From Present to Postured: How the Naval Service Competes in the Contact Layer

Abstract

Chinas rise is fueling Great Power competition with the US; both sides pursue incompatible national interests, globally, and in the same competitive spaces (the Contact Layer). China is dominating this strategic jousting using indirect methods and without resorting to lethal means. This "gray zone" approach exploits vulnerabilities created by a US system optimized for lethal, armed encounter. The 2018 NDS indicates unwillingness to use any instruments of national power to counter Beijing translated to "strategic atrophy"; NDS, therefore, directs a competitive offensive in the Indo-Pacific Contact Layer to "outthink, out-maneuver, and out-partner revisionist powers" like China. The Naval Service should be that Contact Force.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 08, 2019
Accession Number
AD1179116

Entities

People

  • Jeffrey M. Brewer

Organizations

  • Marine Corps University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Autonomy
  • C4I
  • Counter WMD
  • Cyber
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Engineered Resilient Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Command And Control
  • Corporations
  • Department Of Defense
  • Foreign Policy
  • Gray Zone
  • Homeland Security
  • Intelligence Collection
  • Intelligence Community (United States)
  • International Law
  • International Security
  • Law
  • Marine Corps
  • Marine Corps Operations
  • Military Applications
  • Military Exercises
  • Military Operations
  • National Security
  • Naval Operations
  • Naval Warfare
  • New York
  • Security
  • Surveillance
  • United States
  • United States Government
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Asian Economic Studies
  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.

Technology Areas

  • Space