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Admiral Vern Clark 
Remarks as delivered 
"SEA POWER 21: Operational Concepts for a New Era"  
Current Strategy Forum 
Naval War College 
Newport, RI 
June 12, 2002

Thank you, Rod.  What a treat to be here in Newport.  Rod, 
I appreciate the words that you had to say about the activity 
that's going here this week.  I just wanted to say a word or two 
about the importance of that work.  Since our trip here some 
months ago to talk about the future and the global war on 
terrorism, I have read with interest the Newport papers that 
have been generated here at this institution.  I've been 
watching the nature of the activity.  There is no doubt that 
Admiral Rempt has characterized this Current Strategy Forum in 
words that are truly appropriate for the day that we live in - a 
respite - a pit stop - so that we can again focus our thoughts 
and ideas on what's ahead for us as a Navy and as a nation.

I appreciate the work going on here at the Navy War 
College.  Admiral Rempt, I greatly appreciate your leadership 
here.  I love the product that is coming out of this 
institution.  For you and the faculty and the staff and the 
students that contribute to that, I also express my 
appreciation.  Thank you very much.

I love coming up here because I get to see wonderful faces 
from the past and friends that I would never get to see if I 
stayed in Washington.  I think this my sixth trip since I've 
been CNO.  I look out and I see a lot of friends.  I can't start 
to name names, but please know that I appreciate each of you 
that are here investing in this particular forum.  I believe 
that is of great importance.  

I appreciate the chance to be able to share with you 
today.  I saw notes on the Secretary of the Navy's comments 
yesterday. I've been looking forward to this opportunity to talk 
with you about a subject that I believe is of great importance 
to our Navy.  

I want to talk to you today about a new operational vision 
I call SEA POWER 21.  I will tell you that this is the first 
time that I have talked about this in a public forum.  But I 
could not let this conference go by without addressing it.  My 
thoughts on this have been evolving over the last couple of 
years through my visits to the War College, discussions with the 
strategic studies group here, talking to the people at NWDC, 
talking to special groups set up by the president of the Naval 
War College here, working with groups in Washington, and talking 
about what our future is about.  While I haven't talked about 
this publicly yet, I just began thinking about this event and I 
decided we couldn't let this opportunity pass without sharing my 
growing thoughts on how we need to be transforming our Navy to 
meet the requirements of the new century.     

As Admiral Rempt said and I'm sure many of the speakers 
who have been up before you have talked about, we find ourselves 
in a war today, a very different kind of a war.  Americans are 
deployed at home and around the world to defeat terrorism.  And 
we have taken the offensive.  As President Bush stated during 
his recent speech at West Point, "We must take the battle to the 
enemy, disrupt his plans, and confront the worst threats before 
they emerge."  Our Navy is at the leading edge of this fight 
and, I believe, the principles that I will talk to you about in 
SEA POWER 21 will help us fulfill the President's direction.  

Let's talk about the 21st century operational concepts.

In order to prepare for the wide array of threats facing 
us, we have to organize ourselves around a clear, concise, and 
powerful vision of what the Navy will provide to our nation in 
the months, years, and decades ahead.  

This vision must build on the strengths that are inherent 
for us in the United States of America, not somebody else's, but 
on ours. And I believe that we possess asymmetric advantages.  
Oftentimes, we talk about asymmetry and it's always the other 
guy's asymmetries.  I believe that the United States possesses 
asymmetric advantages, such as information superiority, sea 
control, mobility, stealth, reach, precision, firepower, and 
persistence.  It must also help us realize the full potential of 
our all-volunteer force.

Those of you who know me and have heard me talk for the 
last couple of years have heard me talk about my Top Five.  My 
Top Five is not my Vision Statement, it's my trouble list.  I 
have spent two years plus thinking about this, and today what 
we're really going to talk about is what has been issue number 
three for me, the issue of the future readiness of our Navy.  
The future readiness element has never been more important to 
discuss than it is this morning, ever.  Clarity of vision is 
critical to focus our efforts and to coordinate support in this 
time of change.  

We have achieved wonderful success in priorities one and 
two on our trouble list: the battle for people and current 
readiness.  It is time to turn my full focus on the issue of 
future readiness.  

I need to say at the outset that I will be talking about 
the United States Navy.  I want it to be understood that the 
bedrock of this foundation must be a fundamental belief in 
jointness.  I don't want anyone to walk out of this auditorium 
today and say Vern Clark didn't say enough about jointness.  
Inherent in everything that I believe about the future of our 
Navy, about SEA POWER 21, is that our Navy will be, first and 
foremost, a Navy committed to, and built upon, the principles of 
jointness.  Maximizing the advantages that we bring to the 
fight, optimizing and maximizing things that we are able to get 
from other services to make ourselves more combat effective, and 
vice versa.

So at the heart of my view of SEA POWER 21 and sea power 
in the 21st Century, I would to talk about three required 
capabilities:

The first is Sea Strike, the ability to project offensive 
power. The second is Sea Shield, the ability to project 
defensive power. Third is Sea Basing, the ability to project of 
the sovereignty of the United States of America and to team with 
and provide enhanced support for joint forces, afloat and 
ashore, around the world.    

Let me briefly describe each of these.    

First, let's talk about Sea Strike.  

Sea Strike is about projecting dominant and decisive 
offensive power against key enemy targets using a wide array of 
means, whatever means is required.  The focus here isn't on 
means, the focus is on what we have to be about in the 21st 
century.  The ability to project dominant offensive power, 
lethal and non-lethal, including long-range aircraft and 
missiles, information operations, Special Forces, and Marines.

Success in this area is founded on acute situational 
awareness and rapid, secure means of sharing knowledge, turning 
information into knowledge.  It places great reliance on 
networked forces that are fully integrated into joint and 
national systems.  

So, Sea Strike operations seize the initiative, they 
disrupt enemy timelines, they preempt adversary options, and 
ensure operational success.  

I believe that a perfect example of this is Operation 
ENDURING FREEDOM.  In Afghanistan, it is now widely reported 
that 80% of Navy strike sorties attacked targets that were 
unknown to the aircrews when they left the carrier.  They relied 
upon networked sensors and joint communications to swiftly 
respond to targets of opportunity.  This was a planned 
warfighting approach.  As a result of this impressive 
capability, over 90% of the ordnance dropped has been precision 
guided, a dramatic change from DESERT STORM just a decade 
earlier.  

And as we look into the future, even more exciting changes 
are taking shape, including the incorporation of unmanned 
aviation systems into our fleet, miniaturized munitions, and 
ship and submarine-launched, long-range sensors to guide weapons 
to targets.

We will design a force with the full expectation that it 
will work in concert with the United States Marine Corps, with 
the United States Air Force, and with the United States Army, 
consciously developed to be joint from the beginning but able to 
conduct war fighting roles in the future.

Let me talk about Sea Shield.

Sea Shield is about projecting defensive power from the 
sea.  It is key to protecting our nation at home, assuring 
allies overseas, and dissuading and deterring potential 
adversaries in multiple theaters.  

To make sure this is put in the right context, think back 
a few years when the words that we used were almost totally 
defensive when defining ourselves.  I want us to think much 
grander than that.  I don't want this to be thought of in terms 
of defending just ourselves.  

What Sea Shield does is extend homeland security to the 
fullest extent with forward deployed forces, buying time and 
buying space for the detection and tracking of threats headed 
toward our country.  

Enhanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance 
systems provide critical cuing to this effort -- building on the 
tenets of Network Centric Warfare first developed by our Navy 
nearly a decade ago.  It amplifies the value of assets that 
contribute uniquely to ISR missions, especially our submarine 
force and maritime patrol aircraft.    
          
As we look to the future, Sea Shield's littoral control 
capabilities will build upon a rich mix of manned and unmanned 
systems on, over, and below the sea.  This combination of 
platforms, sensors, and weapons will assure access and provide 
the foundation of battlespace dominance.  

Perhaps the most radical change embedded in Sea Shield 
will be the ability to project defensive firepower deep over 
land.  New technologies will allow sea based missiles to engage 
enemy air targets far over the horizon, before they can threaten 
joint and coalition forces operating ashore.  

And, Theater Missile Defense will also be a vital 
component of this concept and we are working closely with the 
Missile Defense Agency to move ahead with development of this 
critical national capability.  The defensive value of an afloat 
missile defense system will complement the offensive 
capabilities of Sea Strike and the awesome power of our 
ballistic missile submarine force -- which will remain a 
cornerstone of national security.  

So, this combination of Sea Strike and Sea Shield 
capabilities fits perfectly within the new strategic triad 
envisioned by the Secretary of Defense, which bases America's 
security on enhanced strategic defenses, a secure nuclear strike 
capabilities, and expanded conventional warfare capabilities.  

Let me talk about Sea Basing for a moment.  

Sea Basing is about projecting sovereignty around the 
world. I believe that this will be more important than ever in 
the 21st century. The independence of naval vessels operating on 
the high seas from the maritime domain allows us to conduct 
combat operations anywhere, anytime, and without having to first 
ask for permission. I like to put it in the jargon of asking the 
principal for a permission slip.  This is a tremendous advantage 
and it allows the Joint Force Commander to seize the initiative 
and to drive timelines.  And it uses the 70% of the earth's 
surface that is covered with water as a vast maneuver space to 
aid in the warfighting effort. 

Focus areas for sea basing include joint command and 
control, fire support, and logistics.  

Basing such capabilities at sea is valuable because, 
first, it's effective.  Sea-based forces are free to operate 
forward 365 days per year, engaging friends and allies, shaping 
the international security environment, enhancing deterrence, 
and positioning themselves to be immediately employable should 
conflicts occur.  

It's important also because sea-based forces are 
efficient.  Sea-based forces reduce the need to build logistical 
stockpiles ashore, fly in major command and control elements, 
and airlift heavy fire support systems.  Keeping such assets at 
sea also frees up combat resources that would otherwise be 
devoted to force protection.    

It's important because sea-based forces can be networked 
and they can be joint.  Sea bases are composed of warfighting 
capabilities located on multiple platforms that are networked 
together.  This concept and the evolving technology will 
integrate ashore and afloat assets across the full expanse of a 
unified battlefield.  

Platforms contributing to sea basing range from aircraft 
carriers to logistics ships.  The land attack capabilities, for 
example, of the DD(X) destroyer and its associated family of 
ships will be a major addition to this effort, as will the next 
generation of prepositioned shipping - otherwise named 
MPF(Future).   

Also, critical advances in communications and sensing 
being conceptualized, right here in Newport, as part of 
FORCEnet.  FORCEnet will be central to commanding joint 
operations from the sea.   

We could speak for 15 minutes on FORCEnet alone, but for 
those of you who are not familiar with it, it is an initiative 
to tie together naval, joint, and national information grids to 
achieve unprecedented situational awareness and knowledge 
management.  

It is very exciting work and, to further it, we have just 
established a new three star command in Norfolk, Virginia -- the 
Naval Network Warfare Command -- to bring FORCEnet from the 
drawing board into the Fleet.  That along with a new set of 
responsibilities for our N7 in OPNAV, our Warfare Requirements 
and Programs officer, who now will be the FORCEnet sponsor on my 
staff.  This will help us ensure that in the future we are not 
involved in trying to cobble together systems that have been 
built independently.  We will design and develop the future Navy 
with the idea and the understanding that it must be webbed 
together and integrated in a way that allows the power of 
knowledge, instead of the distraction of multiple pieces of 
information.
 
Let's talk briefly about operational impact.

	In practice, a Navy built around Sea Strike, Sea Shield, 
and Sea Basing will provide the nation with a highly adaptable 
fleet that includes Carrier Strike Groups to respond to the full 
spectrum of conflict.  It will include surface and submarine 
action groups to conduct precision strike, sea control, maritime 
intercept, and intelligence operations.  And it will include 
Expeditionary Strike Groups composed of what today we call 
Amphibious Ready Groups.  We will equip these groups with 
dedicated escorts, which are optimized for littoral power 
projection missions.  Expeditionary Strike Groups will spread 
the striking power and presence of the United States Navy and 
the United States Marine Corps team more widely around the 
world.

Additionally, these forces will steam alongside missile 
defense groups that augment homeland defense efforts, protect 
coalition partners, and reinforce international stability.  
These groups will steam alongside Littoral Combat Ships and 
submarines that - quote - "climb into the ring" - unquote - with 
an enemy and these forces will enable us to assure access around 
the world.  These forces will steam alongside prepositioned 
assets to serve as afloat forward staging bases and they will 
steam alongside logistics ships, including high-speed vessels, 
to enhance on-scene endurance by providing needed supplies and 
rotational crews.        	 

This is about transforming our Navy.

	But, you might ask, will Sea Strike, Sea Shield, and Sea 
Basing capabilities be truly transformational?  Will they usher 
in new ways of deterring conflict, new methods of waging wars, 
and new technologies leading to major increases in operational 
effectiveness?  

The answer is YES.  

Advances in Sea Strike will provide the joint force 
commander with tremendous punch and devastating accuracy to 
future campaigns.   New naval aircraft and weapons will double 
the combat output within 10 years.  We will introduce 
unprecedented levels of stealth.  The day will also come when 
unmanned aviation platforms will be launched and recovered 
routinely at sea.  

Advanced missiles will loiter over battlefields and be 
programmed in-flight to take out mobile targets.  Long-dwell 
sensors will cue rapid attacks.  Retrofitted submarines will 
covertly insert weapons and Special Operations forces where 
least expected.  And tomorrow's Expeditionary Strike Groups will 
double the major elements of our Fleet capable of conducting 
precision strike operations. 

	Sea Shield initiatives will assure access and protect the 
joint force ashore.  Information superiority will be achieved 
through the advanced data links and acoustic technologies that 
greatly extend undersea transparency.  Linked sensors and high-
speed platforms will dramatically increase area clearance rates, 
including the location and avoidance of mines.  
  
Innovative combatants, submarines, and attack helicopters 
will secure the littorals.  Surface to air missiles will be 
projected far over the horizon, throwing an umbrella over 
friends and allies.  And forward integration with other services 
and agencies will strengthen homeland defense, both forward and 
near our shores.

Sea basing will provide unprecedented support for joint 
forces.  The Advanced Gun Systems will have eight times the 
range of current systems.  Guided munitions will use a single 
round to accomplish what now requires multiple, sometimes dozens 
of rounds, achieving tremendous logistical efficiencies.  Tilt-
rotor aircraft will reach five times as far as today's 
helicopters.  Pre-positioned ships will embark and debark ground 
forces and equipment at sea for very long-range assault 
missions.  

Major advances in communications technologies will provide 
joint force commanders with secure, highly mobile, in-theater 
afloat headquarters.  Submarines will provide stealthy, 
persistent ISR operations and stations.  And streamlined, 
integrated joint logistics will allow offshore forces to better 
supply ground units operating deep inland. 

When viewed all together, Sea Strike, and Sea Shield, and 
Sea Basing will fully integrate naval forces into the Joint Team 
across the full expanse of a unified battlefield to a greater 
extent than we have ever seen in our history.    

We are going to transform this force and we're going to in 
impressive ways, but as we are doing so, the issue is not just 
in how we do things but also in what we do!  The key now is to 
accelerate this progress through a culture of innovation.  
Accordingly, three implementing initiatives will support 
development of greater operational capabilities.    

First, we must streamline and integrate our 
experimentation process.  Admiral Bob Natter, the Commander of 
Fleet Forces Command, will take charge of this effort -- which I 
call Sea Trial.  I wanted Admiral Natter at the center of 
experimentation and innovation because he is the naval component 
commander for Joint Forces Command.    

Sea Trial puts the Fleet at the heart of innovation and 
provides a mechanism to more readily capture the fruits of their 
operational excellence and experimentation.     

To help him accomplish this mission, I transferred the 
Navy Warfare Development Command to CFFC last year.  At the same 
time, I left an additional responsibility to the President of 
the Naval War College to make sure that we were able to 
integrate the thinking that was going on here at Newport.  
Admiral Natter will rely heavily on NWDC -- as well as our other 
centers of tactical excellence and technology research -- to 
speed prototyping, enrich concept development, and more fully 
coordinate experimentation.      

	Second, we must develop the full potential of our Sailors.  
The Chief of Naval Personnel, supported by the Chief of Naval 
Education and Training, will take charge of project Sea Warrior, 
to enhance the assessing, assignment, training, and education of 
our people.  

	Again, this is worth a thirty-minute speech, but we're 
going to just talk for a minute more about it here.

Sea Warrior will build on the incredibly fantastic work 
that's been done by Task Force EXCEL and Project SAIL to achieve 
greater combat effectiveness by instituting in a continuum of 
learning for every Sailor in our Navy.  Such efforts include 
improved recruit assessments, incentivized and interactive 
assignment policies, enhanced distance-learning techniques, and 
expanded educational opportunities.  

	And finally, as the Secretary of the Navy talked to you 
about yesterday, we must capture business efficiencies to 
increase the procurement of ships and airplanes so critical to 
recapitalizing our Fleet.  To do this, we are developing a 
program that I'm calling Sea Enterprise and we will apply 
lessons that we can learn from the business revolution to assess 
our organizations and processes, target areas for improvement, 
and optimally prioritize investments.  I have assigned this 
responsibility to the Vice Chief of Naval Operations.  

	Let me conclude.

	This plan lays out some ambitious things to do, and that's 
great.  Previous generations of naval officers have proven -- 
right here in Newport -- that aggressive innovation, 
experimentation, and education are fundamental to meeting the 
challenges of an uncertain future.  

We live in such a time.

I have every confidence that, working together within the 
broad framework described here today, our Navy will accelerate 
progress and significantly further the integration of joint and 
international forces for greater warfighting effectiveness.  

For as the President stated at West Point just a few days 
ago, "Our security will require transforming the military ... (to) 
be ready to strike at a moment's notice in any dark corner of 
the world."  SEA POWER 21 is the way ahead for our Navy and it 
has been a pleasure to share my vision about this with you here 
this morning.  

Thank you.   

                               -USN-