Forward to the past.

The author emphasizes the need for the U.S. Navy to reflect on its past counterinsurgency measures in order to go forward. He argues that sailors should step off their ships into land in the same way that ground forces realized that they have to get out of their vehicles to gather intelligence and interact with the people. He states that the main concern at sea is not piracy or terrorism but disorder caused by a lack of governance. He stresses that the key to navy problems is intelligence gathering coupled with experience of the marine theaters.