‘The ability to project power onto a hostile shore is a critical element of national security’
By Mike Jernigan, Real Clear Wire
Most Americans seldom hear the term “amphibious operations” outside of an entertainment context: John Wayne as Sgt. John Stryker in The Sands of Iwo Jima or Tom Hanks as Capt. John Miller in the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan. For service members, though, it’s a different story.
Historically, the ability to project power onto a hostile shore is a critical element of national security and a mainstay of a maritime nation. Military strategist B. H. Liddell Hart explains that “Amphibious flexibility is the greatest strategic asset that a sea power possesses.“
Yet, despite its strategic necessity, America’s amphibious readiness faces critical funding and organizational challenges that demand immediate action from Congress and the Department of the Navy.