ADM Jonathan Greenert, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), issued the Navy’s Navigation Plan for 2016-20 that describes how the Navy will use its resources to sustain a “balanced and capable force.”

The Navigation Plan, Greenert said “highlights our Navy’s key investment’s which support missions and functions outlined in the defense strategic guidance (DSG), Sustaining U.S. Leadership Priorities for 21st Century Defense, and the Quadrennial Defense Review.”

Greenert said “the Navy must have the capability and capacity to conduct war at sea, and win decisively through: deterrence, sea control, power projection, maritime security, and domain access [including cyberspace and the electromagnetic spectrum].”

The Plan emphasizes that “forward naval presence is essential to strengthening alliances and partnerships, providing the secure environment necessary for a global economic system based on the free flow of goods, promoting stability, deterring conflict, and responding to aggression.” The five-year Navy’s budget plan provides for a fleet of about 115 ships by 2020 with an increased presence of some 36 ships in the Middle East. “Innovative, low-cost and small-footprint approaches” will be utilized in the AFRICOM and SOUTHCOM areas, according to the Plan.

Greenert emphasizes that supporting ready sailors, civilians, and families will “remain the foundation of the Navy’s warfighting capability.” He acknowledges that the continuing high demand for Naval forces worldwide is stressing the force, but says the budget plan “continues to provide services and support to ensure that our people remain resilient and ready.”

The budget “emphasizes and rewards sea duty by continuing increased sea duty pay, sea pay premium, and critical skill retention pays,” Greenert stressed. The budget plan uses savings from compensation reforms to improve quality of service for sailors, provide more realistic training, and promote use of smart technology devices.