The Need for Political Urgency in Ensuring Naval Success
The MOC
By
Dr. Jeff Harley
March 5, 2024
One constant in an era of increasing change is the value of the US Navy in ensuring global security. Navies provide deterrence and unfettered strike capability where required in support of national interest. Navies provide the capability to fight far away from our own shores. And Navies provide a diplomatic presence unmatched by any other military Service. At the same time, however, our maritime capability is quickly eroding to the detriment of our national security. If we examine the causes of this erosion, the future even looks less certain than it does today.
There are at least three key factors that need to be addressed to stall the decline of our Navy and hopefully reverse it.
One main factor in the decline of our navy is the emaciation of our shipbuilding capacity. Although we opine about our inadequate fleet numbers, the number of ships is tied directly to the budget to build them and the limited number of shipyards that put them together. The lack of capacity is so daunting that agreements to build submarines for the Royal Australian Navy are tragically undermined given our limited ability to meet our own demands. Moreover, this is a problem in the here and now, whereas shipbuilding plans are long-term at best and undermined by the aging of the fleet which creates other long-term cost burdens. Meanwhile, our global commitments continue to grow but our ability to heed the call is thwarted by long supply lines and a diminished logistics capability.
Second, growing asymmetric threats such as drones and unmanned craft like those seen in the war in Ukraine or in the maritime security mission in the Red Sea create new self-defense dilemmas for our naval forces. These threats are not only challenging but require expenditure of enormously expensive—and limited in quantity—munitions to counter and are not fool-proof. It would seem inevitable that a Houthi attack on a US navy ship will ultimately prove successful if we do not create new capabilities against these types of threats.
Third, we are, sadly I argue, surrendering our leadership role in the world because of short news cycles and the inability to compromise in the political arena. Professor Tom Nichols describes “the death of expertise” in a book outlining the decay created by unchecked social media which reduces our national focus and ability to make critical decisions that are so obviously required. This political division not only sows doubt among our allies, but it also fuels unrepentant actors like Russia that directly invaded a sovereign Ukraine, or an Iran that uses proxies globally to challenge the international order that our nation sacrificed so much to create just one lifetime ago.
These issues have been identified many times before and great democracies are slow to act until there is a crisis. Given the number of crises in our world today including the possibility a war over Taiwan, should we ask ourselves if the moment of crisis has perhaps arrived? And what we would do differently if we knew a war was imminent? I argue we must develop a short-term national plan of action and not just continue to kick the can down the road. We must execute our excellent maritime strategy that does provide long-term continuity, but we should overlay a near-term Congressional commitment that is often lost in the shadows of politics. Most importantly, we must convince the American people that the time to act is now.
Specifically, our industrial capacity must be properly funded now and not later. When our nation sets its mind to an achievement, all things are possible. A significantly higher percentage of our federal budget must be set aside now to create a more viable shipbuilding plan. In the 1960s, for example, a significant portion of our budget was allocated to putting a man on the moon. We need that type of effort today before it is too late. Second, the growing asymmetric threat must be attacked by a reapportionment of funding and effort akin to the efforts to solve the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) crisis we saw in Iraq. Unreleased technical programs should be promulgated now to close the capability gaps even if it means a reduction in their long-term usefulness. Finally, we must overcome our political divisiveness and force Congress to act in the interest of our nation. Our national security inherent in a strong and versatile navy should be one of the election issues in our nation if we can communicate the core issues to the American electorate.
In sum, we must choose as a nation to have a coherent policy now and then properly resource it otherwise the loss of life and national influence will be extreme and irreversible. We must make the choice to act, and if we do so, we can enhance our maritime capability and create a more viable deterrence to ensure the present and future success of our great navy.
Dr. Jeff Harleyis a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Center for Maritime Strategy. He is a retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral with more than three decades of service who specializes in alliance partnerships, maritime strategy, and the Global Competition.
The views expressed in this piece are the sole opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Center for Maritime Strategy or other institutions listed.
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Center for Maritime Strategy
By Dr. Jeff Harley
One constant in an era of increasing change is the value of the US Navy in ensuring global security. Navies provide deterrence and unfettered strike capability where required in support of national interest. Navies provide the capability to fight far away from our own shores. And Navies provide a diplomatic presence unmatched by any other military Service. At the same time, however, our maritime capability is quickly eroding to the detriment of our national security. If we examine the causes of this erosion, the future even looks less certain than it does today.
There are at least three key factors that need to be addressed to stall the decline of our Navy and hopefully reverse it.
One main factor in the decline of our navy is the emaciation of our shipbuilding capacity. Although we opine about our inadequate fleet numbers, the number of ships is tied directly to the budget to build them and the limited number of shipyards that put them together. The lack of capacity is so daunting that agreements to build submarines for the Royal Australian Navy are tragically undermined given our limited ability to meet our own demands. Moreover, this is a problem in the here and now, whereas shipbuilding plans are long-term at best and undermined by the aging of the fleet which creates other long-term cost burdens. Meanwhile, our global commitments continue to grow but our ability to heed the call is thwarted by long supply lines and a diminished logistics capability.
Second, growing asymmetric threats such as drones and unmanned craft like those seen in the war in Ukraine or in the maritime security mission in the Red Sea create new self-defense dilemmas for our naval forces. These threats are not only challenging but require expenditure of enormously expensive—and limited in quantity—munitions to counter and are not fool-proof. It would seem inevitable that a Houthi attack on a US navy ship will ultimately prove successful if we do not create new capabilities against these types of threats.
Third, we are, sadly I argue, surrendering our leadership role in the world because of short news cycles and the inability to compromise in the political arena. Professor Tom Nichols describes “the death of expertise” in a book outlining the decay created by unchecked social media which reduces our national focus and ability to make critical decisions that are so obviously required. This political division not only sows doubt among our allies, but it also fuels unrepentant actors like Russia that directly invaded a sovereign Ukraine, or an Iran that uses proxies globally to challenge the international order that our nation sacrificed so much to create just one lifetime ago.
These issues have been identified many times before and great democracies are slow to act until there is a crisis. Given the number of crises in our world today including the possibility a war over Taiwan, should we ask ourselves if the moment of crisis has perhaps arrived? And what we would do differently if we knew a war was imminent? I argue we must develop a short-term national plan of action and not just continue to kick the can down the road. We must execute our excellent maritime strategy that does provide long-term continuity, but we should overlay a near-term Congressional commitment that is often lost in the shadows of politics. Most importantly, we must convince the American people that the time to act is now.
Specifically, our industrial capacity must be properly funded now and not later. When our nation sets its mind to an achievement, all things are possible. A significantly higher percentage of our federal budget must be set aside now to create a more viable shipbuilding plan. In the 1960s, for example, a significant portion of our budget was allocated to putting a man on the moon. We need that type of effort today before it is too late. Second, the growing asymmetric threat must be attacked by a reapportionment of funding and effort akin to the efforts to solve the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) crisis we saw in Iraq. Unreleased technical programs should be promulgated now to close the capability gaps even if it means a reduction in their long-term usefulness. Finally, we must overcome our political divisiveness and force Congress to act in the interest of our nation. Our national security inherent in a strong and versatile navy should be one of the election issues in our nation if we can communicate the core issues to the American electorate.
In sum, we must choose as a nation to have a coherent policy now and then properly resource it otherwise the loss of life and national influence will be extreme and irreversible. We must make the choice to act, and if we do so, we can enhance our maritime capability and create a more viable deterrence to ensure the present and future success of our great navy.
Dr. Jeff Harley is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Center for Maritime Strategy. He is a retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral with more than three decades of service who specializes in alliance partnerships, maritime strategy, and the Global Competition.
The views expressed in this piece are the sole opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Center for Maritime Strategy or other institutions listed.