Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class James Norket | 240611-N-OX360-1037 MONTEREY, Calif. (June 11, 2024) Retired U.S. Navy Vice Adm....... read more read more
Last week, the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) hosted the Maritime Risk Symposium, co-sponsored by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and National Academy of Sciences Transportation Research Board. More than 200 attendees joined senior leaders from across the services, federal and state agencies, academia, and industry, along with NPS faculty, staff and students.
Retired U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Ann Rondeau, President of NPS, set an urgent tone in her opening remarks. She warned that “gray zone” tactics are just part of the overall hybrid warfare strategy by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to gain control of Taiwan, and if allowed, the entire Indo-Pacific region and rules-based order of global free trade are at stake.
NPS Vice Provost for Warfare Studies Randy Pugh went further in his own comments, adding, "The illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive PRC-led tactics will continue to expand without end unless the combined forces and agencies of all maritime democracies stand firm, and increase coordination and collaboration worldwide, now."
Participants took a fresh look at the 2020 Tri-Service Maritime Strategy between the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps with regard to gray zone actions, in addition to how essential a revitalized U.S. maritime industrial base is to countering PRC malign activities, as increasingly called for through bipartisan efforts to create a National Maritime Strategy.
One key point made was to ensure this future strategy also fully accounts for asymmetric threats within the cyber domain, especially as AI-enabled capability increases. This concern was vetted with experts and leaders such as retired Navy Vice Adm. Timothy (TJ) White and retired Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Lori Reynolds, both of whom serve as DON CIO Chairs for Information Superiority at NPS.
Other key leaders present included Rear Adm. Michael Brookes, Commander, Office of Naval Intelligence; Coast Guard Rear Adm. Andrew Sugimoto, Commander, USCG District 11; Coast Guard Rear Adm. Megan Dean, Commander, USCG District 17; retired Rear Adm. Mark H. Buzby, former administrator of U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD); and Rear Adm. Nancy Hann, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Commissioned Officer Corps.
"I was impressed by the discussions and efforts to expand thinking and coordination by including NOAA, MARAD and the maritime industry," said Dean. “The event’s discussion on Maritime Domain Awareness, cyber, and elements of the Maritime Transportation System is timely as the coercive gray zone activity expands in my AOR and many others. The USCG Commandant’s Evergreen event complemented the symposium perfectly to look at actions, and future possibilities. My compliments to NPS and the MRS Committee for a great event that enabled this strategic dialogue."
| Date Taken: | 06.17.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 06.17.2024 19:28 |
| Story ID: | 474214 |
| Location: | MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 1,970 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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