A Fleet Must Be Able to Fight

By Admiral Scott H. Swift, U.S. Navy
May 2018
Joint doctrine notes that “the U.S. Navy’s traditional and doctrinal warfighting configuration is the fleet.”1 Today, the fleet is not only our basic warfighting configuration; it is our basic warfighting ...

Charting a Course: Speak Your Mind

By Captain Kevin S. Eyer, U.S. Navy (Retired)
May 2018
In 2008, the U.S. Naval Institute published the Proceedings article “Read, Think, Write, and Publish,” by Admiral James Stavridis. While Admiral Stavridis acknowledges that there is some “perceived career risk” ...
Image of a future war with future armored personnel carriers

Automated Valor

By August Cole; Illustrated by Alex Jay Brady
May 2018
The year is 2039. The British Commonwealth Legion is engaged in battle in Djibouti. AI, machine learning, advanced bots, lasers, and even a few humans are part of the action.

People Over Payloads

By Lieutenant Brendan Cordial, U.S. Navy
May 2018
In the aftermath of the incidents in the western Pacific, the Navy has made an effort to catalog and diagnose the underlying causes. Both the “Comprehensive Review of Surface Fleet ...

Comment and Discussion

May 2018
THE COMMANDERS RESPONDEditor’s Note: The following response from the Chilean Chief of Naval Operations was not received in time for inclusion in the March issue.As we have said on a ...

More Comment & Discussion from May

May 2018
Comment & Discussion now continues online, with additional discussion on topics appropriate to the Naval Institute's open forum and letters commenting on articles that have appeared in Proceedings and on ...

But Will They Fight China?

By Major Nicholas R. Nappi, U.S. Marine Corps
May 2018
In a hypothetical war between the United States and China, a “Catch-22” exists in the Pacific. If the United States is dominant, its Pacific allies will be incentivized to honor ...

2017 Tested The Naval Profession

BY Captain Andrew C. A. Jampoler, U.S. Navy (Retired)
May 2018
Operational and moral lapses dogged the service as global threats grew.For the U.S. Navy, 2017 was a horrible year, a year that saw two different but profound failures that shook ...

Build a Great White Fleet For the 21st Century

By Captain David Ramassini, U.S. Coast Guard
May 2018
In 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt deployed the Great White Fleet on a 14-month circumnavigation of the globe. The voyage signaled to the world a new era of 20th-century U.S. sea ...
The Navy needs honest self-reckoning to address real professional problems and must embrace deep innovation.

There's Rot In Our Hulls

By Lieutenant (j.g.) Daniel Stefanus, U.S. Navy
May 2018
The Navy needs honest self-reckoning to address real professional problems and must embrace deep innovation.

U.S. Coast Guard In Review

By Joe DiRenzo and David Boyd
May 2018
To outside observers, 2017 looked like “The Year of the Hurricane” for the U.S. Coast Guard. With three megastorms—Harvey, Irma, and Marie—devastating areas of the continental United States, Puerto Rico ...

Write for the Profession and for Yourself

By Rear Admiral Thomas Q. Donaldson, U.S. Navy (Retired)
May 2018
Those who counsel the development of writing skills with the goal of publishing articles for the good of the naval profession certainly are correct. Another reason, perhaps more personal and ...

U.S. Marine Corps in Review

By Lieutenant Colonel James W. Hammond III, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired)
May 2018
As the U.S. Marine Corps entered 2017, Commandant Neller issued a message to all Marines. In it he laid out a set of “resolutions for all of us to follow ...

The Navy Needs the NSMV

By Lieutenant (j.g.) Brian J. Adornato, U.S. Navy Reserve
May 2018
The Maritime Administration received funding to acquire a new training vessel for the nation’s maritime academies. Dubbed the national security multi-mission vessel (NSMV), the ship primarily was designed as a ...

Want Toughness? Look to Farragut

By Captain William R. Daly, U.S. Navy
May 2018
Toughness—pinpointed as a core attribute by Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson in “A Design for Maintaining Maritime Superiority”—is central to the U.S. Navy’s professional identity. The Navy’s “Full ...

The U.S Navy in Review

By Robert D. Holzer and Scott C. Truver
May 2018
We must do betterOn 1 November 2017, the Navy released the report detailing the tragic events and actions that led to the collisions of the guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) ...

China Has A New Arctic Policy

By Lieutenant Commander Rachael Gosnell, U.S. Navy
May 2018
As the ice in the High North diminishes, Arctic and non-Arctic states are seeking to explore the vast potential of the region. Congruent with its aspirations of great power status ...

Get Off My Back, Sir! v. 2.0

By Commander A. J. Kruppa, U.S. Navy
May 2018
Like today, in 1977 senior-level direction and guidance were expected and standard, yet the commander claimed it was not the mere existence of multiple policies and directives from the operational ...

Beware of Foreign Emoluments

By Commander Wayne L. Johnson, U.S. Navy (Retired)
May 2018
As a result of the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, the Emoluments Clause (U.S. Constitution: Article I, Section 9, clause 8) has been in the headlines often. What many military personnel ...

CEO Notes: People Define Service

Vice Admiral Peter H Daly, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
May 2018
As the Annual Meeting approaches, it is time to recognize people who have given their time and service to the Naval Institute.We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the ...

Autonomous Flight System Changes the Game

By Colonel William Siuru, U.S. Air Force (Retired)
May 2018
Recently the autonomous aerial cargo utility system (AACUS) completed successful demonstrations at Marine Corps Base Quantico. The AACUS was inspired by Marine Corps’ experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq, where helicopters ...

Print a New Navy Supply System

By Lieutenant Andrew Kramer, U.S. Navy
May 2018
Additive manufacturing—3D printing—won't eliminate the Navy's logistical tail, but it will shorten it. Closed production lines and transportation backlogs should not keep spare parts out the hands of the fleet ...

What’s Next for Third Fleet Forward?

By Lieutenant Benjamin B. Foster, U.S. Navy
May 2018
The question is, what is next for Third Fleet Forward? The Navy’s helicopters and conventional surface combatants make up its most flexible units, capable of providing the greatest range of ...

Manage TacSit to Prevail

By Captain R. Robinson Harris, U.S. Navy (Retired) and Andrew Kerr
May 2018
Echoing retired Navy Captain Wayne Hughes’ timeless maxim to “attack effectively first,” TacSit management refers to the tactical measures taken to gain targeting-level information on an enemy while denying the ...

Strikes On Syria Are A Game Changer

Captain David Allan Adams, U.S. Navy (Retired)
May 2018
U.S. and allied missile strikes on Syria’s chemical weapons infrastructure were a model for operational and strategic planners to emulate. Assessment of the strategic effectiveness of any military operation must ...

Improve Seamanship and Navigation Inside the Lifelines

By Captain Donald J. Donegan, U.S. Navy (Retired)
May 2018
The USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) and John S. McCain (DDG-56) collisions and other seamanship-and-navigation mishaps in the past several years triggered an examination of surface warfare readiness. Major changes loom on ...

Blockchain Can Protect the Supply Chain

By Lieutenant (j.g.) Henry Bond, U.S. Navy
May 2018
When crucial components such as submarine hull steel or radar circuit boards are on the line, knowing the provenance of each item is essential. By creating a nearly tamper-proof ledger ...

Deckplates: The Educated Sailor Is an Investment

By Petty Officer Second Class Valerie Orozco
May 2018
Many individuals join the Navy for the higher education incentives, with the intention of earning their degrees while serving their country. Once they put on the uniform and become active-duty ...
Phil Bucklew U.S.N.R

Bucklew Scouted the Beaches

By A. Denis Clift
May 2018
Before he entered the Navy in early 1942, Navy Reserve Captain Phil H. Bucklew’s first love was football—playing fullback, punter, and tight end at Xavier University, with the 1937–38 Cleveland ...

Combat Fleets of the World

By Eric Wertheim
May 2018
The USS Ralph Johnson (DDG-114), the Navy’s newest guided-missile destroyer, was commissioned in March at Charleston, South Carolina. The 9,000-ton warship is the 65th Arleigh Burke–class destroyer and the 36th ...

U.S. Naval Aviation and Weapons Review

By Commander Guy M. Snodgrass, U.S. Navy
May 2018
An F-35C Lightning II assigned to the Grim Reapers of VFA-101 launches from the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). U.S. Marine Corps photo. Naval aviation benefits greatly ...

Deal With the Next Threat

By Lieutenant Ryan "PC" Agte, U.S. Navy
May 2018
There are several doomsday scenarios that one could imagine with black skies filled with enemy drones, but here are a few that could have large impacts with at a low-cost ...

The U.S. Naval Institute is a private, self-supporting, not-for-profit professional society that publishes Proceedings as part of the open forum it maintains for the Sea Services. The Naval Institute is not an agency of the U.S. government; the opinions expressed in these pages are the personal views of the authors.