1. The classical naval strategists made two significant contributions to the development of naval thought that has withstood rigors of time, tide and traditions. One, they formulated and weaved maritime and naval activities to wider national and international issues. Second, they drafted principles for professional naval officers for the naval strategy formulation. These salient contributions from naval greats such as Laughton, Luce, Mahan, Jomini, Colomb etc. have enabled naval strategists till to date to move on and also marked intellectual revolution for navies all over the world.
2. The two contributions, though different but are also closely tied to each other. The combination of these contributions has had wide influence up on sea power and in turn history. Modern naval theorists and strategists have continued to do exhaustive research and analysis on naval theory based on these contributions. One of the pioneers of classical Naval Strategist Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan summed up their generation’s contributions where he stated,” Each principle is partial educator; combined you have in time a perfect instructor. History by itself is better than formulated principles by themselves; for in this connection, history being narrative of actions, takes the role, which we commonly call practical. It is the story of practical experience, but we all I thrust, have advanced beyond the habit of thought which rates the rule of thumb, mere practice, mere personnel experience, above practice illuminated by principles, and reinforced by the knowledge, developed by many men in many quarters. Master your principles, and then ram them home with the illustrations which history furnishes”.
3. The classical naval strategy had a direct influence up on the world’s history. For almost entire 19th century and a substantial frame of 20th century, the British Royal Navy emerged as a leader and mutilated any competition that came its way. This was direct impact of its industrial and economic capacity combined with industrialization. The other nations gradually accepted the British ascendancy in the other areas too. The Royal Navy discouraged competition and other nations were willing to follow her ideas of peace, free trade and prosperity. This scenario existed because other did not challenge the domination. This tirade continued till others broke free and industrial revolution caught on. Gradually, the British Navy replaced its global agenda with a strategy of local preponderance. This strategy led to a new dimension in international relations and a new dimension to naval competitions affecting the technological levels of World’s naval society. This new era struck directly at the traditional thinking about navies. In the past, common sense and practical experience led to final strategy and no professional literature existed. No intellectualism was ever formed on the subject. The new look international politics and naval technology brought all into question and swept all previous thinking away.
4. These sweeping changes had cascading developmental effects on the salient features of naval strategy such as coast defence, communications, concentration control, command of the sea, deterrence, defense versus offence, fleet, history, fleet –in – being, force, government, history, mobility, national policy, naval strategy, objectives, position, preparedness, relation, risk, sea power, speed, strategy, study, submarines, trade, uncertainty and chance, war and warships. The old grapevine is still very relevant in today’s tumultuous environment and the medium power navies such as the Indian Navy still find relevance to the above features of naval strategy.
5. Although a Navy is built primarily for war but it finds its main utility in peace, in formulating different measures to prevent major and minor conflicts, in exerting influence and pressure as part of normal ‘peaceful’ diplomatic activities and in enforcing international law and regulations to maintain the maritime sanctity. These are also the primary objectives for medium power navy as the Indian Navy. The Indian Navy is primarily configured for peace rather than war.
6. The main aim of Indian Navy’s think tanks should be concentrate its resources on a force level that make more sense in a ‘power projection’ role in peace or limited war like operations than in less likely conditions of a major conventional war. The need of the era is to have a strategy to use such a peacetime navy to achieve the immediate wartime objectives of safeguarding sea use.
7. Any tension between peacetime and wartime requirements in the configuration of a medium power navy, the differing priorities within peacetime strategy can create extra complexities. The non-adherence to strategy principles of the past can surely lead to confusions and chaos. The adherence to the classical naval strategy albeit in a form relevant for today is very much in vogue. India’s maritime needs and the future development of naval assets would immensely be self confident by following the vary basics of the classical naval strategy philosophy.
8. There can be a little doubt that Indian Navy’s constabulary and regulatory roles would grow steadily in importance as the forms of sea use are becoming diversified and the neighboring states are becoming more aware of their rights and duties in various offshore zones. This diversity of naval duties requires a multi skilled navy where specified task force is required to be formulated. The formulation of coast guard and equipping the same for operating it in the EEZ would ease much pressure of the main war force. The two-pronged approach is a direct out come of the classical naval strategy which talks about the ‘force’. The organized force extends the maritime shield and veils the moments of the peace advance in quietness and unleashes the last expression in wake of the war.
9. The maritime law and order today are highly bureaucratic in nature and largely depend upon local traditions and political culture, as well as the available resources. This is the portable thrust area for the Indian Navy where in the growing conflicts between the ‘constabulary’ and military role needs to be addressed. The characteristics of the political vessel versus a naval fleet vessel vary due to optimization of the equipments for various combat levels. Probably, the Indian Navy of today may be in dilemma as to how to strike a balance between fleet and coast guard? This is where the classical concept of the fleet still plays a crucial role. It still guides as to how much tonnage can a nation still afford and how shall the tonnage get divided amongst the armored ships. The need of the hour is to strike a balance between the number and size. Remember a fleet is the only really determining element in the naval war.
10. The usage of sea is ever growing. A navy can be entrusted with unwelcome and unfamiliar roles. The dynamic roles can vary from ensuring peace and to cause deterrence. These multifarious roles bring along a host of political and financial juggernauts. There are two fundamentals on this, first; the war would be very destructive and needs to be avoided, and, second, this is the age of continental super powers and sea air power can lead to catastrophic application of air powers over the enemy. The best platforms would be ballistic missile firing submarines. However, submarines need sheltered operations and offer high deterrent powers. The Indian Navy must be interested in threats and application of force at a much lower level of intensity. The path of violence for peace loving nation as India is not the solution but the maintenance of the deterrent power is a must. The degree of restraint is direct out come of the deterrent methods employed.
11. In the recent years, the international waters have also become a playground for criminals and hostile fire is seen in many places. Ships are mute spectators to robbery especially in fast developing nations. The crimes at sea go unabated, as there is no harmony between the mercantile and military shipping. The Indian Navy is also facing a dilemma to catch illegal smuggling. The actions required are firm and yet outrageous. This is where the classical concepts of sea power, preparedness, retaliation and risk come into play. The Indian Navy has to take recourse to actions that thwarts any terrorist activity and aborts piracy. Any fear of terrorist activity or piracy needs to be stubbed firmly. This obviously does not mean entailing a power competition and but only asserts a will to establish peace and maintain maritime sanctity.
12. The classical naval strategy stressed up on strategy itself. It preached two things; first a suitable base and second an organized military force. The range of operations can extend upto distant parts of the globe. This would in turn mean an effective communication and a control exercised by the naval top brass. The adoption of secure means to sustain force at sea is a classical concept whose relevance in today’s Indian Navy needs no mention. The Indian Navy needs to assert its naval diplomacy and achieve a foreseeable future. This can be achieved by defining a range of activities Viz. maintaining presence, conducting surveillance, threatening use of force, conducting naval gun fire or air strikes, landing troops, evacuating civilians, establishing a blockade and quarantine and preventing interference from other navies. The Indian Navy of today needs to stress upon its own diplomatic interests and be more ‘operational’.
13. The super powers of yesteryears are bygone. The Indian Navy can surely pick up threads of the classical naval strategy and become main practitioner of peacetime naval diplomacy. This peacetime use of naval force would offer three headings for aims and objectives of the ‘diplomatic’ role of the Indian Navy:
(1) Negotiation from strength, (2) Manipulation and (3) Prestige.
14. The classical concepts are still very valid to a potent Indian Navy. The Indian Navy has to ‘show the flag’ and does need to exercise some down graded ‘gunboat diplomacy’ to ward off threats. This would enable a specific advantage to the state and strengthen coercive diplomacy. The classical naval strategies finally preached four aspects to a potent navy: (1) Definitive, (2) Purposeful, (3) Catalytic and (4) Expressive. A closer analysis reveals that they are still very much relevant to the Indian Navy.
15. The Indian Navy does well understand that sea power is more than a mere slogan. It is a vital factor in the world political order. The Indian Navy will continue to absorb large amount of resources, depending on the capacity of the nation and the national policy. The Indian Navy with its roots secure with naval strategic value would be sounder and would be a significant regional Navy of future.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
THE SUBMARINER
1. In July 1898, a small boat fell beneath the waves in New York Harbor, off Staten Island. The event caused great celebration. For the boat was called the Holland, and she was designed to sink. And she did this so well that on April 11, 1900, Holland was bought by the U.S. Navy and thus was the world's first successful submarine service born. Holland’s first dive was only to 12 feet, and it lasted for just 11 minutes. These days, submarines easily go deeper than 1,000 feet, travel to the farthest reaches of the planet's oceans, sidle up close against enemy shores and often stay submerged for months at a time.
2. John Lowe, the first submariner and the man at the helm during Holland's first dive, had much in common with the nearly quarter of a million men who have served on the submarines over the last 106 years, men who proudly call themselves "bubbleheads'' and who, for the most part, believe that they are all a little bit nuts. Why else would anyone purposely sign up to serve on a ship knowing he was going to risk not just enemy torpedoes and depth charges, but also asphyxiation, drowning or implosion under crushing ocean pressures. Submariners have always been a completely volunteer force, a group of men struck with a brand of patriotism that outweighs their own sense of survival. They go because they've asked themselves the question, "What else?"
3. The tragic loss of any submarine around the world has a special kind of impact on the nations operating these technological marvels. A special kind of sadness erupts around the globe, mixed with universal admiration for the men who choose this type of work. One can not mention the submarine and its gallant crew without observing in the same breath how utterly final and alone the end is when a boat dies at the bottom of the sea and what a remarkable specimen of man it must be who accepts such a risk. Most of us might be moved to conclude, too, that a tragedy of this kind would have a damaging effect on the morale of the other men in the submarine service and tend to discourage future enlistment. Actually, there is not evidence that this is so. What is it then that lures men to careers in which they spend so much of their time in cramped quarters, under great psychological stress, with danger lurking all about them?
4. Togetherness is an overworked term, but in no other branch of our military service is it given such full meaning as in the so called "Silent Service". In a Submarine, each man is totally dependent upon the skill of every other man in the crew, not only for top performance but for actual survival. Each knows that his very life depends on the others and because this is so, there is a bond among them that both challenges and comforts them. All of this gives the submariner a special feeling of pride, because he is indeed a member of an elite corps. The risks, then, are an inspiration rather than a deterrent. The challenge of masculinity is another factor which attracts men to serve on submarines. It certainly is a test of a man's prowess and power to know he can qualify for this highly selective service. However, it should be emphasized that this desire to prove masculinity is not pathological, as it might be in certain dare-devil pursuits, such as driving a motorcycle through a flaming hoop.
5. There is nothing dare devilish about motivations of the man who decides to dedicate his life to the submarine service. He does, indeed, take pride in demonstrating that he is quite a man, but he does not do so to practice a form of foolhardy brinkmanship, to see how close he can get to failure and still snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. On the contrary, the aim in the submarine service is to battle the danger, to minimize the risk, to take every measure to make certain that safety rather danger, is maintained at all times. Are the men in the submarine service braver than those in other pursuits where the possibility of sudden tragedy is constant? The glib answer would be to say they are. It is more accurate, from a psychological point of view, to say they are not necessarily braver, but that they are men who have a little more insight into themselves and their capabilities. They know themselves a little better than the next man. This has to be so with men who have a healthy reason to volunteer for a risk. They are generally a cut healthier emotionally than others of the similar age and background because of their willingness to push themselves a little bit farther and not settle for an easier kind of existence. We all have tremendous capabilities but are rarely straining at the upper level of what we can do, these men are. The country can be proud and grateful that so many of its sound, young, eager men care enough about their own stature in life and the welfare of their country to pool their skills and match them collectively against the power of the sea.
6. In the early days of the Submarines, John Lowe was convinced that only submarines - a fleet of 50 at least - could protect the nation's shores should an enemy do what he was certain any enemy would. The idea of subs as the ultimate coastal picket, guarding against all enemies who may venture near, lasted until World War I - when German U-boats demonstrated in a lethal campaign against merchant shipping that submarines could be very effective as a blue-water force. Submarines were equally deadly during World War II - and it wasn't just Hitler's Navy that posed the threat. U.S. submarines crippled the Japanese Navy and destroyed Tokyo's merchant fleet, mounting their first successful attacks within days of Pearl Harbor. Along the way, the United States lost 52 submarines and 3,500 men.
7. After the war, submarines fell out of the spotlight, but the calculated insanity that sent men out beneath the waves never diminished - nor did the question, "What else?" If anything, both reached new intensity during the Cold War, in missions that were just as much a question of life and death as they had been during the years when depth charges routinely blew holes in the Pacific.
8. These new missions were so deeply cloaked in secrecy that thousands of men went out - often for months at a time - never telling anyone where they were going, or why. They didn't tell their wives, their children, their parents, their best friends. And for good reason. The mission had moved beyond one of mere stealth to one of utmost secrecy. And submariners had become more than hunters. They had become spies. It was their job to venture to the shores of the enemies, sometimes straight into the enemy’s harbors. It was their job to trail,a push of a button away from sinking, the enemy submarines.
9. To do this, submariners suffer from confinement and from the dangers of the ocean depths. Submariners stood by as many submarines were lost with all hands - and they watched as many of their own families fell apart from the imposed distance of time and silence. Their own families think that they are involved in mere exercises, perhaps in a few "cat-and-mouse games". The public is generally told that the submarines themselves are technological marvels almost able to drive themselves. What is left out is that these marvels often are held together with shoestring, spit and the creativity of the men who ride in them.
10. Submariners have always made up their own rules, their limits are often drawn on the spot by victory and disaster. There is no other way. They are always attempting feats that had never been considered possible, moving as quickly as their technology and the technology of their adversaries and allow - dreaming it up as they go along.
11. Amidst all the controverseries, the Silent Service has managed time and again to reinvent itself - and has been proving that submarines can play a crucial role in the kind of high-tech wars that will be fought in the 21st century. Today, spy satellites scour the surface of the globe, but still can't effectively peer under- water. Submarines remain the best of the nation's stealth weapons. This is far from the world that John Lowe could have imagined when he guided Holland into New York Harbor a century ago. But it is a world that the Silent Service is well-equipped to dominate well into its second century. It's the modern answer to the old question: "What else?''
Happy Birthday.
2. John Lowe, the first submariner and the man at the helm during Holland's first dive, had much in common with the nearly quarter of a million men who have served on the submarines over the last 106 years, men who proudly call themselves "bubbleheads'' and who, for the most part, believe that they are all a little bit nuts. Why else would anyone purposely sign up to serve on a ship knowing he was going to risk not just enemy torpedoes and depth charges, but also asphyxiation, drowning or implosion under crushing ocean pressures. Submariners have always been a completely volunteer force, a group of men struck with a brand of patriotism that outweighs their own sense of survival. They go because they've asked themselves the question, "What else?"
3. The tragic loss of any submarine around the world has a special kind of impact on the nations operating these technological marvels. A special kind of sadness erupts around the globe, mixed with universal admiration for the men who choose this type of work. One can not mention the submarine and its gallant crew without observing in the same breath how utterly final and alone the end is when a boat dies at the bottom of the sea and what a remarkable specimen of man it must be who accepts such a risk. Most of us might be moved to conclude, too, that a tragedy of this kind would have a damaging effect on the morale of the other men in the submarine service and tend to discourage future enlistment. Actually, there is not evidence that this is so. What is it then that lures men to careers in which they spend so much of their time in cramped quarters, under great psychological stress, with danger lurking all about them?
4. Togetherness is an overworked term, but in no other branch of our military service is it given such full meaning as in the so called "Silent Service". In a Submarine, each man is totally dependent upon the skill of every other man in the crew, not only for top performance but for actual survival. Each knows that his very life depends on the others and because this is so, there is a bond among them that both challenges and comforts them. All of this gives the submariner a special feeling of pride, because he is indeed a member of an elite corps. The risks, then, are an inspiration rather than a deterrent. The challenge of masculinity is another factor which attracts men to serve on submarines. It certainly is a test of a man's prowess and power to know he can qualify for this highly selective service. However, it should be emphasized that this desire to prove masculinity is not pathological, as it might be in certain dare-devil pursuits, such as driving a motorcycle through a flaming hoop.
5. There is nothing dare devilish about motivations of the man who decides to dedicate his life to the submarine service. He does, indeed, take pride in demonstrating that he is quite a man, but he does not do so to practice a form of foolhardy brinkmanship, to see how close he can get to failure and still snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. On the contrary, the aim in the submarine service is to battle the danger, to minimize the risk, to take every measure to make certain that safety rather danger, is maintained at all times. Are the men in the submarine service braver than those in other pursuits where the possibility of sudden tragedy is constant? The glib answer would be to say they are. It is more accurate, from a psychological point of view, to say they are not necessarily braver, but that they are men who have a little more insight into themselves and their capabilities. They know themselves a little better than the next man. This has to be so with men who have a healthy reason to volunteer for a risk. They are generally a cut healthier emotionally than others of the similar age and background because of their willingness to push themselves a little bit farther and not settle for an easier kind of existence. We all have tremendous capabilities but are rarely straining at the upper level of what we can do, these men are. The country can be proud and grateful that so many of its sound, young, eager men care enough about their own stature in life and the welfare of their country to pool their skills and match them collectively against the power of the sea.
6. In the early days of the Submarines, John Lowe was convinced that only submarines - a fleet of 50 at least - could protect the nation's shores should an enemy do what he was certain any enemy would. The idea of subs as the ultimate coastal picket, guarding against all enemies who may venture near, lasted until World War I - when German U-boats demonstrated in a lethal campaign against merchant shipping that submarines could be very effective as a blue-water force. Submarines were equally deadly during World War II - and it wasn't just Hitler's Navy that posed the threat. U.S. submarines crippled the Japanese Navy and destroyed Tokyo's merchant fleet, mounting their first successful attacks within days of Pearl Harbor. Along the way, the United States lost 52 submarines and 3,500 men.
7. After the war, submarines fell out of the spotlight, but the calculated insanity that sent men out beneath the waves never diminished - nor did the question, "What else?" If anything, both reached new intensity during the Cold War, in missions that were just as much a question of life and death as they had been during the years when depth charges routinely blew holes in the Pacific.
8. These new missions were so deeply cloaked in secrecy that thousands of men went out - often for months at a time - never telling anyone where they were going, or why. They didn't tell their wives, their children, their parents, their best friends. And for good reason. The mission had moved beyond one of mere stealth to one of utmost secrecy. And submariners had become more than hunters. They had become spies. It was their job to venture to the shores of the enemies, sometimes straight into the enemy’s harbors. It was their job to trail,a push of a button away from sinking, the enemy submarines.
9. To do this, submariners suffer from confinement and from the dangers of the ocean depths. Submariners stood by as many submarines were lost with all hands - and they watched as many of their own families fell apart from the imposed distance of time and silence. Their own families think that they are involved in mere exercises, perhaps in a few "cat-and-mouse games". The public is generally told that the submarines themselves are technological marvels almost able to drive themselves. What is left out is that these marvels often are held together with shoestring, spit and the creativity of the men who ride in them.
10. Submariners have always made up their own rules, their limits are often drawn on the spot by victory and disaster. There is no other way. They are always attempting feats that had never been considered possible, moving as quickly as their technology and the technology of their adversaries and allow - dreaming it up as they go along.
11. Amidst all the controverseries, the Silent Service has managed time and again to reinvent itself - and has been proving that submarines can play a crucial role in the kind of high-tech wars that will be fought in the 21st century. Today, spy satellites scour the surface of the globe, but still can't effectively peer under- water. Submarines remain the best of the nation's stealth weapons. This is far from the world that John Lowe could have imagined when he guided Holland into New York Harbor a century ago. But it is a world that the Silent Service is well-equipped to dominate well into its second century. It's the modern answer to the old question: "What else?''
Happy Birthday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)