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. 1-3