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Great Power Competition: A Maritime Century

February 4, 2020 |  12:15 pm  |  LBJ School of Public Affairs, Bass Hall

On Tuesday, February 4, 2020, the Strauss Center, Clements Center, and the Intelligence Studies Project hosted Admiral Chris Grady, commander of the United States Fleet Forces Command, for a talk on “Great Power Competition: A Maritime Century” at the University of Texas.

During his talk, Admiral Grady characterized the Navy as the “varsity away team” of the US military forces and stressed the importance of naval forces in the modern environment. 70% of the Earth is covered by water, in which freedom of the seas has supported the oceans as a global commons. 80% of the Earth’s population lives near water, with a gravitation towards areas near shorelines or littorals, and 147 of 195 countries border an ocean. 90% of trade travels by the sea and 99% of the global internet travels through fiber optic cables along the seabed. The world’s oceans are of vital importance and steadily more congested; we are still very much in a maritime era.

Admiral Grady sees this environment as rapidly changing and complex. The resurgence of long-term strategic competition poses an overt challenge to the liberal, rule-based international order and our competitors seek to supplant the US as the global partner of choice. Both Russia and China have formidable capabilities and China, particularly, is developing their naval capacity, but lags behind in institutional knowledge and the quality of their sailors. We cannot take for granted that our homeland is a sanctuary. The oceans are increasingly attack vectors instead of moats.

The US Navy is the only service that operates in all domains. Admiral Grady broke down the size and shape of the force and discussed some of the challenges facing the Navy, including budget constraints, recruitment, and the state of the defense industrial base. Ultimately, he suggests that the US Navy is a good return on investment– that the cost of the Navy is vastly outweighed by the costs of carrying out commerce without the Navy’s support. The Navy’s missions to preserve influence, promote prosperity, and protect from attack are best served by defending far forward and maintaining our alliances, which he sees as a massive competitive advantage.

To close, Admiral Grady took questions on the importance of the Artic, training the force, partnering with allies in the South Pacific, and the future of unmanned technology.

Biography

Adm. Chris Grady is a native of Newport, Rhode Island. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and was commissioned an ensign through the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps program. Grady is a distinguished graduate of Georgetown University, where he earned a Master of Arts in National Security Studies while concurrently participating as a fellow in Foreign Service at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. He is also a distinguished graduate of the National War College earning a Master of Science in National Security Affairs.

In his most recent assignment, he was the commander of the U.S. 6th Fleet and of the Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO while simultaneously serving as the deputy commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and U.S. Naval Forces Africa. Grady’s previous command assignments include Carrier Strike Group 1/Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group; Destroyer Squadron 22; USS Cole (DDG 67); and Mine Countermeasures Rotational Crew Echo in USS Chief (MCM 14) and USS Ardent (MCM 12).

Ashore, Grady served in numerous policy, strategy, legislative and operations staff and aide billets with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Chief of Naval Operations staff, and Chief of Legislative Affairs. Additionally, he served as the deputy executive secretary of the National Security Council in the White House. Additional flag assignments include commander of the Naval Surface Force Atlantic and director of the Maritime Operations Center (N2/3/5/7) for the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Additional sea tours early in his career include USS Moosbrugger (DD 980) and USS Princeton (CG 59).

His decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Combat “V,” and other personal, joint, service, unit, and campaign awards. Grady is a joint specialty officer.

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