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Before I leave the challenges of the littoral, let 

 me punctuate the value of partnering with top 

 oceanographers outside of the Navy; I called it 

 peripheral vision earlier. Just this month, the MEDEA 

 Ocean Panel met with scientists from the Naval Research 

 Lab, the Naval Oceanographic Office and with me in 

 Mississippi. The MEDEA concept, with its cleared 

 membership substantively involved in relevant •-- 

 experiments, represents a partnership with ongoing 

 success. It allows one to focus national talents on 

 high priority, new and complex challenges using the 

 best national assets. The MEDEA Ocean Panel has, in my 

 opinion, become wedded to the micro-scale littoral 

 challenge that the Navy faces because it is intriguing, 

 important and new tools are available. Navy 

 oceanographers have been able to capture new thoughts, 

 ideas for further research and some rules of thumb that 

 operational Naval oceanographers can use from this 

 partnership. I would recommend continuation of a 

 substantive MEDEA effort under any new partnership 

 initiative; because I have seen it work already. 



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