Networking the Global Maritime Partnership

Eight years ago, the then-U.S. Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Michael Mullen, unveiled the concept of the "Thousand-Ship Navy" as a new taxonomy for international naval cooperation. Embraced by the George W. Bush administration and renamed "The Global Maritime Partnership (GMP) Initiative" this concept was rapidly embraced by the community of nations as a way to secure the global commons. In the ensuing years this concept has become a new international norm and the sine qua non for international naval cooperation. But as international navies have gained experience operating together across a wide spectrum of operations from conflict to humanitarian efforts, they have also found that the networking challenges have been daunting and these C4ISR challenges have impeded effective maritime partnering. This paper will address the way C4ISR challenges manifest today as navies unite in a GMP. It will also describe how lessons learned from past networking and coalition efforts can inform global security efforts today. We will share the results of a beta-test among the five AUSCANNZUKUS nations that provides one example of how to address these C4ISR challenges by harmonizing international naval C4ISR acquisition efforts.