USA: Chief of Naval Operations Releases Sailing Directions

Newly appointed Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Jonathan Greenert released his Sailing Directions to the Navy following the CNO change of command ceremony, Sept. 23.

The CNO’s Sailing Directions lay out a course for the Navy and can be looked upon as a user’s guide that describes the Navy’s mission and the CNO’s vision, tenets and guiding principles. This new document clearly defines the Navy’s core responsibilities with a mission statement followed with a vision for where the Navy desires to be in the next 10-15 years.
As described by Adm. Greenert, over the next 10 to 15 years, the Navy will evolve and remain the preeminent maritime force, operating forward in new and flexible ways with access to strategic maritime crossroads.

The Sailing Directions states the strength of a diverse fleet which is proficient in the weapons and systems used to execute operations while maintaining a two-century tradition of warfighting excellence, adaptation and resilience. It further outlines the importance of embracing economic change by operating effectively and efficiently while staying committed to innovating technologies and warfighting capabilities.

CNO addressed the next part, his tenets, in his change of command speech, “We will approach our challenges and we’ll implement our changes that will have to be done in the future with three tenets in mind,” said Greenert. The tenets, ‘warfighting first’, ‘operate forward’ and ‘be ready’ will serve as a lens to address future challenges.

And lastly, the Sailing Directions include ‘guiding principles’ that should be used as a starting point for developing and executing Navy plans. A few of these guiding principles touch on the Navy’s primary mission of warfighting, the value of Sailors, Navy civilians and families, the strength of the Navy’s partnership with the Marine Corps, the importance of effective and disciplined training and the high standard of character and behavior bestowed on Sailors.

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Source: navy, September 28, 2011