The New U.S. Maritime Strategy

From The Washington Post:

The U.S. military unveiled a new maritime strategy today -- its first created jointly by the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard -- shifting from a narrow focus on sea combat toward one that also emphasizes the use of "soft power" to counter terrorism and deliver humanitarian assistance.

The strategy, shaped by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the wars that followed, stresses preventing conflict as much as winning wars, and recognizes that "no one nation" can secure the world's waters against terrorism and other threats.
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Speaking as a guy who does a lot of "soft power" stuff in the Reserves, I think this is about the greatest thing ever. Our national overreliance on "hard power" has hurt us on the international stage, while our "soft power" activities have been significantly more successful.

Ooh, don't take my word for it yet. Today's article is the first I've heard of it, and I haven't yet read the document. I just think it's a good idea.

There are many forms of power and many ways to use them. I think the US has been at its most successful when it has adopted a variety of methods - international relations can't be a one-size-fits-all kind of an enterprise.

Now, if I can only find a way to leverage this into some good-deal trips to places like Vietnam, Thailand, and the PI ...

Oh, man. I roll through St. John's several times a year, and I've yet to have the good fortune to break down there. I hear it's phenomenal.

Think of it this way: the Services compete for slices of the same pie. With the bulk of the cash going to the Army right now, the Navy/Marines and Air Force are locked in a struggle for the remaining dough. As near as I can tell, the Air Force strategy is to concentrate on the possibility of future conflict with a "peer competitor" such as Russia or China. The Navy, understanding that (a) the GWOT is the big show right now and (b) Congress is sick of conventional warfare, is taking a different tack to demonstrate its continued relevance and, consequently, need for a bigger slice of the aforementioned pie than the hated Air Force.

Having said all that, please keep in mind that that's just one facet of the diamond. Look at another facet, and you'll see that the Navy realizes that it has earned more dividends from its deployments of hospital ships to impoverished nations than it has for its support for the big wars. Though the new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's (CJCS) most recent letter to the forces stresses that Iraq & Afghanistan are job 1, the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) must understand that the Navy can best serve our long-term interests by building support for the U.S. through soft power.

But wait: there's more. The CJCS was the CNO until just a few weeks ago, when he got promoted. This new maritime strategy is, largely, his baby. This tells me that the CJCS understands that the Army (w/help from the other services, especially the Marines) is best equipped to fight our land wars, and that the Navy is best equipped to advance the American agenda in the maritimes.

Of course, the maritime services still must be ready for potential conflict with peer competitors (and this takes considerable time and money - think about how long it takes and how much money it costs to design and deploy a new class of submarine), but Congress is more interested in what the services can do for it Right Now. This strategy answers that political question and serves the best interests of the nation, all at the same time. Though I withhold final judgement until I read the actual document and the follow-on documents, this looks like a great initiative on behalf of the sea services.

PS It's also great that the Coast Guard is aligning itself so closely with the Navy on this one. USCG is kind of a bastard child in the Department of Homeland Security, and aligning itself with the Navy should give it more pull in its own internal battles withing its beauracracy. From a non-inside-the-Beltway perspective, it also makes sense to blend the maritime services into a cohesive and understandable continuum of force.

Y'know, the more I think about this strategy, the more I like it! I wonder who wrote the thing?

This is from Joe Nye, a leading soft power theorist:

Here's an example: last spring, I flew supplies around the Pacific in support of USNS Comfort, a hospital ship. I'd land in a place like Mindanao Island, where we've assisted the Philippine Government in driving out Abu Sayyef (for now - they'll be back - long story); and (a) buy fuel at their airport, and (b) preposition medical supplies for the ship. So, I put money in their pockets and vaccines in their bloodstreams. When Abu Sayyef comes back and starts preaching about the evils of the USA, some of those in the audience will think, "Hey, those 'evil Americans' fixed my kid's cleft palate. This guy is full of shit."

Here's another example: when I was aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis, we pulled into a port near Kuala Lumpur for a liberty call. The local english-language paper ran a two-page spread on how we were there to irradiate their people, poison their water, and seduce their women (Well, they got one right!). On the back page of the paper, there was a story about a little girl who survived an attack from a profoundly evil man nicknamed the "Manjung Monster," who did things to her that had been beyond the limits of my imagination, then left her for dead. The little girl required extensive medical attention, and the parents (dad was a local beat cop) couldn't afford the medicines she needed to tide her over before she'd come up for a spot in the rotation at the local hospital. I took up a collection and raised several thousand dollars to cover her expenses. That very same paper ran a huge article about it, with photos of the US military attache in the country handing over the check to the family. The rest of the articles in that edition skewed pro-American, as well, and I guarantee that there's at least one village in the Malay hinterland that thinks we're ok.

That's soft power, and that's the most effective weapon in the American diplomatic arsenal. It also feels great. That's why I think this new initiative is a winner.