Thousand Ship Navy Redux

As a guiding principle the Cooperative Strategy for the 21st Century Revision revisits the concept of a “global network of navies”.  In 2006 Admiral Mullen was a tireless proponent of the Thousand Ship Navy operating concept comprised of an “international fleet of like-minded nations”, foreign navies, commercial shipping companies, and merchant vessels. This concept was controversial with US policymakers because cynics saw a concept that outsourced maritime security due to an inadequate acquisition program, a shrinking shipbuilding capability, and a lack of political will for a strong Navy.  Allies were also critical because they regarded the concept a ploy by the US to gain control over their indigenous maritime assets and could possibly result in being orthogonal to a country’s national interest. Making the concept even more problematic was the long standing distrust between some US partners, particularly in Asia. The concept was not entirely thrown over the transom, as the notion of global maritime partnerships has gained traction due to the nexus of technologies like AIS and a general willingness among nations to share maritime information.  Successful examples usually include counter-piracy off Somalia, the Italian led Virtual Regional Maritime Traffic Center and the maritime center in Singapore established to ensure maritime security in the straits of Malacca.  The Thousand Ship Navy initiative is indeed a cautionary tale. The lesson learned is to build upon existing successes and move forward a strategy to further increase maritime security partnerships fleshed out in a study completed several years ago by The Naval Studies Board.