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to the defense of some 45 sovereign nations
besides its own territories. Even this total does not
completely reflect the magnitude of the total
defense problem for the United States armed
forces.
Although NATO is still our number one
alliance, our national strategy no longer focuses
on the central front of Europe to the exclusion
of other areas. Our strategy now recognizes with
greater clarity the importance of the Norwegian
northern flank. Likewise, it appreciates the
importance of the Greek and Turkish southern
flanks. It recognizes the importance of the Indian
Ocean to our interests and the interests of
our friends and allies around the globe.
Finally, our new national strategy has begun to
appreciate how critical the Far East is to our well-
being.
Equally worthy of our concern is the
long-term security of seaborne trade in the
western Pacific. United States trade with Asian
countries approximates its trade with Western
Europe and is expected to continue to expand. The
Asia-Pacific region has become an important
strategic center,
equaling that of Western
Europe.
The United States and its allies, not the
Soviets, are the nations who must exercise sea
control in any conflict. We must also control the
North Atlantic and beyond the Greenland-
Iceland-United Kingdom Gap into the Norwegian
Sea. The Soviets must never rest comforted in the
belief that their northern bases and forces are
invulnerable to attack from the sea. They are
vulnerable, and we must keep them so.
SUMMARY
The two major navies in the world today are
those of the United States and the USSR. The
mission of our Navy is to be prepared to conduct
prompt, sustained combat operations at sea in
support of the national interests of the United
States.
The peacetime mission of the U.S. Navy is to
deter the outbreak of armed conflict in which our
nation could become involved. The Navy deters
such conflict through strategic nuclear deterrence
and naval presence.
The wartime mission of the Navy has two
basic functions: first, the Navy must be able to
perform in a hostile environment; and second, it
must exercise sea control and power projection.
The Soviet navy’s policy is based on a Soviet
drive to extend its national influence through the
use of maritime activities. To support the Soviet
objectives, the USSR has significantly improved
its warship, aircraft, and weapons capabilities.
The Soviets have made their presence felt through
show-the-flag operations that include large in-
creases in at-sea and distant deployment opera-
tions.
They have committed themselves to
developing and maintaining a navy “second to
none.”
This chapter has presented an interesting
parallel between the life of Soviet sailors as
compared to that of the American sailors. It has
also presented some of the differences of the
military efforts and forces of the United States
and the USSR.
The Soviets have achieved significant advan-
tages in strategic, nuclear, and conventional
capabilities. This achievement is a result of two
decades of steadily increasing Soviet military
expenditures, coupled with a long period of
Western restraint. These advantages have led
directly to increased risks to free-world security.
Strong U.S. leadership and the sustained support
of U.S. defense programs and coalition measures
are essential for the United States to meet the
challenges ahead.
International ties between the United States
and its allies have resulted in the United States
being committed to the defense of many sovereign
nations throughout the world. The purpose of
these elaborate alliance systems is to pre-
vent armed aggression against allied nations.
An armed attack against one or more of these
allied nations shall be considered an attack against
them all.
REFERENCES
Basic Military Requirements, NAVEDTRA 12043,
Naval Education and Training Program
Management Support Activity, Pensacola,
Fla., 1992.
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