CENTER for NAVAL WARFARE STUDIES
In 1981, almost a century after Stephen B. Luce founded the Naval War College as
"a place of original research on all questions relating to war and to statesmanship
connected with war, or the prevention of war," the Center for Naval Warfare Studies
was established within the College as a nexus for broadly based, advanced research
on the naval contribution to a national strategy.
Working in close conjunction
with the teaching departments, this revitalized research arm of the College has
thus fulfilled Luce's vision of the institution as a center of both scholarship
and original research--an academic establishment which would serve as the home of
theory and in-depth thinking for the naval profession in the United States. e is
to foster critical and innovating thinking on current and evolving operational challenges
of importance for the Navy.
The Center directly complements the curriculum at the Naval War College by providing
a place for researching important professional issues which, in turn, inform and
stimulate the faculty and students in the classroom. Moreover, from its very beginning,
the Center has linked the Naval War College to the fleet and policymakers in Washington
by serving as a focal point, stimulus, and major source of strategic and campaign
thought, by integrating strategic, campaign, and tactical concepts, by linking strategic
concerns with technological developments, and finally, by testing and evaluating
concepts through war gaming.
ORGANIZATION
The Dean of Naval Warfare Studies oversees the efforts of a full-time,
government-funded research staff organized into six departments within the
Center: Strategic Research Department, War Gaming Department, Maritime
History Department, International Law Department, Naval War College Press,
Warfare Analysis and Research Department, as well as a detachment of the
Office of Naval Intelligence. The Dean also provides support to the
Strategic Studies Group, an independent organization which receives its
tasking from and reports directly to the Chief of Naval Operations.
STRATEGIC RESEARCH DEPARTMENT
Strategic Research Department produces studies, research reports, and briefings
formulated in accordance with traditional research methods and standards. Some projects
are internally generated, while others are written in response to requests from
Navy and Marine Corps officials, including the Chief of Naval Operations, or from
operational commanders including unified commanders-in-chief. Completing some 10
studies annually, the department examines a broad range of national and international
security issues, placing particular emphasis on the maritime component of the national
strategy, the department concepts of military operations and national security policy.
Recent projects have addressed the impact of political and other changes on U.S.
overseas basing, the impact of global changes on the formulation of maritime strategies,
and options for maritime support of United Nations sponsored activities. Strategic
Research Department personnel also host, administer, and participate annually in
a number of conferences, meetings and workshops, some with foreign navies. The department's
Faculty Enrichment Program brings a variety of notable speakers to the College to
address current national policy or strategy issues. Many faculty members have also
served as instructors in the College's electives program. Beginning in 1990, the
Strategic Research Department, in collaboration with the Naval Postgraduate School,
began hosting an annual RADM Charles M. Cooke Conference. This conference brings
together fleet planners from major U.S. naval and joint commands to discuss strategy
and security issues.
WARFARE ANALYSIS and RESEARCH DEPARTMENT
The Warfare Analysis and Research Department assists senior decision- makers of
the Department of the Navy and other governmental agencies in reaching well-informed,
objective decisions on strategic, operational, and programmatic issues by integrating
research and analyses with advanced decision support tools and methods in a collaborative
environment. The WAR Departments' state-of-the-art Decision Support Center (DSC),
located in the Naval War College's McCarty Little Hall, is a premier decision support
facility with stations for up to 38 participants and the capability to conduct distributed
decision-making through video-teleconferencing and computer networks.
WAR GAMING DEPARTMENT
War games, part of the Naval War College Gaming curriculum since 1887, are vehicles
for generating, testing, and debating strategic and operational concepts, and for
exercising military and civilian decision makers in maritime and joint warfare.
War games do not prove or disprove theories, concepts, or strategies because they
are not reality and cannot be duplicated. Nevertheless, wargaming is an effective
technique for creating a decision-making environment that fosters education and
understanding for students and operational staffs, provides insights, and generates
issues for further study. Groups of games set in the same theater or exploring the
same or similar issues can help players to understand the dynamics of warfighting
and may suggest possible trends or tendencies which could be exploited in real-world
situations.
The War Gaming Department is the world's premier gaming organization, conducting
approximately 50 games yearly in support of internal College needs and externally
generated requests from various branches of the Defense and Navy departments, operational
commands and civilian agencies, including the Office of the Vice President of the
United States, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Secretary of the Navy. To support
the objectives of each game's sponsor, the War Gaming Department employs a wide
variety of gaming techniques ranging from complex, multi-sided, computer-assisted
games to simpler, single-sided seminar games, and game foci can range from broad
national strategies to the specifics of tactics. Most games take place at the College,
but some are conducted off site.
INTERNATIONAL LAW DEPARTMENT
The International Law Department is a source of analytical support to the Department
of the Navy and the Department of Defense on rules of law and broad oceans law and
policy issues arising in the interagency arena, often responding to specific tasking
generated by the Chief of Naval Operations, the Commandant of the Marine Corps,
the Judge Advocate General, and fleet commanders-in-chief.
ADVANCED RESEARCH PROGRAM
The Advanced Research Program provides exceptional students in the College of Naval
Warfare and Naval Command and Staff the opportunity to engage in funded research
on a full-time basis for a trimester in lieu of taking one of the Naval War College's
three core curriculum courses. Each student selected to participate in the program
writes a graded, thesis-quality paper on a subject of his or her choice, many of
which have been suggested by outside commands, under the guidance of a faculty member
or member of the professional research staff. The topic and approach are approved
by the President of the College upon the recommendation of an Advanced Research
Council consisting of the Deans of Naval Warfare Studies and Academics, selected
members of the Center's staff, and members of the College's resident faculty.
NAVAL WAR COLLEGE PRESS
The Naval War College Press publishes quarterly the Naval War College Review, which
focuses on politico-military, strategic, and operational matters. The NWC Press
also publishes both the Newport Papers and full length books.
OFFICE of NAVAL INTELLIGENCE DETACHMENT
In 1976, the Office of Naval Intelligence, Suitland, Maryland, established a detachment
in Newport to act as a link between the intelligence community and the Center for
Naval Warfare Studies. Acting as a focal point for intelligence questions, the detachment
directly supports the War Gaming Department by providing consistent, credible opposition
to players participating in war games at the Naval War College.
STRATEGIC STUDIES GROUP
Since 1981, the Naval War College, through the Center for Naval Warfare Studies,
has hosted the Strategic Studies Group (SSG), consisting of U.S. Naval, U.S. Marine
Corps, and U.S. Coast Guard officers selected by the Chief of Naval Operations and
the Commandants of the Marine Corps and Coast Guard, respectively. With year-to-year
continuity provided by a director, ADM James Hogg, ret. and deputy director, both
civilians, each SSG takes up a year's residency at the College to concentrate on
an issue of special interest to the Chief of Naval Operations.
MARITIME HISTORY DEPARTMENT
The Maritime History Department of the Center for Naval Warfare Studies serves as
the central resource and contact point for the entire Naval War College in matters
relating to maritime history. The department carries on the tradition at the Naval
War College that was begun in the works of Rear Admirals Stephen B. Luce and Alfred
Thayer Mahan in the period between 1884 and 1910. Their fundamental and original
contributions to historical research and naval scholarship laid the foundation for
todays modern approaches to the history of naval strategy and naval operations.
The Department specializes in the history of the theory and practice of naval and
maritime strategy, the history of naval operations in all periods, the history of
naval activities in the Narragansett Bay region since the age of exploration, and
the history of the Naval War College since 1884.
Contact Information
If you would like to learn more about us, please contact us at the following addresses:
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TELEPHONE: |
(401)841-2200 |
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DSN: |
948-2200 |
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FAX: |
(401) 841-3579 |
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ADDRESS: |
Center for Naval Warfare Studies
U.S. Naval War College
686 Cushing Road
Newport, Rhode Island 02841 |