S

eabasing is a national capability

and the overarching transformational operating concept for 

projecting and sustaining naval

power and selected joint forces.

It assures joint access by leveraging the

operational maneuver of sovereign, distributed, and networked forces operating 

globally from the sea. Seabasing unites 

our capabilities for projecting offensive

power, defensive power, command and

control, mobility, and sustainment around

the world. The inherent mobility, security,

and flexibility of naval forces provide an

effective counter to emerging military 

and political limitations on U.S. overseas

access. Seabasing reduces joint force 

operational dependence upon fixed and 

vulnerable land bases, offering joint force

commanders increased freedom of action

to deploy, employ, and sustain forces at 

a time and place of our choosing. Seabasing

and the supporting tools we are developing

will usher in dramatic new ways of

employing naval forces to deter conflict

and, when required, to wage war.

Transformation and 

Naval Force Development

The Navy-Marine Corps Team’s transformation encompasses and integrates powerful extensions to current joint capabilities,

as well as a range of innovative new capabilities. Just as the Department of Defense’s

transformation strategy is “hinged” upon

the Joint Operational Concepts (JOCs),

enhanced naval capabilities are based on a

family of naval documents that provide the

conceptual basis for how the Navy-Marine

Corps Team will operate as an integrated

naval force in a joint and coalition environment through 2020. The Navy-Marine

Corps Team—with its two distinct armed

services, core competencies, and cultures—

is proud to serve as a model for what can be

achieved by different organizations working

toward common ends.

Naval Power 21 is the Department of

the Navy’s vision statement that guides 

and supports naval transformation. Fusing

the concepts, capabilities, and core competencies expressed in the Navy’s vision 

document Sea Power 21, the Marine Corps’

vision document Marine Corps Strategy

Naval Vision and Transformation

18 USMC concepts + programs 2005

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21, and the Marine Corps’ capstone concept Expeditionary Maneuver Warfare

(EMW), Naval Power 21 charts the future

course for the Navy-Marine Corps Team

and becomes operational through the

Naval Operating Concept for Joint

Operations, which is described later.

Naval Power 21 envisions the NavyMarine Corps Team continuing to control

the sea and project power and U.S. influence beyond the sea, as part of an overall

joint effort. Our forces will use the sovereignty of the sea to operate without restriction, and our forward expeditionary nature

will provide persistent warfighting capabilities and sustained American influence

wherever we may be called to deploy. Naval

Power 21 looks to enhancing four inherent

qualities of U.S. naval forces: decisiveness,

sustainability, responsiveness, and agility.

The Navy and Marine Corps have

defined their unique contributions to Naval

Power 21 in their respective vision documents. Marine Corps Strategy 21 focuses

upon the Corps’ expeditionary, combined

arms character and the drive to enhance

our strategic agility, operational reach, and

tactical flexibility. These capabilities will

allow us to continue providing U.S. regional combatant commanders with tailored,

interoperable Marine Air-Ground Task

Forces (MAGTFs) that can respond quickly

across the spectrum of crisis and conflict,

and conduct forcible-entry operations

when needed.

Marine Corps Strategy 21 embraces

Expeditionary Maneuver Warfare (EMW) as

the capstone concept that provides the basis

for organizing, training, and equipping the

Marine Corps for current and future operations. In addition, Marine Corps Strategy 21

highlights the Corps’ integral role in joint

and combined warfare. The strategy calls for

us to deepen our strategic partnerships with

our sister services and contribute to the

development of joint, combined, and interagency capabilities.

For its part, Sea Power 21 establishes the

vision of the Chief of Naval Operations

(CNO) for how the Navy will organize, integrate, and transform. It details four interdependent and synergistic Naval Capability

Pillars (NCPs) that guide the Navy’s force

development efforts. Condensed titles for

broad groups of naval capabilities—Sea

Strike, Sea Shield, Sea Base, and FORCEnet,

NCPs provide a common construct that the

Navy and Marine Corps use together to

develop the broad array of capabilities

required to transform the Seabasing concept into an operational reality.

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