Two articles came out this week that I commend to you for some weekend reading in between your 4th of July celebrations and BBQ's. One was in Proceedings Magazine and the other in Government Executive and both are available online:
The first, "The Contested Commons," is written by Michelle Flournoy, Under Secretary for Defense Policy and Mr. Shawn Brimley. The article states:
In broad terms, America's recent wartime experience, combined with insights derived from other contemporary conflicts, suggest that the U.S. military will increasingly face three types of challenges: rising tensions in the global commons; hybrid threats that contain a mix of traditional and irregular forms of conflict; and the problem of weak and failing states.
I encourage you to read it yourself, but here are some pulled quotes with particular relevance to the Coast Guard:
"...as rising nations and non-state actors become more powerful, the United States will need to pay more attention to emerging risks associated with the global commons, those areas of the world beyond the control of any one state-sea, space, air, and cyberspace-that constitute the fabric or connective tissue of the international system. A series of recent events-including anti-satellite missile tests, piracy in the Gulf of Aden and off the east coast of Africa, and attacks in cyberspace-highlight the need for the United States to work with its allies and partners to maintain relative peace and stability throughout the global commons."
"Ensuring relative stability throughout the global commons remains central to the maintenance of U.S. power and influence in the 21st century. However, there is a growing consensus that rising state and non-state powers, combined with continued globalization, will put great pressure on the international system as a whole. While assessments point to a changing world, relatively little analysis has addressed when and how such changes will materialize. We are likely entering an era in which a series of strategic trends will make it more difficult for the United States to sustain stability within the global commons."
"The New QDR: For example, the QDR is exploring several high-end asymmetric threats of the type described here. Adequately preparing for these challenges may be more about identifying where new operational concepts and discrete investments are needed than in focusing on major shifts in force structure. From a naval perspective, it is clear that several issues need to be addressed, including the future of amphibious landing capabilities, the role of naval unmanned combat aerial vehicles, and the overall mix between ships designed for littoral environments and blue-water surface combatants."
"The task for the United States is to respond to these challenges with a whole-of-government approach that advances our interests while legitimizing our power in the eyes of others.
One way the United States could respond would be to (re)embrace a grand strategy that focuses on sustaining a healthy international system, the maintenance of which is not only central to our national interests but is also a global public good-something everyone can consume without diminishing its availability to others."
"These developing challenges in the global commons also offer the United States a profound opportunity to reassert a leadership role in an area that will only grow in importance. Because stability on and within the global commons is a public good, others have powerful incentives to work with us on issues involving governance of cyberspace, ensuring peace in space, and settling contentious maritime issues. Protecting and sustaining stability throughout the global commons cannot be achieved by America alone."
The Government Executive piece, "The New Guardians," by Katherine McIntire Peters, focuses on our modernization initiative and acquisition reforms. It is probably one of the more understandable stories that have been written on modernization in terms of what it means to the Coast Guard workforce and the base motivations for modernization. It also helps to underscore the progress made in our acquisition reform and how we have successfully positioned the Coast Guard for future success.
If both of these interested you, then you will probably want to follow our authorization hearing with the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation's subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard taking place at 10 a.m., July 7. As usual, we will post and tweet on the hearing.
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