Defense Writers Group
2 October 2024
Moderator: Good morning, everyone. I’m Thom Shanker, Director of the Project for Media and National Security. We have a very special guest today, Admiral Lisa Franchetti, Chief of Naval Operations. I know you know her distinguished military bio. What you might not know, she has an undergraduate degree in journalism from Northwestern, one of the finest J schools in the country. I know the Navy’s your home, so I’m not going to say welcome home, Admiral -- I’ll say welcome back.
Admiral Franchetti: Thank you.
Moderator: The ground rules are the same as always. This is on the record. You can record for accuracy of quotes, but there’s no rebroadcast of audio or video. I’ll ask the first question, then we’ll go to the table. More than a dozen people emailed in advance. We’ll get to as many as we possibly can in the time allowed, and then we’ll save the last few minutes for the Admiral’s closing comments.
Admiral, thank you for joining us.
Admiral Franchetti: Thank you.
Moderator: My opening question. You recently released your Strategic Guidance to the Navy. Your Navigation Plan focuses heavily on the PRC and the year 2027. I’m sure it’s not a coincidence that’s also the year that Xi Jinping has said he wants his military to be capable of retaking Taiwan.
So, can you talk about your concerns, analysis of Chinese defenses and offenses that are so worrisome to you, and how will you structure and restructure the Navy between now and 2027 to deter China? And I use deter especially because of the military axiom, it’s always better to deter war than fight one.
Admiral Franchetti: Definitely. Thanks, Thom, and again, thank you for organizing and thanks everybody for being here. And thanks for the opportunity to talk a little bit about the Navigation Plan and the thinking that went into that.
