An Admiral in a landlocked navy – preparing for the unexpected

The US State of Nebraska's highest civic honour is being commissioned as a Nebraska Admiral, or in its rather grander title, being made an Admiral in the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska. The lofty title had a rather modest beginning, when in 1931 the Governor of Nebraska went on holiday, leaving the Lieutenant Governor to act in his absence. Using his authority, he then established the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska and named prominent citizens of Nebraska as Admirals¹.

An interesting feature of the State of Nebraska, is it is completely landlocked. In fact, it is surrounded by other US states that are landlocked themselves. While the concept was intended to be humorous it allows us to explore a fascinating subject, that of the challenges facing landlocked countries. Globally, there are 44 landlocked countries, with the largest in size being Kazakhstan, the largest in terms of population being Ethiopia and the smallest in terms of area and population being the Vatican City State.

Projecting Power

Nebraska is not the only example of a landlocked navy. Others include the navies of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan (all bordering the Caspian Sea), Bolivia and Paraguay. 

While landlocked countries do not maintain a sea-going navy, they can deploy armed naval forces on major lakes or rivers. This is especially true of a national border runs along such a river or lake; where conditions on the ground are rough so movement of forces by boats is easier, or when national sovereignty over bodies of water is contested. 

Bolivia's navy has a turbulent history. Before the outbreak of the War of the Pacific in 1879, Bolivia had a coastline but did not operate a navy. As war broke out between Bolivia and Chile, Bolivia’s coastline was conquered⁵. The Bolivian Navy was established in the 1960s, with personnel coming from the Army. Its main missions are patrolling Bolivia’s rivers to prevent criminal activity, along with humanitarian duties. The Bolivian Navy also serves as a symbol for the nation's aspiration to return to having maritime access and power, including appealing to international courts against Chile, seeking to be given access to the sea⁷.

An interesting example of a landlocked navy being used to project force occurred on in 1934, when the US federal government began constructing a dam designed to divert Colorado River water to the Southern California region on within the borders of the State of Arizona. The Governor of Arizona declared martial law and established a navy in defence of Arizona's water. The navy comprised two wooden ferry boats, but had the support of the Arizona National Guard along the Arizona side of Colorado River. Despite its modest size, the navy managed to delay the dam's construction until a mutually satisfactory agreement was reached⁹.

Protecting Economies

In many cases, landlocked navies play an important role in protecting commerce, preventing smuggling of illegal goods and other criminal activity⁶. The absence of seaports limits trade from coastal and related industries to river and land-based trade and logistics. Often this elevates transport costs for goods being imported and exported, reducing potential competitive advantage. It should be noted that these characteristics are less detrimental to landlocked countries within Europe, as their economic system is more diversified, and thus less dependent on access to seaports². 

When looking at landlocked navies, and indeed landlocked developing countries, we can see how important it is to maintain resilient infrastructure and capabilities in routine, in order to be better prepared from extreme events. Looking at the challenges faced by countries coping with geographical conditions limiting their ability to take part in global commerce, and how their navies safeguard those countries against threats - we see a landlocked state can indeed have a need for navy, and that the Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska had a point as he charged "all officers, seamen, tadpoles and goldfish under your command to be obedient to your orders as Admiral"¹.

Landlocked Paraguay's economy, for instance, relies heavily on its rivers, with 80% of imports and exports transiting on them. The Paraguayan Navy plays a critical role in protecting commerce, as well as in hampering the traffic of illegal goods across the country's two major rivers, the Paraguay and Paraná rivers, which unite at the Río de la Plata estuary, eventually flowing out to the Atlantic Ocean⁶. 

The added complexities to logistics, compounded by limited physical infrastructure exacerbate the challenges faced by developing landlocked countries. These countries dependence on neighbouring countries and limited involvement in global trade create a more fragile supply chain. Out of 44 landlocked countries globally, 32 are designated as developing landlocked countries (LLDCs), with 16 also classified as Least Developed Countries³.

These challenges serve as warning for the delicate nature of supply chains, and the importance of robust infrastructure in preparation for extreme events. This is true not only when faced with a global pandemic, as we've seen recently, but when preparing for emergencies in general. The cascading nature of disasters, makes strengthening national capabilities in times of calm an imperative – not just among landlocked countries.

Learning from Landlocked Navies

Countries with a coastline losing that access, and adapting to the new circumstances are a living proof of how circumstances can change rapidly. Agility in the context of emergency preparedness relates to the ability to quickly adapt to changing circumstances in order to respond effectively to unexpected events and developing crises⁸.

Landlocked navies fulfill different missions, such as protecting borders and enabling trade, and facilitating the economic survival of developing landlocked countries. In their capacity, they contribute to strengthening the long-term resilience of a state or nation.

Emergency preparedness and response requires creativity, and in analysing the rapidly evolving hazards and threats we must consider many factors. Learning from the past is important, but being tempted to think that future disasters will follow past examples may limit the benefits of preparedness. Preparing for future disasters means learning from the past but not expecting it to repeat itself. Thus, being creative and agile in preparing for disasters, while empowering communities to act, is imperative.

Creating a robust infrastructure in times of calm is crucial to effective response and establishing the agility required to do so. That is a good takeaway from the triple-landlocked state of Nebraska and its navy – be prepared for the future, not the past.

---

References

1. Cooper, H. (1967). The Great Nebraska Navy: Its Origin and Growth. Nebraska History 48: 331-334. https://web.archive.org/web/20160329020327/http://www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/publicat/history/full-text/NH1967NebrNavy.pdf 

2. Costa, D. (2025, May 1). landlocked country. Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/landlocked-country

3. United Nations (2025) Understanding Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) An explainer. https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/2024/04/infographic_lldc3.pdf

4. Alexander, D., & Pescaroli, G. (2019). What are cascading disasters? UCL Open Environment, 1. https://doi.org/10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000003

5. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (2025, March 29). War of the Pacific. Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/War-of-the-Pacific

6. Upp, D. (2021 April). Why care about a landlocked Navy? Proceedings - Vol. 147/4/1,418. US Naval Institute. https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2021/april/why-care-about-landlocked-navy

7. BBC News Team. (2011, March 24). Bolivia’s Morales to take Chile Sea dispute to court. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-12842978

8. Harrald, J. R. (2006). Agility and Discipline: Critical Success Factors for Disaster Response. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 604(1), 256-272. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716205285404 (Original work published 2006)

9. Arroyo Rodriguez, N. (2024, June 13). Did you know: Arizona Navy deployed. KJZZ. https://www.kjzz.org/2013-11-22/content-11126-did-you-know-arizona-navy-deployed-1934