In November 2023, Themistocles Advisory Group CEO, Dr. Craig Hooper, was one of only a handful of external analysts invited to participate in a three-day bicameral, bipartisan workshop with key stakeholders in the Department of Defense, Congress, and maritime industry to talk about U.S. maritime strategy, challenges, and opportunities and what Congress can do to reverse the decline of American Sea Power.
Hosted by Florida’s 6th Congressional District Representative Mike Waltz, the workshop enjoyed wide attendance, attracting:
“…staff from the offices of Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Representatives Rob Wittman (VA-1), Trent Kelly (MS-1), John Garamendi (CA-8), Mike Gallagher (WI-8), Joe Courtney (CT-2), Chris Deluzio (PA-17), and Lance Golden (TX-5).
The Workshop was also supported by the offices of Secretaries of State, Navy, Transportation/Maritime Administration, and Homeland Security/Coast Guard, as well as the Transportation Command, Chief of Naval Operations, Naval War College, Center for Maritime Strategy and Navy League, Heritage Foundation, Hudson Institute, and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation…”
Dr. Hooper described the meeting:
“…This event was really one of the best experiences I’ve had in Washington. We got an enormous amount done in three days, and the work done here will do more to influence the direction of America’s naval debates than the legislatively-mandated–and still defunct–National Commission on the Future of the Navy could have ever hoped to achieve…”
In part, the group identified a series of actions that Congress and major Administration stakeholders could take in recovering America’s maritime advantage–including identifying and socializing old rules and regulations that are still on the books and crafting ready-to-build stock designs for certain types of vessels. Hooper continued,
“The maritime may not be a central theme in American life these days, but the legislative and regulatory framework that once helped America build a thriving Navy and Merchant Marine still exists today. We just need to dig some of this stuff up and act on it.”
As always, you can catch Dr. Hooper’s latest commentary over at Forbes.com.