SWO Commanding Officers Need Mentors

By Captain John P. Cordle, U.S. Navy (Retired)
March 2018
The recent Comprehensive Review (CR) noted that some commanding officers (COs), especially at the 0-5 level and below, could benefit from a formal mentoring program. Specifically, under the incredibly important ...

The Commanders Respond

March 2018
This year, Proceedings asked the commanders of the world’s navies, “Maintaining freedom of the seas and access to the global maritime commons requires naval partnerships, cooperation, and interoperability. What do ...

Fleet Problems Offer Opportunities

By Admiral Scott H. Swift, U.S. Navy
March 2018
Looking for a way to raise the training bar and allow commanders to develop their warfighting creativity, Pacific Fleet has revived the interwar Fleet Problems.

Immigrant Service Members Get the Job Done

Captain John P. Cordle, U.S. Navy (Retired)
March 2018
Many non-citizens have served and continue to serve in the military, performing vital jobs and earning an accelerated path to citizenship. Why has the government begun to curtail a program ...
Kitty Hawk

It Is All About the Sailors

By Captain John P. Cordle, U.S. Navy (Retired)
March 2018
I commanded two warships in my Navy career: an Aegis destroyer and an Aegis cruiser. I still recall the rough numbers of enlisted personnel assigned to these two ships. The ...
Iran's gray zone

Iran Owns the Gray Zone

By Commander T. J. Gilmore, U.S. Navy
March 2018
Iran has mastered the art of “short-of-war,” with important implications for the U.S. Navy.

2018 World Navies in Review

By Eric Wertheim
March 2018
The 55,000-ton Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning was operational with the People's Liberation Army Navy in 2017. More and larger aircraft carriers are in development. (Xinhua News/Zeng Tao)The proliferation of ...

Comment and Discussion

March 2018
Chief Petty Officers Can Fix the Surface NavyUsually the phrase “loss of confidence” is used as rationale for commanders to quietly remove a subordinate from a position of authority. So ...

Charting a Course: Mattis, Get Hot!

By Captain Kevin S. Eyer, U.S. Navy (Retired)
March 2018
Operating with about half the ships it had in 1989, the U.S. Navy cannot effectively serve as both international diplomat and warfighting weapon. The SecDef has to determine what is ...

China Wages a Drug War

By Captain Jim Fanell, U.S. Navy (Retired) and William C. Triplett, II
March 2018
While Beijing and apologists for the Communist Party of China (CCP) seek to place the responsibility for these deaths on the demand from an immoral and decadent American population, the ...

Prioritize the A-Plus Projects

By Commander Tom Clarity, U.S. Navy
March 2018
In the late 1990s, a guest speaker to my NROTC battalion offered a piece of advice I often have thought of during my naval career: never do A-plus work for ...

We Are on the Road to Aviation Retention

By Vice Admiral Robert P. Burke, U.S. Navy
March 2018
As the Chief of Naval Personnel, I wanted to respond personally to the recent Proceedings Today article—“The Road to Retention Is Paved with Good Intentions”—by Lieutenant Commander Tony Kochanski.

The Indelible Legacy of Miss Mac

By Captain Bill Bray, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
March 2018
Lieutenant Commander Mildred McAfee was the first woman commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy, entering the U.S. Naval Reserve on 3 August 1942. The ceremony took place in Secretary of ...

ARGs Need Dedicated CODs

Captain F. Byron “Oggie” Ogden, U.S. Navy
March 2018
The Navy should not depend on Marine V-22s for logistics support of amphibious ready groups (ARGs). The decision to purchase CMV-22Bs as the new carrier onboard delivery aircraft creates an ...

Revisit Incidents at Sea

Dr. Richard Moss, PhD.
March 2018
Washington may be missing Moscow’s signals about updating the Agreement on the Prevention of Incidents on and over the High Seas (INCSEA), a landmark agreement signed at the Moscow Summit ...

The Chinese Navy Saves the Day!

By Christopher P. Cavas
March 2018
“Don’t worry,” one of the soldiers says. “We’re the Chinese Navy, and we’re here to take you home.” That is the message and the running theme of Operation Red Sea ...

Piracy in the Nigerian Maritime Domain

By Commodore Ty Pani, Nigerian Navy
March 2018
A Nigerian Navy boarding team climbs on board a ship during a hijacking scenario. The Nigerian Navy combats piracy primarily through deterrence and prevention. For several decades, the West African ...

To Carry the Weight of Nagasaki

By Ensign Heidi Zisselman, U.S. Navy
March 2018
Sitting on a shaded, wooden bench in Nagasaki’s Peace Park, I gazed at a line of schoolchildren parading past in matching blue pants and pressed white collared shirts. They shouted ...

Thirty Days At Sea

By Admiral Christophe Prazuck, French Navy
March 2018
From counterdrug and minesweeping operations to launching Rafale fighters from the carrier Charles de Gaulle in support of the fight against ISIL, the French Navy responds to the defense needs ...
The Dutch minehunter HNLMS Willemstad (M-864) transits in formation during maneuvering exercises with Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 and Estonian Navy ships, all participating in international exercises with allied nations in the region.

Solve the Baltic's Geography Problem

By Lieutenant Commander Ott Laanemets, Estonian Navy
March 2018
With Putin’s Russia on the near horizon, Baltic countries must organize in anticipation of a threat. But the area’s complex geography creates a challenge beyond the Great Bear.

Communicate Who You Are

By Commander Thomas Bodine, U.S. Navy
March 2018
Effective communication is an important aspect of leadership. Lieutenant Commander Jason Shell leads a discussion on leadership, accountability, risk mitigation, and process. In grade school we use to play the ...

Leopard Attacks the Chesapeake

By Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired)
March 2018
On the morning of 22 June 1807, the U.S. frigate Chesapeake slipped past Cape Henry at the mouth of the bay for which she was named and headed for the ...

CEO Notes: WEST 2018 Was a Hit!

Peter H. Daly, VADM, USN (Ret.)
March 2018
The WEST 2018 Conference and Exposition, 6-8 February, was a huge success.Almost 8,000 people attended to hear the numerous speakers and panels and visit the booths of 367 defense industry ...

Now Hear This: Learn Through Sharing

By Fleet Master Chief Raymond D. Kemp, U.S. Navy
March 2018
The annual Eurasia Partnership Senior Noncommissioned Officer (EP SNCO) Leader Development Symposium offers NATO member and partner-nation SNCOs an opportunity to assemble and discuss perspectives, techniques, and programs used to ...

Professional Note: Build a Warfighting Edge

By Lieutenant Commander Jon "Shank" Lushenko, U.S. Navy
March 2018
The HSM and HSC helicopters should be part of the EMW plan. Here, a MH-60S Seahawk helicopter assigned to HSC-4 approaches the USS Wayne E. Meyer. Operational maritime effectiveness demands ...

Book Reviews

By Captain Bill Bray, U.S. Navy (Retired)
March 2018
Illusions of Victory: The Anbar Awakening and the Rise of the Islamic StateWithin a year of U.S. troop surge into Iraq, al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) in Anbar Province had ...

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