The Cooperative Seapower Strategy: Time for a Second Engagement
Abstract
In October 2007, the United States Navy, the United States Marine Corps, and the United States Coast Guard rolled out their tripartite "A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower." The strategy was immediately met with mixed reviews, many of them negative. The author holds that "A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower" doesn't qualify as a true strategy. The problem is that there is no discussion of the means required to execute the specified ways (capabilities) to get to the desired ends (strategic imperatives). Additionally, there is an even greater concern about its relationship, or lack thereof, to overarching National or Grand Strategy. This being the case, it is imperative that the U.S. Navy revisit the 2007 cooperative seapower strategy and develop a Version 2.0. The next version of the seapower strategy should cast direct linkages to the forthcoming Obama administration's National Security Strategy, the nature of which can be gleaned from the writings of influential, newly appointed defense policy makers. In doing this, the Navy can better align its strategic focus with that of the administration's and identify the necessary means to execute its own seapower strategy. The author argues that the end result could and should yield a radically different fleet composition.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 23, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA500617
Entities
People
- Joseph M. Keenan Jr.
Organizations
- United States Army War College