Life came from the sea, but humans live and work on the land. Security on the land may require security on the seas, but sea security must then be translated into land security to be meaningful for people.
A former American Navy officer defines sea power:
First, the virtuous cycle. Mahan spelled out the classic definition of sea power, defining it as a “chain” connecting industrial production at home, with merchant and naval shipping, with commercial, diplomatic, and military access to harbors or naval stations in important trading regions. Commerce, ships, and bases are shorthand for sea power.
Commerce is king for Mahan. All three links in the sea-power chain—domestic, nautical, and foreign—must be solid for the maritime enterprise to prosper.
The author reviews the changes in American strategy as sea power challengers faded after World War II and the Cold War and rose again in the post-Cold War world (or the Russian Decline Era, as I call it). America is again in need of focusing on gaining control of the sea instead of simply exploiting it.
Which is good. And vital.
But sea power isn't about simply defeating hostile threats at sea. It is about using the seas to benefit from the sea lines of communication to other land regions beyond the ports you have access to. Where the people live and produce things for commerce.
NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.
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NOTE: The view going ashore on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
