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Admirals to review draft of maritime strategy

The Navy will distribute draft copies of its new Maritime Strategy on Friday to the four-star admirals who head its component commands, the admiral who leads the initiative told Navy Times.

Vice Adm. John Morgan would not disclose what the draft contains, but he said the “10- to 12-page” document presents a “balanced strategy” that illustrates how the Navy should operate in the age of globalization. There is no “artificial deadline” for the final draft of the new strategy, he said, but the Navy has acknowledged the document will be unveiled in October at the International Seapower Symposium in Newport, R.I.

The four-stars will submit their critiques of the strategy in whatever amount of time they need, according to Morgan.

The new Maritime Strategy is the first of its kind since the late 1980s. The effort was launched by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Mullen at the 2006 Current Strategy Forum, hosted annually by the Naval War College in Newport. Over the past year, the Naval War College has spent time war-gaming “seven different global futures” — scenarios that attempted to capture what the future might look like in the maritime domain; hosting “conversations with the country,” open forums in several cities around the country including Phoenix and Chicago, where the public was invited to attend; and conducting “executive seminars” with academics and the three sea-service chiefs, Mullen, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway and Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen.

The strategy does not “try to predict the future,” Morgan said. Instead, the document outlines how the Navy can win wars at sea, and more importantly how the maritime services can help limit and even prevent conflict around the globe, he explained. This effort includes building maritime partnerships around the world, a wide-reaching effort Mullen envisions as the “1,000-ship navy” — a broad coalition of navies and coast guards sharing information about activities at sea to protect commerce and prevent seaborne terrorism.

The new Maritime Strategy will help inform future Navy budgets, the admiral noted. He said he hopes the document is “timeless” yet “dynamic” — meaning that it remains relevant in years to come because it has the flexibility to be refreshed and updated as new situations arise. The plan is to review the document every two years prior to building new budgets, Morgan said.

Some critics have questioned the timing of the strategy in light of the 2008 presidential election and, more recently, Mullen’s nomination to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Morgan dismissed the idea that a new presidential administration or a new CNO would make the new strategy irrelevant.

Three strategy documents commonly dubbed “drafts” were floating around earlier this year, presenting three potential options for the strategy. The options were: boosting naval presence in the waters of Middle East and Pacific Ocean; providing security on the high seas by promoting maritime domain awareness; and focusing on building up blue-water naval capabilities to tackle a future peer competitor such as China.

These were never “drafts,” Morgan argued, but he acknowledged the new strategy will likely contain elements of all three perspectives.

Morgan remained tight-lipped about the details but noted that he is “very delighted with the outcome” of the new strategy.