Peacetime military engagement; and Coastal sea control. The Coast Guard also executes international programs under independent authorities, but should be considered to lead or participate in theater security cooperation activities on behalf of a combatant commander. Many international navies resemble a Coast Guard in form and function. The Coast Guard can be a less controversial partner in the view of many maritime sovereigns, which can establish access through defense, department of interior, or department of justice venues.
These mandated activities are embedded in eleven specific mission-programs identified by Congress in the Homeland Security Act of 2002. The Department of Homeland Security groups the mission-programs into non-homeland security and homeland security categories. Of note, the legislative mandate does not prioritize these missions, which makes political and diplomatic complexity part of the management process. Competing constituencies regularly and directly influence processes to ensure their interests will be prioritized first, which complicates command and control. The following slides will take a closer look at each of these eleven missions programs. The objective of the Marine Safety mission-program is to prevent and reduce the risk of maritime mishaps through vessel and facility inspections, merchant mariner licensing, accident investigation, and port state control boardings. The Coast Guard enforces a broad range of laws and regulations that impact United States and foreign flagged vessels. The marine safety mission-program establishes steady-state activities and relationships throughout the maritime domain that can transition to homeland security and defense activities. The Marine Safety mission-program may also have a direct impact on deployment tasks associated with the military use of domestic sea ports
The objective of the search and rescue mission program is to save people in peril in the maritime environment. The Coast Guard responds to more than 50,000 calls for help each year. The search and rescue mission program can be leveraged during first responder activities associated with homeland security events or become directly involved in rescue activities associated with defense events. The Coast Guard's aids-to-navigation mission program ensures safe maritime transit through the use of dependable navigation aids in the visual, sound, and radio spectrums. The Coast Guard maintains the world's largest system of long- and short-range aids-to-navigation, with more than 50,000 buoys, fixed markers, and lighthouses, and the differential global positioning system. Aids-to-navigation can be essential to efficiently and effectively accessing domestic and international coastal zones and waterway systems in support of military, security, humanitarian, environmental, and economic objectives. Under its living marine resources and marine environmental protection programs, the Coast Guard enforces pollution requirements, oversees use of natural resources in the marine environment, and responds to activities and situations that hazard fragile or protected elements of the marine eco-system. The living marine resources mission program can have important security and defense implications in the maritime commons where there is increasing competition between nations for living marine resources. The marine environmental protection mission program also establishes a deployable strike team capability for pollution response that can be used during domestic and international pollution mitigation, including events associated with military operations.
Our Nation's interests are best served by fostering a peaceful global system comprised of interdependent networks of trade, finance, information, law, people, and governance. We prosper because of the existing system of exchange among nations. Yet, we recognize it is vulnerable to a range of disruptions that can produce cascading and harmful effects far from their sources. Major power war, regional conflict, terrorism, and natural disasters all potentially threaten U.S. national security and world prosperity. Under this strategy, maritime forces will be concentrated where tensions are high or where we wish to demonstrate to our friends and allies our commitment to security.
The oceans connect the nations of the world—even those countries that are landlocked. Covering three quarters of the planet, the maritime domain makes neighbors of people around the world. While supporting 90% of the world's trade, the oceans, seas, and the air space above also enable us to help friends in need and confront and defeat aggression far from our shores.
At the other end of the continuum of warfare is the tactical level of war. It is here that commanders plan and execute engagements and battles with assigned tactical units or task forces. Activities at this level focus on the ordered arrangement and maneuver of combat elements in relation to each other and to the enemy to achieve combat objectives. Engagements include a wide variety of actions between opposing forces on land, in the air, on and under the sea, or in space. An engagement is normally short in duration and fought between small forces, such as individual aircraft in air-to-air combat or a naval surface action group engaged in maritime interception operations. A battle consists of a set of related engagements and typically lasts longer. Battles involve larger forces such as fleets, armies, and air forces; and could affect the course of a campaign. From a Navy perspective, the tactical level of war is generally the level at which carrier strike group and expeditionary strike group commanders operate.
The operational level of war connects the strategic level to the tactical level, and links the tactical employment of forces to strategic objectives. The focus at this level is on operational art—the use of military forces to achieve strategic goals through the design, organization, integration, and conduct of major operations and campaigns. A major operation is a series of tactical actions coordinated in time and place to accomplish operational, and sometimes strategic objectives, while a campaign is a related series of major operations aimed at accomplishing one or more strategic objectives. Commanders at the operational level of war determine the sequence of actions most likely to produce the military conditions that will achieve the strategic goals. The operational level commander must constantly interact with the strategic level as he gauges his adversary and determines how to use tactical forces to accomplish the sequence of actions. Operational level commanders must orchestrate tactical battles and engagements as part of major operations and campaigns. It is this linkage between tactics and strategy that makes this level of war such a pivotal location. The echelons of command normally associated with the operational level of war include combatant commanders and, sometimes, joint task force (JTF) commanders.
The publication was prepared under the direction of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It sets forth doctrine to govern the joint activities and performance of the Armed Forces of the United States in operations and provides the doctrinal basis for interagency coordination and U.S. military involvement in multinational operations. It provides military guidance for the exercise of authority by combatant commanders and other joint force commanders and prescribes joint doctrine for operations and training. It provides military guidance for use by the Armed Forces in preparing their appropriate plans. The DOD contributes to the national strategy for homeland security through its missions overseas, homeland defense, and civil support.
The organizational construct of the homeland security mission is best addressed within an overarching framework. This framework is characterized by the following: prepare, detect, deter, preempt, defend, and respond. The DOD "prepares and responds" when conducting both homeland defense and civil support. The DOD primarily focuses on "detect, deter, preempt, and defend" when they conduct homeland defense missions. There are a variety of documents that provide guidance and authority for supporting Homeland Security. These range from the U.S. Constitution to the Contingency Planning Guidance. The Constitution provides the fundamental justification for Homeland Security activities through the guarantee of domestic tranquility and the provision for the common defense of the Nation. To ensure those principles survive, the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government issue and review key guidance using a variety of means, primarily through the President and Congress. These DOD directives, policy documents, and laws provide the fundamental basis for the development of subordinate and implementing guidance by DOD agencies.
To recap the types of missions that could be assigned to heavy forces in the offense and defense...heavy maneuver forces can attack key enemy armor forces, offensively exploit and pursue, and can breach critical enemy obstacle systems. Defensively, heavy maneuver forces can defend against enemy armor forces and in a defensive posture, counterattack. Remember, heavy forces provide the decisive combat power to defeat enemy mechanized and armor forces and the mobility to cover great distances at fairly high rates of ground speed. Take a moment to study this chart that lists the total number of people, short tons of equipment, and square footage required to be moved by the various types of Army combat divisions. The key point is the contrast between the short tons and square feet associated with a light division versus a heavy division. For example, note that a light division requires lift for a little over 17 thousand Short Tons of equipment, while a heavy division weighs almost 6 ½ times more, thus requiring a substantial increase in strategic lift. There is always the attraction to move Army forces rapidly by air, and planners want to move the eighty-second Airborne Division by strategic airlift. This chart gives you a feel for the magnitude of the task associated with rapidly moving an Airborne Brigade Task or a Division. Note the significant number of sorties required to move just one of the new STRYKER brigade combat teams. Beyond the sheer number of sorties associated with this movement, planners must also consider the limitations on the maximum number of aircraft on the ground at austere airfields. This, however, depicts the reality of strategic deployment for Army forces. The combination of airlift and sealift is the most efficient way to deploy. Under certain conditions, such as reception airfield capacity being small and sailing distances short, a light division can close faster by sea than by air.
The prepositioning of equipment is absolutely critical to the Army's strategic mobility. The Army's prepositioning program consists of land and sea based equipment, and is referred to as the Army Prepositioned Stocks or APS Program. The APS program has three categories: Army Prepositioned sustainment, Army Prepositioned Operational Projects, and Army Prepositioned Sets or APS. The Army has a total of five brigade sets or the equivalent of two heavy divisions prepositioned. These brigade-sized sets of equipment consist of one division base set, and one echelon-above division Combat Support/Combat Service Support set, positioned worldwide both ashore and afloat. Prepositioned Brigade Sets make the strategic mobility process viable, along with one hundred and twenty C17s and sealift modernization. It is important to note that most of the Army's prepositioned equipment has been consumed in support of the global war on terror, but is being reconstituted as quickly as possible. The Army's reliance and relationship with the Reserve Components is one of the key takeaways from this session. By design, after Viet Nam, the Army restructured and imbedded critical combat support capabilities almost exclusively in the Reserves. This structure required mobilization of the reserves if the Army went to war, which would require the support of Congress and the American people. This concept worked well during Desert Storm and Desert Shield. Now, as the US moves to a smaller military establishment, reductions in the active force have necessitated heavier reliance on both the Reserves and National Guard, as seen in military operations in Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq. While the Reserves provide a large percentage of necessary Combat Support capability, the National Guard is principally organized and equipped to provide combat units to augment the active forces in time of war and national emergencies. Of particular note, Civil Affairs and PSYOPS have been largely reserve organizations and one of the most deployed forces in DoD. As a result of the high op-tempo of these forces, the active duty Civil affairs and PSYOPS forces will nearly double in size. The 95th Civil Affairs Brigade will be established with four subordinate battalions while the 4th Psychological Group will increase from 1300 to more than 2400 soldiers. In 2006, the US Army Reserve Command received transfer of all Reserve Civil Affairs and PSYOPS units from SOCOM. This transfer will better serve expanded mission requirements, Army modularity and task force commanders. It remains to be seen how the Homeland Security mission will impact the future roles and structure of the Army Reserve forces. However, it is suffice to say, they will play a key role.
So when do SROE and SRUF apply? Standing rules of engagement apply during all military operations, contingencies, and routine Military Department functions occurring outside U.S. territory and territorial seas. The SROE will also apply to air and maritime homeland defense missions conducted in U.S. territory or territorial seas, unless the Secretary of Defense (SecDef) states otherwise. As you have seen, the rules of engagement cover operations that occur outside the U.S. and its territorial waters. For operations inside the U.S., the standing rules for the use of force would apply.
The purpose of SRUF are to provide guidance to DOD forces on the use of force in certain circumstances, namely civil support missions and routine functions within U.S. territory.
At the national strategic level, force planning is associated with creating and maintaining military capabilities. It is primarily the responsibility of the Services and U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and is conducted under the administrative control that runs from the SecDef to the Secretaries of the Military Departments to the Service Chiefs. As you learned in the lesson on National Military Organization (NMO), the Services recruit, organize, train, equip, and provide forces for assignment to combatant commands and administer and support these forces. In areas peculiar to special operations, USSOCOM has similar responsibility for special operations forces, with the exception of organizing Service components. Force planning at this level is outside the scope of this lesson.
The purpose of joint operation planning is to prepare and employ American military power in response to actual and potential contingencies. In this context, a "contingency" is an emergency involving military forces caused by natural disasters, terrorists, subversives, or required military operations. Joint operation planning encompasses planning for the full range of activities required for conducting joint operations. These activities include the mobilization, deployment, employment, sustainment, and redeployment of forces.
The purpose of economy of force is to allocate minimum essential combat power to secondary efforts. Economy of force is the judicious employment and distribution of forces. It is the measured allocation of available combat power to such tasks as limited attacks, defense, delays, and deception, to achieve mass elsewhere at the decisive point and time. With many more available targets than assets, each unit must focus its attention on the primary objectives. A successfully coordinated naval strike at an enemy's critical vulnerability—for example, knocking specific command and control nodes out of commission—can have far more significance than an attempt to destroy the entire command and control system.
The purpose of maneuver is to secure or retain positional advantage over the enemy in order to deliver—or threaten delivery of—the direct and indirect fires of the maneuvering force. Effective maneuver keeps the enemy off balance and thus also protects the friendly force. Naval forces capitalize on speed and agility to gain an advantage in time and space relative to the enemy's vulnerabilities. Whether seen in historic warships "crossing the T," or modern ground forces enveloping an enemy, or forcing the tempo of combat beyond an adversary's ability to respond, maneuver allows us to get ahead of the enemy in several dimensions.
The purpose of offensive action is to seize, retain, and exploit the initiative. It is the most effective and decisive way to attain a clearly defined objective. Offensive operations are the means by which a military force seizes and holds the initiative while maintaining freedom of action and achieving decisive results. Since the days of sail—racing an opponent for the upwind advantage to take the initiative—offensive action has allowed us to set the terms and select the place of confrontation, exploit vulnerabilities, and seize opportunities from unexpected developments. The importance of offensive action is fundamentally true across all levels of war.
The purpose of mass is to concentrate the effects of combat power at the most advantageous place and time to achieve decisive results. To achieve mass is to synchronize and/or integrate appropriate joint force capabilities where they will have a decisive effect in a short period of time. Mass often must be sustained to have the desired effect. Massing effects, rather than concentrating forces, can enable even a numerically inferior force to achieve decisive results when it focuses its assets on defeating an enemy's critical vulnerability.
The purpose of unity of command is to ensure unity of effort under one responsible commander for every objective. Unity of command means all forces operate under a single commander with the requisite authority to direct all forces employed in pursuit of a common purpose. Whether the scope of responsibility involves a single, independent ship at sea or the conduct of an amphibious landing, we achieve unity in forces by assigning a single commander. After he expresses his intent and provides an overall focus, the commander permits subordinate commanders to make timely, critical decisions and maintain a high tempo in pursuit of a unified objective. In multinational and interagency operations, unity of command may not be possible, and the requirement for unity of effort becomes paramount. Unity of effort requires coordination and cooperation among all forces toward a commonly recognized objective, although they are not necessarily part of the same command structure.
The purpose of security is to never permit the enemy to acquire unexpected advantage. Security results from the measures taken by commanders to protect their forces. The alert watchstander, advanced picket, or such measures as electronic emission control all enhance our freedom of action by reducing our vulnerability to hostile acts, influence, or surprise. Risk is inherent in military operations. Application of this principle includes prudent risk management, not undue caution. Tools such as gaming and simulation allow us to look at ourselves from the enemy's perspective. We enhance our security by a thorough understanding of the enemy's strategy, doctrine, and tactics.
The purpose of surprise is to strike at a time, or place, or in a manner for which the enemy is unprepared. Surprise can help the commander shift the balance of combat power and thus achieve success well out of proportion to the effort expended. Catching the enemy off guard immediately puts him on the defensive, allowing us to drive events. The element of surprise is desirable, but it is not essential that the enemy be taken completely unaware—only that he becomes aware too late to react effectively. Concealing our capabilities and intentions by using covert techniques and deceptions gives us the opportunity to strike the enemy when he is not ready. Factors contributing to surprise include: Speed in decision-making and information sharing Effective intelligence Operations security Deception, and Application of unexpected combat power
The purpose of simplicity is to prepare clear, uncomplicated plans, and concise orders to ensure thorough understanding by subordinates. Simple plans and clear orders minimize misunderstanding and confusion. When other factors are equal, the simplest plan is preferable. Simplicity and clarity of expression greatly facilitate mission execution in the stress, fatigue, and other complexities of modern combat, and are especially critical to success in multinational operations. The implementing orders for some of the most influential naval battles ever fought have been little more than a paragraph. Broad guidance, rather than detailed and involved instructions promote flexibility and simplicity.
As the famous flag went up over Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima in the closing phases of World War II, then Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal turned to the commander of the amphibious forces, Marine Lieutenant General Holland M. "Howlin' Mad" Smith, and said, "Holland, that flag means a U.S. Marine Corps for the next 500 years." Based on the synergy of task-organized Marine ground combat, aviation, and combat service support forces that the Corps brought to fruition during World War II, Congress codified in law the Marine Corps' role of providing expeditionary, combined arms forces in the National Security Act of 1947. Shortly thereafter, however, with the post-war draw down in full gear, President Truman proposed eliminating the Marine Corps as a costly redundancy. Only the Corps' preparedness and its performance at the outbreak of the conflict in Korea saved the Service. The Corps' newly refined MAGTF concept was tested with the rapid deployment and highly successful operations of the 1st Marine Brigade in the early days of the Korean War. The Marine defense of the Pusan Perimeter was instrumental in stopping the North Korean's offensive to drive U.S. forces from Korea and enabled the decisive Inchon landing which led to the defeat and expulsion of North Korean forces from the Republic of Korea. In passing the Mansfield Act in 1952, Congress intended to ensure that the U.S. had a strong force in readiness to respond to crises while the full defense system mobilized. This legislation confirmed the value of the MAGTF and fixed the Marine Corps' principle role in law. Congress went as far as specifying the general size and organization of the Marine Corps in Title 10 of the U.S. Code.
The roles and functions of the Marine Corps are established by law and Department of Defense directive. These documents describe the general composition and the responsibilities of the Marine Corps. Like the other military services, the Marine Corps is charged with organizing, training, and equipping its forces so that they may be employed by the combatant commanders. Here are some of the key requirements for the Marine Corps. For a complete list of Marine Corps roles and click on the Learn more button. While the Army, Navy and Air Force have specific strategic responsibilities traditionally associated with wartime operations within a specific domain—such as air, land and sea—the Marine Corps' mandate is to be there early with a balanced force to conduct any range of missions for any type of contingency and, if necessary, to win the first battles. This is why over 80% of Marine forces are located in the active component. The President must be able to employ the Marine Corps without the delay inherent with the mobilization of reserve forces. The term "Force in Readiness" is not just a slogan, but a legal mandate. This means that the entire Marine Corps - as a "force" - must be prepared to deploy at any time. This is very different than having selected units that can rapidly deploy, and the Marines have developed a level of balance and self sufficiency necessary to fulfill this role. Its strategic significance is as a ready, rapid power projection force.
The screw propeller did away with p
The screw propeller did away with paddle wheels, putting the means of propulsion under water.
U.S. Fleet Forces Command serves multiple roles within the Navy as well as within the Combatant Commander structure. Working for the CNO and in collaboration with U.S. Pacific Fleet, U.S. Fleet Forces Command organizes, mans, trains, maintains, and equips Navy forces, develops and submits budgets, and executes readiness and personnel accounts to develop both required and sustainable levels of Fleet readiness. Additionally, the command serves as the unified voice for Fleet training requirements and policies to generate combat-ready Navy forces per the Fleet Response Plan. Further, U.S. Fleet Forces Command serves as the CNO's designated Executive Agent for Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection, Individual Augmentees, and Sea Basing. As the Navy Component Commander to Commander, U.S. Joint Forces Command, the command serves as the Navy Global Force Manager to Combatant Commander "requests" for Navy general purpose forces and individual augmentees. Fleet Forces Command oversees the training requirements for each of the Navy "communities" through the Type Commands. The Type Commands or TYCOMs serve as the voice of their community navy-wide. The term community refers to collection of different warfare specialties within the Navy. Examples of communities are Surface Warfare, Aviation, Submarines, and so forth. Each community is represented by a TYCOM responsible for that community's manning, training, equipping and maintenance requirements.
The second chain of command flows down from the Combatant Commanders. The Functional Combatant Commanders each have a Navy Component supporting them. U.S. Fleet Forces Command is the Navy component to U.S. Joint Forces Command. U.S. Fleet Forces Command is also the Navy component to U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), with a key strategic deterrence role using the ballistic missile submarine force. Not shown on the slide, beneath USSTRATCOM is U.S. Cyber Command, a subunified command responsible for cyberspace and Information Warfare. The Navy component to U.S. Cyber Command is U.S. Fleet Cyber Command based in Fort Meade, Maryland. U.S. Transportation Command's Navy component is the Military Sealift Command located in the Washington Navy Yard. And the Navy's component to U.S. Special Operations Command is the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Command located in Coronado, California.
This presentation is designed to provide a general understanding of the US Navy... how it is organized, how it fights, navy forces and their capabilities and limitations, and how a joint force commander can best employ them. The material is presented in the context of the Navy's current strategy, A Cooperative Strategy for Twenty Century Sea Power, or CS21, and the supporting Naval Operations Concept 2010, or NOC 10. Throughout CS21 and NOC 10, the terms "naval service", "sea services" and "maritime forces" are used to describe the combination of the active and reserve components of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and the United States Coast Guard. The term "naval forces" is used in Title 10 and describes the Navy/Marine Corps team. This presentation's primary focus is on US Navy forces and capabilities. Marine Corps and Coast Guard capabilities are covered in separate briefs. The mission and organization for the United States Navy is described in Title 10 of the United States Code. This law defines the Navy's role at the Strategic level. By law, the Secretary of the Navy, or SECNAV, is responsible for directing the Department of the Navy, an organization containing both the Navy and the Marine Corps. SECNAV has the authority to conduct all the affairs of the Department centered around the organizing, training, and equipping of naval forces. Included within those responsibilities are overseeing the construction and naming, outfitting, and repair of ships, equipment and facilities.
The service chief for the Navy is the Chief of Naval Operations or CNO. The role of the CNO and the Navy staff is to assist the SECNAV in the recruiting, organizing, supplying, equipping to include research and development, training, servicing, mobilizing, demobilizing, administering, and maintaining of the Navy. As you remember from the session on the National Military organization, the SECNAV and CNO are in the administrative chain of command, and have no operational authority over combat forces. Department of Defense Directive 5100.1 contains the directed functions of Department of Defense, the Combatant Commanders and each of the services including the Navy. The primary functions of the Navy are: Gain and maintain general naval supremacy Control vital sea areas and protect vital sea lines of communication Establish and maintain local superiority (including air) in an area of naval operations Seize and defend advanced naval bases and Conduct such land, air and space operations as may be essential to the prosecution of a naval campaign Other stated missions that the Navy is directed to provide forces are: Special Operations Reconnaissance Antisubmarine warfare Aerial refueling Mine laying and minefield operations Naval close air support for the conduct of joint amphibious operations Air and missile defense and space operations unique to the Navy Sea-based launch and space support for the Department of Defense and Protection of shipping, operation of strategic sealift and protection of the sea lines of communication Preventing war is preferable to fighting wars. Deterring aggression must be viewed in global, regional, and transnational terms via conventional, unconventional, and nuclear means. The ability of naval forces to rapidly deploy and indefinitely sustain credible combat power worldwide, provides national decision-makers with an important tool to signal U.S. intent and resolve, deter adversaries, assure allies, and contribute to homeland defense in depth. Effective Theater Security Cooperation activities are a form of extended deterrence that creates security and removes conditions for conflict. Maritime ballistic missile defense enhances deterrence by providing an umbrella of protection to forward-deployed forces and friends and allies, while contributing to the larger architecture planned for defense of the United States. Our advantage in space enables much of our ability to operate in a networked, dispersed fashion. Forward deployed forces, space-based assets, sea-based strategic deterrence with Navy ballistic missile submarines, and other initiatives provide broad deterrence against those who wish us harm.
The Submarine Campaign
The submarine and mining campaigns virtually cut off Japan from outside military and economic resources.
In 2007, President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the creation of U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM). The decision acknowledges the emerging strategic importance of Africa, and recognizing that peace and stability on the continent impacts not only Africans, but the interests of the U.S. and international community as well. The USAFRICOM AOR includes the entire continent of Africa, except Egypt, and the surrounding islands. This area contains about 35 percent of the world's land mass and approximately 25 percent of its population. USAFRICOM will be headquartered at Kelley Barracks in Stuttgart, Germany, for the foreseeable future. The command inherits a small but meaningful U.S. military presence already existing in numerous African nations, to include Camp Lemonier in Djibouti, as well as Defense Department personnel assigned to U.S. Embassies and diplomatic missions. USAFRICOM reflects an integrated staff structure, one that includes significant management and staff representation by the Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and other U.S. government agencies involved in Africa.
The three unified combatant commands with global functional responsibilities are the U.S. Special Operations Command, U.S. Strategic Command, and U.S. Transportation Command. Unlike the geographic combatant commands, these functional combatant commands have no AORs.
Special Boat Teams - Special Boat Teams are comprised of specially trained special warfare combatant craft crewmen who operate and maintain armed Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats and Mark Five Special Operations Craft. All craft operate in low-to-medium threat environments and are armed for self-defense and emergency direct fire support for SEALs. RHIB - The 11-meter RHIB provides short-range clandestine maritime mobility for SEALs in hostile or denied areas. MK-V SOC - The 81-foot Mark Five provides medium-range clandestine maritime mobility for SEALs in hostile or denied areas. SOC-R - The Special Operations Craft-Riverine provides mobility in river, littoral, and light-weather coastal environments.
There are 4 SEAL Teams on each coast corresponding to 4 Naval Special Warfare Squadrons. When deployed, these squadrons are OPCON to the Theater SOC, which is exercised through the permanent Naval Special Warfare Unit located in theater for support to both Fleet and Joint Commanders. In the past, some NSW tactical elements conducted their entire deployment on Navy Ships, but NSW Forces are now "delinked" from the Navy's Global Forward Presence Policy in order to synergize all tactical elements within the deployed NSW Squadron. This has resulted in many examples of improved support to the Fleet by providing access to the full range of theater SOF. The Squadron reduces redundancies and spreads the reach of these low density/high demand capabilities within the theaters. A Naval Special Warfare Squadron consists of the following elements: A SEAL Platoon comprised of 2 Officers and 14 enlisted personnel. A MK-V Special Operations Craft detachment with 2 MK-Vs each capable of carrying 16 SEALs. A RHIB detachment of 2 NSW RHIBs, capable of carrying 8 SEALs each. A Special Operations Craft-Riverine detachment with 2 SOC-Rs, capable of carrying 8 SEALs each A SEAL Delivery Vehicle Task Unit with 2 SDVs, 16 Dry Deck Shelters, and a cadre of pilots, navigators, Recon & Surveillance personnel, Technicians And lastly, SUPPORT ELEMENTS such as C2, a Mobile Communications Team, EOD, and Intelligence.
There is another critical aspect of factor space that is important to naval forces. Approximately 70% of the value and 95% of the volume of all world trade travels through ten key choke points, identified with red dots. The era of globalization has also increased the importance of the world's 16 super-ports, identified with gold diamonds, which often sit near these choke points. But what if forces are not forward deployed and have to transit from their CONUS based homeports or from an overseas base in Japan? The interrelationships between factors time and space play a major role in planning for and reacting to global crises or contingency operations. This table shows that it takes over 2 weeks to get a carrier strike group from the east coast of the U.S. to the Persian Gulf at a nominal speed of 25 knots, while a CONUS-based Expeditionary Strike Group would take about 3 weeks. You should note that cruising speeds of 25 knots are rarely used over long distances and would require the ships to slow for frequent underway replenishment, which must be considered in planning.
There are many components of factor time. Warning time and deployment time being two of them. Given that a crisis can occur with little or no warning, forward-deployed and sea based combat forces provide the nation with speed of response, without restrictions or permission necessary from host nations. From the positions of these notional combat groups, naval forces can respond within hours or a few days of ambiguous warning to crises anywhere within these range arcs. Naval forces have done just that 144 times in the last decade alone. There are a few key points for you to remember about the Navy and what it brings to our national leaders and Joint Force Commanders. First, the Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Sea Power lays out the core mission areas for today's naval force. These missions are then discussed in much great detail in the Naval Operations Concept 10. These two documents dictate the Ends and Ways of naval strategy. The Command and control of naval forces is normally accomplished through a functional construct with a view towards individual mission area of naval warfare. This functional construct is used at both the Numbered Fleet level as well as within a Strike Group. Strike Groups are mission tailored packages normally centered on an aircraft carrier or Amphibious warfare ships with an embarked Marine Expeditionary Unit. A Strike Group may also be comprised of surface combatant ships for missions such as counter-piracy, counter human trafficking and counter narcotics patrols. These Strike Groups will normally have an embarked staff that is capable of providing command and control of all capabilities within that Strike Group, to include aviation assets both manned and unmanned. Highlighted were some of the capabilities that these Strike Groups bring, but also some of their limitations; facts most planners must be aware of when employing these units. To increase combat capability and flexibility, the Navy has dedicated vessels whose sole purpose is to replenish combatants at sea in order to increase endurance and minimize reductions in combat potential due to supply and materiel issues. A review of areas of naval combat was touched on; specifically Mine Warfare, Anti-submarine Warfare, Surface Warfare, Air Warfare, Theater Ballistic Missile Defense and ISR. Finally, some of the Time/Space/Force issues impacting naval operations was discussed. The phrase 'the tyranny of distance' very much applies to naval forces.
Underway replenishment is critical to ensuring a high operational tempo and endurance. It allows for the establishment of a mobile and flexible base of operations for a protracted period of time without many of the diplomatic concerns associated with establishing a shore base. One of the limitations is the inability to reload certain types of ordnance at sea on certain platforms. Navy fleet operations dictate that deployed units be logistically supported while at sea. To meet these support demands, the Navy conducts underway replenishment evolutions that demonstrate both the flexibility and uniqueness of total logistics support in the Navy.
There are two principal methods of underway replenishments. First, Connected Replenishment, or CONREP, that permits the transfer of commodities via rigged lines and hoses between ships; Second is Vertical Replenishment, or VERTREP, that employs helicopters to move goods from delivery to customer ships. It is not unusual for both CONREP and VERTREP to be performed simultaneously, allowing logistics support ships to resupply and refuel a number of ships in company at the same time. A carrier may require replenishment every three to five days and perhaps more frequently during periods of high operations tempo.
As you see here, "functions" include those various activities, operations, and capabilities for which the Services are responsible, and which help focus the "organizing, training, and equipping of forces" efforts of the Services. Individual Service-specific functions were initially outlined in Executive Order 9877, signed by President Truman on July 27, 1947. As you might expect, this list of functions has evolved over time. We will examine the Navy and Marine Corps-specific functions found in the directive in a moment.
This direct chain-of-command from the President and Secretary of Defense to the various combatant commanders, or COCOMs, which you learned about in the last lesson, is a result of the Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1958. This Act placed the job of carrying out broad operational missions into the hands of joint organizations and took it out of the hands of the individual Services. In essence, since 1958, the primary task of the Services have been to provide trained and ready forces to the COCOMs.
Two key documents provide guidance at the strategic level. The first is the National Strategy for Homeland Security. In his cover letter, the President says the intent of this strategy "is to help Americans achieve a shared cooperation in the area of homeland security for years to come." The second document is Joint Publication 3-26, Homeland Security, which provides guidance from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the Joint Force, for accomplishing this critical mission. We will examine these five areas of the National Strategy for Homeland Security.
This document is the first National Strategy for Homeland Security. The purpose of the Strategy is to mobilize and organize our Nation to secure the U.S. homeland from terrorist attacks. This is an exceedingly complex mission that requires coordinated and focused effort from our entire society—the Federal Government, state and local governments, the private sector, and the American people. To achieve this goal, four basic questions need to be answered. They are: What is "homeland security" and what missions does it entail? What do we seek to accomplish, and what are the most important goals of homeland security? What is the Federal Executive Branch doing now to accomplish these goals and what should it do in the future? and, What should non-federal governments, the private sector, and citizens do to help secure the homeland?
In nonlinear operations, maneuver units may operate in noncontiguous areas throughout the AO. Even when operating in contiguous AOs, maneuver forces may orient on objectives without geographic reference to adjacent forces. Nonlinear operations typically focus on multiple decisive points. Nonlinear operations proceed along multiple lines of operations geographic, logical, or both. Lines of Communication often diverge from lines of operation, and sustaining operations may depend on Combat Service Support moving with maneuver units or delivered by air. It is important to note that linear and non-linear operations are not mutually exclusive. Depending upon perspective and echelon, operations often combine them. Unity of command and effort is a primary consideration when establishing a Joint Force. The Joint Force Land Component commander or JFLCC gives the Joint Force Commander another option for managing the operations of land forces by reducing his span of control. It is normally the Army or Marine Corps Force commander. The JFLCC and his staff perform, or contribute to, a number of core functions that are critical for successfully conducting land operations. These functions apply in varying degrees across the range of military operations including those involving multinational forces. Click on the learn more button to see a complete list of JFLCC responsibilities.
This is the Chief of Staff of the Army's mandate, emphasizing how our Leaders and soldiers prevail, regardless of demands to remain strong. At the same time, the Army is transforming into a more mobile, adaptive, joint capable and sustaining force. Our goal is to create a modular "brigade-based" Army that is more responsive to regional combatant commanders' needs, better employs Joint capabilities, facilitates force packaging and rapid deployment, and fights as more self-contained units in non-linear, non-contiguous battlespace. The most important reason for the Chief to direct the change is that the security environment has changed. In the Global War on Terrorism, the enemy is asymmetric and found in varying types of combat conditions. For the for-seeable future, the Army will remain in continuous operations; Sustained operations will remain the norm. In order to sustain operations and ensure enough combat formations remain available to the combatant commanders, the Army will increase the number of combined-arms brigades available for possible deployment. Increasing Joint Interdependency allows the Army to reduce logistics and combat formations when similar capabilities are provided by other services in the Joint Operational Area. As previously mentioned, our current Army is moving away from a division based Army to Modular Heavy and Infantry Brigade Combat Teams or BCTs. We have taken much of the structure in the division, and some at the Corps level, to create these powerful, broad-spectrum, BCTs that are much more capable of independent action. To get a broad-spectrum force, we started with a brigade and then added in all the enablers. BCTs will be permanently task-organized so as to require minimal augmentation, if any. The obvious advantage is the ability to train and work with all of your organic units. The Army Chief of Staff's transformation guidance is to: Create modular corps and division headquarters for assignment to regional combatant commanders to command and control Army, Joint and multinational forces. Create MODULAR FUNCTIONAL AND MULTIFUNCTIONAL Support Brigades designed to deploy and fight on arrival in support of Joint or Army headquarters and/or Brigade Combat Teams. Standardize the BCTs, Aviation and Fires Functional Brigades so that one looks like another. And use the combination of the modular constructs defined in headquarters and brigades to create flexible, scalable forces in response to regional combatant commander needs.
The end of the Cold War left the United States as the world's only superpower. However, new international conflicts surfaced in the Middle East that required U.S. attention.
This lesson presents an overview of the history of the United States Navy during the late 1980s and in the1990s. It consists of six sections: Key Events Significant Operations Mission Evolution - Persian Gulf Mission Evolution - Adriatic Sea Command and Technological Developments Social Changes
The Marine Corps Operating Concepts for a Changing Security Environment , also known as the "MOC" or the "Gray Book," describes the Marine Corps' vision for future warfighting capabilities at the operational level. Further, it represents a conceptual shift toward a more holistic consideration and inclusion of irregular conflicts. "Operational Maneuver from the Sea" is the Marine Corps' conceptual foundation for littoral power projection. The concept of "Seabasing" advocates a means of rapidly deploying, employing, and sustaining globally sourced forces in a manner that provides the commanders with additional political and military options for overcoming challenges posed by a changing security environment. Another concept, "Distributed Operations," builds upon the Corps' warfighting philosophy and understanding of that environment to generate training, education, and equipment innovations that will prepare them for the challenges ahead. Operational Maneuver from the Sea, and its supporting tactical concept known as Ship to Objective Maneuver, or STOM, constitute a marriage between naval warfare and maneuver warfare. The Marine Corps seeks to identify and acquire the tactics, techniques, procedures, organization, and equipment to turn the sea into a maneuver space for ground forces. OMFTS focuses decision making and effects on an operational objective and maximizes maneuver battlespace through enhanced mobility, while STOM provides the method for assembling combat power at sea versus the beachhead ashore, thus avoiding the enemy's robust defenses on the shoreline. Seabasing describes an inherently maneuverable, scalable aggregation of distributed, networked platforms that enable the global power projection of offensive and defensive forces from the sea and includes the ability to assemble, equip, project, support, and sustain those forces without reliance on land bases. Distributed Operations is a response to the changing environment of the Global War on Terror. Adaptive enemies and a more complex environment require that conventional forces have the ability to decentralize decision making and distribute their forces. Distributed operations is a form of maneuver warfare, where small, highly capable units, spread across a large area of operations, will create an advantage over an adversary through the deliberate use of separation and coordinated independent tactical actions. Distributed Operations will use close combat or supporting arms to disrupt the enemy's access to key terrain and avenues of approach. This type of warfare is dependent upon well trained and professional small unit leaders and more robust communications and tactical mobility assets. Further, a greater focus will also be placed on language and cultural training.
This screen depicts a typical deployment timeline for a MEB. The MEU(SOC) is already forward deployed and may serve as an enabler for the MEB by securing a Sea Port of Debarkation, an Air Port of Debarkation, or a beach site. MEB enablers consist of an advanced party of Marines from each unit that establish and organize reception facilities to marry the MEB main body with its equipment. Among others, MEB enablers include vehicle specific operators to offload the equipment and aviation technicians to assemble the rotary wing aircraft. These enablers arrive early in the Fly-In Echelon. Also of note, a "SLRP" is a Surveillance, Liaison, and Reconnaissance Party and "ANGLICO" is Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company. Teams from these organizations, along with designated liaison officers, operate with adjacent coalition or joint units and/or a host nation to increase interoperability as early in the operation as possible. Within 10 to 18 days, the MEB will have closed and assembled in the area of operations and will be prepared for full tasking. Both MARFORPAC and MARFORLANT maintain Air Contingency MAGTFs in a continuous state of readiness for crisis response across the range of military operations. ACMs are air-deployable forces available to the combatant commanders, whose lead elements are prepared to deploy on short notice. The ACMs provide great versatility in that they can be used as part of the fly-in-echelon of a MPF, as reinforcement for an amphibious force, or as the lead element of a MEF. The ACM will be task-organized to meet the mission, the threat, and airlift availability.
Decisive operations are those that directly accomplish the task assigned by the higher headquarters. They conclusively determine the outcome of major operations, battles, and engagements. Shaping operations create and preserve conditions for the success of the decisive operation. And Sustaining operations enable decisive and shaping operations by providing Combat Service Support, rear and base security, movement control, terrain management, and infrastructure development. Despite the increasingly non-linear nature of operations, there may be situations where commanders describe decisive, shaping, and sustaining operations in spatial terms. These spatial terms are CLOSE, DEEP and REAR, and are mutually supporting of each other. There is no clear dividing line between the three areas. However, we normally think of the division rear boundary as the dividing line for the Corps Rear and Corps Close Area; and the Fire Support Coordination Line, or FSCL, in many operations as the dividing line between the close and deep operations.
This screen illustrates relative employment and ranges of systems at army, corps, and division, and how they relate to the battlefield in general, and deep operations in particular. Given the operating ranges of attack aviation and long range surveillance, a Fire Support Coordination Line at 100 kilometers is not unusual. You can also see why the JFACC is normally interested in integrating Apaches and Army Tactical Missile Systems into his Air Interdiction planning. Also, remember that the Army thinks in terms of Kilometers while the Navy and Air Force use miles. From a ground perspective, Areas of Operation are contiguous or non-contiguous. Contiguous areas are found in the more conventional operations where units are physically linked on the battlefield. Non-contiguous, on the other hand, describe widely dispersed forces, normally not physically linked on the battlefield. This is a condition we see frequently in the Range of Military Operations or ROMO. Recently, the Army has been operating more and more in non-contiguous areas.
The MAGTF deploys by a variety of means, including Navy amphibious ships, Maritime Prepositioning Force shipping, other strategic sealift, strategic airlift, and self-deploying aircraft. Each of three principal deployment methods-the amphibious MAGTF, the Maritime Prepositioning Force or "MPF" MAGTF, and the Air Contingency MAGTF or "ACM"-influences employment and deployment planning. To rapidly and efficiently deploy by any of these three methods, or any combination thereof, requires all personnel, supplies, and equipment of the force to be prepared. A detailed plan, which includes the procedures for executing the deployment, should be developed and exercised periodically.
This screen shows a combination of all the deployment methods, beginning with the MEU(SOC) operating with the ESG to secure a port and an airfield so as to enable the introduction of a MEB and, potentially, a MEF. Clearly, this scenario is threat dependent with enemy defenses being light at the initial objectives in this scenario. Seizing a well-defended port and airfield would be a mission more appropriate to an amphibious MEB. In this case, an MPF-enabled MEB flows into the port facility and marries up with the self-deploying aircraft and the personnel in strategic airlift that make up the fly in echelon. Helicopters, which are not self-deploying, are carried by C5 or C17.
A Special Purpose MAGTF is task-organized to accomplish a specific mission, operation, or regionally focused exercise for which a MEF, MEB, or MEU is either inappropriate or unavailable. As such, Special Purpose MAGTFs can be organized, trained, and equipped to conduct a wide variety of expeditionary operations, ranging from crisis-response to training exercises, and peacetime missions. They are designated as "Special Purpose MAGTF" with a mission, a location, or an exercise name such as those shown here. A special purpose MAGTF may be of any size, but is typically no larger than a MEU. It may be task organized from non-deployed Marine Corps forces, or formed on a contingency basis from a deployed MAGTF. Regimental-level headquarters often assume the role as a Special Purpose MAGTF command element and may conduct training in anticipated mission skills prior to establishment. A Special Purpose MAGTF may be deployed in a number of different ways, including commercial shipping or aircraft, strategic airlift, amphibious shipping, or organic Marine aviation.
This screen summarizes the Marine Corps' operational organizations and their capabilities and limitations. The Marines train, organize, and equip to fight and win throughout the full range of military operations. They employ scalable Marine Air Ground Task Forces tailored to the scope and duration of the assigned mission. These MAGTFs always consist of a command element, a ground combat element, an aviation combat element, and a logistics combat element. Special Purpose MAGTFs are rapidly formed as needed, when the mission is inappropriate for a standard MAGTF or when a standard MAGTF is not available. Marine Expeditionary Units, Special Operations Capable, are the smallest standard MAGTFs, and they are forward deployed as a unified combat commanders operational reserve and small scale crisis response force around the world, 365 days a year. There is always one MEU(SOC) deployed from each of the three MEFs. The Marine Expeditionary Brigade is the middle-weight MAGTF. Capable of forcible entry, the MEB can deploy via amphibious shipping or via a combination of strategic airlift coupled with equipment aboard Maritime Prepositioning Force Ships. Finally, the Marine Corps' principal warfighter, from which all of the smaller MAGTFs are fielded, is the Marine Expeditionary Force.
Thomas Macdonough
Thomas Macdonough Fought at anchor in Plattsburg Bay to nullify Royal Navy long guns and maximize American carronades. Won the most strategic naval victory of the War of 1812.
Thomas Truxtun
Thomas Truxtun Produced the most notable Quasi-War American victories. Transformed a fledgling U. S. Navy into a professional service. Standardized signals and shipboard procedures. Taught his officers and encouraged midshipmen to learn seamanship.
Operation DENY FLIGHT - Navy and Marine aircraft enforced a "no-fly" zone over Bosnia in the mid-1990s. The operation's purpose was to: Deter Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic's forces from carrying out "ethnic cleansing" against Bosnian Croat and Muslim populations Protect UN peacekeeping ground troops
Throughout the mid-1990s, U.S. naval air, surface, and submarine forces mounted Operation SHARP GUARD, an Adriatic blockade to prevent Bosnian belligerents from importing weapons. When Milosevic's Serbian forces continued to massacre their ethnic foes, naval aircraft bombed Serbian air defense sites, headquarters, and ammunition dumps. Navy warships joined the battle with Tomahawk missiles. After 78 days, NATO established air superiority and destroyed Serbia's warmaking infrastructure—with no loss of NATO personnel and only one plane.
Distinction addresses the issue of lawful targeting. The military is required at all times, in all operations, to distinguish between the civilian population and combatants and between civilian objects and military objectives. Indiscriminate attacks on both persons and places are unlawful.
To understand proportionality, it's easiest to picture the two hanging scales of justice. On one scale sits the commander's anticipated loss of civilian life and/or damage to civilian property. On the other scale is the probable concrete and direct military advantage gained by a proposed course of action. The LOAC requires that the weight on the former side—the loss of civilian life or damage to property—never exceed the weight on the latter—the benefit to the operation. This weighing test is to be used in all targeting considerations, regardless of the delivery platform.
Sixth Fleet Operations and Mission The Sixth Fleet is the operating Fleet of Naval Forces Europe and Naval Forces Africa. It is: The maritime component of USEUCOM and USAFRICOM Headquartered in Naples, Italy The Sixth Fleet's mission is to: Plan for and conduct combat operations Plan for and conduct contingencies, including evacuating U.S. citizens Protect U.S. interests Support foreign policy
Today's Sixth Fleet is the major operational subordinate assigned to Commander, Naval Forces Europe, the maritime component commander of the USEUCOM and USAFRICOM. Currently, the Sixth Fleet is headquartered in Naples, Italy where it is co-located with Commander, Naval Forces Europe. Sixth Fleet has numerous responsibilities. The Commander, Sixth Fleet (COMSIXTHFLT) is tasked to plan for and conduct offensive or defensive naval combat operations when directed. This is done to establish and maintain control of the waters of, and air space over, its AOR. Additionally, COMSIXTHFLT is assigned to plan and conduct contingency operations, including evacuating U.S. citizens, protecting U.S. interests, and supporting U.S. foreign policy.
Throughout the 1990s, Saddam failed to comply with UN mandates and threatened to resume hostilities. President William Clinton ordered attacks in Iraq with:
Tomahawk cruise missiles Carrier aircraft Shore-based planes The long confrontation with Saddam Hussein did not end with the close of the 20th century.
Pacific Fleet History Presence in Pacific Ocean: USS Essex escorted convoy from Indian Ocean (1800) USS Essex attacked British whaling fleet off west coast of South America (1813) Pacific Squadron established (1821) East Indies Squadron established (1835) China and Japan opened for trade; U.S. became a two ocean nation (1840-1860)
U.S. Navy presence in what is now the Pacific Fleet AOR dates back to 1800 during the quasi-war with France. In March of that year, USS Essex rounded the Cape of Good Hope in order to convoy merchant ships returning from Batavia, Dutch East Indies (present day Jakarta, Indonesia). During the War of 1812, the Essex again entered the area and proceeded to capture or destroy fourteen British ships—severely damaging the British whaling fleet along the west coast of South America. American merchant activity in the Pacific increased and in 1821 the Pacific Squadron was established. This small force initially operated only in the waters off of the west coast of South America. In 1835 the East Indies Squadron was formed to operate in the western Pacific Ocean as American trade in that area of the world grew. During the decades prior to the Civil War, the commander of the East Indies Squadron negotiated for and obtained agreements with the governments of China and Japan to open their ports to American commerce. Additionally, the United States gained territories that included the present states of California, Oregon, and Washington—America had become a true two-ocean nation.
U.S. Squadrons established their presence in:
U.S. Squadrons established their presence in: The Mediterranean Off Africa and South America In the Pacific In Asia Naval officers negotiated trade agreements. The most notable being Matthew C. Perry's 1854 opening of Japan.
Since the end of World War II, the nations of Latin America have had a mixed record in terms of establishing effective, stable governments. There has been a large number of transitions, both by elections and extra-electoral processes, from democratic to authoritarian and back to democratic regimes. Some nations, such as Paraguay, have been ruled by a single leader for much of this period. Others, such as Mexico, have been dominated by a single political party until recently, transitioning leaders on a regular basis. Others, such as Argentina, have fluctuated between autocratic and democratic rule. Since the end of the Cold War, there has been a general movement toward democratic regimes across Latin America. Mexico, for example, elected Vicente Fox, its first President not belonging to the Party of the Institutionalized Revolution. Both Brazil and Argentina have maintained democratic governments. Overall, while there is not substantial support for American foreign policy in many Latin American governments, it is clear they are more democratically oriented now than at any time in the past.
U.S. relations with governments in Latin America are further influenced by the left-leaning nature of much of the political establishment in the region. Many of the region's governments are avowedly socialist and others promote left-leaning populist ideals that arguably have come to power as a result of popular backlash against American support, autocratic regimes or insurgency movements, failed economics, and government corruption. This has led to a number of confrontations and increased tensions between the generally conservative U.S. Government and regional governments. The current confrontation between Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and the U.S. is the latest in a series of such relational difficulties. Remnants of relationships dating to the colonial period have also influenced the relationships of Latin American governments with the rest of the world. For example, Argentine claims to the Falkland Islands, which are administered by Great Britain, date to disputed claims over governance of the islands. U.S. support of the British war with Argentina over the islands caused many Latin American nations to actively question U.S. support for the region. However, Latin American political relations with the outside world are primarily with the U.S. There is a history of pervasive corruption in many of the governments in Latin America. Government officials accept payment for either performing (or not performing) their official duties and government officials provide favors or preference to individuals or organizations making payment. Linked to the issues of corruption in Latin America are issues of terrorism across the region. The major terrorist threat to stability is narco-terrorism. The focus of the U.S. on the Global War on Terrorism has reduced efforts to combat the production of illegal narcotics. Despite this draw-down in focus, Colombia continues to be a key component of U.S. efforts to eliminate narco-terrorists. This has become even more important to the U.S. as the State Department has recently noted that there are indicators of Islamic extremism in the region and a potential linkup between Latin American drug lords and Islamic terrorist groups. It has long been thought that predicting political stability in Latin America is an almost impossible task. Since the end of World War II, there has been an ongoing debate over the role of the military in either assisting or reducing stability; there is substantial debate over the role of Marxist governments and their influences in determining stability; and there is a significant question over the role of economic factors in maintaining stability across Latin America. Despite these difficulties, political stability across the region has substantially improved over the past 25 years. While there have been periods in which Latin American economies have experienced double and even triple digit inflation, most of the region is enjoying a period of solid growth and low inflation. While strong governments and strong economies can be credited with this growth, there is significant dissatisfaction among the populace with the distribution of economic and political power and the distribution of wealth. There is a growing movement, both from the Latin American governments and international organizations, to institute reforms that will help maintain stability. These include targeted social assistance, improved primary and secondary education, and pension reform. Devising and implementing reforms that will maintain economic growth while addressing the above mentioned problems will be a major challenge for nearly all of the Latin American governments.
This diagram is a pictorial of the recognized legal divisions of the water and airspace. Each zone, whether in the water or airspace, has different legal significance and affects how we may operate our ships, submarines, and aircraft. All zones are determined by a nation's baseline, that is, the low water line, or an average of where the tide reaches the shore at low tide. A nation may claim a territorial sea of up to 12 nautical miles from its baseline. Ships (including warships) of all nations enjoy the right of innocent passage for the purpose of continuous and expeditious traversing of the territorial sea. Innocent passage includes stopping and anchoring, but only as incidental to ordinary navigation or as required by extraordinary situations or distress. Beyond the territorial seas are international waters, which are further divided into at least three zones. The contiguous zone is comprised of international waters in and over which ships and aircraft of all nations enjoy the high seas freedoms of navigation and overflight. Coastal nations may exercise law enforcement functions in the contiguous zone relating to infringement of customs, fiscal, immigration, and sanitary laws that may occur within its territory and territorial waters. The exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is a 200-nautical-mile zone in which the coastal nation may exercise jurisdiction and control over the exploration, exploitation, management, and conservation of any resources located in those waters. Beyond the EEZ are the high seas, in which all ships and aircraft enjoy complete freedom of movement and operation. With regard to air navigation, every nation has complete and exclusive sovereignty over its national airspace which includes the area above the territorial seas. International airspace is the airspace over the contiguous zone, the EEZ, the high seas and territories not subject to national sovereignty. International airspace is open to aircraft of all nations, and all activities conducted must be done with due regard for the rights of other nations and the safety of other aircraft and vessels. Outer space is less well defined, and begins at the upper limit of the earth's airspace and extends to infinity. Access to outer space is free and open to all nations.
Ultimately, the law of the sea provides guidance on how naval forces may conduct at-sea operations. As a result, before our assets enter certain waters or airspace, we must ask ourselves two principal questions. What regime controls the seas or airspace I am about to enter? Based on that answer, what is U.S. policy toward that regime? The answers to these two key questions will provide guidance as to how the U.S. may then conduct its at-sea operations The law of armed conflict (LOAC) is the second major branch of operational law. In earlier times in our country's history, LOAC was also called the law of war simply because it was designed to codify the rules governing the means and methods of warfare a nation is allowed to employ during its operations. As a result, this law has also developed over the centuries, and is still developing today, oftentimes in response to concerns over how warfare was conducted.
Air Force personnel are organized into ten major commands. These are organized functionally in the United States and geographically overseas. The commands organize, administer, equip and train their subordinate elements for the accomplishment of assigned missions. The Air Combat Command, or ACC, is the home of the fighters and bombers that are CONUS-based, and many of the low density-high demand support aircraft they require. ACC serves as the primary force provider of combat air power to America's warfighting commands. The Air Education and Training Command, as its name implies, provides basic military training, initial and advanced technical training, flying training, and professional military and degree-granting professional education. The Air Force's newest command, Air Force Global Strike Command, was activated in August 2009, inheriting ICBM forces from Air Force Space Command and bombers from Air Combat Command. The command's mission is to develop and provide combat-ready forces for nuclear deterrence and global strike operations—safe, secure, and effective—to support the president of the United States and combatant commanders. The Air Force Materiel Command is charged with developing, acquiring, and sustaining Air Force combat power. The Air Force Reserve Command is responsible for the training and integration of the reserve components into the Air Force's Total Force. The Air Force Space Command is responsible for satellite and cyberspace operations, delivering military-focused space and cyberspace capabilities with a global perspective to the joint warfighting team. Its mission is to provide an integrated constellation of space and cyberspace capabilities at the speed of need. Its two numbered Air Forces, 14th and 24th, are tasked with generating and employing space and cyberspace capabilities, respectively. The Air Force Special Operations Command is a service component of the U.S. Special Operations Command and is covered in the presentation on U.S. Special Operations Forces. AFSOC's Air Commandos are America's specialized airpower, a step ahead in a changing world, delivering Special Operations power anytime, anywhere. The Air Mobility Command, or AMC, is the home of strategic airlift C-5 and C-17s, and most of the air refueling assets, KC-135s and KC-10s, and supports joint logistics through U.S. Transportation Command. Their mission is to deliver maximum warfighting and humanitarian effects for America through rapid and precise global air mobility. The Air Force maintains a permanent overseas presence in the Pacific and Europe under two regional commands. The Pacific Air Forces, or PACAF, and U.S. Air Forces Europe, or USAFE. There are no permanently assigned Air Force assets based in theater in the Central or Southern commands, and the Air Force provides these combatant commanders forces on a rotating basis.
Under the major commands are the Numbered Air Forces, or NAFs, led by two- or three-star generals considered to be the Air Force's senior warfighters. Under each of the NAFs are several wings. An Air Force Base will typically host one wing, and the wing commander, usually a Brigadier General, will serve as the commander of the base. Each wing is named and characterized by its primary mission: fighter, special operations, space, and so on. A typical wing comprises three principal groups: Operations, Mission Support, and Maintenance. Each group is further divided into squadrons—the basic units of organization within the Air Force. An aviation squadron will typically consist of ten to eighteen aircraft. A squadron can be made up of Flights—smaller sets of aircraft or personnel. Let's look at an example of a generic fighter or bomber wing organized for day to day operations. Note the four groups: the Operations Group—which provides the Combat Power—and the supporting maintenance, mission support, and medical groups. This wing has three flying squadrons: two conduct combat operations around the globe in support of regional combatant commanders' operational requirements, while the third is a combat training squadron, responsible for training future combat aviators. Many wings will also host a reserve unit; for example; Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana has both active duty and Reserve B-52 units.
The term "unified action" is a broad generic term referring to the wide scope of activities taking place within unified commands, subordinate unified commands, or JTFs under a single commander. Success often depends on these unified actions. The CJCS and all combatant commanders are in pivotal positions to ensure unified actions are planned and conducted in accordance with the guidance and direction received from the President and the SecDef. Combatant commanders should ensure their unified action synchronizes and integrates joint and single-Service operations with the actions of supporting combatant commands, other military forces during multinational operations, and nonmilitary and other Federal Government agencies.
Unified action starts with unified direction and is accomplished by establishing a joint force, assigning a mission or objective to the JFC, establishing command relationships, assigning and/or attaching appropriate forces to the joint force, and empowering the commander with sufficient authority over the forces to accomplish the assigned mission. The forces of all Services must operate together effectively. This is achieved in part through interoperability, which includes the development and use of joint doctrine and joint tactics, techniques, and procedures. Equally important are the development and use of joint plans; the conduct of joint training and exercises; and a development and fielding process that provides material that is fully compatible with and complementary to systems of all Services.
When we refer to the law of the sea, we are referring to a body of international law and some domestic law that directly impacts U.S. naval operations. This "law" is derived from many sources. Customary international law of the sea derives from the practice of nations, that is, when a practice is done regularly and is viewed by nations that observe that practice as obligatory, it can be said to have become a rule of customary law binding on all nations. Given how hard it is to build a custom, there has been a tendency to codify these practices in written agreements and conventions. The United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) contains most of the current written law in effect since 1982. Finally, there are numerous additional international agreements that also affect at-sea operations.
United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS): Treaty negotiated in 1970's and signed in 1982 Two major parts — Coastal nation navigation and overflight rights — Deep-seabed mining provisions Still pending U.S. Senate ratification Presidential policy: Coastal nation and navigation/overflight rights represent customary international law, and U.S. forces will operate in compliance with UNCLOS
Fleet units are ready to conduct contingency operations around the world at a moment's notice. Policies and procedures are in place that enable commanders to shift fleet units from one combatant command to another in response to U.S. interests. Such a shift is known as "Change of Operational Control" or "CHOP." Thus, when the Iwo Jima Amphibious Readiness Group, a Second Fleet unit in Norfolk, was assigned to respond to Hurricane Katrina, it "outchopped" from its Joint Forces chain of command and "inchopped" to Joint Task Force Katrina, under USNORTHCOM. Similarly, Second Fleet units conducting operations in South American waters would "chop" to USSOUTHCOM. Thus, Second Fleet has the flexibility provided by national military organization to support numerous combatant commanders with the right mix of forces needed to accomplish assigned missions.
United States naval forces have operated in the Middle East since 1801 and have maintained a continuous presence in the area since the establishment of Middle East Force (MIDEASTFOR) in 1949. Until the early 1970's, MIDEASTFOR consisted of one of three former seaplane tenders that rotated as its flagship and one or two rotationally-deployed warships. During this time, the United States depended on the militaries of other nations to defend the area—first the British (who withdrew from the region in the late 1960's) and then Iran and Saudi Arabia. In 1971, Bahrain became a sovereign state and the U.S. Navy took over the naval facilities left behind by the British. Shortly thereafter USS La Salle (AGF-3), a former amphibious transport ship, became the permanent MIDEASTFOR flagship. The main role of MIDEASTFOR was to "show the flag" while providing a counterweight to Soviet naval expansion in the region.
Victories at Lakes Erie and Champlain destroyed
Victories at Lakes Erie and Champlain destroyed any British claims for American territory.
World War Two in the Pacific was the largest maritime conflict in history.
War games were conducted prior to World War Two at the Naval War College. These war games allowed U.S. naval leaders to gain invaluable insights on how the U.S. fleet would run the Pacific Campaign.
When U.S. Army helicopters operating at night from the USS Jarrett (FFG-33) discovered Iranian mine laying ship Iran Ajr dropping mines into the Persian Gulf, U.S. Navy, Army, and Marine forces captured and sank the vessel.
When an Iranian mine heavily damaged the guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58), President Reagan launched Operation PRAYING MANTIS. American naval forces: Destroyed two enemy-held platforms Sank or damaged one-half of the Iranian Navy Success of U.S. naval operations in the Persian Gulf was marred by the accidental destruction of an Iranian airliner and everyone on board by surface-to-air missiles fired from the cruiser USS Vincennes. In August 1988, Iran agreed to a UN-mediated ceasefire with Iraq.
Agility—the ability to move quickly and easily—should characterize U.S. military operations. Agility is relative—the aim is to be more agile than the foe. Agility is not just concerned with speed itself, but concerns timeliness—thinking, planning, communicating, and acting faster than the enemy can effectively react. Operating faster than and within the opponent's decision cycle can expand options while denying options the opponent deems important. Agility has different perspectives based on the level of war—strategic, operational, or tactical. At each of these levels, operations on land and sea, undersea, and in the air and space must achieve a synchronized timing and rapid tempo that overwhelm the opponent.
When militarily advantageous, operations should be extended to the fullest breadth and depth feasible. Requiring the enemy to disperse his forces over a broad area can render them ineffective and complicate his planning. At the operational level, joint air, land, sea, special operations, and space forces can enable operations to be extended throughout a theater, denying sanctuary to the enemy. At the strategic level, for a country like the United States with global responsibilities and worldwide military capabilities, the use of armed force anywhere can have implications throughout the military.
Roles," for example, date back to the National Security Act of 1947 which set out the basic purpose of each of the Services. Title 10, of the U.S. Code, currently contains the Service-specific statements for each of the armed forces. In simple terms, roles establish each Service's lead in its respective form or domain of war: land, sea, or air. We will examine in greater detail the Navy and Marine Corps-specific portions of Title 10 shortly.
When the individual Services make reference to their "missions," they are almost always referring to their principle missions. These are not the same as the missions we are referring to when speaking of "Roles, Missions, and Functions." In this context, missions are those tasks assigned to the unified and specified combatant commanders by the President of the United States or the Secretary of Defense.
While contingency planning is based on possible future situations, CAP is based on actual events as the crisis unfolds. Within the context of operations planning, a crisis is an incident or situation involving a threat to the United States, its territories, citizens, military forces, possessions, or vital interests. It typically develops rapidly and creates a condition of such diplomatic, economic, political, or military importance that the President or SecDef consider a commitment of U.S. military forces and resources to resolve the situation. It may occur with little or no warning, is fast-breaking, and requires accelerated decision making. Sometimes a single crisis may spawn another crisis elsewhere. Crisis events are normally reported by a combatant commander, but can be reported by any unit. Affected component commanders will be informed of the estimate of the situation by the combatant commanders and directed to begin critical analysis. Initial evaluation includes the determination of available forces and logistic support in the theater. During Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. Northern Command, as the responsible combatant command, tasked its naval component commander—Fleet Forces Command, to begin preparations to provide support to civil authorities in the Gulf Coast region.
While contingency planning is conducted in anticipation of future events, CAP is based on the actual circumstances that exist at the time planning occurs. There are always situations arising in the present that might require U.S. military response. Such situations may approximate those previously planned for in contingency planning, though it is unlikely they would be identical, and sometimes they will be completely unanticipated. Whenever possible, commanders will use previously prepared OPLANs from contingency planning as a starting point. The combatant commander will convert these plans into executable OPORDs, or develop an OPORD from scratch when no useful OPLAN exists. Usually, the time available to plan responses to such real-time events is short. In as little as a few days, a feasible course of action (COA) must be developed and approved, and timely identification of resources accomplished to ready forces, schedule transportation, and prepare supplies for movement and employment of U.S. military force.
Agreeing on a title for the range of military operations outside of what we conventionally think of as "war" has proven difficult. In fact, a recent article quoted Major General Durbin as stating, "Although the Pentagon, through the Quadrennial Defense Review, has identified "irregular warfare" as the most likely threat facing the United States over the next four years, much work needs to be done to adequately define the term." Continuing, he notes that "...irregular warfare means far more than what most people consider unconventional warfare, and each subset of irregular warfare brings its own challenges to the fore." Michele Flournoy, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, defines irregular warfare as including "...efforts in counterterrorism, counterinsurgency and counterproliferation in addition to stability and reconstruction operations...," but acknowledges that the term is so difficult to define that it might not survive as a category within the Quadrennial Defense Review.
While it is clear that at this point we can't all agree on a final common definition, as was outlined in the overview section of this lesson, many potential missions potentially fall into this irregular warfare category. A full analysis of all such missions would be quite an undertaking, and falls outside the bounds of this introductory effort. However, the three mission areas listed here sit at the forefront of our attention. The use of terrorism to influence the actions of others is not a new phenomenon. However, for Americans, the issue has been placed at the forefront of our collective consciousness since the tragic events of September 11, 2001. With the Global War on Terrorism several years old, there is still no indication the issue of terrorism will fade from the news any time in the foreseeable future.
Building upon relationships forged in times of calm, we will continue to mitigate human suffering as the vanguard of interagency and multinational efforts—both in a deliberate proactive fashion and in response to crises. The character of our maritime forces uniquely positions us to provide assistance when and where necessary. Our ability to conduct rapid and sustained noncombatant evacuations is critical to relieving the plight of our citizens and others when their safety is jeopardized.
While many initiatives must come to fruition in order for this strategy to succeed. Three specific areas will receive priority attention—improved integration and interoperability, enhanced awareness, and preparation of our people. The combatant commanders' increased demand for mission-tailored forces requires a more integrated approach to how maritime forces are employed. Marines will be employed as detachments aboard a wider variety of ships for maritime security missions. Also, Sailors, Marines, and Coastguardsmen will be teamed in various combinations to conduct security and humanitarian missions. Homeland defense is the most obvious example of the requirement for greater integration. Sea services must and will work as one whenever they operate in order to defend the United States.
Just as the military has a hierarchical rank structure, a hierarchy of guidance documents also exists that informs and shapes naval strategy and operations. Not surprisingly, given our constitutionally required system of civilian control of the military, the highest level of strategic guidance comes from the President of the United States. Before we continue, just what, exactly, do we mean by the term "strategy"? Joint Publication 3-0, "Doctrine for Joint Operations," defines strategy as, "the art and science of employing instruments of national power in a synchronized and integrated fashion to achieve theater, national, and/or multinational objectives." Another way to define "strategy" is to say that it serves as a game plan or a roadmap that links ways, means, and ends. There is an interesting phrase in this joint definition of strategy of which you should take note—instruments of national power. These instruments—of which the military is but one—will be discussed in greater detail on the next screen. Understanding the instruments of national power is foundational to understanding U.S. strategy.
While members of the Armed Forces are most familiar with the use of the military as an instrument of national power, the President has a number of other options at his disposal. According to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as outlined in Joint Publication 1, "Joint Warfare of the Armed Forces of the United States," there are four instruments of national power: diplomatic, informational, military, and economic. You may hear these capabilities lumped together in the acronym "DIME." It is the skillful combination and use of these diverse instruments that enables the President to achieve the Nation's highest level national security objectives; however, the organizations that use these instruments are diverse and exist across the entire governmental structure. How then, can they be used in a synergistic fashion? The answer lies in the use of guidance provided by the National Security Strategy and in the coordination performed by the National Security Council. Before we look at the top-level documents that guide our strategy, let's look at each instrument of national power in a little greater detail.
Leaders - William Barker Cushing
William Barker Cushing distinguished himself when commanding gunboats off North Carolina. He led daring incursions into coastal enemy inlets. His sinking of the ironclad ram CSS Albemarle with a spar torpedo attached to a steam launch brought him recognition and promotion.
Pacific Fleet History Final Offensive (continued): Planned invasion of Japan — Third Fleet given command of naval forces for invasion — Japan surrendered after U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
With Third Fleet given the task of commanding naval forces for the planned invasion of Japan, Commander, Seventh Fleet assumed responsibility for the areas and forces assigned Fifth Fleet and the Fifth Fleet headquarters moved to the west coast. After the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrendered—making the invasion of Japan unnecessary.
Nominally a CSG will be composed of various multi-role surface combatants—usually four—with embarked helo detachments. These ships, cruisers and destroyers, bring cruise missile and air/missile defense, as well as other critical capabilities to the strike group. A recent change to the CSG construct is to remove the Underway Replenishment (or UNREP) Ship as a member of the CSG. These ships will now be dedicated to the Numbered Fleet Commanders and will service all vessels within their area of operations. The carrier Airwing will routinely be comprised of four squadrons flying variants of the F-18 Hornet strike fighter. Some carrier Airwings may include a U.S. Marine Corps F-18 squadron as part of the four Hornet squadron mix. Additionally, all helicopters organic to the CSG, belong to one of the two helicopter squadrons within the Airwing. One squadron flying MH-60R or SH-60B helicopters will be responsible for manning the detachments on the various surface combatants within the CSG, while the other squadron flying either the MH-60S or the HH-60H, will be responsible for manning the detachment on any attached replenishment ship.
With all of these ships and aircraft in a strike group, what can the joint force commander expect in terms of combat missions? The average sorties per day ranges from 90 to 110, with the carrier operating on a typical 12-hour day. The limiting factor in carrier sortie generation capacity is the endurance of the flight deck crews, not air crews or aircraft maintenance. Carrier Groups are ready upon arrival in theater, and can perform the full spectrum of their warfare capabilities concurrently—from projecting power ashore, providing missile protection to friendly forces and areas, and to exercising control of the sea and airspace. The Strike Group can theoretically stay on station indefinitely. The fresh food supply is good for approximately 15 days and staples for 30 days. Aviation fuel in a nuclear powered carrier is consumed at about 5% per day for 100 sorties. The strike group needs and receives logistic support from replenishment ships and other ships from the Military Sealift Command. While normal cruise speed of the carrier is around 15 to 18 knots, at 29 knots it can cover 700 nautical miles in a day, or the distance from Jacksonville, Florida to Washington, DC. The Carrier possesses the ability to provide command and control capability for all naval assets assigned to the Strike Group. Perhaps the greatest advantage of the Carrier strike group is that it brings with it U.S. sovereign territory and is unfettered by a lack of host nation support or access.
So why do we need LOAC? What is its purpose? Remember, while the realities of war are grim indeed, LOAC is all about putting acceptable constraints on the means and methods of waging war and to prevent unnecessary suffering and harm. Simply put, LOAC's purposes are three-fold and the parts are of equal importance. First, we wish to prevent the unnecessary suffering of combatants and noncombatants. Second, we wish to prevent unnecessary destruction. Third and finally, we wish to protect noncombatants and their property.
With regard to necessity, we have to ensure that each of our actions is necessary, that is, either the destruction or seizure of property is necessary to prosecute the war and defeat the enemy. As a result, all attacks and use of force shall be strictly limited to military objectives. In fact, willful killing that is not justified by military necessity is considered a grave breach of the law of war, and the offender may be accordingly punished.
In 1798
a Quasi-War between the U.S. and France ensued until settled in September 1800.
In the mid-1790's, the U.S. signed
separate treaties with the Barbary Powers. However, the Pasha of Tripoli was dissatisfied and declared war on the U.S. in 1801.
Operations The most tedious and important Navy work was blockading the Confederate coastline and its navigable entrances. By the end of 1861,
the Navy had four blockading squadrons. By the end of the war, the blockade had grown to 600 vessels and had captured or destroyed over 1500 vessels.
In 1794
the U.S. and Great Britain came to terms with Jay's Treaty. The French retaliated by increasing its seizures of American ships.
The Barbary Powers of Africa's Mediterranean coast, which had long extorted tribute from European powers, made its first American vessel seizures in 1785. The U.S. Constitution gave Congress the
the power to "provide and maintain a Navy", but it took until 1794 to create a naval force of six frigates.