June 16, 2021
The United States is a maritime nation. Our security and prosperity depend on the seas. Since the end of World War II, forward deployed forces of the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard have guaranteed the security of the free and open international system that has fostered extraordinary era of wealth and peace for many nations. That system is now under threat. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard have watched with alarm the growing naval power of the People’s Republic of China and the increasingly aggressive behavior of the Russian Federation. Optimism that China and Russia might become responsible leaders contributing to global security has given way to recognition that they are determined rivals. The People’s Republic of China represents the most pressing, long-term strategic threat.
Advantage at Sea is a Tri-Service Maritime Strategy that provides guidance to the Naval Service for the next decade to prevail across a continuum of competition—composed of interactions with other nations from cooperation to conflict. The stakes of this competition are high. This strategy prioritizes the most pressing threats to the United States, emphasizes expanded cooperation with allies and partners, and relies on deeper Naval Service integration to mitigate strategic risk to the Nation. The integrated Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard must maintain clear-eyed resolve to compete with, deter, and, if necessary, defeat our adversaries while we accelerate development of a modernized, integrated all-domain naval force for the future.
Captain Matthew “Beaker” Culp, USN, is a native of Hanover, New Hampshire. He graduated from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota and received his Navy commission in 1998 through the University of Minnesota NROTC program.
A naval aviator since 2001, and a TOPGUN graduate in 2006, he served with the “Kestrels” of VFA-137; the “Flying Eagles” of VFA-122; the “Argonauts” of VFA-147; and commanded the “Black Knights” of VFA-154. Captain Culp has accumulated more than 2900 flight hours and has flown combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan supporting Operations Iraqi Freedom, New Dawn, and Enduring Freedom.
Ashore, he has served at the NATO Standardization Agency in Brussels, Belgium. He completed the Advanced Strategist Program and graduated with distinction from the Naval War College. He has also served as the Federal Executive Fellow to the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He most recently served as the Deputy Director of Navy Strategy, OPNAV N7, where he led the development and drafting of the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Tri-Service Maritime Strategy, Advantage at Sea – Prevailing with Integrated All-Domain Naval Power.
CAPT Culp currently serves on the Chief of Naval Operations’ personal staff as the Director of the CNO’s Strategic Actions Group.