From Blue to Brown Navy

Navy Times is reporting the impending launch of a Brown Water riverene force in the US Navy. This is long overdue and welcome. As the military turns from a blue water fleet to one geared for the littorals, such a force is the answer for terrorist smugglers in the Gulf and elsewhere. A memo sent by CNO Vern Clark call for:

• An active component riverine warfare force by 2006 and two reserve component riverine units by 2007.
• A Navy Expeditionary Combat Battalion by 2007. How such a unit would differ from U.S. Marines is unclear.
• A provisional civil affairs battalion attached to Seabees in 2006 and a reserve civil affairs battalion by 2007.
• An active/reserve integrated structure for two Helo Combat Support Special Squadrons, HCS 4 (Red Wolves) and HCS 5 (Firehawks).
• A unit that will be able to “data-mine” information culled from the National Maritime Intelligence Center, which tracks information on global ship traffic.
• A team to exploit intelligence gathered from maritime interdictions.
• A community of Foreign Area Officers who are experts in specific regions of the world, similar to Army and Marine Corps FAOs.

Strategypage is also reporting this and says the fleet could lose an aircraft carrier to pay for it.