Bill Hamblet

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2023 Year in Review for the Sea Services

Feb 29, 2024 | usni.org | Bill Hamblet

This issue is our annual Naval Review—a look back at and analysis of the previous year in the Sea Services. The year 2023 saw significant budgetary, modernization, operational, and manning challenges across the force—and also some impressive progress and operational success. In “U.S. Navy in Review,” Dmitry Filipoff and Rob Holzer write about everything from experimentation with unmanned systems to operations in the western Pacific to the challenges posed by the Houthis in the Red Sea.
To Upgun Seapower in the Indo-Pacific, You Need an Army

Jan 31, 2024 | usni.org | Charles E Flynn |Bill Hamblet |Salvatore R. Mercogliano

1. Toshi Yoshihara and James R. Holmes, Red Star Over the Pacific: China’s Rise and the Challenge to U.S. Maritime Strategy, 2nd Edition (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2018), 32. 2. Toshi Yoshihara and James R. Holmes, “Asymmetric Warfare, American Style,” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings 138, no. 4 (April 2012). 3. John Keegan, The Mask of Command (New York: Penguin, 1988), 42. 4. CAPT Wayne P. Hughes, USN (Ret.), Fleet Tactics and Naval Operations (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1986), 30.
Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum: (If You Want Peace, Prepare For War)

Jan 31, 2024 | usni.org | Bill Hamblet

As this issue went to press, the major headlines were all about the Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, the international coalition to protect the sea lines, and the coalition airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. What is a Navy for? Look no further than the recent headlines. This month’s Need to Know column, by California State University professor and shipping expert Joe Greco, explains major global shipping routes and ship sizes for both container ships and crude oil carriers.
The Surface Warfare Issue: Command of the Sea and Ship Maintenance

Dec 31, 2023 | usni.org | Bill Hamblet

The New Year begins with a focus on surface warfare and the essence of why great nations need navies. Retired Navy Captain Robert Rubel’s “Command of the Sea: Why It Is Essential to U.S. Maritime Strategy” and Walter Hudson’s “Mahan as Geoeconomic Strategist” combine to make a case for a larger, more capable Navy in terms that command assent. Maintenance is a topic on many people’s minds.
Tighten the Belt and Cut the Roads

Dec 31, 2023 | usni.org | Bill Hamblet

Senior U.S. political and military leaders are nearly unanimous in expecting that the People’s Republic of China—or, more accurately, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)—will set both the timing and the tempo for the onset of the United States/CCP conflict. It seems probable the CCP agrees. Far more significant is that the belligerents’ criteria for war termination are starkly at odds.
International Navies

Apr 30, 2023 | usni.org | Bill Hamblet

A year ago, we would not have predicted the ongoing war in Ukraine would still be . . . ongoing. We would have predicted, however, that tensions in the Indo-Pacific would continue to climb. This month’s focus on international navies brings those two challenges—and others—to the fore. In “The International Commanders Respond,” more than 20 international navy chiefs accepted our annual invitation to write about how global threats are impacting their nations’ navies and coast guards.
The EPF Should Be the Permanent Light Amphibious Warship

Apr 1, 2023 | usni.org | Pete Pagano |William L. Stearman |Bill Hamblet

With some modifications, the existing expeditionary fast transport (EPF) design, formerly known as the joint high-speed vessel (JHSV), can meet the Navy and Marine Corps requirement for a light amphibious warship (LAW). In the Marine Corps’ annual Force Design 2030 update released in May 2022, it was announced that Military Sealift Command expeditionary sea base (ESB) and expeditionary fast transport (EPF) vessels will be used as interim solutions until the LAW is delivered.
The Expeditionary Warfare Issue

Mar 31, 2023 | usni.org | Bill Hamblet

In 2019, the Proceedings team decided to dedicate the April issue to expeditionary warfare. Given the rapid force modernization and development of related operational concepts in the Marine Corps, we knew there was plenty to publish, but expeditionary warfare is more than just the Marine Corps. Last year we had a rare article on Naval Special Warfare (NSW) by Navy SEAL Rear Admiral H. Wyman Howard.
Three Ways to Retain More Intelligence Officers in the Reserves

Mar 20, 2023 | usni.org | Bill Hamblet

The Navy Reserve information warfare community (IWC) and, more specifically, the Reserve intelligence officer corps are having difficulty retaining talent.
The Naval Review: What 2022 Meant for the Sea Services

Feb 28, 2023 | usni.org | Bill Hamblet |Nicholas A. Lambert

One of the best changes we have made to Proceedings in the past five years was moving the Naval Review issue from May to March. Being two months earlier in our annual lookback allows us to provide more timely analysis. It is a daunting task to distill a year in the life of the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine into 3,500 words, but the review authors provide superb insights into the major stories and decisions of 2022.