Concept Note
CONCEPT NOTE FOR THE MARITIME DISCOURSE TAKING PLACE DURING THE PRESIDENTIAL FLEET REVIEW 2023
1. Presidential Fleet Reviews (PFRs) are traditional events with which navies across the world honour their sovereigns or heads of government during their tenure of office. It involves assemblage of ships and other maritime assets at pre-designated area for the purpose of demonstrating loyalty and allegiance to the State. The review equally assures a nation of its navy’s preparedness in collaboration with other navies to meet statutory obligations in maritime security, safety and defence. In keeping with this tradition, the NN is organizing a PFR to honour the C-in-C whose tenure of office elapses in May 23. The President would be expected to review the fleet at anchorage positions and also commission the newly acquired ships and the AW109SP helicopter among other activities during the event.
2. The theme of the PFR-2023 is ‘Fleet Readiness for National Prosperity’. The theme is carefully conceptualized to depict and underscore the essence of a responsive naval fleet and its value/contributions towards the attainment of national prosperity. On the sideline of the PFR, a Maritime Discourse is being organized to further highlight the workings of the various components of NN Fleet readiness and how they are sequenced to deliver NN operational objectives for enhanced national prosperity. This consideration derives from the understanding of the interactions of the triune factors of the Man, representing the crew; the Machine, representing the various platforms, and the Process, which encapsulates doctrine and strategy. The discourse will zero in on the ways, the hows and the means of projecting NN’s current and future scales of effort to build a robust fleet that is ever ready to carry out its constitutional roles and implied tasks, in conjunction with other government agencies, for the achievement of national prosperity.
3. In order to put the foregoing imperatives into tangible and practical contexts, 4 serving senior officers have been selected to give their perspectives on 4 sub-themes: doctrine/work up, logistics support, fleet maintenance and crew preparedness. Thereafter, select retired senior officers will also be invited to discuss each sub-theme. Furthermore, the heads of navies/coast guards or heads of delegation will be given the opportunity to make comments on any of the sub-themes. Finally, participants at the Maritime Discourse will equally make their contributions. Each of the presenters has 10 minutes, while the discussants have 5 minutes each. The highlights on each of the sub-themes and suggested scopes or focus areas as follows:
a. Fleet Readiness and National Prosperity: Doctrine/Work-Up in Perspective. The entrenchment of sound doctrines/principles and regular work ups of ships/crew are prominent features of a virile fleet. This is because doctrines/work ups form the basis for the application of policy/strategy to achieve operational imperatives of the fleet. In this light, this sub-theme interrogates the utility and effectiveness of existing NN doctrine and work up exercise vis-à-vis the attainment of a high state of readiness for NN fleet. The suggested scope/areas of focus is “Forecasting and imperatives of the application of sound doctrine and work up exercises for enhanced fleet readiness in the light of best practices”.
b. Fleet Readiness for National Prosperity: Logistics Support in Perspective. A key requirement of fleet readiness is the sustainment of naval platforms through a robust logistics support plan. This sets the tone to discuss the nexus between logistics support and NN Fleet sustainment towards the attainment of fleet readiness. The suggested scope/areas of focus is “Forecasting and imperatives of a robust logistics support to promote fleet readiness in the light best practices”.
c. Fleet Readiness for National Prosperity: Fleet Maintenance in Perspective. It is widely acclaimed that the readiness of naval fleet is inseparable from the subsisting maintenance culture/practices in the navy. Consequently, there is need to interrogate NN fleet maintenance capacity as it affects the readiness of the fleet. The suggested scope/areas of focus is “Forecasting and imperatives of an efficient planned maintenance and repairs towards the attainment of a ready fleet in the light of best practices”.
d. Fleet Readiness for National Prosperity: Crew Preparedness in Perspective. Man has been identified as the most critical factor of production. Imperatively, well skilled and trained human resources are needed to coordinate other factors such as machines and processes. Consequently, there is need to examine the physical, psychological, social and spiritual composition and wellbeing of the crew vis-à-vis their motivation and readiness to perform assigned tasks onboard the various platforms in the NN Fleet. The suggested scope/areas of focus is “Forecasting and imperatives of a well-motivated and mission-ready crew in achieving fleet readiness in the light of best practices”.
