THE BRAZILIAN NAVAL STRATEGY AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DEFENSE LOGISTICS BASE Eduardo Siqueira Brick1 Wilson Soares Ferreira Nogueira2 ABSTRACT This study aims to offer an interpretation of how the government’s priorities for national defense and the evolution of the Brazilian Naval Strategy (BNS) have influenced the development of the Defense Logistics Base (DLB) that supports the Brazilian Navy, from the country’s independence up to the present day. Then, it presents and develops the concept of DLB, discusses strategy concepts and its relation with defense policies, outlines how the organizational culture of the Navy has influenced decisions, and describes the evolution of the DLB of direct interest of the Naval Force, pari passu with the evolution of the BNS, highlighting external and internal influences it has received due to government changes and the introduction of the National Defense Strategy (NDS). Key words: Defense Logistics Base. National defense. Naval strategy. Brazilian Navy. 1 Doctor’s degree in Systems Engineering from US Naval Postgraduate School, United States (1976), Full Professor at Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niteroi, RJ, Brazil. E-mail: brick@produção.uff.br 2 Master’s degree in Naval Science from Escola de Guerra Naval (2004); Master’s degree in Strategic Studies of Defense and Security from Universidade Federal Fluminense (2014). E-mail:
[email protected] R. Esc. Guerra Naval, Rio de Janeiro, v.23, n.1, p. 11 - 40. jan./apr. 2017 12 THE BRAZILIAN NAVAL STRATEGY AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DEFENSE LOGISTICS BASE INTRODUCTION For the realistic current of international relations, the States seek to ensure their own survival and sovereignty, and as they pursue this goal, they also seek to increase their relative powers.