NEWPORT, R.I. – U.S. Naval War College (NWC) officially opened a new Future Forces Gallery located within NWC’s Learning Commons, May 18.
The purpose of the gallery is to represent the physical manifestation of the college’s sharpening focus on considering future forces and capabilities. It also provides a location where NWC students, staff and faculty can relax in a peaceful environment while reflecting on the possible futures they may face in the years and decades ahead.
“Our students spend a lot of time learning from the lessons of history,” said John Jackson, professor, NWC’s College of Distance Education and National Security Affairs. “This is appropriate, but it is also important that they consider the technologies and techniques that they will utilize in the coming decades.
“The Future Forces Gallery is designed to provide a quiet location in which they can think about the shape of things to come. The models, photos, and printed materials available in the gallery can serve as 'food-for-thought', and they illustrate designs from the past, current cutting-edge systems, and concepts that may shape the future forces of the United States and our allies.”
The gallery is made up of multiple lighted display cases which showcase dozens of models depicting technological designs from the past, modern systems in use today, as well as conceptual designs for the future. There are also illuminated light-boxes which display images from the “Future of the Navy”, a series of paintings done by artist John Berkey that take a long-term view of what the Navy’s air, surface and sub-surface platforms might look like many decades from now.
While they are not intended to be realistic designs for future platforms, they serve to spark the imagination on future possibilities. A large flat-screen monitor will continuously display images of technology demonstrations and engineering prototypes. Library guides and other publications will link interested individuals with other resources at NWC and the Office of Naval Research.
“The Future Forces Gallery is a launching pad for innovation and discovery,” said Lt. Hillary Collandra, a NWC student. “The stationary displays provide students with information regarding the significant advances in unmanned systems technology and how these innovations will contribute to future operations. It also serves as a dedicated environment intended for the kinetic discovery and experimentation of new and upcoming technological innovations. The gallery provides great insight into what future warfare may look like and provokes the imagination of our future military leadership.”
The Future Forces Gallery is supported through the Naval War College Foundation.