2. Using geographic choke points to prevent
enemy access to open oceans or specific
areas
3. Clearing sea areas by using escorts to
surround ships in transit, such as military
or commercial convoys and amphibious or
support forces
4. Using mines in areas such as harbor
entrances and choke points
Carrier forces and Marine amphibious forces
can project military power to ensure control of
the high seas and the continued safe use of land
areas essential to sea control. That entails
destruction of enemy naval forces at their home
bases or en route to those ocean areas the United
States desires to protect. Power projection also
includes destroying the supply lines of the enemy
and preventing enemy forces from advancing
within range to use their weapons against U.S.
forces.
Power Projection
Power projection is the ability to project
military power from the sea worldwide in a timely
and precise manner to accomplish a given
objective. Naval power projection, as an
independent mission, is a means of supporting
land or air campaigns. An essential element of
power projection is the Navy’s amphibious ships
that carry U.S. ground forces to enemy shores.
Power projection covers a broad spectrum of
offensive naval operations. These operations
include nuclear response by fleet ballistic missile
submarines and use of carrier-based aircraft and
amphibious assault forces. They also include naval
bombardment of enemy targets ashore in support
of air or land campaigns.
Naval forces have unrestricted global mobility
based on the traditional and time-honored
concept of the free use of international seas. In
many cases, naval forces can perform assigned
missions while remaining beyond the range of the
local enemy threat. The mobility of naval forces
seriously complicates the enemy’s detection and
targeting capability. Mobility also permits the
concentration of naval forces and the element of
surprise.
Another major advantage of a naval force is
that it can begin combat operations immediately
upon reaching a crisis location. Land or air
forces often require the construction of staging
areas before they can begin combat operations.
That is especially true when the conflict takes
place in a remote location and when facilities
needed for combat are unavailable. The United
States is diminishing its military base structure
overseas. Therefore, the ability of naval forces
to arrive in an area fully prepared to conduct
sustained combat operations has taken on added
importance.
THEATERS OF OPERATIONS
The Soviet Union confines its power projection
(fig. 1-1 ) to areas close to the Soviet Union with
one exception. Soviet fleet ballistic missile sub-
marines (nuclear propulsion) (SSBNs) patrol the
sea area off the east coast of the United States.
The traditional U.S. Navy theaters of opera-
tions include Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the
Far East, and the Americas. The continuing
economic and political changes in those areas now
and in the future will have an impact on the
Navy’s mission and goals.
Europe
With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the
reunification of Germany, Europe has changed.
Many of the old boundary lines that separated east
and west have been removed, which has made
travel between countries easier. Since the outcome
of the changes in Europe is difficult to predict,
let’s look at some trends that have taken place
over the last few years.
As the Warsaw Pact navies have been growing
smaller, North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) naval forces have been maintaining their
size. NATO naval forces have also significantly
upgraded their antisubmarine warfare, antisurface
warfare, and air defense capability. The German
navy replaced its F-104s with the Tornado and
upgraded NATO’s defense capability of the Baltic
approaches. U.S. Navy and Marine upgrades
include the F/A-18, F-14D, and AV-8B. The
United States upgrade provides Supreme Allied
Commander, Atlantic (SACLANT), with more
offensive and defensive capability in the
Norwegian and Mediterranean Seas.
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