21ST Century Warfighter Support: Optimizing Seabasing Through the Transformational Possibilities of Reachback
Abstract
The Navy and Marine Corps continue their cooperative efforts to fully develop the transformational concept of Naval Expeditionary Maneuver Warfare (NEMW). The crafters of the NEMW concept recognize that the traditional doctrine of bringing supplies and support activities to the beach must give way to seabasing. Seabasing facilitates the seamless transition of naval forces from water to land such that a beachhead is no longer considered a vital intermediate objective. The author asserts that seabasing should be complemented, where appropriate, with reachback capabilities. Reachback occurs when warfighters in a distant theater access the capabilities of remotely-located people and informational resources through their C2 systems or when commanders leave certain physical assets and capabilities at a home base and then rush them to the theater when needed. The author explores the strategic implications of reachback as well as reachback applications used to date. The author also discusses admonitions that must be considered and acted upon as reachback development continues. The author concludes that reachback should be adopted as an important complement to seabasing within the overall framework of NEMW and argues that Navy and Marine Corps concept documents should highlight this important complementary relationship.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA414302
Entities
People
- Jeffery M. Peterson
Organizations
- United States Army War College