I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast for I intend to go in harm's way

—Captain John Paul Jones

Like war in the air, war at sea is heavily technology-dependant. Like the airman, the sailor must also first fight against gravity which seeks to pull his ship to the ocean floor. Unlike the airman, though, the sailor’s efforts in battle are not isolated and combat does not take the form of individual contests. Crews are tied to their ships for long durations, and in many instances, their responsibilities in battle are not significantly different from those in day-to-day peacetime operations (navigation, engineering, and propulsion for example). The sailor’s responsibilities in battle keep them at their stations, and few are likely to see the enemy. The fate of the entire crew is tied to the fate of the ship, and with the increased ranges and lethality of modern missiles, the fate of the ship can be decided in a few minutes.