Naval Operations Concept - Defense Technical Information Center

Naval Operations Concept 2010 6
maritime security is built, A Cooperative Strategy for 21 st Century Seapower
(CS-21) notes that unilateral action by a single nation cannot ensure the
security of the global maritime commons: collective maritime security
operations are required to unite actions of like-minded nation-states to
promote mutual safety and security at sea.
Opportunity and Challenge
The size and complexity of the maritime commons create unique security
challenges for the international community as terrorists and criminals
leverage the easily accessible, largely unregulated expanse of the maritime
domain to mask and facilitate their illicit activities. Threats to safety
and security include piracy, narcotics smuggling, human trafficking,
weapons proliferation, environmental destruction, and the pilfering of
natural resources. Identifying, tracking, and neutralizing these threats is
essential to U.S. national security and the global economy.
The sea is vast, the littorals extensive, and the threats to U.S. interests
are varied, determined, and persistent. These conditions cannot be
sufficiently shaped by the Naval Service alone, and demand that America
partner with nations that share its interest in global maritime security
and the prosperity it underpins.
Central Idea
Global maritime security can only be achieved through the integration
of national and regional maritime cooperation, awareness and response
initiatives. To this end, unprecedented coordination among governments,
the private sector, and multinational organizations including naval
and maritime security forces, law enforcement agencies, customs and
immigration officials, masters of vessels and other merchant mariners,
shipping companies, and port operators is required. The Naval Service
plays a critical role in facilitating this coordination, and is uniquely
manned, trained and equipped to help allies and partners develop the
maritime professionals, infrastructure, awareness and response capabilities
that are a prerequisite for maritime security. The Nation’s globally
distributed, mission-tailored naval forces not only conduct the full range of
related operations—from unilateral assistance at sea, law enforcement
and maritime interception operations to multinational counter-piracy