U.S. Navy (Anthony Harding)
Navy SEALs demonstrate the Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction rig during a capabilities exercise at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek–Fort Story, Virginia, in 2012. Because of the scenarios for which they train, the SEALs are arguably the most adept force at innovating and adapting, what the author says "is certainly part of U.S. naval history."
U.S. Navy (Anthony Harding)

Adapt, Innovate, and Adapt Some More

Three case studies from U.S. naval history emphasize the importance of applying lessons learned in making changes to the way we fight.The latest conceptual buzzword in U.S. military circles is “adaptation.” Drawing on a decade of conflict against asymmetric adversaries, many recognize that the need to learn and adapt does not stop when a war begins. Reinforced by hard-earned lessons from combat over the past decade, innovation must continue on the battlefield. As authors in this journal have emphasized, “adapt or die” is equally true for both evolving species and militaries facing challenging opponents.1 Those same authors stated: “It is not yet possible to specify exactly what will be involved in institutionalizing rapid adaptability.”
By Lieutenant Colonel Francis G. Hoffman, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired)
March 2014
Proceedings
Article
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Here, we take a step toward specifying what is involved, and use three U.S. Navy case studies to underscore the importance of adaptability in a naval context.

War is an audit of how military institutions and states prepare for war and how their intelligence and force-planning processes succeed in capturing emerging technologies and innovative new methods. It also audits how responsive commanders are to recognize shortfalls or resolve gaps from interaction against a thinking opponent.

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