MARITIME MATTERS
warfare and cyber warfare. The strat-
egy warns of the increasing techno-
logical capabilities of actual and
potential adversaries, and the chal-
lenges they pose to access to the mar-
itime commons and power projec-
tion by U.S and allied forces.
All-domain access was defined
by RDML William C. McQuilkin,
director, Navy Strategy and Policy
Division, speaking to reporters
March 11 at the Pentagon, as
“appropriate freedom action in
every domain.”
The all-domain access will be
achieved through battlespace aware -
ness, assured command and control,
cyberspace operations, electromag-
netic maneuver and integrated fires.
Traditional roles of deterrence, sea
control, power projection and mar-
itime security remain pillars of the
strategy.
McQuilkin was joined in the
briefing by Coast Guard RDML Peter
J. Brown, assistant commandant for
Response Policy, and Marine BGen
Kevin J. Killea, Futures Directorate,
Combat Development and Integra -
tion, in discussing their role in devel-
oping the strategy revisions.
The revised strategy is more spe-
cific than the original, calling for a
balanced fleet of more than 300
ships and a forward presence of
about 120 ships by 2020. Modular
ships, such as the littoral combat
ship and future frigate, and adaptive
force packaging are seen as innova-
tions that will enable more presence
while freeing up major combat plat-
forms, such as carrier strike groups
and amphibious ready groups, for
more complex missions.
Killea said the revised strategy
aligned with the Expeditionary
Force 21 capstone concept adopted
by the Marine Corps last year. The
strategy adopts the concepts of use
of nontraditional ships for amphibi-
ous operations and of compositing
forces at sea for power projection.
“We are changing the way we fight
from the sea,” he said. “I’d like to go
on record and say that we do not have
enough ships. We work around it.”
The Coast Guard will concentrate
its presence in the Western Hemi -
sphere, strengthening its partner-
ships and capacity in the region. The
service also will further develop its
ability to operate in the Arctic. Brown
said the Coast Guard would continue
to focus on threats in the Caribbean
and eastern Pacific, as well as protect
living marine resources.
Key to the Coast Guard capabili-
ties will be the acquisition of the Off -
shore Patrol Cutter (OPC), which
will be the workhorse of open-ocean
operations, as well as recapitalization
of its icebreaker capability.
Brown said the service needed 25
OPCs “to fulfill our responsibilities.”Panel Puts USMC
Officials on the
Defensive Over ACV
Marine Corps officials had to
defend their decision to buy a
wheeled armored personnel carrier
instead of a traditional tracked
vehicle to support their sea-based
expeditionary operations.
Facing persistent questions from
the Senate Armed Services Com -
mittee (SASC) seapower subcommit-
tee on March 11, the Corps’ top com-
bat development officer and the
expeditionary programs official said
the phased acquisition strategy for
the wheeled Amphibious Combat
Vehicle (ACV) to replace Vietnam-
vintage tracked assault amphibious
vehicles (AAVs) was driven by what
was technically available and afford-
able under constrained budgets
LtGen Kenneth J. Glueck, deputy
commandant for combat develop-
ment and integration, said the ACV
program to replace the AAV-7s was
the Corps’ No. 1 ground combat pri-
ority and would be protected even if
sequestration is restored.
But subcommittee Chairman
Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said, “I
remain concerned that substituting
wheeled vehicles for trackedamphibious vehicles will erode the
Marine Corps’ capabilities.”
Those concerns were echoed by
ranking Democrat Mazie Hirono of
Hawaii, who noted that the proposed
ACV did not have true amphibious
capability and could not carry a full
infantry squad of 13 Marines.
Glueck and Thomas Dee, the
Navy’s deputy assistant secretary for
Expeditionary Programs and Lo gis -
tics Management, insisted the
choice of the eight-wheeled troop
car rier came after “exhaustive stud-
ies” that looked at what technology
was available worldwide that could
meet the Marines’ requirements and
was affordable.
Although the ACV acquisition
strategy proposed buying an initial8 S E A P O W E R / A P R I L 2 0 1 5 W W W. S E A P O W E R M A G A Z I N E. O R G
Assault amphibious vehicles (AAVs),
attached to Landing Force Coopera -
tion Afloat Readiness and Training
(CARAT) launch from the well deck of
Whidbey Island-class amphibious dock
landing ship USS Ashland during the
CARAT 2014 exercise in the Gulf of
Malaysia June 6. The Marine Corps
plans to procure a wheeled Amphibious
Combat Vehicle instead of a tracked
vehicle to replace the AAVs, which has
caused concern among lawmakers
who feel wheeled vehicles will not give
the service true amphibious capability.U.S.
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AVY