The success of America’s maritime renaissance depends on sustained, long-term commitment—and the recognition that for a nation as immutably dependent on the sea as the United States, maritime strategy is grand strategy. 4/4

Now that Steve and I have completed our terms of government service in January and June respectively, this essay is the first time the strategy's architects have fully set out its underlying rationale and key lines of effort in print in a public forum. 3/4

This strategy to rebuild America's comprehensive maritime power, both commercial and naval, has made significant advances and has demonstrated notable intellectual staying power across the political transition. 2/4

Combat time adjacent; I find it weird that their time in combat has led them to believe: vaccines = bad, everyone having guns makes you safer and religion in govt is what good societies need

I just can’t imagine myself seeing Somalis beg for polio vaccines and thinking “man they are lucky”

When this scene was shot, Madeleine Lebeau, an actual French refugee who made it to the US, is singing the anthem of a nation that may never again exist.

seveninchesofyourtime.com/cinemas-grea...

I think a lot about how when Casablanca was filmed, nobody knew who would win WW2.

In the coming days, I will be launching the Maritime Strategy Group, a new venture for those who would like to seize the opportunity of the American maritime renaissance with insights from those who have brought it about. 6/6

I remain fully engaged in our shared work through my affiliations as a Fellow at the Naval War College, the Project Director of the U.S. Naval Institute's Maritime Counterinsurgency Project, and as Non-Resident Fellow with the Navy League's Center for Maritime Strategy. 5/6

We brought transformative investment from Hanwha Ocean, HD Hyundai, and CMA CGM into the U.S. shipping and shipbuilding sectors. And we achieved a historic milestone in addressing one of the Navy's most serious logistical gaps, reloading surface combatants' Vertical Launch Systems at sea. 4/6

Together we crafted and implemented a strategy for a new national Maritime Statecraft that has become a bipartisan movement across two administrations. 3/6

Since we first met and began collaborating in August 2022 (made possible by an introduction from Brent Sadler), they have consistently shown that true leadership comes in being unafraid of new thinking, even from unlikely places. 2/6

Steve received the Distinguished Civilian Service Award, and I received the Superior Civilian Service Award, the highest and second highest honors the Secretary of the Navy can bestow, respectively.

Our citations likewise discuss our work spearheading the drive to field the Transferrable Rearming Mechanism for Vertical Launch System at-sea reloading, which we took to sea for the first time in October 2024. Secretary Del Toro chose to elevate these initiatives as defining features of his tenure.