Naval Operations Concept - Defense Technical Information Center

Naval Operations Concept 2010
has been significantly reduced since the end of the Cold War, even as
the United States enters a new era characterized by a broad variety of
strategic challenges that threaten its global influence. In addition to peer
competitors with conventional and nuclear forces, the rise of non-state
actors and the expansion of irregular challenges have dramatically
increased the complexity of the security environment.
The ability to overcome diplomatic, geographic, and military impediments
to access has re-emerged as a critical enabler for extending U.S.
influence and projecting power overseas. As noted in the Capstone
Concept for Joint Operations (CCJO):
The most likely occasions requiring the commitment of joint forces will
arise, as they have for the past half-century, in places where few or no
forces are permanently stationed. America’s ability to project power
rapidly and conduct and sustain operations globally thus will remain
critically dependent on air and maritime freedom of movement and on
sufficient strategic and operational lift. 8
Central Idea
The Naval Service uses the sea as maneuver space. Mobility and maneuverability
constitute the Naval Service’s primary operational attributes,
stemming directly from the ability of naval forces to move long distances
quickly and efficiently, and to maneuver within the maritime environment
to achieve advantage in relation to an adversary.
Fully using the sea as maneuver space requires the:
n Ability to collect and share information to enhance global awareness
of activities in the maritime domain.
n Ability to employ, support and sustain task-organized forces over
extended ranges and durations to conduct diverse and often concurrent
missions: engagement; relief and reconstruction; security; and
combat operations.
n Capability and capacity to confront irregular challenges, especially
in the littorals.