War College to study the issues and key implications for the Navy 
(Appendix E, Item 4). In the same vein of strategic awareness, the 
Department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School 
has been directed by Chief of Naval Operations through the Long Range 
Strategic Planning Branch (OP-603) to undertake an extensive research 
project: "The Relationship of War at Sea to Warfare Ashore." 
The present investigation including analysis, synthesis and evalu- 
ation of alternative basing systems, has been structured to be compati- 
ble with the strategic decision environment depicted in the CILTS report 
and recent CNO studies including that cited above. This report is sub- 
mitted as part of the OP-603 project via its director within the 
National Security Affairs Department at the Naval Postgraduate School. 
It is being included as part of the OP-603 project for the following 
significant reasons: 
e The concept of a large scale modularized ocean basing system, 
in contrast to fixed foreign land bases, offers unprecedented 
opportunity for introducing major strategic innovation with 
operational, fiscal and economic advantages. Operational 
advantage is partly vested in the potential for unified 
logistic support to joint multi-service operations in which 
"war at sea" becomes fully integrated with "warfare ashore." 
e Deployable and uniquely configured components of logistic sup- 
port infrastructure including modularized floating off-shore 
bases complemented by transportable waterfront facilities 
could be optimally positioned in advanced operating areas. 
e Such an innovation could serve specified and integrated air, 
land and sea operations within the context of a broadened and 
unified approach to multi-service Warfare Systems Architecture 
and Engineering (WSA&E). 
Further, this investigation recognizes that various groups within 
the defense community (Government as well as the private sector) favor 
