Monday, September 26, 2011

CNO’s Sailing Directions

This is a full quote of the D&G from the CNO that came out recently. I'm sorry, but I have absolutely nothing to quibble with here. Admiral Greenert, this is a solid piece of work, and is all the Fleet needs.

Read and ponder.
MISSION
Our core responsibilities:
Deter aggression and, if deterrence fails, win our Nation’s wars. Employ the global reach and persistent presence of forward-stationed and rotational forces to secure the Nation from direct attack, assure Joint operational access and retain global freedom of action. With global partners, protect the maritime freedom that is the basis for global prosperity. Foster and sustain cooperative relationships with an expanding set of allies and international partners to enhance global security.

VISION
Navy’s contribution and characteristics over the next 10-15 years

The U.S. Navy will remain critical to our national security and our economic prosperity.
  • The Navy will continue to be at the front line of our nation’s efforts in war and peace with a proud heritage of success in battle on, above, and below the sea.
  • The Navy will continue protecting the interconnected systems of trade, information, and security that underpin American prosperity.
Operating forward across the globe, the Navy will provide the nation offshore options to win today and advance our interests in an era of uncertainty.
  • We will deliver credible capability for deterrence, sea control, and power projection to deter or contain conflict and fight and win wars.
  • As ground forces draw down in the Middle East, the Navy will continue to deter aggression and reassure our partners – we will have the watch.
Ready Sailors and Civilians will remain the source of the Navy’s warfighting capability.
  • Our people will be diverse in experience, background and ideas; personally and professionally ready; and proficient in the operation of their weapons and systems.
  • Our Sailors and Civilians will continue a two-century tradition of warfighting excellence, adaptation, and resilience.
  • Our character and our actions will remain guided by our commitment to the nation and to each other as part of one Navy team.
We will address economic change by being effective and efficient. We will innovate to:
  • Use new technologies and operating concepts to sharpen our warfighting advantage against evolving threats.
  • Operate forward at strategic maritime crossroads.
  • Sustain our fleet capability through effective maintenance, timely modernization, and sustained production of proven ships and aircraft.
  • Provide our Sailors confidence in their equipment and in their own skills.
Over the next 10 to 15 years, the Navy will evolve and remain the preeminent maritime force.
  • The reach and effectiveness of ships and aircraft will be greatly expanded through new and updated weapons, unmanned systems, sensors, and increased power.
  • The Air-Sea Battle concept will be implemented to sustain U.S. freedom of action and Joint Assured Access.
  • Unmanned systems in the air and water will employ greater autonomy and be fully integrated with their manned counterparts.
  • The Navy will continue to dominate the undersea domain using a network of sensors and platforms - with expanded reach and persistence from unmanned autonomous systems.
  • Cyberspace will be operationalized with capabilities that span the electromagnetic spectrum – providing superior awareness and control when and where we need it.
Our forces will operate forward in new and flexible ways with access to strategic maritime crossroads.
  • Our posture will be focused and improved using a combination of rotational deployments, forward bases, temporary and austere facilities and partner nation ports.
  • Our forward presence will build on and strengthen our partnerships and alliances where sea lanes, resources, and vital U.S. interests intersect.
TENETS
The key considerations we should apply to every decision
  • Warfighting First: Be ready to fight and win today, while building the ability to win tomorrow
  • Operate Forward: Provide offshore options to deter, influence and win in an era of uncertainty
  • Be Ready: Harness the teamwork, talent and imagination of our diverse force to be ready to fight and responsibly employ our resources
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
The starting point for developing and executing our plans
  • Our primary mission is warfighting. All our efforts to improve capabilities, develop people, and structure our organizations should be grounded in this fundamental responsibility.
  • People are the Navy’s foundation. We have a professional and moral obligation to uphold a covenant with Sailors, Civilians and their families – to ably lead, equip, train and motivate.
  • Our approach should be Joint and combined when possible.
  • However, we own the sea, and must also be able to operate independently when necessary.
  • Our primary Joint partner is the U.S. Marine Corps. We must continue to evolve how we will operate and fight as expeditionary warfare partners.
  • At sea and ashore, we must be ready to part with Navy roles, programs and traditions if they are not integral to our future vision or a core element of our mission.
  • We must ensure today’s force is ready for its assigned missions.
  • Maintaining ships and aircraft to their expected service lives is an essential contribution to fleet capacity.
  • Our Navy Ethos defines us and describes the standard for character and behavior.
  • We must clearly and directly communicate our intent and expectations both within and outside the Navy.
  • I believe in the “Charge of Command.” We will train and empower our leaders with authorities commensurate with their responsibilities.

You can get the "suitable from framing PDF via download here.

Hat tip Chap.

20 comments:

UltimaRatioRegis said...

Good work on Admiral Greenert's part. 

"Our primary mission is warfighting. All our efforts to improve capabilities, develop people, and structure our organizations should be grounded in this fundamental responsibility."

MEAN IT.  MEAN IT.  MEAN IT.

Stu said...

I won't disagree with the overall sentiment of Sal's take but it's too long.  They are always too long.  KISS applies in things like this.  

DeltaBravo said...

You his ghostwriter, Phib?   LOL

Naval_Historian said...

Wonder if the CNO reads this blog?

Andrew said...

"At sea and ashore, we must be ready to part with Navy roles, programs and traditions if they are not integral to our future vision or a core element of our mission."

Nothing good will come of this.

ewok40k said...

quote:
Warfighting First: Be ready to fight and win today, while building the ability to win tomorrow

Halsey put it more directly, but the enemies were more straightforward back then...
"Kill J....! x3"

LT B said...

Yeah, I saw that and was a bit concerned.  I started thinking of the E5's ad sep'd for tacking on crows.  My other concern was the Navy Ethos line.  I wasn't and still am not all that excited about that particular fluffy piece of verbiage.  I kind of dig the Core Values thingy we like to push down the intestine to the troops but not actively practice in DC. 

steeljawscribe said...

A good start -- let's see where it goes in the coming year and what gets trumped in the budgetary bottomline.
w/r, SJS

Adversus Omnes Dissident said...

I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt...for now.  Diversity, big "D", is part of that.

e ringer said...

wait... when did the word, civilian, become a proper noun?

Boat School Grad said...

When I read words like these from the new CNO I think of a great quote from that 1967 classic "The Dirty Dozen".
Donald Sutherland is impersonating a General inspecting troops:
"Very pretty, General. Very pretty. But, can they fight?"

It is easy to bang out P'4's and AllNavs full of "pretty" words, but will those words have any meaning to them?  The CNO needs to take ACTION right out of the gate that blows the fleet away and reverses much of the damage done by the last CNO.  Without CNO action that makes sailors say "Holy crap, you hear what the CNO just DID?", morale will plummet further and apathy will just keep rising.

Boat School Grad said...

<span>Cancelling the LCS program outright would be a good start.  Look to the A-12 program for moral support.</span>
<span> </span>
<span>"There's a new sheriff in town boys and I aint afeard of your lawyers”</span>

Adversus Omnes Dissident said...

when did the word "Sailor" become a proper noun.  Only one military servicemember, by title, is actually graced with a capital letter:  Marines.  soldiers, sailors, airmen and their civilian counterparts do not officially rate the capital letter.  However, for political  corectness and service parity, they are granted the honor.

Grumpy Old Ham said...

Like x100.  This excessive capitalization currently in vogue throughout the DoD is one of my pet peeves -- not just from a stylistic perspective -- but mainly because it's rooted in the "everyone's a winner and deserves a medal" mentality combined with "let's show everyone how well we take care of our people".  Actions speak a helluva lot louder than words, especially to the latter point.

I think I first noticed "Soldiers" in some Army publications back in 2006 or so.  Of course the Air Force just couldn't be outdone, and started capitalizing "Airmen" around the time I retired in 2007, but I don't recall when the Navy started with "Sailors".

Let the Marines have the honor.  Everyone else, if you want(ed) to be a Marine, you know where the recruiting offices are (were).

Aubrey said...

When I was in college (the first time) I repeatedly told my advisor, then the administration, that college and academics were my primary mission. I used very pretty and convincing words, and bought myself much latitude and time. I then proceeded to drink myself into a stupor, and dropped out to pursue my hockey "career".

ADM has a lot of work to do to prove to me that heis not doing the same thing I did when I was 20 years old...

Aubrey said...

Erg, make that ADM Greenert above

MR T's Haircut said...

?  Are we still a Global Force for Good?

UltimaRatioRegis said...

Maybe the Navy will once again become A Global Force for a Good Ass-whipping.

Steel City said...

I'd give this a grade of 12 on a scale of 1-10.  "Our people will be diverse in experience, background and ideas."  Not in sex, color of skin, country of origin, or religion, which was the case for the past 3 years.  Way too many other great statements to list here but that one immediately caught my eye.

MR T's Haircut said...

Now if we just had a Maritme Strategy....