The true story of the Maritime Strategy is even more complex than you let on, as is Lehman’s relationship to it. But the underlying point about institutional amnesia is sadly accurate. As the only person at NWC who has tried to teach both Turner’s article and the Maritime Strategy, the level of indifference or ignorance about the Navy’s history is fairly staggering. When I mention Lehman to my students, I might as well be taking about John Paul Jones. The Maritime Strategy is about as remote as the Anaconda Plan.
Even sadder is the treatment of Turner, whose reforms were bitterly contested at the time, and whose work has been deliberately undermined over the past five decades.
We've been the preeminent world power for so long that we think things will always be that way. But Darwinism applies to nations as well as animals - only the strong and adaptive survive.
While we bicker among ourselves and are ruled by an unwise, feckless, political class that implements policies that change with every Administration, Communist China continues inexorably, on its quest to defeat us and replace us on the world stage.
Well stated. We are fortunate to have the USNI Proceedings as a platform for unpopular topics. The question is always whether anyone with actual power will read about them, and then take useful action.
Tick tock, tick tock…the atomic clock at the Naval Observatory continues to march forward unabated. Our Navy dithers, our Marine Corps hangs precariously in the balance. Who needs a Navy or Marine Corps when you have a coterie of “special operators” and drones. Guess we have found out the answer to that question in the last 2 months. Better lucky than good.
The true story of the Maritime Strategy is even more complex than you let on, as is Lehman’s relationship to it. But the underlying point about institutional amnesia is sadly accurate. As the only person at NWC who has tried to teach both Turner’s article and the Maritime Strategy, the level of indifference or ignorance about the Navy’s history is fairly staggering. When I mention Lehman to my students, I might as well be taking about John Paul Jones. The Maritime Strategy is about as remote as the Anaconda Plan.
Even sadder is the treatment of Turner, whose reforms were bitterly contested at the time, and whose work has been deliberately undermined over the past five decades.
Sadly this was very evident when I was an advanced tactics instructor at TACTRAGRUPAC 20 years ago.
We've been the preeminent world power for so long that we think things will always be that way. But Darwinism applies to nations as well as animals - only the strong and adaptive survive.
While we bicker among ourselves and are ruled by an unwise, feckless, political class that implements policies that change with every Administration, Communist China continues inexorably, on its quest to defeat us and replace us on the world stage.
Our arrogance and complacency will kill us.
Well stated. We are fortunate to have the USNI Proceedings as a platform for unpopular topics. The question is always whether anyone with actual power will read about them, and then take useful action.
Tick tock, tick tock…the atomic clock at the Naval Observatory continues to march forward unabated. Our Navy dithers, our Marine Corps hangs precariously in the balance. Who needs a Navy or Marine Corps when you have a coterie of “special operators” and drones. Guess we have found out the answer to that question in the last 2 months. Better lucky than good.