Suchergebnisse

The requirements for military education have undergone radical change in the years since World War II. The continuing revolution in military technology, the disintegration of the colonial empires, and the worldwide challenge of Russian expansionism have aII created problems that have enlarged the area of military affairs far beyond the traditional concerns.

The challenge implicit in adapting U.S. defense posture to the financial and political realities behind the Nixon Doctrine is being met throughout the Armed Forces in a several ways. A program at the Naval War College, which has contributed extensively in the past to free world cooperation and should be responsible for even greater contributions in the future, is the Naval Command College.

A month has passed since I discussed with you, in rather broad and general terms, the recent shift in Soviet national strategy away from one founded principally on a continental military strategy toward one that incorporates the concept of a worldwide maritime power. This month I would like to focus more closely on one geographic area of the world where increased Soviet presence is an ever-threatening challenge to the peace and the security of the free world--I refer specifically to the Mediterranean.

For the past 6 months, much of our attention has been devoted to the energy crisis. Some Americans have realized for the first time that seemingly boundless energy resources really do have limits, both physical and political. We have been reminded that even super­powers live in a small, interdependent world. As evidenced during the recent oil embargo, small and distant countries in that world have the means to disrupt and change our way of life.

The United States Marine Corps celebrated its 192nd anniversary on 10 November 1967. Because the Marine Corps is one of the naval services, the history of the Marines, I'm proud to say, is naval history. Operating on sea, in the air, and on land the marines constitute a composite military force which is second to none in each of these elements.

Military assistance, economic aid, political support for local causes and leaders, all backed at the appropriate time by a naval presence. This is the four-pronged approach the Soviet Union has used to gain eminence in the Mediterranean and with which it is attempting to establish itself in a similar fashion in the Indian Ocean area. In the near future we may well see the same strategy used to foster greater Soviet influence in our own hemisphere.

Annually since 1949, the Naval War College academic year has ended in June with a week long symposium of professional, business, and military leaders from all over the country meeting to discuss with our graduating class contemporary international problems facing our nation.