Release from the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations
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06 September 2023
WASHINGTON — Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Operations, Plans and Strategy Vice Adm. Gene Black, and Acting Marine Corps Deputy Commandant for Plans, Policies and Operations Maj. Gen. Roger Turner jointly announced the designation of a new executive agent (EA) for maritime fires, May 16, 2023.
The new maritime fires EA will be a single entity to oversee maritime fires, and will improve the planning, coordination, execution and assessment of all-domain fires by the Navy and Marine Corps. In Department of Defense vernacular, “fires” are defined as “the use of weapon systems or other actions to create specific lethal or nonlethal effects on a target.”
“This designation demonstrates a significant step forward in naval service integration, increasing maritime force readiness and lethality,” said Black. “This initiative will drive improvements and efficiencies to Navy and Marine Corps doctrine, organization, and training. It will enable us to deliver maritime fires with precision and timeliness in every domain, when required.”
Echoing Black, Turner added how a centralized EA facilitates U.S. Navy and Marine Corps integration.
“This is naval integration in action. Maritime fires integration is absolutely something we have to get right and this is a great step forward for our services,” said Turner. “This designation is going to enable us to better leverage the full force of the Navy and Marine Corps team.”
Commander, Pacific Fleet (PACFLT) has been selected to fill the role as EA. In that capacity, PACFLT is making a plan and identifying resources to support several lines of effort, including development of doctrine and policy, the maritime fires training continuum, and a campaign of learning through experimentation, war-games and exercises.
An executive agent (EA) is a designation for a role with substantial responsibility to execute a noteworthy task or the function is particularly sensitive or complex. EAs are tasked to provide defined levels of support for either operational or administrative missions.
