Content area
Full Text
Forward ... From the Sea
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jay L. Johnson announced, at the 26 March CNO Luncheon during the 1997 Navy League Sea-Air-Space Exposition, that the Navy had just completed and would soon release its new "Forward ... From the Sea" strategy paper, "The Navy Operational Concept." Johnson's foreword to the strategy paper, which will guide Navy policy, training, and operations for the foreseeable future, is reprinted here in its entirety.
The Navy and Marine Corps published " ... From the Sea" in 1992 as our combined vision for the 21 st century. Since then, we have been constantly checking our bearings to ensure we stay on course. We refined our direction in 1994 with "Forward ... From the Sea." These two documents continue to drive the on-going process of innovation that is rapidly transforming the Navy into a 21 st-century force.
I have expressed my vision for the Navy in four guiding stars: operational primacy, leadership, teamwork, and pride. This paper promulgates guidance on operational primacy-the ability to carry out swiftly and effectively any naval, joint, or coalition mission and to prevail decisively over any foe that may oppose us. It directs how we operate Forward... From the Sea across the three components of the National Military Strategy: peacetime engagement, deterrence and conflict prevention, and fight and win.
This paper sets our direction for operational primacy in the next century. Emerging technology and innovative operational concepts are creating new opportunities for employing naval forces in support of national strategy. We will have an integral role in future joint operations, including those described in Joint Vision 2010. In the 21 st century, as today, the most important contributions we make to national security will exploit fully the advantages we gain from operating on, under, above, and from the sea.
Introduction
The Navy's unique contributions to national security stem from the advantages of operating on, under, above, and from the sea. This is the message of Forward... From the Sea. The primary purpose of forward-deployed naval forces is to project American power from the sea to influence events ashore in the littoral regions of the world across the operational spectrum of peace, crisis, and war. That is what we do. This...