The U.S. Navy is not prepared for a major conflict at sea—a belief based on my observations as a repair locker scene leader on board the USS Makin Island (LHD-8). As the ship completed her final predeployment underway in September 2016, I spoke to my repair locker about the end of unchallenged U.S. Navy supremacy at sea. I warned it was a matter of when, not if, a U.S. Navy ship would be intentionally fired on by hostile forces. My warning mostly was ignored, as naval combat is a foreign concept to the majority of the fleet, especially since the end of the Cold War. Even then, it was only a concept. To most sailors, the crews’ biggest threat is within the ship itself.