Stubbs Demonstrates Effectiveness Of Force Design For U.S. Navy
ByJames HolmesPublished7 days ago
Over at the Atlantic Council, former director of U.S. Navy strategy and operational concepts Bruce Stubbs probes “Ten Challenges to Implementing Force Design 2030.” Force Design 2030, of course, was the brainchild of General David Berger, the recently retired Marine Corps commandant. The basic idea, to oversimplify, is to dispatch roving, elusive units of sensor- and missile-equipped Marines to Asia’s first island chain to help the Navy deny China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) command of the sea. And without command the PLA cannot conquer Taiwan, make the South China Sea a Chinese lake, or accomplish its other goals in maritime Asia.
Game over.
Solid Planning
The logic underlying Force Design 2030 is rock solid. I’ve been pushing something similar for a long time and helped fight off the revolt of the retired marine generals who went to Congress to scotch it the past couple of years. But there’s no gainsaying this basic point: the soundest concept is a wish if it can’t be executed under prevailing circumstances at acceptable cost, opportunity cost, and risk. The devil’s in the details. And practical details can only be sorted out through analysis, wargaming, and exercises, chiefly in the classified realm.
Which is why Stubbs’s report is a welcome entry to the debate. It will help decisionmakers make sound judgments about practical matters. Much like reportage from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, the author raises questions for senior folk without venturing answers. And they’re good questions, ranging from alliance diplomacy all the way down to ship design and procurement.
https://www.19fortyfive.com/2023/11/stubbs-demonstrates-effectiveness-of-force-design-for-u-s-navy/
