Naval Operations Concept - Defense Technical Information Center

combatant ships with fuel, food, parts, and ordnance while at sea, commonly
termed “underway replenishment.” They allow the fleet to remain
underway for extended periods and to fully use the sea as maneuver
space. Support vessels include command ships, fleet ocean tugs, rescue
and salvage ships, hospital ships, ocean survey ships and joint high speed
vessels. Collectively, these ships support continuous forward presence
and the overseas operations of U.S. and allied naval forces. As such, they
are essential to the success of globally distributed operations.
Opportunity and Challenge
The forward presence of naval forces serves to contain and deter regional
adversaries while increasing the engagement opportunities with allies
and partners to promote collective security, enhance global stability and
confront irregular challenges. As the security environment evolves from
unipolar to multi-polar with the emergence of numerous states with
significant economic and military power, the importance of seamless
interoperability with allies and effective coordination with partners
cannot be overstated. The imperative to build and sustain partnerships
that measurably contribute to maritime security, deterrence and combat
effectiveness comes at a time when sensitivity to U.S. bases overseas is
rising and the overall number of U.S. forces stationed on foreign soil
is much lower than during the Cold War. In this context, sea-based
forward presence provides the opportunity to conduct cooperative
activities with allies and an expanding set of international partners,
while minimizing the political, economic, cultural, and social impacts
sometimes associated with forward stationed U.S. forces.
While forward, naval forces conduct planned activities focused on enhancing
regional security and stability, such as security cooperation and
security force assistance; maritime security operations; major training
and readiness exercises; humanitarian and civic assistance; intelligence,
surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR); and information operations.
These operations include allies and partners in bi-lateral and multilateral
initiatives designed to address regional challenges and prepare
for crisis response operations. The combatant commanders’ demand
for forward postured naval forces—particularly carrier strike groups
(CSGs), amphibious ready groups with embarked Marine expeditionary
units (ARG/MEUs), and surface action groups—exceeds the current and
Chapter Forward Presence