Our Mission

The U.S. Naval War College provides professional military education programs as a graduate-level institution supporting the Navy’s Future Leader Development and Professional Military Education Continua. The desired effect is to create leaders who are operationally and strategically minded critical-thinkers and who are proficient in joint and interagency matters; and skilled naval and joint warfighters who are prepared to meet the strategic and operational level-of-war challenges.

The U.S. Naval War College conducts research, analysis and gaming to support the requirements of the Secretary of the Navy, the Chief of Naval Operations, the combatant commanders, the Navy component commanders, the Navy numbered fleet commanders, other Navy and Marine Corps commanders, the U.S. intelligence community and other departments and agencies of the U.S. Government. The desired effect is a program of focused, forward-thinking, timely and relevant research, analysis and gaming that anticipates future operational and strategic challenges; develops and assesses strategic and operational concepts to address those challenges; and assesses the risk associated with these concepts. The college will provide operational concepts, analytic products and briefings that provide knowledge to Navy and Department of Defense leadership to help shape and inform key decisions and contribute effectively to the public discourse on U.S. national security and defense policy.

The U.S. Naval War College conducts operational level-of-war activities to support the ability of the Navy’s Joint and Combined Force Maritime Component Commanders and Navy Component Commanders to function effectively in an era of technological change and peer competition as operational commanders. This effort includes support for joint force commanders, Navy component commanders, Navy numbered fleet commanders and type commanders as they engage in planning, analysis, assessment and wargaming to anticipate and address emerging and current warfighting requirements. The desired effect is to improve the capability of Navy commanders to lead maritime joint and combined forces along with their staff members to plan, execute and assess force employment options to function effectively as an operational level maritime staff and maritime operations center.

The U.S. Naval War College brings together flag, senior-level and intermediate-level naval leaders from other countries to foster understanding, encourage friendship and build greater trust. This increases the naval capabilities and capacity of allies and partners by educating their future leaders in techniques to conduct operational planning, methods for commanding and controlling coalition forces and strategies to address common challenges to maritime security and governance. The desired effect is to solidify relationships with America's maritime partners and foster greater interoperability with their naval forces.

The U.S. Naval War College fosters and supports development of ethical leaders across the Navy. This effort includes supporting Navy communities in their leader development and maintaining a strategy for leader development beyond major command. The desired effect is a fully integrated and Fleet-executed Navy Leader Development Continuum, which produces leaders of character who are prepared to lead effectively in the complex global security environment.