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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 departments teaching foreign policy analysis and international security. 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

(401) 841-3540
841-3540

Graduate-Level Security Studies

The NSA department is one of the 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 to analyze how the U.S. government makes foreign policy decisions and the role the U.S. plays in the world.

National Security Decision Making Course

National Security Affairs SLC Syllabus Cover

National Security Decision Making (NSDM) is designed to engage senior-rank students in the complexities of U.S. foreign policy and the international security environment at the national-strategic level.

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NSDM Capstone Final Exercise (FX)

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Theater Security Decision Making Course

National Security Affairs ILC Syllabus Cover

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 U.S. decision making challenges and processes at the theater-strategic level of the geographic combatant commands.

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TSDM Capstone Final Exercise (FX)

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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.

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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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Student Publications

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Matthew Jason Tackett

Military Professor | Joint Military Operations Department

Colonel Matthew Tackett, USA, joined the Joint Military Operations Department in July 2017 after graduating from the U.S. Naval War College. He was commissioned as an Infantry Officer from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) and has served in various Infantry Air Assault, Airborne, Ranger, and Mechanized units in Germany, Australia, Afghanistan and Iraq. Prior to attending the U.S. Naval War College, he was an Airborne Battalion Commander and a Task Force Senior at the Joint Readiness Training Center. In addition to receiving a M.A. in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College, Matt holds a B.A. in English from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst).

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Richard Stabile faculty photo

Richard Stabile

Military Professor | Stockton Center for International Law

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Stabile is a military professor assigned to the Stockton Center for International Law, the world’s premier research institute for the study of international law and military operations throughout the areas of land, sea, aerospace and cyberspace. Stockton Center faculty teach in the core curriculum and electives at NWC as well as in advanced international law courses around the world.

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