Research Area: Strategy & Doctrine​

Navy Ponders How to Best Carry Out Demining in Contested Waters

By Dr. Steven Wills

One Tool Among Many: Uncrewed Systems in the Black Sea

By Kayvan Amyot-Ariya

Learning from the ‘Voyage of the Damned’: The Making of a Russian Naval Disaster

By Dr. Steven Wills

A Conversation with Bill Toti, Performing the Duties of Under Secretary of the Navy

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Samuel Huntington and the U.S. Navy: A Reappraisal

By Dr. Steven Wills

Russia’s Drone Machinations: Reflexive Control and Cognitive Warfare in the Maritime Domain

By Catherine Marie Abbott

A US-Iran Deal Could Hinge On Israel, Says US Security Expert Matt Reisener

By Matthew Reisener

Cuba Isn’t a National Security Threat. Here’s Why

By Matthew Reisener

Iran Punctured the U.S. Security Umbrella in the Gulf

By Matthew Reisener

Fireside Chat with Acting Secretary of the Navy, The Honorable Hung Cao

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Dangerous Encounters in the Western Pacific

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Your move: What’s next in battle for Strait of Hormuz?

By Dr. Steven Wills

Tough Lessons for Taiwan From Iran

By Matthew Reisener

Pressure mounting to overcome mine fears for ship transit in Strait of Hormuz

By Dr. Steven Wills

CEPA Podcast: Admiral Foggo on the Future of Maritime Security

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Mine Warfare in the Strait of Hormuz: What the U.S. Can Expect from Iran

By Dr. Steven Wills

A Brief History of U.S. Naval Mine Warfare in the Persian Gulf, 1979–Present

By Dr. Steven Wills

Europe Is Accelerating a NATO Fallback Plan in Case Trump Pulls Out

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

The People’s Liberation Army Navy and the China Dream

By Alexandru Filip

Iran’s Chokehold on Hormuz Strait Has White House on Defensive

By Dr. Steven Wills

Iran, Stability, and Maritime Security

By Richard B. Levine

Adm. James Foggo on the Iran war: I would encourage ‘strategic and tactical patience’ here

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

The Amazing Beauty Of Trade & Its Manifold Benefits For America/Americans

By John D. McCown

Defending Global Order Against China’s Maritime Insurgency – Part 2

By Hunter Stires

U.S. Pushes to Reopen Strait of Hormuz

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

The Fleet in Being in the 21st Century: A Book Review

By Michael D. Purzycki

Military briefing: How mines could tighten Iran’s Gulf chokehold

By Dr. Steven Wills

Trump in Biden’s Footsteps: Reclaiming the Sea Remains America’s Goal

By Hunter Stires

The Northern Sea Route and the Coming Maritime Stress Test in East Asia

By Dr. Ju Hyung Kim

Is Sustaining Maritime Dominance Even Possible?

By Dr. Jeff Harley

Space– A view from the Planet’s Surface

By CDR (ret.) Chuck Ridgeway, USN

“They Were Playing Chicken”—The U.S. Asiatic Fleet’s Gray-Zone Deterrence Campaign against Japan, 1937–40

By Hunter Stires

Analyzing the 2025 National Security Strategy

By Matthew Reisener

America Should Stick to its Guns on Port Fees for Chinese Ships

By Hunter Stires

How Likely is a Chinese Invasion of Taiwan?

By Matthew Reisener

Don’t give up the shipyards

By Hunter Stires

Maritime Statecraft and its Future

By Hunter Stires

Book Review: The Price of Victory: A Naval History of Britain, 1815-1945

By Ken Brown

Naval Power in Action: Book Launch with Brent Sadler

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

The Need for Strategy: Comparing Mahan and Roosevelt on the Maritime War of 1812

By Zachary Turinsky

Shooting Behind the Duck: Fixing America’s Maritime Strategy with Brent Sadler

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Safety of Navigation is Not the Priority

By LT Sean F. Barry, USN

Building Maritime Operations from the Bottom Up; Review of Essays in Honor of Captain Wayne Hughes

By Dr. Steven Wills

The Denial Navy: A Strategic Concept for American Maritime Security

By Haddon Antonucci

Russia, China and a Growing Threat to Safety at Sea

By Dr. Steven Wills

Why Defending Taiwan is Difficult: American Credibility and Taiwan’s Military Value

By Zachary Turinsky

America’s Fleet of Ship-to-Shore Connectors: A Looming Crisis

By LTC (ret.) Richard Vargus, PhD

Japan’s Strategic Decision to Attack the Russian Fleet in Manchuria, 1904

By Meredith Kottom

Ukraine Has Innovated Naval Warfare

By Mark Temnycky

The Fragile High Mast of Empire; British Royal Navy Cruising Strategy; Then and Now

By Dr. Steven Wills

Sustaining the Fight: Challenges of Distributed Maritime Operations

By Julian Guevara

Navies are Our Guide for Space Strategy

By Dr. James W.E. Smith

Returning from Ebb Tide: Renewing the United States Commercial Maritime Enterprise

By Dr. Steven Wills, Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Sea Power – The Missing Ingredient in a Strategy of Denial

By CDR Chuck Ridgway, USN (Ret.)

Mastering The Waves: Learning to understand the maritime-industrial strategy behind Trumps’ foreign policy vision

By Grant Morgan

Foundations of Maritime Strategy

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Dr. Steven Wills, Samuel Byers

Progress in US-Europe Ballistic Missile Defense

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Command Ships: Fighting from the Maritime Operations Center Afloat

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Dr. Steven Wills

Learning from the Royal Navy: Lessons for the USN on Sea Power Politics

By Dr. James W.E. Smith

Restoring American Maritime Power? Call-UP the Merchant Marine and Coast Guard

By Nikki E. Corbett, Corydon F. Heard IV

Australia can take USAID’s place in the Pacific islands

By Nicholas Weising

China’s Mahanian Naval Strategy – And Why America Needs One Too

By Lydia Miller

Multi-Tasking; A Naval Warfighting Challenge

By Robert C. Rubel

US military’s future in Europe under review as Hegseth heads to NATO headquarters

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

The Nation Needs a Maritime National Security Strategy

By Dr. Steven Wills

In Defense of the German Navy

By Chuck Ridgway

Interview with Admiral (ret.) James G. Foggo

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Trump’s Defense Priorities

By Dr. Steven Wills

Part III: A Maritime Nation by Necessity

By Richard B. Levine

Part II: A Maritime Nation by Necessity

By Richard B. Levine

Part I: A Maritime Nation by Necessity

By Richard B. Levine

A Maritime Nation by Necessity

CNO Remarks & Discussion at America’s Future Fleet: Reinvigorating the Maritime Industrial Base

By Admiral Lisa Franchetti, U.S. Navy

Medical Logistics in a Contested Pacific: Ensuring Health Support in High-Risk Regions

By Ishaan Anand

Confronting the Axis of Authoritarianism: The Need for a Robust Defense Build-Up to Empower a Multi-Theater Strategy

By Nathan Fiala

Make the Navy Great Again

By Samuel Byers

To Fight Future Wars, the U.S. Needs More Capacity—and Seriousness

By Samuel Byers

The One Year Anniversary of Hamas’ Attack: Implications for the United States Navy in the Red Sea and Beyond

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Unmanned Vessels Threaten to Undermine the Sea-Based Deterrent

By Laurel Baker

Assessing the 2024 Navigation Plan

By CMS Editorial Board

Beware the Allure of Blockade: There Won’t Be Any Silver Bullets in a War Against China

By Samuel Byers

A World Without Carriers?

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Stretched US Navy eyes risky new waters in South China Sea

By Samuel Byers

The Weakest Link: Single Points of Failure and Toward a National Cybersecurity

By Nicholas Weising

A Proportional Response? American Strategy and the Red Sea

By Samuel Byers

Fleets verses Forts, A Perennial Challenge

By Dr. Steven Wills

The Need for Speed

Maritime Strategy for a 21st Century Navy

By Samuel Byers

Improving U.S. South China Sea Strategy by Addressing China’s Ideological Drivers

By Reece Breaux

The Houthis, Operation Prosperity Guardian, and Asymmetric Threats to Global Commerce

Aircraft Carrier Math Is No Conundrum

By Dr. Steven Wills

Wargaming War in the Western Pacific

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

The European Union as a Maritime Security Provider—What Is the EU Doing in the Red Sea?

Congressional Commissions on Afghan War and Future of Navy Lack Recipe for Success

By Dr. Steven Wills

The United States Should ‘Operation Paul Bunyan’ the Second Thomas Shoal

By Samuel Byers

BALTOPS 24 in a Contested NATO Lake

By Dr. Steven Wills

NATO’s Maritime Strategy: Operational Challenges & Opportunities

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

A Nuclear Sea-Launched Cruise Missile Sooner, Rather than Later

By Eli Glickman

Securing the Commercial Maritime Industry

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Three Questions: Congressional Guidance for a National Maritime Strategy

By Samuel Byers

The Clear Case Today for Globalization Preserving National Security: Part 1

By John D. McCown

Missile Warfare Outside the Lab

By Dr. Steven Wills

Live at Sea-Air-Space 2024 with Dr. P.W. Singer

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Remaining Steadfast in the Face of Burgeoning Threats

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Sea Drone Swarms – Can NATO’s Navies Avoid Russia’s Fate?

By Dr. Steven Wills

A Common Hull for New Navy Auxiliaries: The National Security Multi-Mission Vessel

By Dr. Steven Wills

The Need for Political Urgency in Ensuring Naval Success

By Dr. Jeff Harley

The Specter of the Continuing Resolution Will Haunt Navy Acquisition and Operations Beyond 2024

By Dr. Steven Wills

Türkiye and the Russo-Ukrainian War: Cynicism and Opportunism in the Black Sea

By Frederik Brekk

The Sixth Fleet on the Front Lines, Then and Now

By Michael Purzycki

Bring Back the CNO Strategic Studies Group And Make New “Captains of War” for Renewed Competition

By Dr. Steven Wills

The Balearic-Strait-Canaries Axis and Spanish Maritime Strategy

By Gonzalo Vazquez

U.S. Maritime Priorities for a New Era of Competition

By Ambassador Robert C. O’Brien (ret.)

Sen. Kelly to propose Legislation to strengthen Commercial Shipping

China and Russia in the Black Sea Region: Moving towards Pax Sinica?

By Thea Dunlevie

U.S. Navy Warship responds to Red Sea Attacks

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Grand Admiral Thrawn and the Operational Level of Conflict in Star Wars

By Dr. Steven Wills

Our Naval Neighbor to the North: A Conversation with the 38th Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy Vice Admiral Angus Topshee

By Dr. Steven Wills

NATO’s Standing Naval Forces at the Crossroads: Towards Regionalization and Specialization?

By Gonzalo Vazquez

The Swedish Navy brings Capable Forces to NATO 

By Dr. Steven Wills

Transatlantic Security in Baltic: How Realistic is Poland’s Concept of protecting NATO’s Eastern Flank against Russian Aggression?

By Ewa A. Andryjalowicz

Sea Control in the Black Sea Still up for Grabs

By Dr. Steven Wills

To succeed against China, Washington and Its Allies must be in the South China Sea

By Gonzalo Vázquez

The United States Navy needs An Operational Level of War Strategy to inform Fleet Design

By Dr. Steven Wills

The Grand Voyage of the Amerigo Vespucci and Italy’s Lost Opportunities

By Anna Matilde Bassoli

Roadblock to Strategy and Fleet Design: Platform-Centric Thinking

By Robert C. “Barney” Rubel

How to defeat Russia’s War on Ukrainian Grain: Navies go Small, Diplomacy goes Big

By Bradford Dismukes, Barry Blechman

Quo Vadis: The Commission on the Future of the Navy

By Dr. Steven Wills

Navy seeks to offer virtual training to more of the fleet

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Inside the Navy’s largest exercise: In command and under pressure

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Lessons from the Anglo-German Arms Race for the United States Navy

By Eamonn Bellin

Too Soon to Call: Betting against Warship Retirement

By Anna Matilde Bassoli

Global Warfighting Simulation Puts the Pressure on Navy, Marine Corps

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

International Reactions to Maritime COIN Project

By Hunter Stires

Ukraine Offers Plan to Bypass Russia’s Black Sea Blockade

By Thea Dunlevie

Why Sevastopol is Important to the Russian Black Sea Fleet

By Dr. Steven Wills

The Eastern Front: Let’s Talk Black Sea Security, Pt. II (with Adm. James Foggo)

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Adapting to a New Strategic Environment: The Royal Australian Navy and Australia’s 2023 Strategic Defense Review

By Gonzalo Vázquez

The Eastern Front: Let’s Talk Black Sea Security (with Thea Dunlevie)

By Thea Dunlevie

World War II’s Coral Sea and Midway Battles say the Modern U.S. Navy needs more Tactical Aircraft

By Dr. Steven Wills

Fostering International Security – One Conversation at a Time

By Captain David Varona, USN

NATO must avoid Sea Blindness in Vilnius

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Vilnius’ Implications for Alliance Naval Power

By Professor James Henry Bergeron

AUKUS: Strength, Silence, Surprise

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Should the EU learn from NATO’s Standing Naval Forces Model?

By Gonzalo Vázquez 

Exercise Formidable Shield: An Enduring Legacy of Learning in Integrated Air and Missile Defense

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Russia’s Lake: How to Liberate the Black Sea

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Washington Must Break China’s New Normal in the Taiwan Strait

By Andrew I. Park

Army Munitions Operations in Maritime Environments

By Michael Lima, D.B.A.

Is the EU already speaking the “language of power?” An analysis of the updated EU Maritime Security Strategy

By Veronika Hornyák, Captain Mariann Vecsey

Live at Sea-Air-Space 2023 with RADM Kirby and David Martin

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

NATO Should Mind the Gap

By Gonzalo Vázquez

Entering Year Two of Putin’s War in Ukraine

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Energy Security for Maritime Security

By Michael D. Purzycki

Misaligned by Design: Structuring the U.S. Navy Post-Cold War

By Benjamin E. Mainardi

Reflecting on One Year of War: Is China’s Military Learning Anything from Ukraine?

By Dr. Joel Wuthnow

Special Edition: Eastern Front & American Purpose Event Recording of “Russia’s War on Ukraine at Year One”

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Reflecting on One Year of War: The Role of Non-Military Levers

By Clara Le Gargasson, James Black

And the D’s Just Keep on Coming!

By Captain (ret.) R. Robinson Harris

Chinese Balloons Harken back to World War II Terror Weapons

By Dr. Steven Wills

Reflecting on One Year of War: A Transformational Year in Maritime NATO

By James H. Bergeron

Book Review – Developing the Naval Mind by Benjamin F. Armstrong and John Freymann

By Benjamin E. Mainardi

Reflecting on One Year of War: Remotely Piloted Threats, Lessons from Drone Operations in Ukraine

By Federico Borsari

Reflecting on One Year of War: The Decisive Element of Black Sea Strategy

By Carsten Schmiedl

Reflecting on One Year of War: Assessing the West’s “Failure” to Deter

By Dr. Melanie Sisson

What to Watch 2023: Three Things the Next CNO Should Know

By Dr. Steven Wills

Back to the Future: Resurrecting ‘Air/Sea Battle’ in the Pacific

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Dr. Steven Wills

The Fourth Battle of the Atlantic Is Underway

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

2022 A Year in Strategic Review

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

A Newly Rising Sun? Clarifying Japan’s Defense Changes

By Benjamin E. Mainardi

A Next-Generation Agenda for US-ROK-Japan Cooperation

By Andrew I. Park

What the Disasters of Dieppe and Slapton Sands Can Tell Us About a Chinese Invasion of Taiwan

By Dr. Steven Wills

Congress Should Demand a Maritime Strategy

By Dr. Steven Wills

On the Path to a Second Pearl Harbor?

By Bruce Stubbs

Maritime COIN and Integrated Deterrence

By Hunter Stires

America Does Not Sail Alone: Pacific Allied and Partner Fleets Are Part of the Equation

By Benjamin E. Mainardi

The Land Down Under the Sea: AUKUS is About Submarines, Not Bombers

By Dr. Steven Wills, Andrew I. Park

There is no Panacea, Competition with China Occurs in Peace and War

By Benjamin E. Mainardi

The Return of Infernal Machines to Naval Warfare

By Dr. Steven Wills

Big Mismatch Between the Biden Administration’s New Defense Plan and an Underfunded U.S. Navy

By Dr. Steven Wills

The Administration’s National Defense Strategy Hinges on the Navy

By Benjamin E. Mainardi

The Navy and the New NDS: Opportunities and Challenges

By Dr. Steven Wills

247 Years of Victory at Sea

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Dr. Steven Wills

From the Editor, Journal of Advanced Military Studies (Fall 2022) – Conflict on the Seas

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

American Maritime Strategy Prior to the Second World War and the Myths of US Isolationism

By Connor L. Mitchell

An 11 Carrier Navy in a 20 Carrier World?

By Dr. Steven Wills

Lacking a Comprehensive Maritime Strategy, U.S. Can Learn from Friend and Foe

By Benjamin E. Mainardi

A Tale of Two Caesars: Contemporary Lessons from Divergent Caesarian Strategies

By Benjamin E. Mainardi

The Navy is a Deployment Machine

By Dr. Steven Wills

A Timeless U.S. Navy Strategy

By Captain Anthony Cowden

NAVPLAN 2022’s Budget Requirement: An Elusive Necessity?

By Benjamin E. Mainardi

Maritime Strategic Culture & The British Way of War

By Benjamin E. Mainardi, Dr. Steven Wills

NAVPLAN 2022: Laying the Groundwork for the Future Force

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Dr. Steven Wills

CAVASSHIPS Podcast [Jul 22, ’22] Episode 58…Maritime COIN in INDO-PACOM

By Hunter Stires

Time to Update the Salvo Equations

By Dr. Steven Wills

Proceedings Podcast Ep. 276: The Maritime COIN Project Begins

By Hunter Stires

The Maritime Counterinsurgency Project Begins

By Hunter Stires

The Sea Services’ Strategy Imperative

By Benjamin E. Mainardi

40 Years of Missile Warfare: What the Losses of the HMS Sheffield and RFS Moskva Tell Us About War At Sea

By Dr. Steven Wills

NATO ties to Finland and Sweden could aid US with useful tactics for the Pacific, naval experts say

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Inside the US military’s modern ‘island hopping’ campaign to take on China

By Dr. Steven Wills

The Navy’s Seven Operational Imperatives for This Decade

By Dr. Steven Wills

What’s in a Name? Understanding the Indo-Pacific and Its Challenges for the U.S.

By Benjamin E. Mainardi

Deterrence: Selected Articles from the Naval War College Review

By Hunter Stires

A Maritime Strategy for the Arctic

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

How to lose the next war: Ignore the supply chain 

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Forward Naval Presence: A Political, Not Military, Leadership Problem

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Win Without Fighting

By Hunter Stires

Countering China in the South China Sea with Hunter Stires – on Midrats

By Hunter Stires

The South China Sea Needs a ‘COIN’ Toss

By Hunter Stires

Episode 458: Maritime Insurgency and Counterinsurgency with Hunter Stires

By Hunter Stires

Perrys to the Rescue: Could the U.S. Navy’s Retired Frigates Make a Comeback?

By Hunter Stires