In his campaign, Barack Obama promised to have a powerful Navy at an affordable cost by "modernizing the many capable ships that we now have and tilt the investment balance towards more capable, smaller combatants." He also promised to "support sea basing ships capable of supporting humanitarian missions as well as combat missions," and to "increase investment in riverine craft and small coastal patrol craft, and ensure the maximum interoperability between the Navy and the Coast Guard."

In the 2010 Defense appropriations bill, significant investments were made in modernizing ships and purchasing new, smaller ships that fulfill a multitude of roles.

Congress approved a guided missile destroyer to be upgraded. However, it is important to note that while these ships will be under the command of the Navy, they will actually be used by the Missile Defense Agency, according to Jan van Tol, an expert on naval warfare at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assesment, a defense think tank. After President Obama canceled the land-based missile defense plan in Central Europe, it became important to create a sea-based alternative. The Navy also plans to upgrade AEGIS missile cruisers instead of replacing them.

Congress appropriated just over $1 billion to build two new Littoral Combat Ships. The LCS costs much less than destroyers or cruisers, can operate in coastal waters, and can be outfitted with different modifications depending on the mission, which enables it to fulfill a variety of roles, including antipiracy and counterterrorism.

In promising to support ships capable of humanitarian missions and comabat missions, Obama was basically promising to not get in the way of a trend already underway. In 2007, the Navy, Coast Guard, and Marines created a joint document outlining these efforts. Even before Obama took office, the Navy provided humanitarian relief during a number of disasters. Still, Obama has done nothing to stop this trend, and so he is "supporting it."

"Maximum interoperabilty" between the Navy and Coast Guard is difficult to measure, but according to van Toll, when he was a captain in the Navy and occasionally worked with the Coast Guard, there was never an issue with interoperability.

Obama also promised to increase investment in small coastal patrol boats. Most patrol boats of that size are relatively inexpensive and are procured through Special Operations Command, so it is difficult to know if there has been an increase in investment. The Obama administration, and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, have pushed the Navy to "put more emphasis on irregular warfare," says Tol, and so it is possible more of the boats were purchased.

Obama's made progress on this, in large part by keeping up the momentum on efforts already underway. But this is such a sweeping promise that we'll keep an eye on it for the next year or two. In the meantime, we rate this one In the Works.