John M. Sappenfield
Deputy Director Maritime Advanced Warfighting School
Biography
Professor Sappenfield joined the Maritime Advanced Warfighting School faculty in July 2014 and assumed the duties as its Deputy Director in Aug 2025. He was commissioned in the Marine Corps in 1989 and designated a field artillery officer. He has extensive operational planning experience at combatant command, service and functional components, and joint task forces where he served in a range of planning and leadership billets.
Contact Information
Areas of Expertise
- COIN
- Counterterrorism
- Irregular Warfare
- Joint Operations
- Military Planning
- Operational Warfare
- Wargaming
Professional Highlights
Deputy Director, Maritime Advanced Warfighting School
Faculty, Maritime Advanced Warfighting School
Joint Operational Planner, G5 Plans, Policy, and Intl Affairs Div, Hq USMARFORPAC
Deliberate Planning Specialist, G5 Plans, Policy, and Intl Affairs Div, Hq USMARFORPAC
Adjunct Professor, Joint Maritime Operations, College of Distance Education, Naval War College
Plans Branch Chief Operational Planner, G5 Plans, Policy, and Intl Affairs Div, Hq USMARFORPAC
Operational Planner, G5 Plans, Policy, and Intl Affairs Div, Hq USMARFORPAC
Branch Chief, War on Terror Branch, J35 Future Operations Div, J3 Directorate, HQ USAPACOM
Education
M.A., The University of Oklahoma, 2019, Communication
M.A., The University of Oklahoma, 2018, International Relations
M.A., Naval War College, 2005, National Security and Strategic Studies, Distinguished Graduate
M.A., Webster University, 2001, Computer Resources and Information Systems Management
B.A., University of North Carolina, 1989, Peace War and Defense
Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies, 2011, Comprehensive Crisis Management
Joint and Combined Warfare School (JPME II), 2006, Joint Forces Staff College, National Defense University
Naval War College (Fleet Seminar Program), 2005, Distinguished Graduate
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, 2002
USMC Command and Staff College (nonresident), 2002
External Memberships and Associations
Marine Corps League
Lifetime Member
Disabled American Veterans
Lifetime Member
Material and external links contained herein are made available for the purpose of peer review and discussion and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Naval War College, Department of the Navy or the Department of Defense.