Download or read book Expeditionary Strike Force -- A Practical Solution in the Littoral Domain?. written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An intelligently constructed maritime strategy combined with inventive and interdependent joint operational concepts will enable the Department of the Navy to meet future demands in the world's littoral regions. The Navy's operational focus remains platform-centric, with the carrier and a corresponding battle fleet mentality as the central focus of a forward-deployed strategic naval presence. This focus is a reflection of a naval strategy greatly influenced by Alfred Thayer Mahan. It also is a remnant of a Cold War naval mindset that held the forward deployed battle fleet's presence and the decisive battle at the center of its strategic vision. This visualization is not relevant in a world where no peer competitor exists for the United States Navy. In an effort to transform, the Navy is currently conducting a series of experiments to develop an operational concept called the Expeditionary Strike Force (ESF). Naturally, this concept quickly developed a Mahanian flavor -- focusing on the ability to create numerous naval task forces capable of simultaneous, independent, employment throughout the world. The Navy calls these task forces "strike groups" because of their ability to provide decisive strike capabilities. In an effort to create more strike groups, the aircraft carrier Navy has extended a warm hand from a traditionally cold shoulder to the amphibious Navy. Ultimately, in greater or lesser number, these strike groups could unite and form an Expeditionary Strike Force if the situation demanded a larger naval force. This approach functionally forms naval assets around the ability to strike. The Department of the Navy's single function focus takes a narrow view of maritime strategy and limits the Navy's flexibility in providing joint, capability-based, operational forces to Regional Combatant Commanders. Each combatant commander should develop a maritime strategy centered on the Joint Force Maritime Component and influenced by Sir Julian Corbett's principles.