The Navy’s next secretary has an urgent task: Make the public case
Today the US may have the political conditions necessary to build a larger Navy, but it lacks a publicly articulated maritime strategy, argues naval veteran Bruce Stubbs.
By Bruce Stubbs on June 18, 2026 11:15 am
Naval historians have identified the 1980s as the only time since World War II when peacetime force-planning objectives successfully aligned with presidential and congressional support for those plans. Now, for the first time since President Ronald Reagan and Navy Secretary John Lehman introduced the 600-Ship Navy, there is a rare alignment shaping up: President Donald Trump and Congress want to give the Navy more money, and the Navy appears positioned to put it to effective use.
That alignment, however, is as perishable as it is unusual. The danger is that the Navy could squander it, reaching the goal line and stalling out, by failing to make the public case for why the sea service needs this support.
One way to guard against that is a coordinated, concerted effort from leadership to lay out the reasons why now is the time for a major investment in America’s Navy. And that needs to start happening soon.
https://breakingdefense.com/2026/06/the-navys-next-secretary-has-an-urgent-task-make-the-public-case/
