Newport, R.I. - The U.S. Naval War College (NWC) celebrated its in-residence fall graduation onboard Naval Station Newport, Nov. 13th.
The ceremony honored a total of 39 graduating officers from the U.S. Navy, U.S. Navy Reserve, U.S. Army, U.S. Army National Guard, U.S. Army Reserve, and U.S. Air Force. Graduates included 11 students from the College of Naval Warfare’s (CNW) senior-level leadership program and 28 from the College of Naval Command and Staff’s (CNCS) intermediate-level leadership program.
“In this decade of consequence, the task ahead is to translate theory and doctrine into tangible actions on the operational stage,” said Rear Adm. Darryl Walker, president, NWC. “Your charge now is to use the education you have received here to link what you've learned to how we fight, how you frame problems, how you develop and assess solutions in the future, and most importantly, how you will build winning teams.”
Selected by students to provide the keynote remarks, John H. Maurer, Ph.D., Alfred Thayer Mahan Professor of Sea Power and Grand Strategy in NWC’s Strategy and Policy Department, reminded graduates that strategic thinking and critical reasoning are just as important to warfighting as technical expertise.
“You can never divorce your ability to think and to reason from your shared belief in what is right and just,” Maurer asserted. “War is not just about how the sword is wielded in combat but how the sword is forged as well.”
U.S. Navy Cmdr. Ronald Aaron Herrera from CNW and U.S. Army Maj. Destry Samuel Balch from CNCS were recognized as NWC’s honor graduates, with both receiving the President’s Honor Graduate Award.
U.S. Navy Cmdrs. Robert S. Patrick III and Andrew S. McFarland, both from CNCS, were also awarded highest distinctions for their outstanding academic performance, ranking in the top 5% of their class.
Additional distinctions were awarded to U.S. Navy Cmdrs. John P. Culliton and Cory Zebian, both from CNW, and U.S. Army Maj. Clayton H. Stransky; U.S. Navy Cmdr. Natalya E. Cooper; and U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Adam Reddick, all from CNCS. These students ranked in the top 15% of their class.
Graduates are set to assume leadership roles at military staffs around the world, including U.S. Naval Forces Central Command / U.S. 5th Fleet in Manama, Bahrain; 1st Medical Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group in Camp Pendelton, CA; U.S. Army Europe and Africa in Vilseck, Germany; Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) in Patuxent River, MD; and 41st Field Artillery Brigade in Grafenwoehr, Germany. Others will take command of ships, squadrons and other units where their strategic training can be used to create a decisive warfighting advantage.
NWC students participate in a one-year graduate-level program that accommodates either in-resident or distance learning status. They earn Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) credits and either a diploma or a master’s degree in National Security and Strategic Studies or Defense and Strategic Studies. Graduates are comprised of U.S. and international officers in the Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, Space Force, Coast Guard, and various U.S. civilian government agencies.
Both CNW and CNCS programs advance the core teachings of NWC and prepare students to think critically, strategically, and operationally in military and civilian environments. Each program attracts officers and civilians at varying levels in pursuit of greater responsibility: senior level for CNW and intermediate for CNCS.
More than 50,000 students have graduated since NWC’s first class of nine students in 1885 and about 300 of today’s active-duty admirals, generals and senior executive service leaders are alumni. Since creating a program for international officers in 1956, the college has more than 4,500 international alumni from 137 countries worldwide. Approximately ten percent of these alumni have become chief of their country’s respective navy.
Established in 1884, NWC is the oldest institution of its kind in the world. The college delivers excellence in education, research, and outreach, informing today’s decision makers, educating tomorrow’s leaders, and engaging partners and allies on all matters of naval power in order to preserve the peace, respond in crisis, and win decisively in war.
To access a recorded video of the graduation ceremony, visit the NWC YouTube Channel. Photos are also available on Flickr.