More Offense, Please

Here’s a partial list of some recent Navy exercises.  Provided is a brief description of the type of training with the wording being lifted from the various official public relations announcements.  I’ve not bothered providing references, in most cases, because they’re readily available on line.

Citadel Pacific 2019 – anti-terrorism force protection

Northern Edge 2019 – command, control and communication relationships, develop interoperable plans and program between allies

Pacific Vanguard (Guam) – “strengthen practical cooperation at sea”; defensive anti-air, ASW, combined maneuvers, replenishment at sea

Rim of the Pacific – static SinkEx, disaster relief and maritime security operations, sea control, amphibious operations, ASW, air defense, counter-piracy operations, mine clearance, explosive ordnance disposal, and diving and salvage operations

La Perouse - formation sailing, live fires, communications, search and rescue, damage control, and personnel transfers

Sea Dragon 2019 – ASW

Talisman Sabre – crisis response and humanitarian assistance

Cobra Gold 2019 - field training exercise (FTX), humanitarian civic assistance (HCA) to communities, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief

Dawn Blitz – command and control concept test, airfield repair, mine countermeasures, HIMARS test, medical support, amphibious landing

CARAT – symposia, explosive ordnance disposal, live-fire gunnery, search and rescue, humanitarian assistance, disaster response, professional exchanges, sports and social events, community service projects, band concerts

Keen Sword - logistics exchanges, replenishment-at-sea, senior leadership engagements, air-defense, anti-submarine warfare, three day war-at-sea exercise (no details available).

Pacific Bond - anti-submarine warfare, anti-air warfare, helicopter visit, board, search and seizure exercise, and liaison officer exchanges

Bold Alligator Series – focus on medium-threat scenarios and interoperability with other countries (1), ground forces live fire practice, staff planning

Note that ‘amphibious landing’, which is listed as a component in a few exercises, is a misnomer as we will never conduct an assault the way we exercise it.

What is noteworthy about these exercises is the near total absence of any offensive aspect.  They’re mainly humanitarian and interoperability and what actual combat training there is, is defensive in nature.  Where’s the training to conduct inland strikes from a carrier?  Where’s the training to conduct an assault on an enemy port?  Where’s the training to conduct a contested air strike?  Where’s the training to conduct offensive carrier operations with four carriers operating as a group?  Where’s the training to seize a peer-defended island?  Where’s, you know, … training for the stuff we’ll actually do to win a war, not just defensively hold our ground?

These exercises have very little combat value at a time when everything should be run through the filter of, “will this improve our combat capability?”.  Unfortunately, few or none of these exercises can answer, “yes”.

Setting aside the worthless humanitarian and interoperability aspects, this is symptomatic of the Navy’s defensive focus for the last few decades.  The Navy has almost totally abandoned offensive warfare training, focus, acquisition, and tactical thinking. 

Think about it …

• What’s the Navy’s current focus? – ballistic missile defense
• What’s the Navy’s intentions for the F-35?  - sensor node, not offensive strike
• What’s the Navy’s current improvement for the Burke class? – a bigger radar for better defensive BMD and AAW

Even the offense that the Navy is engaged in is an afterthought.

• The Navy’s idea of offense is to put a few anti-ship missiles on logistics ships. 
• The Navy’s new anti-ship cruise missiles (LRASM and NSM) are a reluctant response to the Harpoons exceeding their shelf life and being left with no missile and to the abject failure of the LCS.  Neither was an enthusiastic embrace of offensive warfare.
• The Navy’s new carriers will put to sea (assuming they ever do) with even smaller air wings than the current Nimitz air wings which are the smallest the Nimitzes have ever carried.

Offense wins wars, not defense.  Defense is what you do while you’re preparing the next offensive.

We need to drop our useless exercises and start focusing on offensive warfare.

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(1)Seapower website, “Big Plans For Bold Alligator”, Daniel P. Taylor, Apr 2018,

http://www.seapower-digital.com/seapower/april_2018/MobilePagedArticle.action?articleId=1367759#articleId1367759