THE ROLE OF NAVAL FORCES IN THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR
ABBREVIATED VERSION
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study was supported by Contract No. N00014-05-G-0288, DO #3 between the National Academy of Sciences and the Department of the Navy. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.
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COMMITTEE ON THE ROLE OF NAVAL FORCES IN THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR
MIRIAM E. JOHN,
Sandia National Laboratories,
Co-chair
RICHARD L. WADE, Exponent, Co-chair
H. NORMAN ABRAMSON,
San Antonio, Texas
NOEL K. CUNNINGHAM,
Glendora, California
KEVIN P. GREEN,
IBM Global Business Services
RODNEY GREGORY,
IBM Global Business Services
LEE HAMMARSTROM,
Applied Research Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University
PAUL W. HOFF,
Bedford, New Hampshire
JAMES D. HULL,
Annapolis, Maryland
HARRY W. JENKINS, JR.,
Gainesville, Virginia
RONALD R. LUMAN,
Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University
ANN K. MILLER,
University of Missouri, Rolla
JOHN H. MOXLEY III,
Solvang, California
GENE H. PORTER,
Nashua, New Hampshire
JOHN S. QUILTY,
Oakton, Virginia
BRAD ROBERTS,
Institute for Defense Analyses
ANNETTE L. SOBEL,
Sandia National Laboratories
H. EUGENE STANLEY,
Boston University
MARLIN U. THOMAS,
Air Force Institute of Technology
DAVID A. WHELAN,
The Boeing Company
ELIHU ZIMET,
Gaithersburg, Maryland
Staff
CHARLES F. DRAPER, Director
ARUL MOZHI, Study Director
EUGENE J. CHOI, Program Officer (through May 18, 2007)
IAN M. CAMERON, Associate Program Officer (through May 21, 2007)
SUSAN G. CAMPBELL, Administrative Coordinator
MARY G. GORDON, Information Officer
AYANNA N. VEST, Senior Program Assistant (through June 9, 2006)
SIDNEY G. REED, JR., Consultant
RAYMOND S. WIDMAYER, Consultant
NAVAL STUDIES BOARD
JOHN F. EGAN,
Nashua, New Hampshire,
Chair
MIRIAM E. JOHN,
Sandia National Laboratories,
Vice Chair
ANTONIO L. ELIAS,
Orbital Sciences Corporation
BRIG “CHIP” ELLIOTT,
BBN Technologies
LEE HAMMARSTROM,
Applied Research Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University
KERRIE L. HOLLEY,
IBM Global Services
JOHN W. HUTCHINSON,
Harvard University
HARRY W. JENKINS, JR.,
Gainesville, Virginia
EDWARD H. KAPLAN,
Yale University
THOMAS V. McNAMARA,
Charles Stark Draper Laboratory
L. DAVID MONTAGUE,
Menlo Park, California
JOHN H. MOXLEY III,
Solvang, California
GENE H. PORTER,
Nashua, New Hampshire
JOHN S. QUILTY,
Oakton, Virginia
J. PAUL REASON,
Washington, D.C.
JOHN P. STENBIT,
Oakton, Virginia
RICHARD L. WADE, Exponent
JAMES WARD,
Lincoln Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
DAVID A. WHELAN,
The Boeing Company
CINDY WILLIAMS,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
ELIHU ZIMET,
Gaithersburg, Maryland
Navy Liaison Representatives
RADM SAMUEL J. LOCKLEAR III,
USN, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, N81 (through October 13, 2005)
RDML DAN W. DAVENPORT,
USN, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, N81 (as of October 14, 2005)
RADM JAY M. COHEN,
USN, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, N091 (through January 19, 2006)
RADM WILLIAM E. LANDAY III,
USN, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, N091 (as of January 20, 2006)
Marine Corps Liaison Representative
LTGEN JAMES N. MATTIS, USMC, Commanding General,
Marine Corps Combat Development Command (through August 3, 2006)
LTGEN JAMES F. AMOS, USMC, Commanding General,
Marine Corps Combat Development Command (as of August 4, 2006)
Staff
CHARLES F. DRAPER, Director
ARUL MOZHI, Senior Program Officer
EUGENE J. CHOI, Program Officer (through May 18, 2007)
IAN M. CAMERON, Associate Program Officer (through May 21, 2007)
SUSAN G. CAMPBELL, Administrative Coordinator
MARY G. GORDON, Information Officer
AYANNA N. VEST, Senior Program Assistant (through June 9, 2006)
Preface
In December 2004 the Naval Studies Board was briefed on the Navy’s Maritime Intercept Operations in support of the Proliferation Security Initiative, which seeks to stop the flow of weapons of mass destruction as cargo in the open sea. Given the historic roles of the Navy and the Marine Corps in conducting intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and offensive forward operations to deter and prevent terrorist actions against the homeland, this briefing was the genesis of the present study on the naval forces’ role in the Global War on Terror.1
The United States is a maritime nation whose survival and economic vitality depend on the free flow of commerce, whether in energy, food, or consumer products. The maritime infrastructure abroad as well as at home is thus critical to U.S. strategic interests, particularly since more than 90 percent of U.S. trade moves by water. The Department of the Navy has defined for itself several missions for the Global War on Terror (GWOT): to establish foundations for cooperative interactions with other agencies and nations; to provide the ISR needed for integrated maritime surveillance; to protect U.S. forces and infrastructure; and to conduct maritime interdiction in areas beyond the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone.2
The Department of the Navy has participated in GWOT military operations most heavily through the Marine Corps and the Navy’s Special Operations Forces, providing close air support; conducting strike operations and facilitating
maneuvers in theater; providing other support such as explosive ordnance disposal and work on improvised explosive devices; establishing a Marine Corps special brigade and the Chemical and Biological Incident Response Force; and operating the National Maritime Intelligence Center.
The importance of maritime activities and vulnerabilities to the GWOT, particularly with respect to homeland defense, has been increasingly recognized in recent directives. The Department of Defense (DOD) has given the U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) responsibility for military aspects of homeland defense. The maritime component commander for NORTHCOM is the Commander of the Fleet Forces Command, and the Navy’s Third Fleet provides the Joint Force Maritime Component. The NORTHCOM Katrina Task Force was an example of the military’s involvement in humanitarian operations, and it demonstrated how the military can contribute to recovery from a large-scale disaster. Although that task force was not set up in response to the GWOT, it embodies an approach that might help deter terrorist activity. Naval forces deployed to support tsunami disaster relief have demonstrated how humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations overseas can help to dampen anti-American sentiment abroad.
Maritime security aspects of the GWOT have recently received top-level emphasis as national, DOD, and Service strategies have been drawn up.3 Though the Navy has been slower than the other Services to step up to the GWOT challenges, it is starting to realign priorities to catch up. Its greatest challenge is building global maritime domain awareness (MDA) in order to prosecute the GWOT as far forward as possible. At the same time, it must be kept in mind that the attacks of 9/11, and earlier on the USS Cole, were executed from land. It must also be recognized that the maritime aspects of the GWOT involve operations with short notice, and that there is heavy dependence on command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) to provide MDA that is adequate to support timely decisions on naval force allocations and dispositions for conducting a range of maritime operations.
In response to a request from the former Chief of Naval Operations,4 the Naval Studies Board through the National Research Council (NRC) established the Committee on the Role of Naval Forces in the Global War on Terror to conduct an assessment of the adequacy of and prospects for improving the role of
Naval Forces in the Global War on Terror. The committee’s approach in responding to the study’s terms of reference is outlined below.5
THE COMMITTEE’S APPROACH IN RESPONDING TO THE TERMS OF REFERENCE
The Committee on the Role of Naval Forces in the Global War on Terror (see Appendix B for biographies of committee members) convened in July 2005 and held meetings over a period of 6 months to gather input from the relevant communities and then to discuss the committee’s findings (summarized agendas of the meetings are provided in Appendix C).6 The months between the committee’s last meeting and the publication of the report were spent drafting the manuscript, gathering additional information, reviewing and responding to external review comments, editing the report, and conducting the security/public release review required to produce this version of the report that does not disclose information as described in 5 U.S.C. 552(b). It was mutually determined by the Department of the Navy and the National Research Council that the full report contained information as described in 5 U.S.C. 552(b) and therefore could not be released to the public in its entirety.
The initial approach of the committee was to identify specific operational, policy, and technical areas necessary to fulfill the tasks in the terms of reference. However, briefings soon revealed that Navy thinking and activities related to the GWOT were continuing to evolve. For example, while most of the topics in the terms of reference focus on operational and technical capabilities for maritime security operations, the CNO Guidance for 2006 reflected a much broader perspective on the GWOT.7 The committee therefore believed that to carry out its charge to assess the adequacy of and prospects for improvement of the role of naval forces in the GWOT, it had to adopt a broad interpretation of the terms of reference.
Lacking a Naval Services-generated framework comprehensive enough to delineate the spectrum of threats, environments, and missions pertinent to naval forces, the committee developed a Defense-in-Depth framework (see Figure ES.1 in the Executive Summary) to address the issues of operational and technical capabilities called for in the terms of reference and by the CNO guidance. The committee spent considerable time debating the approach and then developing the framework as the organizing construct for assessing needed capabilities, status, and gaps. Its members came to believe that the Navy must do the same in a “top-down” fashion that maps the full problem and mission space across the
5 |
The terms of reference for this study are listed in Appendix A. |
6 |
During the entire course of its study, the committee held meetings in which it received (and discussed) materials that are exempt from release under 5 U.S.C. 552(b). |
7 |
Chief of Naval Operations (ADM Michael Mullen, USN). 2005. CNO Guidance for 2006: Meeting the Challenge of a New Era, Department of the Navy, Washington, D.C., October 30. |
continuum of GWOT operations. Such a framework would address the problem end-to-end by integrating operations in disparate theaters of warfare into a continuous maritime whole.
Furthermore, the Defense-in-Depth framework was developed by the committee to better convey the messages that attach to the naval forces’ GWOT mission. Because the committee’s examination of the principal elements of the Defense-in-Depth framework resulted in findings and recommendations that could be grouped into seven areas for priority action, the Executive Summary summarizes the recommendations under these seven priority areas. Finally, the committee emphasizes the Navy’s roles and missions in the GWOT because the Navy has trailed the other Naval Services in this area, but due attention to activities of the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard has been given where appropriate.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Committee on the Role of Naval Forces in the Global War on Terror thanks the many briefers who presented information essential to the writing of this report. Special acknowledgment goes to RADM Samuel J. Locklear III, USN, and RDML Dan W. Davenport, USN, and their staff at the Assessment Division, Office of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Resources, Requirements, and Assessments (N81), who helped the committee coordinate numerous briefings and facilitated information gathering throughout this study. The committee also thanks VADM Kevin Cosgriff, USN, and his staff for hosting the committee and arranging for briefings during the meeting on November 1-2, 2005, at the U.S. Fleet Forces Command, and CAPT Karl Heinz, USN, and his staff for hosting the committee and arranging for briefings during the meeting on September 26-27, 2005, at the Naval Special Warfare Command.
The committee acknowledges and thanks ADM Dennis C. Blair, USN (retired), for his valuable insights while he was a member of the committee during the drafting of the report. Finally, the committee thanks the dedicated staff of the Naval Studies Board: Dixie Gordon, who facilitated the handling of the information associated with this study; Susan Campbell, who capably saw to the logistics for our many meetings over a short period of time and helped with report production; Ian Cameron, who added to the exceptionally smooth conduct of the meetings and the production of the report; Eugene Choi, who supported the response to report review; Sidney Reed, who supported report development and review through document research and cogent observations; Raymond Widmayer, who compiled the meeting agendas and arranged for site visits; and, in particular, our study director, Arul Mozhi, who kept the study on track and provided invaluable support to us and to the committee members.
Miriam E. John and Richard L. Wade, Co-chairs
Committee on the Role of Naval Forces in the Global War on Terror
Acknowledgment of Reviewers
National Research Council (NRC) reports are reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the NRC’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published reports as sound as possible and to ensure that the reports meet institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscripts remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. Although the reviewers provide many constructive comments and suggestions, they are not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations nor do they see the final draft of reports before release. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of the draft report:
Lewis M. Branscomb, Harvard University,
RADM Erroll Brown, USCG (retired), IBM Global Business Services,
Ruth A. David, ANSER,
Seymour J. Deitchman, Chevy Chase, Maryland,
Gen Alfred M. Gray, USMC (retired), The Potomac Institute for Policy Studies,
Catherine M. Kelleher, University of Maryland,
Jerry A. Krill, Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University,
ADM Donald L. Pilling, USN (retired), LMI,
Edward Wenk, Jr., University of Washington, and
George M. Whitesides, Harvard University.
The review of the draft report was overseen by Alexander H. Flax, Potomac, Maryland. Appointed by the NRC, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of the draft report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of NRC reports rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.