Organizing to Control the Global Maritime Commons
Abstract
Access and dominance in the global commons -- air, space, cyberspace, and the sea -- are the foundations of United States strategy. As the sea is the original global commons, the principles of classic Maritime Strategy underlie the current National Security Strategy (NSS) and its subordinate strategic guidance documents (National Defense Strategy and National Military Strategy). However, the Unified Command Plan (UCP) has assigned only the global commons of space and cyberspace to their own respective functional combatant commands. This paper examines the idea of a Maritime Functional Combatant Command that would command and control naval operations via Fleets organized around forces, as opposed to areas, and located in key locations to facilitate global flexibility. Such a command has the potential to better link global maritime operations and to better leverage the mobility and extended operational reach of modern naval weapons. Operations of this construct are examined through the missions of Sea Control, Power Projection, and Theater Security Cooperation. Challenges with this construct also are addressed.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA565031
Entities
People
- Phillip J. Ridderhof
Organizations
- United States Army War College