En·gaged  (n-gjd) adj.: Committed, as to a cause.

Inaugural Foreword

Greetings and thank you for reading Engaged, the official journal of Beowulf Defense and Security! I am honored as an elected official to introduce this new and informative publication and hope that you will find it to be a superlative resource whether you are a public policymaker, maritime security professional, military operator, actuary or like myself, simply a citizen concerned about the issues that impact the future of our oceans.

In William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Brutus warns "There is a tide in the affairs of men ... On such a full sea we are now afloat, and we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures." Today's political and economic realities have underlined the sagacity of those words and presented us with a challenge to actively engage in the business of maritime security or risk unacceptable loss to the twenty first century's breakout of international piracy and banditry. Nearly three quarters of the planet is covered by water and there is not a single city or nation immune to adverse security changes on the open seas. Whoever controls the oceans controls the world.

As governments cope with frustrating structural budget gaps, the ability of private maritime security to ensure uninterrupted flow of commerce and safe ocean navigation will be a vital part of our foreseeable future. I encourage you to engage the future and secure the present by reading this journal.

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