By Dmitry Filipoff

This month the CIMSEC Warfighting Flotilla will be hosting sessions focused on the Red Sea combat operations, and potential shortfalls in the Navy’s information warfare enterprise. If you haven’t already, sign up through the form below to become a Flotilla member and receive the invites to our upcoming off-the-record February discussions. The full listings for these upcoming discussions are featured down below.

Feel free to visit the Flotilla homepage to learn more about this community, its activities, and what drives it.

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Upcoming February Sessions

Red Sea Combat Lessons

The Navy has been engaged in combat operations in the Red Sea for several months now. These operations have featured air defense against salvos of missiles and drones, as well as a strike campaign against Houthi targets. How is the Navy performing in these operations, and what are the possible lessons learned? Join us to discuss these questions and more as we consider recent combat events in the Red Sea.

Read ahead: “What the Navy is learning from its fight in the Red Sea,” by Geoff Ziezulewicz
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Navy Information Warfare Shortfalls

The Navy is heavily dependent on effective information warfare capabilities to be effective. Yet this warfare area may be evolving at a pace that outstrips the Navy’s ability to adapt. What are the Navy’s shortfalls in building its information warfare community? Do fleet commands and afloat formations effectively wield information warfare capabilities and authorities? Join us to consider the Navy’s potential information warfare shortfalls.

Read ahead: “The Navy Is Not Ready for the Information War of 2026,” by Vice Admiral T. J. White and Rear Admiral Danelle Barrett, U.S. Navy (Retired), and Commander Jake Bebber, U.S. Navy
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Dmitry Filipoff is CIMSEC’s Director of Online Content and Community Manager of the Warfighting Flotilla. Contact him at [email protected].

By Dmitry Filipoff

This month the CIMSEC Warfighting Flotilla will be hosting sessions focused on the surface force, including sessions on updating SWO qualifications and the value of standing up dedicated aggressor units for the surface force. If you haven’t already, sign up through the form below to become a Flotilla member and receive the invites to our upcoming off-the-record January discussions. The full listings for these upcoming discussions are featured down below.

Feel free to visit the Flotilla homepage to learn more about this community, its activities, and what drives it.

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Upcoming January Sessions

Updating Surface Warfare Qualifications

Surface Warfare Officers can attain numerous qualifications to bolster their skills and enhance their careers. How can the SWO community update its qualifications and how they are weighed to better emphasize tactical warfighting skill? How can the detailing process better incentivize and reward qualifications that are specifically geared toward tactical skillsets? Join us to discuss these questions as we consider possible updates to SWO qualifications.

Read Ahead: “Changing Surface Warfare Qualifications: Better Incentives Make Deadlier Officers,” by LTJG Chris Rielage and LCDR JR Dinglasan
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Creating a Surface Warfare Aggressor Squadron

Aggressor units are a critical asset for forging warfighting skill and cultivating in-depth understanding of competitor forces. Yet the surface warfare community appears to lack dedicated aggressor units and staffs. How can an aggressor squadron sharpen the skills of the surface force and the broader Navy? How can the surface force stand up an aggressor staff, or even a dedicated aggressor squadron? Join us to discuss the merits of creating dedicated opposition force units and staffs for the surface force.

Read Aheads:

“Surface Warfare Needs Aggressor Squadrons,” by Captain Henry Kim

“Undersea Red: Captain Eric Sager on the Submarine Force’s New Aggressor Squadron,” by Dmitry Filipoff
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Dmitry Filipoff is CIMSEC’s Director of Online Content and Community Manager of the Warfighting Flotilla. Contact him at [email protected].

By Dmitry Filipoff

This week CIMSEC concludes a special series of notes written by Warfighting Flotilla members to commemorate the second anniversary of the Flotilla. Members discussed practical steps on how to put warfighting first and sharpen deckplate priorities. From organizing war councils to studying doctrine, to improving time management and risk tradeoffs, there are numerous recommendations for how warfighters can double down on core responsibilities.

We thank these authors for their thoughtful contributions.

“Warfighting Culture Starts with the CO,” by Jamie McGrath

“Every aspect of shipboard life is connected to warfighting and therefore should be treated as such. This ethos begins with the commanding officer, but must also be embraced by the wardroom and the chief’s mess.”

“Prepare for the Spectrum of Competition and Warfighting,” by Doug Kettler

“The first duty of a military leader is to ensure their unit is prepared for combat. However, when viewed through the lens of the competition continuum, units must also be prepared to conduct operations short of armed conflict.”

“Command by Example: Learning from San Jacinto’s War Council,” by Capt. Matthew Sharpe (ret.) and GSCM Rich Feldman (ret.)

“With Alexander and his Companions as a model, a select group of officers and enlisted leaders aboard USS San Jacinto (CG 56) met periodically to break bread, bond as warriors, and develop a shared vision of mission success. We called it the War Council.”

“Risk and Time: Calculating Tradeoffs in Warfighting Management,” by Barney Rubel

“Management, defined as the effective use of resources, is a process and skill that permeates the preparation and execution of warfighting. Commanders can prioritize several specific areas to improve their warfighting management.”

“Focus Areas for Putting Warfighting First,” by CDR Paul Nickell

“Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication (MCDP) 1, Warfighting, offers practical steps to emphasize warfighting preparation that each servicemember can implement now. Some of these steps pertain to focus areas that include doctrine, professionalism, training, professional military education, equipping, and personnel management.”

“Streamline Certification and Leverage Lessons Learned,” by Tony Carrillo

“Management makes warfighting possible, but management that enables warfighting needs to be better managed itself. Namely, overlapping lines of reporting and the lack of a strong feedback mechanism to spread the best practices of successful ships are hampering the Navy’s ability to maintain its warfighting dominance.”

“Senior Leaders Must Own the Lack of Warfighting Focus,” by CDR Paul W. Viscovich, USN (ret.)

“If senior Defense Department civilian and military leaders do not seriously convert organizational priorities toward warfighting, any lower-echelon attempt to refocus fighting forces on their core responsibility will achieve only marginal effect. Senior leaders must grasp how deckplate-level reality has become suffocated by miscellanea accumulating from decades of poorly prioritized requirements.”

Dmitry Filipoff is CIMSEC’s Director of Online Content and Community Manager of the Flotilla. Contact him at [email protected].

Featured Image: The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG 54) fires a 5-inch gun during a live-fire gunnery exercise aboard the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG 54) in Sagami Wan the Philippine Sea, Sept. 21, 2023. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Ryre Arciaga)

By Dmitry Filipoff

This month the CIMSEC Warfighting Flotilla will be hosting sessions on the role of commanding officers in prioritizing warfighting for their units, and the role of PME in warfighting education. If you haven’t already, sign up through the form below to become a Flotilla member and receive the invites to our upcoming off-the-record November discussions. The full listings for these upcoming discussions are featured down below.

Feel free to visit the Flotilla homepage to learn more about this community, its activities, and what drives it.

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Upcoming November Sessions

The Role of Command in Prioritizing Warfighting

Commanding officers are well-placed to inculcate their commands with warfighting imperatives. COs can use their discretion and authority to set priorities for their staffs and crews. But COs may have their span of control limited by the requirements and priorities of their chain of command. What is the role of commanding officers in prioritizing warfighting for their units, and how much decision-making ability can they realistically wield? Join us to discuss these questions as we consider the role of command responsibility in prioritizing warfighting.

Read Ahead: “Warfighting Culture Starts with the CO,” by Capt. Jamie McGrath (ret.)
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The Role of PME in Warfighting Education

Professional Military Education offers major opportunities for servicemembers to enhance their understanding of warfighting. But the breadth of curricula and coursework may reflect a variety of requirements and electives that compete with a warfighting focus. What should be the role of PME in warfighter education? How should PME curricula balance warfighting with other areas of expertise? Join us to discuss these questions and more as we consider the role of PME.

Read Aheads:

“Preparing the Fleet for the Next Fight: An Assessment of Navy and Marine Corps Command and Staff Courses,” by Major Maxwell Stewart, U.S. Marine Corps, Captain Louis Gilbertson, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, and Mason Ever

“Driving The Dark Road To The Future: A Guide To Revitalizing Defense Planning And Strategic Analysis,” by Benjamin Jensen and Michael Rountree
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Dmitry Filipoff is CIMSEC’s Director of Online Content and Community Manager of the Warfighting Flotilla. Contact him at [email protected].