Winning the long game: Sustaining sea power as our enduring advantage
By Adm. Daryl Caudle, 34th chief of naval operations
Dec 18, 2025, 10:10 AM
In 2025, the U.S. Navy marks 250 years of protecting the American people, defending our values and enabling our prosperity. From the age of sail to an era of nuclear propulsion, long-range strike and undersea dominance, our Navy has been the decisive instrument that keeps danger far from our shores and opportunity close at hand. But as we commemorate this legacy, we must also confront a strategic environment unlike any we have faced in generations.
For decades, American naval supremacy has been assumed. Today, that margin is narrowing.
Our adversaries are building vessels explicitly designed to contest our ability to project power, support allies and operate in the Western Pacific and beyond. Today, we are no longer the only Navy to have an aircraft carrier with electromagnetic catapults that enable heavier, long-range aircraft as well as future unmanned aerial vehicles.
Our adversaries are also sailing their ships far beyond their territorial waters, signaling a willingness to operate globally and challenge U.S. dominance on the world’s oceans.
https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/2025/12/18/winning-the-long-game-sustaining-sea-power-as-our-enduring-advantage/
