I have enjoyed reading Proceedings magazine and similar publications since my days as a midshipman in the 1980s. Now, 30 years later, I step forward from the audience to participate as the U.S. Naval Institute’s new Navy liaison. It is a privilege to serve in this capacity, and I am grateful to retired Vice Admiral Pete Daly, the Institute’s Chief Executive Officer, for providing the opportunity to contribute.
My mantra as Navy liaison is simply this: Take an active and meaningful role in shaping our Navy’s future by thinking bigger . . . and writing about it.
The nature of the threats we face has changed during the course of “our watch,” and that change compels us to expand and articulate our thoughts. Great power competition has replaced violent extremism as the central challenge to U.S. security and prosperity, and this significant change demands fresh thinking and vision. Who better to help focus those perspectives than you, our future leaders?
Our Navy and Marine Corps maintain a dominant role throughout this competition—on the sea, under the sea, in the air, in space, in the information domain, and in cyber—which requires that we be innovative and battle-minded in our efforts.
As the blue/green team grows its capacity and capability, our leaders are challenging us to accelerate urgently. Congress is enabling us to push ahead, and the American people are trusting us to get it right. Our new National Defense Strategy (NDS) and our new Navy and Marine Corps operating concepts require dynamic and original perspectives, grounded in deckplate experience yet untethered by the constraints of “this-is-how-we’ve-always-done-it” thinking. To meet these mandates for readiness, speed, and lethality—to move this ball forward—we need you.
Our people represent both our greatest resource and our strongest warfighting advantage. YOUR thought processes and frames of reference are strategic levers that we need to pull harder. Therefore I encourage you to critically examine the challenges and opportunities before us and capture those thoughts in a meaningful way through any number of professional literary venues, including the U.S. Naval Institute’s Proceedings or the USNI Blog. When appropriate and necessary, address your thoughts in a classified venue.
Our 244-year-long wake is deep in lessons learned, and our ship is propelled forward by the fuel of critical self-examination. Both are tempered by recommendations for how we can become BETTER . . . FASTER.
The task of professional writing can be daunting. I was a captain when I penned my first article. Given the changing threat dynamics we face, we cannot afford to wait for the genius of our shining youth to make captain before you speak up. Our Navy needs to hear your thoughts. So, too, do our potential adversaries in order to be warned of our skill and resolve. NOW is your moment.
As we push onward, I am optimistic for the bright future that awaits, and I challenge you to THINK BIGGER . . . AND WRITE!
