Seabasing and Ship-to-Objective-Maneuver: An Analysis of These Concepts and Their Implications for the Joint Commander

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Seabasing and Ship-to-Objective-Maneuver: An Analysis of These Concepts and Their Implications for the Joint Commander

S. L. Dickey

Expeditionary Maneuver Warfare is the United States Marine Corps capstone concept for the twenty-first Century. It encompasses the way Marines train, equip, organize, lead, think and fight. It is an integral component of the Navy's Sea Power 21 concept, specifically, its Sea Strike concept. Within this overarching concept are the complimentary concepts of Operational Maneuver from the Sea (OMFTS) Sea Based Logistics (Seabasing) and Ship-to-Objective Maneuver (STOM). This paper focuses on STOM and its enabling capability Sea Based Logistics. Seabasing is a potentially transformational capability dependent upon future classes of maritime propositioning and amphibious ships that will allow for the creation of a sea base from which operations ashore can be sustained without the need for ground logistics bases. This capability frees future naval joint forces from the requirement of host-nation air and seaports of debarkation. It also reduces the logistics footprint ashore for ground forces and allows for rapid movement to multiple objectives via surface and vertical lift assets without pausing at the shoreline in order to establish a beachhead and build logistical sustainment. Forces ashore are sustained from the sea base which in turn is sustained from extended air and sea lines of communications reaching back to intermediate support bases connected to the United States. This system is capable of increasing throughput through the sea base if initial operations grow into sustained operations ashore requiring more forces equipment and sustainment.