This is the first time we’ve published an issue focused on expeditionary warfare. The idea came to us from Marine Major General David Coffman, Director of Expeditionary Warfare on the Navy staff (OPNAV N95). General Coffman is also the Marine Corps’ advisor to the Naval Institute’s board of directors. Last fall he sat down with the Proceedings staff and asked if we could put together an issue on this topic. Our initial answer to him was, “Yes, we already do. It’s the annual Marine Corps issue in November.” He made a compelling case that expeditionary is more than just Marines and amphibious ships.
The core of our expeditionary focus includes five feature articles. Leading off, longtime Proceedings author Lieutenant Colonel Frank Hoffman, USMCR (Ret.) and Colonel George P. Garrett USMC (Ret.) write that “Amphibious Assault Will Remain a ‘Corps’ Competency.” They harken back to “Brute” Krulak’s “chowder society” of the 1950s, when the Corps had to defend its existence, and they make the case that the nation still requires the forcible entry capabilities that amphibious assault forces bring. Veteran tactician Wayne Hughes—author of Fleet Tactics and Naval Operations, 3rd edition—writes that, against a sophisticated antiaccess/area-denial strategy, the naval air force must be distributed across a broader number and variety of platforms than just aircraft carriers. Lieutenant Colonel Gary Lehmann, USMC (Ret.), provides a poignant view of how the Marine Corps plans to fight in contested environments with his “Fight Inside an Adversary’s Weapons Engagement Zone”. Finally, Marine Lieutenant Colonel George Hasseltine’s 2nd prize winner in last year’s Cyber Warfare Essay Contest demonstrates how cyber should enable physical maneuver forces in “Commanders Need Cyber Weapons for Maneuver Warfare”.
I wish we had a Naval Special Warfare article to go with this package. At WEST in February, I spoke with the Commander, Naval Special Warfare Command, Rear Admiral Collin Green, about getting Navy SEALs to write for Proceedings. I’m hopeful that we planted a seed so that future issues will include insights about how SEALs will pitch in to the high-end fight with the Navy’s gray hulls and Marines. If you are a SEAL reading this, I hope you’ll take the challenge.
On 25 April, we will celebrate the winners of this year’s General Prize Essay Contest at the Naval Institute’s Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. We received more than 100 essays this year. Mr. Hunter Stires, a fellow at the U.S. Naval War College, won first prize. Lieutenant Commander Graham Scarbro, a Navy F/A-18 weapon systems officer, took second prize, and retired Navy Captain George Galdorisi took third. Their winning essays will appear in the May issue. Captain Galdorisi is a long-time Proceedings author whose article “Unleash Directed-Energy Weapons” appears in this issue. We also will honor the 2018 Proceedings Author of the Year, retired Navy Captain John Cordle. John was prolific in 2018, with five magazine features and a number of blog and online-only articles. John’s work on leadership, the importance of sleep, circadian rhythms, and follow-up from the Comprehensive Review was impressive. John is a wonderful author to work with, and he has mentored and developed several new Proceedings authors.
We heard from several members that they were disappointed this year’s March International Navies issue did not contain the World Navies in Review section by Eric Wertheim. Eric told us late last year that he would not be able to write it this year, but we were unable to find another author to pinch-hit. Our plan is to bring the review “back by popular demand” in 2020.
Bill Hamblet
Captain, U.S. Navy (Retired)
Life Member since 1993
