The Naval Staff College strengthens aspects of U.S. power and Navy programs that have not been stressed enough. It is critical that we learn more about other cultures.
Understanding other nations and cultures has generally been recognized as an American weakness. Ours is a big country blessed with resources, a mature democracy, and a relatively advantageous geographical location. But the days of being content with limited external understanding are over. To best deal with threats, American military officers must know everything they can about friends and allies. The Great White Fleet of the early 20th century must evolve into a Great Partnered Thousand-Ship Fleet of the 21st century.
The Naval Staff College (NSC) promotes growth in this direction, especially with its relatively new one-year program. In July 2004 the NSC, located within the Naval War College (NWC) in Newport, Rhode Island, convened its first full-year, full-curriculum class. In this class were 21 officers from 21 different countries.1 Previously the NSC had offered six-month courses with shortened curricula, but now the full NWC program was taught within the context of the NSC experience. I had the privilege of being selected as the U.S. student for this unique and effective master's degree program.
For 33 years, the NSC had generally graduated two classes per year, each convening for six months. Except for elective courses, they were not integrated with the College of Naval Command and Staff (CNCS, the intermediate-level U.S. resident school at NWC). At times there was only one U.S. student in the NSC, depending on class size and community manpower concerns. Americans were selected from the existing CNCS student body based on merit, timing, and future flag potential. The 2004 change was part of a highly successful two-year pilot program to examine the efficacy of a full-year program, and to determine the NSC's future direction.
An International Gem
In supporting the CNO's vision for the Navy, the NSC facilitates higher learning in an international environment and strengthens aspects of U.S. power and Navy programs that have not been stressed in recent years. The course was developed to support foreign policy tenets of the Nixon doctrine, and the first class was convened in August 1972.2 The mission was and remains "to assist specially selected international naval officers in developing their professional and managerial skills, in order to prepare for command and staff positions within their own navies."
As the designated NWC program for international officers at the intermediate level (predominantly O-4, and some O-3), the NSC has graduated more than 1,600 naval officers representing 121 countries. As of the June 2006 graduation, 236 past NSC graduates have achieved flag rank and 102 have served as Chiefs of Service. Additionally, five graduates became cabinet ministers in their countries, one became a prime minister, and one became the president of Lebanon.3
Advantages of the Year-Long Option
The one-year program trains more U.S. officers to think differently about the implications of U.S. power in the international arena. It fosters longer and more intense relationships between the international students, and introduces more aspects of life in the United States. Because of the full year, all core NWC seminars (i.e., the American student body) include international students (usually two). The classes' atmosphere has been altered completely by this addition of non-American perspectives-a resounding success, confirmed by NSC's recent call for countries to submit individuals for a Class of 2008.
The six-month course will continue, for the near term, to get more officers through the course and facilitate the establishment of more global partnerships. It is certainly a significant and useful experience, but the one-year program accomplishes more varied and sophisticated measures through interaction, international learning, and Field Study Groups.
Interaction Is Intellectually Stimulating
In lively seminars of 12-15 mid-level officers from all U.S. armed services and other governmental organizations, current strategic and operational issues are discussed. Add in two officers from allied or friendly nations, and this mix becomes fascinating. Rather than only a minute number of U.S. officers (as in the six-month NSC program), in my class the entire student body saw the world through foreign eyes. All U.S. students were more challenged in what they believed-and, therefore, held to higher standards in understanding and explaining U.S. actions.
This level of interaction has been ongoing for more than a decade in the integration of the senior Naval Command College (NCC: senior international students) and the College of Naval Warfare (CNW: senior U.S. students). The difference now is that starting the interaction much earlier allows for greater influence throughout officers' careers. And it is not uncommon for NSC graduates to return years later to the NCC, for another unique experience with the Americans.
Starting the interaction earlier is critical to fostering "enduring national and international naval relationships."4 The student who returns to his country as a lieutenant commander with a deep understanding of the workings and intentions of the U.S. military, rather than as a captain with his career mostly behind him, can provide more significant friendly penetration to create the CNO's desired "deepening cooperation among the maritime forces."5
Similarly, more junior U.S. officers achieve a greater understanding of the capabilities and concerns of our friends and allies. I can now discuss much more readily how the navies of the 20 other nations in my class could contribute to the concept of a 1,000-ship Navy, and I have good friends in these countries with whom I can liaise about these issues.6
The former Commandant of the Marine Corps, a former NCC student, spoke at the NWC in 2005. Relationships with international classmates had helped him with issues in his career, he said. Had those relationships begun ten years earlier, the impact would have been even more significant.
International Learning Widens Perspective
Every week during a portion of the year, all students are required to give presentations about their country and military. They follow the presentation with a press conference-type environment (in English, of course) in which they answer a minimum of three questions about their nation. It is highly enlightening to hear an educated individual from another country speak about his country, offering details not easily found elsewhere.
An international atmosphere promotes greater intellectual exploration in the writing of papers. At some point during their NWC year, most foreign students helped an American to research an international issue. U.S. students reciprocated, assisting the others in writing about the United States. Conditions such as this will allow our Navy to develop 21st century leaders who achieve their full potential.7
As previously mentioned, the seminars with international students opened an entirely new angle to all of the stimulating discussions. The perspectives of allied or friendly officers, combined with their regional knowledge, frequently highlighted impacts of U.S. (and foreign) activities that would otherwise not have been addressed at all. Learning about different national perspectives of international events at relatively junior career levels will make military leaders more capable and effective.
The NSC offers two superb assets to promote this type of learning: its staff and its sponsor program. During my tenure, staff included officers from the surface, submarine, and aviation communities. There was a Marine Corps officer and a Coast Guard officer. International students had all-encompassing access to the U.S. Navy's large communities.
The sponsor program assigns military and local civilian sponsors to each international student. This often leads to lifelong friendships and promotes a penetrating, personal type of learning about the United States.
Comparison of countries was a compelling form of international learning. Discussions or events led frequently to comparing what the United States does with the actions of another nation. This occurred in the classroom, on the Field Study Groups, and in social situations. Comparisons spanned everything from eating habits to national decision-making. Even when simply amusing, this depth of learning could be exceeded only by living in the other countries.
Field Study Groups Showcase U.S. Culture
The most beneficial aspect of the entire experience was the Informational Program Visits (which have recently undergone a name change to Field Study Groups). These were trips to various parts of the United States to illustrate aspects of U.S. society, institutions, and culture. As mandated by secretary of the Navy Instruction, the four areas of emphasis on the visits were human rights, democratic values, an ethnically and culturally diverse society, and the free enterprise system in a democratic society. The goal of the program "is to ensure that international students return to their homeland with an understanding of the responsibilities of governments, militaries, and citizens to protect, preserve, and respect the rights of every individual."8
These visits provided unparalleled access to American life, even for Americans. We traveled to Seattle; San Francisco; Orlando; Atlanta; Norfolk; Washington, D.C.; Annapolis; Philadelphia; New York; Boston; and throughout much of New England. We saw presentations, received tours, and interacted with personnel from Boeing, Microsoft, CNN, the Navy Staff, Special Operations Command, Central Command, Joint Forces Command, the U.S. Naval Academy, Harvard University, the Hoover Institute, the New York City Police Department, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and many other organizations-even Coca-Cola, Disney, and Starbucks.
In most cases, flag officers or CEOs conducted the briefings at the executive level. We figuratively, and often literally, walked away with the "command philosophy" of the places we visited, as well as a detailed comprehension of how they operated at all levels.
For me, of even greater benefit than this in-depth understanding was the discussion it triggered with my international friends. The variety of subjects we covered throughout the year ranged from religion (7 of the 21 students were Muslim, at a time when debates raged as to whether the United States was attacking Islam) to military activities, currency, economic issues, governmental and royalty practices and relations, business culture, the rule of law, and much more.
I will never forget what I learned on those plane rides and bus trips, in restaurants and hotels as we traveled, debated, and bonded throughout the country. At the end of the year, one of my seniors at the NWC opined that I had had more foreign interaction and understanding than most new U.S. flag officers. Though probably untrue, it is noteworthy that the comparison was even made.
How to Be an American Ambassador
Despite the fascinating interactions, demands on U.S. students were great:
* Time management was crucial. The international students were not graded; they were evaluated. But the U.S. student was graded and held to the commitments of all other NWC U.S. students-as well as being expected to keep up with the aggressive travel and social schedule.
* Patience was a must. There were frequent questions-and not infrequent adversarial opinions-about what the United States was doing.
* I had to be an ambassador. The international students in the year-long program dealt a lot with the Americans in their other seminars, but they dealt with me every day. I was on every Field Study Trip and in countless social situations. The situation called for consistently high standards of behavior, professionalism, and academic performance.
* Amusingly, it was fundamental that I acknowledge the influence of not only the media but also Hollywood on perceptions of the United States. I engaged in many discussions to resolve misperceptions about our military and culture.
Specifics for Improvement
Despite its remarkable features, the NSC can still improve. The following implementations will dramatically benefit the U.S. Navy:
* Increased class size is necessary. The one-year program has been only between 20 and 30 students. This needs to increase to 50 per year, with 3-5 Americans in each class.
* The NSC must be advertised more to prospective students, both U.S. and foreign. This will require more aggressive advertising of the program through U.S. military and diplomatic channels in friendly nations. The program is ripe for our attaché, Joint U.S. Military Assistance Group, and Foreign Area Officer (FAO) communities to embrace and sell to nations that are either on the fence about sending someone or not aware of the course. As already occurs, U.S. funding of certain foreign attendees will be necessary.
The Director of the NSC, a Navy O-6, interviews prospective American students personally. The selected student must also be approved by the NWC president, a Navy rear admiral. Advertising the program extensively throughout our Navy will bring the program even more and better officers. There needs to be a concerted, strategic effort by the NWC, detailers, and commanding officers to become aware of the program and recommend officers for it-much like the Navy's other master's degrees programs (e.g., Political-Military masters). Such an effort appears to be gaining momentum, as the CNO now approves all U.S. officers who are nominated to become U.S. students in the NWC international programs.
* Maintenance of the Field Study Trip program is vital. Fiscal constraints in Fiscal Year 2006 forced the NSC to reduce the number and scope of FSTs for its two classes. This reduced emphasis between the Class of 2005 and the Class of 2006 did a disservice to the program and to the future. It is conceivable that a point of diminishing returns may be reached through the FST program, but that point was not in sight with the Class of 2005. Fortunately the Class of 2007 received the full complement of trips. The Navy should hold the line and continue to fully fund the NSC experience at the NWC. There is no substitute for this type of exposure to American life and the discussions and interactions inherent therein.
* Should it ever become necessary to fund only one of these programs, the six-month course should be eliminated. Throughput of international officers is currently greater than 50 with both the one-year and the six-month classes, but the benefits of the longer program are clear.
The best solution likely resides in increasing the numbers in the one-year class and decreasing the size of the six-month class, while still keeping it to accommodate navies with limited funds or time to send their officers. The quality and duration of the experience outweigh throughput in gaining future partners.
The NSC staff size may need to increase if both classes continue and the one-year sees a large increase in throughput. However, as the staff has proven, they currently manage both classes at the same time. As well, because the students are now incorporated into the full NWC curriculum, staff demands will not be more intensive. If the program is reduced to just the larger one-year class, there will be less stress on the NSC staff.
The Naval Staff College is an academic and professional treasure for our Navy. The combination of a top-level master's degree, lifetime friendships with foreign officers, and support of the priorities of the CNO is unparalleled. This program does not require a separate FAO community or attaches to make it happen or to attend it-it is line warfare officers interacting with counterparts. I enjoyed the previous 11 years of my naval career, but I cannot think of a more rewarding experience than graduating from the NSC and NWC. The one-year NSC program must be enhanced and prioritized to continue to reward U.S. and foreign officers-and to provide potent soft power enhancement for our Navy and our nation.
1 NSC 2005 consisted of officers from Algeria, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Estonia, India, Japan, Kuwait, Mexico, Morocco, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Senegal, Singapore, South Korea, Turkey, Republic of China-Taiwan, and the United States.
2 The NSC should not be confused with the Naval Command College, the resident college for senior international officers below flag rank (this college has been in existence since 1956 and has produced even greater percentages of flag officers and senior leaders).
3 Naval War College, "Naval Staff College Alumni," n.d., http://www.nwc.navy. mil/nsc/Alumni%20page/alumni.htm (16 April 2006).
4 Admiral Michael Mullen, USN, CNO Guidance for 2006 - Meeting the Challenge of a New Era, p. 1.
5 Admiral Mullen, p. 1. The author recognizes that the NSC and the NCC have different missions, and this comparison of the advantages of interacting earlier in the careers of officers is not meant to ignore the differences.
6 The author takes no credit for this concept. It has emerged in various briefs, articles, and discussions from our Navy's leadership over the past few years.
7 Admiral Mullen, p. 3.
8 Secretary of the Navy Instruction 4950.4A, Joint Security Assistance Training (JSAT), 5 July 2000, p. 146.
Lieutenant Commander Daly is a surface warfare officer. The executive officer of the USS Gettysburg (CG-64), he holds a master's in National Security and Strategic Studies from the United States Naval War College and was the American student selected for the first full-curriculum Naval Staff College Class (Class of 2005).