The Debrief
The Debrief is produced by faculty from the National Security Affairs Department at the U.S. Naval War College. It examines critical topics and highlights important discussions surrounding U.S. national security and international engagement. The show features perspectives from participants and aims to unpack complex security issues. The views expressed are those of the participants and do not necessarily represent the Department of Defense, the U.S. Navy, or the U.S. Naval War College.
Episodes
Episode 19: On the Ground in Vanuatu: How One Navy Captain Helped Establish a New U.S. Embassy
Vanuatu is a country comprised of about 80 islands in the South Pacific. The United States established diplomatic relations with Vanuatu in 1986, with a non-resident US ambassador overseeing diplomatic interests in Vanuatu from the U.S. Embassy in Papua New Guinea. Diplomatic engagement with Vanuatu deepened in 2024, when the United States opened an embassy in Vanuatu’s capital, Port-Vila. Instrum
Episode 18: Diplomacy on the High Wire: The Distinguished Career of Ambassador Christopher R. Hill
The Honorable Christopher R. Hill had a distinguished career at the U.S. Department of State, serving as a five-time ambassador and diplomat at the center of some of the most consequential challenges in American foreign policy. Over three decades in the Foreign Service, which he joined in 1977, Ambassador Hill's career propelled him into high-stakes negotiations with some of America’s most intract
Episode 17: Security in the Cyber Age: Understanding American Policy and Technology in Cyberspace
Over the last quarter century, digital technologies have transformed the way we ways we communicate, the way we shop, the way we bank, and even the way we socialize and consume information. With these advancements have come a number of vulnerabilities that adversaries and malign actors have sought to exploit in the cyber age.Joining The Debrief to help weigh the challenges and opportunit
Episode 16: America in the Arctic: Foreign Policy and Competition in the Melting North
The Arctic encompasses not only the territory of eight countries, but also vital geological features and strategic waterways that have made the region an area of ecological concern and geopolitical contestation.To help navigate these waters, The Debrief talks with Dr. Mary Thompson-Jones, a retired Senior Foreign Service Officer and professor and chair of Women in Diplomacy and National
Episode 15: Economic and National Security at the U.S. Department of Commerce
Today, economics is more a part of the national security equation than it has ever been. Trade, science, technology, innovation, and supply chains – to name a few issues – intersect with national security with more depth, breadth, and frequency every year. As a consequence, U.S. economic agencies are increasingly called to the table to solve national security challenges.To help understand these ma
Episode 14: Perspectives on the Indian Ocean Region
Admiral Verma offers an overview of the growing importance of the Indian Ocean basin—stretching from South Africa across the Middle East and South Asia to Southeast Asia—for global security. In particular, how will developments in this region of the world become more important for U.S. national security?------------------------Guest:Admiral (Ret) Nirmal Verma served as Chief of Naval Staff of the
Episode 13: Always Above: Space Force and the New Frontiers of an Increasingly Contested Warfighting Domain
Synopsis:The Space Force is the United States’s newest military service branch, established in 2019 to secure the nation’s interests in space. Organized within the Department of the Air Force, the Space Force joins a number of organizations within the Department of Defense operating within what is an increasingly contested warfighting domain. Joining The Debrief to help navigate the changes to the
Episode 12: Rise of the Machines? Implications of New Tech On-And Off-The Battlefield
Synopsis:How have new technologies, such as autonomous drones and applying artificial intelligence, changed how strategists and policymakers view conflict in the 21st century? While they have had clear impacts in the tactical and operational levels of war, how game-changing are they when it comes to strategic objectives? Are we in thrall to "strategic myths" arising from technological determinism?
Episode 11: The China Challenge
Synopsis:The 2022 National Security Strategy identifies the People’s Republic of China as “the only competitor with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to do it.” What is the nature of the threat China poses, and how is the United States adapting to meet it? To address these questions, The Debrief draws o
Episode 10: The Interagency and the Indo-Pacific
Synopsis:The interagency process coordinates the development and implementation of national security policies across executive departments at all levels of the federal government. How does the Defense Department translate policy guidance into operational-level planning, and how do national security professionals in regional theaters coordinate with their interagency counterparts to implement these
Episode 9: Africa
Synopsis:The African continent is often viewed through the prism of humanitarian crises, a region defined by famines and pandemics. This approach ignores Africa’s critical importance to the global economy, especially in the transition to “green” technologies; its role as an interconnector between the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific basins; its role as part of the rise of the Global South in the 21s
Episode 8: U.S. Ambassador to Japan the Honorable Rahm Emanuel
The Honorable Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, visits the U.S. Naval War College (NWC) on board Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island Feb. 22, 2024. During the visit Amb. Emanuel met with NWC President Rear Adm. Pete Garvin before addressing students, staff, and faculty on U.S., Japanese relations. Ambassador Emanuel became the 31st U.S. Ambassador to Japan in December 2021, prior to his curr
Episode 7: Using Force: The War in Iraq
More than 20 years since the United States launched its invasion of Iraq in March 2003, the origins of the war remain highly contested, both among scholars and policy practitioners alike. As tensions continue to flare in the region and thousands of U.S. troops continue to deploy to military bases within Iraq, understanding the history of U.S. involvement in this country is critical for understandi
Episode 6: Contemplating the Unthinkable: Making Nuclear Deterrence Credible
U.S. national security ultimately rests on its nuclear capabilities to deter existential challenges to its existence, alongside the commitment to use such weapons if other forms of deterrence have failed. Join Professor Dana Struckman and Dr. Terence Roehrig to look at the challenges of nuclear deterrence and how this has evolved from the superpower rivalry of the Cold War to more unsettled condit
Episode 5: Global Integration for an Interconnected Security Environment
The United States has interests all around the globe, and must be able to respond to crises and challenges in different regions without compromising the national interest. Lt. Col. Rebecca Russo joins us to unpack what "global integration" means for a U.S. military and its ability to defend peace and freedom throughout the world.About the Speaker:Col. Russo is a command pilot with over 3,000
Episode 4: Congress: Your Partner in National Security
For those serving in the military or civil service, Congress may appear to be a distant, mysterious other branch of government, yet Congress—through its powers to legislate, appropriate, confirm, and oversee—is part and parcel of the national security enterprise. In this episode, Professor Kathleen Walsh guides us through the roles of Congress and how it connects to you, the practitioner.About the
Episode 3: Diplomacy and the State Department
The State Department is the oldest Cabinet-level agency in the United States, with over 250 U.S. diplomatic posts worldwide and 70 to 80 thousand employees, almost half of whom are U.S. citizens. The structure of the State Department and career tracks for our nation’s diplomats both at home and abroad can sometimes be opaque for understanding the full range of activities and missions it serves. Un
Episode 2: Understanding Regions through Oceans
In a series of essays for the Foreign Policy Research Institute, two scholars at the National Security Affairs Department at the U.S. Naval War College call for a reconceptualization of the global map in the way strategists think about geography, bureaucracy, and national security. The Debrief sits down with Dr. Derek Reveron, chair of the National Security Affairs Department, and Dr. Nikolas Gvos
Episode 1: Analytic Perspectives of Foreign Policy Decision-Making
How do foreign policy decisions get made in Washington? How do individual leaders, organizations, and domestic political processes influence the choices officials make in shaping national security policy? To help professionals make sense of this landscape, The Debrief surveys a range of analytic perspectives that inform these processes with Dr. Jessica Blankshain, associate professor of national s
