To provide readers with insights into how naval officers think about the conduct of naval warfare, retired naval officer and Naval War College professor emeritus Roger Barnett opens the service for inspection. He attributes the unstructured, at-sea environment with powerfully conditioning an officer's way of thinking, explaining that the watery setting forces them to be constantly alert, self-reliant, and willing to take risks. In characterizing the culture, he describes an expeditionary mindset, underwritten by history and nourished by experience that sets naval officers apart from the other branches of the military. Barnett shows how officers think about the theory and practice of warfare in oceanic and littoral contexts.