.gif)
Theme
Forward ... From the Sea emphasizes that projecting influence and power ashore requires naval forces shaped for joint operations. Joint Vision 2010 provides the template for joint combat operations in the 21st century and envisions future joint combat operations leveraging information superiority to execute dominant maneuver, precision engagement, full-dimensional protection, and focused logistics. These operational concepts were anticipated in large measure by Forward ... From the Sea. In many areas the Navy is at the leading edge of Joint Vision 2010 capabilities. We will continue actively to develop and implement a wide range of technological and operational innovations. Our Fleet Battle Lab experiments will be a process by which we make vital contributions to these efforts. The fleet is our battle lab. We will test new ideas and equipment every time we deploy or get underway for a significant exercise.
Our innovation efforts will examine operational concepts and doctrine, how we organize and command our forces to carry out our missions, the capabilities of future systems and platforms, the manner in which we provide maintenance and supply support, and the education and training of our people. We will focus our innovation and modernization efforts in the following areas.
Naval forces will be able to provide sea-based overt and covert surveillance, reconnaissance, and information warfare capabilities for joint forces, and sea-based command and control up to the Commander Joint Task Force level. Our forces will be integrated into networked command and control systems that provide a common tactical picture of the battlespace to all commanders and are fully interoperable with joint command and control systems. Our Cooperative Engagement Concept will provide an unprecedented level of battlespace awareness and combat power by linking the sensors and weapons systems of an entire force into a highly integrated network. We will achieve faster speed of command, closer joint integration, and enhanced means of ensuring the warrior has the right information in the optimum display for immediate action.
We will be a full partner in developing new amphibious warfare concepts and capabilities for implementing the Marine Corps concept Operational Maneuver From The Sea (OMFTS). OMFTS emphasizes using the sea as a secure area from which to conduct ship-to-objective movement. We will have a vital role in OMFTS-style operations as part of a highly integrated sea-air-land combined-arms team. We will provide enhanced naval fires, force protection, command and control, surveillance and reconnaissance, and logistics support for Marines ashore — enabling the high-tempo operations envisioned by OMFTS.
We will be capable of providing every type of joint fire the nation requires, throughout the battlespace and with the precision the operation dictates. We will deliver precision naval fires fully integrated as an element of joint combat power. Navy innovations, like networked command and control systems and cooperative engagement, are a significant step in this direction. We will be able to deliver a large volume of firepower through new ways of achieving very high aircraft sortie rates and new weapons and platforms for delivering joint fires. Emerging precision and information capabilities rapidly are making traditional views — that specific platforms (air, surface or subsurface) and specific types of ordnance (missile, bomb or shell) have specialized roles — obsolete. We will deliver integrated joint fires with enhanced range, lethality, accuracy and timeliness from aircraft, ships and submarines for any type of mission.
Building upon our already robust information, air and maritime superiority capabilities, we will provide integrated protection for joint and coalition forces. Naval defensive capabilities, such as theater air defense and ballistic missile defense, will be integrated with joint systems for maximum protection of the joint force. Our defensive capabilities will complement land-based systems and in some situations may be the only U.S. capabilities readily available, particularly in the opening phase of a crisis or conflict. We will enhance the range, lethality and joint integration of our force-protection capabilities and enhance our ability to defeat sea-denial threats and dominate the littoral battlespace.
We will increasingly be capable of providing secure afloat joint logistics support. Our logistics innovation efforts will enhance strategic sealift and seaborne logistics. These efforts also support Department of Defense initiatives to improve logistics support, such as the total asset visibility system and "just-in-time" logistics. We will seek alternatives to maintaining large quantities of spares and explore ways of enhancing the joint and commercial commonality of system components.
Extracted from the March 1997 Forward ... From the Sea Foreword by Admiral Jay L. Johnson, U.S. Navy, Chief of Naval Operations