A Shift from Global Presence to Great Power Competition

The recent firings and the future of the US Navy

WASHINGTON The recent dismissals of several senior U.S. Navy leaders, particularly within the surface and special warfare communities, mark a profound shift in American naval strategy. These changes are part of a broader push to reorient the Department of Defense toward great power competition, with China as the primary challenge. This new trajectory will profoundly alter the U.S. Navy's global role, emphasizing high-end warfighting capabilities and a more aggressive posture, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, over its traditional mission of global presence and peacetime deterrence.

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