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Navy Missions Range Further Asea

Any maritime nation knows the importance of having an effective seagoing force; but as is the case with so many longtime assets, the navy tends to be taken for granted until it is desperately needed. Many Western militaries suffered that fate after the Cold War ended, and the U.S. Navy was no exception. Designed to ensure continued freedom of movement on the high seas—even in the face of massive Soviet submarine and surface vessel attacks—the Navy was downsized both quantitatively and qualitatively.

When called upon, it proved its worth—particularly in operations such as the 1991 Gulf War, in which sea-launched cruise missiles played a major role in the inaugural attack. But as time passed, the importance of the Navy began to fade into memory. The surface fleet shrank, some of its submarines were repurposed or retired, and new shipbuilding programs were cut back or cancelled. Even the Navy itself viewed its intelligence organization as a relic of the Cold War and downgraded its capabilities.

Now, the certainties of the Cold War have given way to the uncertainties of the 21st century. The threat to the Free World has not disappeared; it just has emerged in different forms from different sources. Where militaries could plan for likely war scenarios, they now must consider a wide range of possibilities that do not provide even the slightest degree of likelihood. Possibility now reigns in military planning.

For the Navy, that means adding new missions to its potential menu. These new missions can range from all-out warfare on the high seas to humanitarian operations in countries where the United States may not have even a diplomatic presence. In between those two extremes falls a diverse set of scenarios, in any of which the Navy could find itself working in ad-hoc coalitions with unfamiliar partners.

And these partners may not necessarily include other nations’ navies. Humanitarian relief efforts often involve national and local civil governments along with nongovernmental organizations. These operations can progress through several stages that require different naval capabilities interoperating with varying other entities in the course of action.

But it is in the realm of conflict where the Navy has its most extended areas of responsibility. Maritime domain awareness has leaped to the top of all ocean-going nations’ seaborne priority lists, and the Navy is at the core of U.S. efforts. Again, achieving this goal will require interoperability with other nations—the concept of the 1,000-ship Navy that emerged in recent years. In some cases, the U.S. Coast Guard will be fully involved where its responsibilities and those of the Navy overlap.

Many adversaries have emerged to challenge maritime security. Foremost in recent headlines have been the pirates preying on shipping off the coast of Somalia. The U.S. Navy has announced that it is taking the lead in an international force dedicated to combating this growing menace.

Piracy is not limited to the waters off the Horn of Africa, nor are adversaries limited to traditional threats, however old they may be. Drug smuggling is becoming more sophisticated as cartels employ semisubmersible craft to ship their contraband across water. Interdicting these shipments may require cooperation among the Navy and coast guard forces from more than one country.

It is a small step from using semisubmersibles to smuggle drugs to using the same craft to import terrorist weapons of mass destruction. Some areas of the world already have seen a merger between organized crime and terrorism, and a seagoing version would raise the stakes for maritime security considerably.

The Navy has acknowledged its dynamic new mission in several ways, not the least of which involved restoring naval intelligence to its high level of importance. This will enable the Navy to re-develop the blue water intelligence infrastructure that characterized its Cold War supremacy. Given the dynamic state of maritime security, further measures such as this one may characterize naval actions in the coming years.

—The Editor

More information on the U.S. Navy is available in the February 2009 issue of SIGNAL Magazine, in the mail to AFCEA members and subscribers February 2, 2009. For information about purchasing this issue, joining AFCEA or subscribing to SIGNAL, contact AFCEA Member Services.