Accession Number:

AD1058289

Title:

Building the Warrior Ethos in the Surface Warfare Community: A Culture Change for Distributed Lethality

Descriptive Note:

Technical Report

Corporate Author:

Gravely Research Group, Naval War College Newport United States

Personal Author(s):

Report Date:

2016-06-07

Pagination or Media Count:

60.0

Abstract:

The concept of Distributed Lethality requires a culture change, one that drives the Surface Warfare Community towards a more offensive warrior ethos. The authors of the concept have made a call for the community to think differently about how it approaches warfighting and tactical development. In addition to a number of technological advancements that are being made in weapons and command and control systems, changes must be made to training and personnel systems to help develop sailors into commanding officers who are prepared to take their ships into battle. This concept is important to being able to achieve national maritime strategic aims now and in the future. The submarine community in during World War II provides some examples of how and why change occurred that helped them built a more offensive culture. This paper presents a number of current initiatives and provides recommendations primarily in the areas of training and personnel management that can help build a warfighting culture for Surface Warfare Officers. The first tenet of the CNOs guidance is Warfighting First. A more systematic approach to develop a community that values tactical and operational skill - making warfighting a priority must be taken in order for the concept of Distributed Lethality to meet its full potential.

Subject Categories:

  • Personnel Management and Labor Relations
  • Military Operations, Strategy and Tactics

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE