Brent Sadler’s U.S. Naval Power in the 21st Century: A New Strategy for Facing the Chinese and Russian Threat focuses on policy recommendations for today’s U.S. Navy. Sadler spent twenty-six years in the Navy and is now a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation. Naval Power describes his vision for a kind of “naval statecraft” that integrates diplomacy, military operations, and economic development to counter the maritime threats from an empowered China and Russia. The book is an excellent resource for policymakers as there are several concrete recommendations for Congress included in the book.

Naval Power begins with a detailed overview of the maritime issues confronting the U.S. As the title suggests, the greatest threats come from China and Russia and their efforts to control critical maritime trade routes and natural resources. While both countries are strengthening their navies, the U.S. Navy has faced budget cuts and is in danger of being left behind.

As a practical matter, Sadler suggests revamping the force almost from top to bottom. This includes developing a command structure that is more global in nature like the U.S. Space Command. He also recommends upgrading an aging fleet. At the current rate, China’s naval fleet will surpass the size of the U.S. fleet. The Navy also needs to rethink training and development for the leaders of tomorrow. They need to be prepared for the prospect of “great power” competition with a strong Russian and Chinese Navy.

A key focus of Sadler’s recommendations is on building economic and security bridges with key partners in decisive maritime theaters. This is especially relevant in the Indo-Pacific where China is contesting the maritime rules-based order in the South China Sea. These partnerships can benefit the economies of both trading countries as there is a link between trade agreements and security commitments. There is also a substantial financial benefit to the host country when a U.S. naval ship comes to port.

Naval Power is a serious book for policy professionals or anyone who wants to better understand the current state of the U.S. Navy and maritime threats and how the U.S. can better position itself to prevail in great power competition

Brent Sadler summarizes how the US Navy needs to be in this century.

It's essential reading for military and political strategists.

Here are three quotations that I loved:

Sir Walter Raleigh declared in the early 17th century that "whoever commands the sea, command the trade; whoever commands the trade of the world commands the riches of the world, and consequetly the world itself."

"The object of naval warefare is the control of communications, and not, as in land warfare, the conquest of territory." - Principles of Maritime Strategy, 1911

"Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons." - Douglas MacArthur

VERDICT: 4 out of 5 stars.

As a Navy Veteran, I was excited to read this book and see how accurate the representation of the military was. I was pleasantly surprised at the accuracy of this book and felt Sadler did a wonderful job of incorporating the necessary global politics into a concise and useful plan to compete with the other global powers of China and Russia. Enjoyable and highly intellectual read. Hooyah Navy!

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily