Newport, R.I. - The U.S. Naval War College (NWC) hosted the 73rd iteration of the Secretary of the Navy’s Current Strategy Forum (CSF), an event focused on U.S. strategies in response to current challenges, onboard Naval Station Newport, June 11-12.
This year’s CSF, titled “America’s Seapower and Maritime Statecraft,” aimed to foster a shared understanding among senior military and government leaders, national security scholars and researchers, foreign and defense policy practitioners, and NWC students and faculty on the importance of seapower and maritime strategy in upholding a rules-based international order.
Welcoming the participants, Rear Adm. Pete A. Garvin, president of NWC, offered that the complexity of the global security environment is truly significant and even unprecedented, prompting Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Carlos Del Toro’s call for a “new maritime statecraft.”
“Over the next two days, you will see that there is no shortage of great minds devoted to thinking through the complex international problems before us and offering advice about what our strategy should be in the years ahead,” Garvin stated.
The event welcomed approximately 800 in-person and virtual attendants including 500 in-resident NWC students from every U.S. military branch and 57 partner nations.
Keynote speakers included David E. Sanger, White House and national security correspondent, The New York Times; Andy Krepinevich, Ph.D., senior fellow, Hudson Institute and the Center for a New American Security; and Elizabeth C. Economy, Ph.D., Hargrove senior fellow, Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.
Senior military leaders also addressed the audience, including Vice Adm. Daniel Dwyer, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Warfighting Development, N7, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV); Lt. Gen. Gregg P. Olson, director, Marine Corps Staff, Headquarters, United States Marine Corps (HQMC); and Steven B. Brock, senior advisor to the Secretary of the Navy.
Dwyer reminded students that following their Naval War College education, they would be returning to a security environment where U.S. and partner nation maritime forces are defending the rules based international order "in every ocean."
“Take what you have learned here back to your unit, your service, or your nation," Dwyer said. “Expand your network, operationalize these strategic and operational concepts, and test and iterate to find that competitive advantage either to deter our competitors, or if needed, to fight and win.”
To explore current strategy trends, challenges, and opportunities, CSF facilitated panel discussions on past, present, and future examples of maritime statecraft and the various strategic challenges facing the United States today. These discussions examined strategies for deterring adversaries and, if necessary, securing victory through warfighting in the maritime domain.
Current events around the globe, such as Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, and the dangers of conflict in the Indo-Pacific region, provided the foundation for these strategic level discussions.
In his virtual address, Olson indicated that, though increasingly difficult, our obligation to maintain freedom of the maritime commons remains.
“What’s at risk is no less than the international system that allows all people to benefit from trade on the global commons,” Olson stated. “The significance of the threat that we face is posed not only by our pacing challenge but by those who technology enables."
CSF first originated as NWC "Round Table Talks” in May 1949. These talks provided an opportunity for the nation’s public servants, scholars, and senior military leaders to discuss future U.S. strategy with the college’s senior officers. Since then, the event has expanded to include a cross section of America’s civilian and military leadership, encouraging a broad range of debates on national and international security issues.
CSF is also the capstone event for NWC students completing their JPME I and JPME II education and coincides with the college’s June 2024 commencement ceremony celebrating 794 graduating students.
NWC delivers excellence in education, research, and outreach, informing today’s decision-makers and educating tomorrow’s leaders. The college provides educational experiences and learning opportunities that develop students’ ability to anticipate and prepare strategically for the future, strengthen the foundations of peace, and create a decisive warfighting advantage.