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168 australian maritime issues 2009: spc-a annual
sea as a manoeuvre space to be exploited rather than it being thought of as an obstacle. 2 In
2003, to blend the national military policy of forward presence and the US Marine Corps
doctrine of OMFTS, the US Navy developed the concept known as Sea Power 21. This vision
combines Sea Strike (precise, persistent offensive power), Sea Shield (global defence), and
Sea Basing (supporting joint operational independence) as a means to explain how the US
Navy will organise, integrate and transform to meet future requirements. 3 This answers the
question of how sea basing evolved, but what does it mean? The US Navy and US Marine
Corps concept of sea basing is vast in nature. A sea base consists of amphibious ships,
an embarked combat force, and maritime prepositioning ships (MPSs). Proponents of the
sea base concept believe that fixed land bases are usually in the wrong place, they are
difficult to establish or move, and that they are vulnerable to attack. 4 Due to its inherent
manoeuvrability and scalability, sea basing could alleviate these land base deficiencies.
The typical US amphibious force normally includes three major ships. 5 When amphibious
ships are married with a land force of 2200 Marines, along with their rotary and fixed
wing elements, it is called an Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG). An ESG is capable of
self-sustained mid intensity operations far from home for a period of 15 days. 6 In order to
extend the sustainability period, and to expand the ESG force strength to a full battalion
size, a fleet of MPSs are employed. Sixteen pre-loaded MPSs are prepositioned around the
globe in three squadrons of five or six ships each. 7 These MPSs are capable of supplying
and sustaining a full Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB) of 15,000 Marines for 30 days.
However, there is currently a need to secure a port or major beachhead to allow the MPSs
to unload their equipment. The additional Marines that make up the MEB then join their
equipment and carry-on with their operation. Removing this need for the MPSs to land
their cargo, and allowing the follow-on forces to join their equipment at sea for immediate
operations ashore, forms the core of the sea basing concept for the US.
Obviously, the US sea basing concept is on a scale that Australia should not even
consider. However, the requirement and underlying concepts that are driving this
capability are directly applicable to Australia.
Current Australian Policy and Doctrine
Government policy and the littoral environment
Australia’s 2009 Defence White Paper identifies four principal tasks for the Australian
Defence Force (ADF) as follows:
• to deter and defeat attacks on Australia
• to contribute to stability and security in the South Pacific and East Timor
• to contribute to military contingencies in the Asia-Pacific region
• to contribute to military contingencies in support of global security. 8