Seabasing : Logistical Implications for the U.S. Army

Predicting when and where the United States will fight future wars is a difficult task. If we were able to predict the time, place and adversary we could design military forces prior to the outbreak of hostilities that would provide us with the best chance for success. Realistically, however, we cannot predict the next war and we must organize, train, and maintain military forces to prosecute the fight in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and the Global War on Terrorism. While we resource the current fight we must do our best to anticipate our future military needs and attempt to design our forces with those requirements in mind. Additionally, as outlined in the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review Report, "we have set about making U.S. forces more agile and more expeditionary. We also have been adjusting the U.S. global military force posture, making long overdue adjustments to U.S. basing by moving away from a static defense in obsolete Cold War garrisons, and placing emphasis on the ability to surge quickly to trouble spots across the globe." In terms of projecting joint forces, supporting agility and flexibility in unpredictable environments, Seabasing is one of our most important future concepts. According to Admiral Vern Clark, seabasing provides enhanced operational independence and support for joint forces through networked, mobile, and secure sovereign platforms operating in the maritime domain. Additionally, Admiral Clark contends that seabasing is one of three "powerful warfighting capabilities" of the Sea Power 21 strategy which "will ensure our joint force dominates the unified battlespace of the 21st century."