Mapping the future: 'Conversation with the Country' yields a cacophony of opinions.

• Author: Jean, Grace
• Position: NAVY STRATEGY

NEWPORT, R.I. -- All that was missing was Regis Philbin, a couple of lifelines and a million dollar check.

At the Navy's first "Conversation with the Country" maritime strategy symposium here at the Naval War College, handheld polling devices were distributed to audience members; who were asked for opinions on how they viewed the Navy's role in the nation's defense.

Snippets of music, a la "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" played as audience members, the majority clad in service uniforms, voted on 10 questions that ranged from characterizing U.S. strategy since 9/11 to selecting which countries could cause the most harm to U.S. interests.

No one requested to call a friend or use a 50-50 lifeline.

The responses were tallied in seconds and displayed immediately onstage.

The results can't be used in any scientific way. But they can provide useful insight for Navy officials seeking to figure out how to tell the Navy story to policy makers and taxpayers who may wonder why, while the nation is engaged in a ground war, the Defense Department should spend $130 billion a year on the sea service.

Such feedback may spur additional research by the Navy as it looks to formulate a new maritime strategy and find the final answer to the question, "What is the Navy's value to me nation?"

Here in Newport, a Navy-friendly town that is home to the Naval War College, the service hosted the first of eight outreach events planned for the next several months. Subsequent forums are intentionally avoiding areas with naval concentrations because the Navy wants to reach beyond the people who already support it, said Vice Adm. John Morgan, deputy chief of naval operations for information, plans and strategy.

The next conversation takes place later this month in landlocked Phoenix. "It's going to be harder when we start going out to the rest of the country," Morgan said.

Since the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the Navy has struggled to define its functions and responsibilities in non-traditional conflicts.

A cadre of experts who gathered in Newport offered the Navy a cacophony of opinions, and hinted at the difficulties the service faces in articulating a solid vision for the future of naval power.

The new strategy, officials said, will be unveiled this summer. It will replace the previous document, which became obsolete with the end of the Cold War.

James Kurth, professor of political science at Swarthmore College and visiting professor at the Naval War College, said the future strategy, to be successful, should make a convincing case that the Navy is critical to the defense of the nation. It also should specify those threats that the Navy will be equipped to defeat, he said. "I personally believe we will not get a budget for any strategy, including maritime," unless an enemy is identified clearly in the minds of members of Congress and other key decision makers.

"One of the greatest strengths of the original...