Established in 1884 as an advanced course of professional study for naval officers, the U.S. Naval War College educates and develops leaders at specific stages in their careers from all services, U.S. government agencies and departments, and international navies.
The Fleet Seminar Program delivers Joint Professional Military Education Phase I to students who cannot attend the U.S. Naval War College in-residence. Courses offered at multiple Naval bases and stations across the United States. The academic year runs from the first week in September to the third week in May and each course requires one academic year to complete.
The Graduate Degree Program offered by College of Distance Education provides an opportunity for Fleet Seminar Program students and graduates who meet the program's eligibility requirements and are accepted into the program to earn a Master of Arts degree.
International Maritime Staff Operator Course provides international students the skills needed to support the planning and execution of maritime operations and integrate with existing operational planning teams. Designed to meet the learning needs of maritime officers, the course uses the U.S. Navy Maritime Operations Center as an organizing concept, and is informed by NATO, UN joint and U.S. Naval doctrine, with a special emphasis on the U.S. Navy Planning Process.
M.A. in Defense and Strategic Studies for resident students is divided into trimesters with core teachings and electives. Core courses are primarily taught in seminar format but include capstone exercises, wargame participation, and writing assignments.
Maritime Advanced Warfighting School is a resident program that is completed in conjunction with College of Naval Command and Staff curriculum. Objectives for this course are to develop strategic and operational leaders with the skills required to plan, execute, and assess combined, joint, and naval operations.
The Maritime Operational Planners Course (MOPC) is part of a series of Professional Military Education courses. MOPC develops planners capable of performing in dynamic, complex, and high-tempo maritime operational environments. This course produces officers that are capable of forming, organizing, and leading operational planning teams and are proficient in the detailed application of the Navy Planning Process.
The Maritime Security and Governance Staff Course is an unclassified five-month course designed to provide officers from small navies and coast guards the knowledge and skills necessary to more effectively promote and achieve maritime security and good maritime governance in their national and regional waters.
The Maritime Staff Operators Course (MSOC) is part of a series of Professional Military Education courses. MSOC provides education in the application of the Maritime Operations Center concept, organization and processes; maritime operational level of warfare concepts, terminology and processes; and the Navy Planning Process in order to produce graduates capable of immediately supporting the commander’s decision cycle at the operational level of warfare in a dynamic and complex environment.
Naval Staff College Diploma (NSC) is a graduate-level curriculum that emphasizes naval planning and decision making, with particular attention to broadening the officers’ understanding of the importance and role of sea power in international affairs. It consists of three major areas of study, electives program, Field Studies Program, and country presentations. U.S. students may apply to be embedded in NSC.
The Naval Command and Staff online program educates students on the fundamentals of U.S. national security policy, military strategy, and the relationship between them. The program is organized into five educational blocks and all blocks must be completed to earn Joint Professional Military Education Phase I credit.
U.S. Naval War College (NWC) Monterey is a satellite office of NWC, College of Distance Education located on campus at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey, California. In partnership with NPS, we provide qualified officers and select DoD civilians attending NPS the opportunity to earn an NWC diploma and Joint Professional Military Education Phase I credit.
The Executive Level Operational Level of Warfare Course (ELOC) is part of a series of Professional Military Education courses. ELOC focuses at the senior leadership level; the course will ensure the attendees are properly educated in, and understand the intricacies of, effectively participating in the decision-making process and managing a Maritime Operations Center and its resources.
M.A. in National Security and Strategic Studies for resident students is divided into trimesters with core teachings and electives. Core courses are primarily taught in seminar format but include capstone exercises, wargame participation, and writing assignments.
Naval Command College Diploma is a residence graduate-level study program for senior international officers. The program consists of orientation, core curriculum, electives, Field Studies Program, and the cultural exchange. International Students are fully integrated with their U.S. counterparts in the College of Naval Warfare and must complete all class, seminar exercises, and writing assignments.
The Advanced Flag and Executive Course (AFLEX) brings together 3-star Flag and Senior Executive Service members (SES) navigating a whole new level of rapid change and dynamism in their roles to build a culture of excellence, warfighter resilience and readiness, and learning organizations with a growth mindset.
Combined Force Maritime Component Commander Flag Course educates students to focus on the operational level while working toward maritime security. The course serves as a forum to develop and deepen relationships based upon trust and confidence among stakeholders and nations in the framework of regional challenges. It also helps to evolve the Combined Maritime Command and Control concepts and mechanisms, while advancing the understanding of those security issues facing participating nations.
The Intermediate Flag and Executive Course (IFLEX) challenges 2-star flag officers and Senior Executive Service leaders to think more critically and adaptively as they serve in positions of increased responsibility and complexity.
The Joint Force Maritime Component Commander Course is part of a series of Professional Military Education courses. This course is designed to prepare U.S. and International students for theater-level combat leadership and to give them a broad perspective of operational and strategic levels of war.
Nearly a century after Stephen B. Luce founded the U.S. Naval War College as “a place of original research on all questions relating to war and the statesmanship connected with war, or the prevention of war,” the Center for Naval Warfare Studies was established within the College for broadly based, advanced research on the naval contributions to national strategy. The Center has complemented the curriculum at the U.S. Naval War College by providing a place for dedicated research that fuels our mission to educate future leaders, helps to define the future U.S. Navy, and informs national policy.
Jeff Shaw is the author of “The Ethiopian-Adal War, 1529-1543” (Helion, 2021), the first book published in any language to cover the fourteen-year conflict, which nearly resulted in the conquest of Christian Ethiopia in the sixteenth century. He wrote “Illusions of Freedom: Thomas Merton and Jacques Ellul on Technology and the Human Condition” (Wipf & Stock, 2014). His other works include the 3-volume “War and Religion: An Encyclopedia of Faith and Conflict,” which was selected by the American Library Association as a Best Reference Source in 2018. Professor Shaw's book chapters include The Ogaden War in “Peripheries of the Cold War, Comparative Studies from a Global Perspective Vol. 3.”
Congratulations on being selected to attend the U.S. Naval War College (NWC)! The NWC faculty and staff look forward to your arrival and the opportunity to get to know you and work with you during your time here.
Naval Station Newport is home to 50 military commands, educational institutions, and services. While your focus will be on academics, you’ll also have the opportunity to enjoy what the city of Newport and the naval station have to offer.
The U.S. Naval War College (NWC) distance education programs were designed to fit into the geographic and time constraints of students unable to participate in our traditional residential program. The College of Distance Education at NWC offers access to the same rigorous curriculum and world-class faculty.
The U.S. Naval War College welcomes senior and midcareer officers from navies around the world. Each year, we bring together U.S. and international students from diverse cultures to share their maritime traditions, experiences, and challenges.
Brig. Gen. John Allen is the Air Force director of civil engineers, deputy chief of staff for Logistics, Engineering & Force Protection, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia. He is responsible for providing policy and oversight for the planning, development, construction, maintenance, utilities and environmental quality of 183 Air Force bases worldwide valued at more than $297 billion. This responsibility includes housing, fire emergency services, explosive ordnance disposal and emergency management services. He also influences resourcing for installation support functions with an annual budget of $11 billion and is the focal point for organizing, training and equipping the 51,000-person engineering force. Brig. Gen. Allen's education includes a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Virginia Tech, a Master of Science in engineering management from the University of Alaska Anchorage, and a Master of Arts in national security and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College.
Born in Baltimore, Md., Capt. Mary Elizabeth Neill has been part of the Dental Corps for more than three decades. Captain Neill received her B.S. from University of Maryland Baltimore County, her Doctor of Dental Surgery from University of Maryland College of Dental Surgery, her M.S. from University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio and her M.S. National Security and Strategic Studies 2016 from the U. S. Naval War College. Neill has held many positions (deputy chief of staff for Navy Medicine National Capital Area, executive officer at Naval Hospital Oak Harbor, commanding officer at Naval Health Clinic Quantico, Navy Medicine East chief of staff, commanding officer of NATO Role III Multinational Medical Unit Kandahar, Afghanistan, and deputy director for Medical Resources, Plans, Policy at the Pentagon) and has deployed in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm and Operation Enduring Freedom.
A native of Ocean City, New Jersey, Rear Adm. McClelland graduated from Temple University in 1987, was commissioned in 1990, and earned her MA from Boston University in 2006. She was also a graduate of the U.S. Naval War College Command and Staff Program. She had multiple Navy Reserve (NR) supply, contracting and logistics assignments, including several overseas, as well as multiple command tours. McClelland mobilized in 2009 as commanding officer, DLA Support Team – Afghanistan, embedded with the Army’s 101st Airborne Division. She deployed again in 2010 as the deputy group commander, Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group Forward, supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. A qualified Navy Expeditionary Supply Corps officer, McClelland assumed duties as commander, Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group in 2019. In her civilian career, she is a retired special agent with the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation who was assigned to the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, Washington, District of Columbia.
From a maritime family, Samuel Paparo graduated from Villanova University and was commissioned in 1987. He earned an MA from Old Dominion University and an MS from the Naval Postgraduate School. A graduate of the Air Command and Staff College, the Air War College, the Naval War College, the Joint and Combined Warfighting School, and the TOPGUN program, he has flown over 6,000 hours and has over 1,000 carrier landings. His multiple operational command tours include, at sea: Carrier Air Wing 7, and Carrier Strike Group Ten, and, on the ground: Provincial Reconstruction Team with the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division and the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Paparo has additional joint operational service, shore assignments and Executive staff tours, including the staff of Commander, Naval Air Forces, director of Operations, J3, U.S. Central Command, and Battle Director at the Combined Air and Space Operations Center, Al Udeid, Qatar. Before assuming command of U.S. Pacific Fleet, his most recent assignment was U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet/Combined Maritime Forces.
Decatur, Alabama native Admiral Charles Richard graduated from the University of Alabama and earned master's degrees from the Catholic University of America and the U.S. Naval War College. His operational assignments include multiple submarine commands. Staff assignments include executive assistant and naval aide to the Under Secretary of the Navy; chief of staff, Submarine Force Atlantic; director of resources on the staff of the Under Secretary of Defense; squadron engineer on the staff of SUBRON-8 and duty on the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations staff. He has served as a member of Chief of Naval Operations' Strategic Studies Group XXVIII, as well as being Deputy Commander, U.S. Strategic Command, Director of Undersea Warfare (OPNAV N97), Deputy Commander of Joint Functional Component Command for Global Strike, and command of Submarine Group 10. His most recent assignment was Commander, Submarine Forces in Norfolk, Virginia. As Commander, U.S. Strategic Command, he is responsible for one of 11 Unified Commands under the Department of Defense.
General Daniel Hokanson is Chief of the National Guard Bureau and a Joint Chiefs of Staff member. In his role, he serves as an adviser on military matters to executive level departments. Additionally, he is the Department of Defense’s National Guard liaison to state-level leaders. Previously, he served as the Director of the Army National Guard, and as the Vice Chief of the National Guard Bureau. Daniel R. Hokanson graduated from the United States Military Academy and served in multiple aircraft test organizations before joining the Oregon National Guard. He has multi-level command experience, served as the Adjutant General of Oregon, and in the North American Aerospace Defense Command. His multiple combat deployments included commands of an Infantry Brigade Combat Team and as Chief of Staff for Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix. General Hokanson was also a member of the United States World Helicopter Team and founded the National Guard’s first Military Assistance to Safety and Traffic (MAST) and Military Air Rescue Team (MART) program.