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National Security Affairs Department

The National Security Affairs (NSA) department at U.S. Naval War College (NWC) is one of the nation's largest and most vibrant graduate teaching departments in the interdisciplinary field of national and international security studies. We provide professional education to mid- and senior-career students who are military and civilian national security professionals from the United States and more than 60 partner countries.

Chair, National Security Affairs Department

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Graduate-Level Security Studies

The NSA department is one of three core departments at NWC and offers two courses that lead to the master's degree: national security decision making (NSDM) for senior-ranking students and theater security decision making (TSDM) for mid-ranking students. These eight-credit hour courses provide a broad interdisciplinary foundation in contemporary security studies including international relations, regional studies, foreign policy analysis and decision making.

National Security Decision Making Course

National Security Decision Making (NSDM) is designed to engage senior-rank students in the current and future complexities of a rapidly evolving national and international security environment. The course offers a broad interdisciplinary curriculum in contemporary security studies that encompasses a diverse spectrum of global and regional issues and perspectives, but with particular emphasis on U.S. decision making challenges and processes at the national strategic level.

NSDM Capstone Final Exercise (FX)

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National Security Affairs SLC Syllabus Cover

The NSDM course integrates concepts drawn from a number of disciplines including international relations, area studies, foreign policy analysis, leadership studies, and cognate fields. The course is designed to broaden strategic perspective while fostering critical thinking and analytic skills that will have lasting professional relevance long into the future.

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Theater Security Decision Making Course

Theater Security Decision Making (TSDM) is designed to engage intermediate-rank students in the complexities of today's national and international security environment with a strong emphasis on regional security issues. The course offers a broad interdisciplinary curriculum in contemporary security studies that encompasses a diverse spectrum of regional and global issues and perspectives, but with particular emphasis on U.S. decision making challenges and processes at the theater-strategic level of the geographic combatant commands.

TSDM Capstone Final Exercise (FX)

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National Security Affairs ILC Syllabus Cover

The TSDM course integrates concepts drawn from a number of disciplines including area studies, comparative politics, international relations, foreign policy analysis, decision making, management studies, and cognitive fields. The course is designed to develop strategic perspective while fostering critical thinking and analytical skills that that will have lasting professional relevance long into the future.

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Our Faculty

The department is first and foremost a teaching department where scholars and national security practitioners follow a curriculum that combines academic rigor with policy relevance. To further this, faculty participate in scholarly, policy and professional activities to ensure students have a learning experience that meets the needs of the Navy and the intent of the Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) system.

Here are recent selections of NSA faculty contributions to the broader national and international security discourse.

Faculty Books

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Faculty Articles

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Select Conferences (Organized and Chaired since 2016)

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Select Keynote Addresses and Testimony (Since 2017)

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See National Security Affairs Faculty

Faculty expertise spans multiple fields. To learn more, please use the link below to access the online directory.

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Featured Faculty

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John A. Cloud photo

John A. Cloud

Professor | National Security Affairs

Ambassador (ret.) John A. Cloud is a professor in the National Security Department at the U.S. Naval War College. Ambassador Cloud retired in 2010 after almost 32 years in the U.S. Foreign Service. He was the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Lithuania from 2006 - 2009. He also served as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, the U.S. Mission to the European Union, and the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw. He served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for International Economic Affairs on the National Security Council staff from 2001-2003. Mr. Cloud had earlier assignments in the State Department, Bonn, Mexico City and Warsaw.

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Ken Sandler

Military Professor | National Security Affairs

Lt. Col. Ken Sandler joined the National Security Affairs Department in 2018 and currently teaches policy analysis. Previously, he has taught decision-making and leadership concepts, co-taught the chemical-biological warfare elective and was a member of the spring 2020 International Maritime Staff Operators Course faculty. Lt. Col. Sandler is a communications officer who has served across the Marine Air Ground Task Force in the U.S., Asia-Pacific, Europe and Africa. He has also completed a joint tour with Joint Task Force-Global Network Operations, U.S. Strategic Command. His deployments include with the 26 Marine Expeditionary Unit, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

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