Mine Warfare (MIW) has been a traditional weakness of the U.S. Navy. The affordability of mines, their destructive power and wide proliferation coupled with the requirement for the U.S. Navy to operate in the littorals requires drastic improvements to U.S. Mine Warfare. To support operational timelines, forward deployed naval forces need Mine Countermeasures systems resident within Strike Groups to counter enemy mine laying activities. Additionally, the Navy needs to transform its culture and mainstream the full spectrum of MIW to include naval mining and countermine warfare capabilities. Only then will Joint Force Commanders be able to control the battlespace, operate unfettered in littoral areas, and pass freely through critical choke points to execute operational plans. The U.S. Navy needs to transform its culture and mainstream MIW through doctrine, training, education, and leadership. In addition to elevating MIW to a core war fighting function with an established MIW Commander, formalizing MIW doctrine, establishing a base level of knowledge among the officer corps, and incorporating realistic MIW Strike Group work-ups, the Navy must also ensure that MIW assignments are career enhancing and attract top performers across the spectrum of officer communities. A MIW force, capable of overcoming the vulnerabilities exposed by the Gulf War, requires the synergy of technological advancements and culture change. The appendixes contain a chart of U.S. ship casualties by weapon type for 1950 to the present, a chart of mine warfare components, and an annotated bibliography of organic mine countermeasure systems. (17 refs.).


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