An organization is only as good as its leadership.
Here’s what SecNav Del Toro says are the four biggest challenges facing the Navy:
I have characterized the most pressing challenges facing the Department of the Navy as the “Four Cs”: China, Culture, Climate Change, and COVID. (1)
Three of the four have nothing to do with the Navy’s reason for existing. To even mention them in the same sentence as China amply demonstrates the incompetence of Navy leadership at the very top.
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(1)USNI News website, “SECNAV Del Toro’s Strategic Guidance to Navy, Marines Corps”, 11-Oct-2021,
https://news.usni.org/2021/10/11/secnav-del-toros-strategic-guidance-to-navy-marines-corps
Insanity. They're becoming like some sort of third world force whose main purpose is to spout political ideology not to fight and win wars.
ReplyDeleteCulture, change the Navy from the Admirals of Acquisition,
ReplyDeleteback into a Mahanian Navy.
Change the command Climate from CYA to Duty.
COVID?, you got me there.
Ah … climate change refers to the weather and global warming. Culture refers to the gender issues, diversity, sexual assault, 'woke-ism', etc.
DeleteConsidering the multiple corruption scandals lately, including the sailor and wife team that just tried to sell nuclear propulsion secrets, maybe we can throw SecDef a bone and think that's the culture he's talking about???
Delete"maybe we can throw SecDef a bone and think that's the culture he's talking about???"
DeleteSorry, no. In the article linked in the post, he describes exactly what he means by 'culture' and it isn't anything good. Here's his quote:
"Cultural challenges that we must tackle include confronting sexual assault and harassment, promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, preventing suicide, and demanding integrity and accountability across our naval leadership."
Admittedly I hadnt read it yet. I apologize for my optimism LOL...
DeleteThe really sad thing is that you get the impression that they truly believe that.
ReplyDeleteSomebody needs to explain Norman Schwartzkopf's comment to them, "Militaries do two things well--killing people and breaking things."
ReplyDeleteTheir mission is to win wars by killing bad people and breaking their things. Anything else is secondary, if that.
Bad people, what? it's killing people not bad people.
DeleteI know American's can be odd but just because the US is fighting someone doesn't mean they are bad especially when the US is the one going to there country.
A criminal is a bad person. A Vietnamese or Iraqi fighting the invaders isn't. You still kill them but they aren't bad.
But that's kind of my point. There were some truly bad people in Vietnam and Iraq and Afghanistan. If it's about killing people and body counts, and capturing and occupying territory, then the focus is wrong. If it's focused on getting rid of the bad people, particularly the bad people at the top, then it has a chance to be right.
DeleteIts political, in hopes of getting more funding. Hopefully that's not what's going on underneath.
ReplyDeleteHe does go on to say:
ReplyDelete"Of the four, the long-term challenge posed by the People’s Republic of China is the most significant for the Department. The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has radically expanded both its size and capabilities, growing to become the world’s largest fleet.
Complementing its modern surface combatants are hundreds of coast guard and maritime militia vessels that Beijing employs to compete in the “gray zone,” the contested arena between routine statecraft and conflict. For the first time in at least a generation, we have a strategic competitor who possesses naval capabilities that rival our own, and who seeks to aggressively employ its forces to challenge U.S. principles, partnerships, and prosperity."
It's almost like he feels like he has to mention the other 3 C's, but the focus is really China. Could be worse.
"but the focus is really China. Could be worse."
DeleteExcept that the majority of our daily tasks seem to revolve around the other three items rather than China.
On the bright side....at least he wasn't afraid to list China first.
ReplyDeleteLutefisk
Ah, a typical "is he this dumb or being paid by China?" moment.
ReplyDeleteI can also guess which C's get most of the time/attention nowadays, and I'm pretty sure China is not one of them.
If the SecDef, the Chairman, the CNO, the Commandant, and the SecNav, were all working for China as secret agents to cripple the US military, what would they do differently?
ReplyDeleteFor those who chuckle, please recall the last Commanding General of the Legion of the United States, before it was converted back to the US Army, was James Wilkinson, a highly paid secret agent of the Spanish.
China: yes a clear threat!!
ReplyDeleteCulture: If you mean the corruption and lack of professional sailors/warriors, then yes. Otherwise, no!!
Climate change: Really?? Dont be dumb. 0% relevance so no!!
Covid: Ok so about 90% of the military is now vaccinated against a virus with a .01% mortality rate. Frankly, running rust is far more important...
Perhaps a new set of priorities is in order??? Heres agreat example, and one thats very relevant during current discussions about infrastructure spending. The USS Connecticut that recently collided with somthing in WestPac... Its returned to Guam, but there are no longer any repair facilities... Theres NO DRYDOCK to put her in!!! One was sold a few years ago and the other evidently went to China(!!) for hurricane repairs a decade ago and never returned!! So now, it will be a huge struggle to do enough repairs to allow the sub to get back to the west coast!!! Imagine a major fleet base, the one that battle damaged ships would see first, and there are no drydocks, no dedicated repair establishment (it was privatized years ago), and whats there has dwindled to a couple hundred workers!!! While some have been very behind in the "pivot west", this is nearly criminal in its shortsightedness!!!
ReplyDelete"Perhaps a new set of priorities is in order???"
DeleteOr … simply a return to old priorities. We constantly want to create new things instead of just embracing the tried and true.
"no longer any repair facilities"
There were one or two sub tenders in Guam just a short while ago. I don't know whether they're still there or not. Obviously, not the same as a drydock but ...
"Or … simply a return to old priorities."
DeleteFaux pas wording on my part. I have no desire to reinvent the wheel!!! We used to have things prioritized pretty well, and I find that many "cures" are found not in the future, but the past...
"I find that many "cures" are found not in the future, but the past..."
DeleteIndeed! Well said! The past is where wisdom lives!
These are absolute pearls we're spittin' out! Is anyone writing these down? :)
The future: A minefield
DeleteThe past: A cleared path
-unknown author, but it's a simple truth to ponder. Leadership would do well to consider this!!
Oh, where to begin? How about this: Priorities? How about providing the U.S. Navy with the proper equipment and training to be able to carry out its primary mission
ReplyDeleteMission Statement:
The United States is a maritime nation, and the U.S. Navy protects America at sea. Alongside our allies and partners, we defend freedom, preserve economic prosperity, and keep the seas open and free. Our nation is engaged in long-term competition. To defend American interests around the globe, the U.S. Navy must remain prepared to execute our timeless role, as directed by Congress and the President. That is directly from navy.mil.
However, if they insist on Priorities, here we go:
Put the War back in Warship. A warship's primary focus should always be getting into the fight, being able to absorb damage ans continue the fight and go away from having cozy living conditions. If you are tired you can sleep anywhere. Berthing, Galley and Heads, what else do you need?
Quit watering down traditions like "Crossing the Line (Shellback) I had a great time going through that, I felt it was a right-of-passage. Standards are called standards for a reason. Lowering standards to recruit people is a bad idea considering how today's youth are raised.
Of the four C's that the SECNAV mentioned, only China is concerning. Climate change will not result in immediate death, not happening. China is becoming bolder and bolder each day while we do nothing outside of ignoring the obvious.
I'll leave with a couple of relevant quotes from our past (History):
“It follows then as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, and with it, everything honorable and glorious.”
“President George Washington, 15 November 1781, to Marquis de Lafayette.
[The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources 1745-1799. vol.23. (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1937): 341.]
“A good Navy is not a provocation to war. It is the surest guaranty of peace.”
President Theodore Roosevelt, 2 December 1902, second annual message to Congress.
The above quotes are from NHHC site(history.navy.mil)
"Three of the four have nothing to do with the Navy’s reason for existing."
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more, but SecNav Del Toro wasn't talking about the Navy's reason for existence (which I suppose would be something like"maintaining the ability to use force in support of U.S. security interests in the maritime arena") but challenges.
China is an obvious challenge for the Navy, but so is culture. Culture is things like how many young people want to join the navy, how many Americans realize how important the Navy is and culture, in the form of politics, will decide just what resources are allocated to naval defence.
Climate change, it's a real thing, is going to be a challenge as well. Mass population migration in the face of climate changes will have a huge effect on an already destabilizing world. And any social and financial assets used for remediation of damaged caused by climate change in the United States will not be available for the Navy.
Of course we have all learned in the last eighteen months or so how much of a challenge Covid 19 is, whether we like it or not. Why should the Navy be any different?
So, as odd as it makes me feel to find myself in agreement with "the bureaucrats in charge", it just may be that on this one SecNav Del Toro is not completely wrong.
Did you read the article linked in the post? The article makes it crystal clear that Del Toro was not merely enumerating a few odd challenges that the Navy faces, as you seem to be suggesting. He was, instead, dictating guidance to the Navy about the his vision of the Navy's top priorities.
DeleteYou appear to be presenting your take on the 'C's', not his.
Read the article.
Re-read the whole thing. It's still the usual collection of meaningless buzzwords and phrases designed to be so bland as to be incapable of giving offence. But as long as we're still talking about challenges, not reasons for existing, he's not completely wrong.
ReplyDeleteGotta say, it didn't seem that bad.
ReplyDeleteQuote from article:
"Introduction
In the 76 years following the end of World War II, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps – working alongside like-minded allies and partners – have kept the seas open and free. On station, around the globe, and around the clock, we have helped sustain a maritime order based on international law that has benefitted the whole of humankind. Yet today, after three quarters of a century of relative maritime stability, that order is in jeopardy. Authoritarian nations are once again challenging international norms and laws, while transnational threats present unprecedented challenges to our stability and security.
Since my confirmation as the 78th Secretary of the Navy, I have characterized the most pressing challenges facing the Department of the Navy as the “Four Cs”: China, Culture, Climate Change, and COVID.
The People’s Republic of China represents the pacing challenge against which we must plan our warfighting strategies and investments. Cultural challenges that we must tackle include confronting sexual assault and harassment, promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, preventing suicide, and demanding integrity and accountability across our naval leadership.
Climate change poses a rapidly intensifying spectrum of risks to our operating environment, our allies and partners, and our planet. And COVID has posed an unprecedented test of the resilience of our people, their families, and our health system. We must tackle these Four Cs with a sustained sense of urgency and a strong bias for action.
Of the four, the long-term challenge posed by the People’s Republic of China is the most significant for the Department. The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has radically expanded both its size and capabilities, growing to become the world’s largest fleet.
Complementing its modern surface combatants are hundreds of coast guard and maritime militia vessels that Beijing employs to compete in the “gray zone,” the contested arena between routine statecraft and conflict. For the first time in at least a generation, we have a strategic competitor who possesses naval capabilities that rival our own, and who seeks to aggressively employ its forces to challenge U.S. principles, partnerships, and prosperity. capabilities, growing to become the world’s largest fleet."
He does say that China is by far the most important issue. He does say "warfighting and strategies".
I can see that putting "culture" in the list is an issue, since it doesn't mention the culture of rewarding the failed brass who were behind the LCS, Zumwalt, and Ford class ships.
Similarly, Global warming isn't a military matter.
But Covid is. It affects everyone. The last thing you want is some healthy looking 25 year old carrier, who passes the virus onto the 60 year old Captain, who just so happens to have lung and cardiovascular issues, and gets hospitalised.
Just my 2 cents
Andrew