The distinctions between the naval missions are often only a matter of degree and such is the flexibility of seapower that the activities they require and even the naval equipment used may be the same. What primarily distinguishes them are the circumstances and the nature of the adversary. Competing words and definitions jostle to attract support: amphibious warfare, combined operations, land–sea operations, the projection of power ashore, overseas raids and invasions, attacks on territory from the sea. Maritime power projection involves the use of seaborne military forces directly to influence events on land. In American, and indeed Western, eyes, the freedom to roam the world ocean is indeed the most obvious mark and advantage of the true flexibility of seapower. The defining characteristics of the type of maritime power projection are the direct impact of sea-based support, even after the conclusion of the amphibious phase of the operation, and the determining effect of victory on the conclusion of the war.