Introduction

This strategic revolution was soon followed by an information revolution as the Internet and increases in computational power transformed civil society and boosted global economic growth. The information revolution also seemed to render obsolete traditional operations and weapons systems, leading many observers to claim that technological, institutional and doctrinal change would ultimately culminate in a so-called revolution in military affairs.3 These developments, however, were not all bad from the Navy’s perspective. Even Edward Luttwak, who often criticized the Maritime Strategy as an extravagantly expensive way to move additional airpower to Europe, gave the Navy its due when it came to smaller-scale contingencies and presence missions:

The strategic worth of the Navy, especially its core of aircraft carriers and their escorts, increases as conflict intensity diminishes. At one extreme, the carriers would be almost entirely useless in an all-out nuclear war. At the other extreme, they are the best of all military instruments for noncombat “showing the flag” visitations.4