Forum on Emerging and Irregular Warfare Studies (FEIWS) Events AY2021-2022:

20 July 2021 - CDR (ret.) Kirk Lippold, USN, Commanding Officer of USS Cole during 12 Oct 2000 attack.

2 Aug 2021 - CAPT (ret.) Roger Herbert, USN, former Commanding Officer of SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team TWO, Naval Special Warfare Unit THREE (Naval Special Warfare’s forward command in the Middle East) and the Naval Special Warfare Center (Naval Special Warfare’s training command).

15 Aug 2021 - Maj. Dave Emison, USMC, Courage from a warfighter's perspective. 

 Forum on Emerging and Irregular Warfare Studies (FEIWS) Events AY2020-2021:

COVID-19 Operational Pause

Forum on Emerging and Irregular Warfare Studies (FEIWS) Events AY2019-2020:

23 Sep 2019 - Major Nate Finney, USA and Lieutenant Colonel Ty Mayfield, USAF, The Strategy Bridge, Redefining the Modern Military: The Intersection of Profession and Ethics, Class visit for CAPT Robertson and noon-time lecture for midshipmen, faculty and staff co-hosted by CAPT Jeff Macris of the Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership. 

NATHAN K. FINNEY is an officer in the U.S. Army with a focus on strategy and planning. He is the creator and co-founder of The Strategy Bridge, the founder and first managing director of the Military Fellowship at the Project on International Peace & Security, a founding member of the Military Writers Guild, a term member at the Council on Foreign Relations, a non-resident fellow at the Modern War Institute at West Point, and a visiting fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. He has published in a number of online forums, print publications, and peer-reviewed journals.

TYRELL O. MAYFIELD is an officer in the U.S. Air Force with a focus on advising foreign partners and expeditionary security operations. He is a co-founder of The Strategy Bridge, a founding member of the Military Writers Guild, and has published photography and written work in a number of online forums, print publications, and peer-reviewed journals.

1 Oct 2019 - LtCol Scott Cuomo, USMC, Maj Jeff Cummings, USMC and Capt Olivia Garard, USMC, USMC Warfighting: Not Yet Openly at War, but Still Mostly at Peace, evening lecture for midshipmen and faculty/ staff addressing whether the USMC can exploit the current opportunity to become the force that our nation needs. The Marine Corps' current amphibious paradigm was born almost a century ago. The speakers believe the USMC has a once-in-a-century opportunity to return, in collaboration with the U. S. Navy, to being the most relevant force for our nation.  

20 Nov 2019 - Mr. Peter Warren Singer, Next Tech: The Future of Technology, Security and Threats, evening lecture hosted by the PEO/IWS Speaker Series on Technology for the 21st Century Battlespace addressing robots, Artificticial Intelligence, cyberwar, 3D printing, bio-enhancements and a new geopolitical competition.  

Forum on Emerging and Irregular Warfare Studies (FEIWS) Events AY2018-2019:

21 Feb 2019 - CAPT (ret.) Bill Shepherd, (Astronaut/ SEAL), Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC) Capstone Marketplace Director, Capstone Research Project Opportunities for USNA Midshipmen.  

18 Apr 2019 - Col. Andrew Finlayson (USMC, ret.), The Phoenix Program, A Counterinsurgency Program That Worked In South Vietnam, 1967-1973 in collaboration with the USNA Center for Regional Studies/ Asia Forum and Assoc. Prof. Lee Pennington.

Forum on Emerging and Irregular Warfare Studies (FEIWS) Events AY2017-2018:

Operational pause to forum activities AY2016 through AY2018

Forum on Emerging and Irregular Warfare Studies (FEIWS) Events AY2016-2017:

Operational pause to forum activities AY2016 through AY2018

 

Forum on Emerging and Irregular Warfare Studies (FEIWS) Events AY2015-2016:

1 Oct 2015 – VADM Walter E. "Ted" Carter Jr., Superintendent, U. S. Naval Academy, EW/Cyber Implications on Sea Power in the Precision-Missile Age, class visit in SY485H Electromagnetic Maneuver Warfare in the Cyber Domain for CAPT Robertson (0830-0945).

8 Oct 2015 – John "JB" Anderson, Naval Special Warfare Development Group N52, COIN Judo: A Proposal for an Iraqi National ID Card System to Attack Insurgent Anonymity, class visit in HH386A History of Modern Counterinsurgency for CAPT Robertson (1330-1445) 

8 Oct 2015 – Carol Haave, former Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for International Affairs and Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Counterintelligence (CI) and Security, An Executive Overview of the Iraqi National ID Card System Proposal and The Adaptation of Emerging Technology for Real-World Operations , class visit in HH386A History of Modern Counterinsurgency for CAPT Robertson (1330-1445)

8 Oct 2015 – Terry Sullivan, former Operations/ Training Officer, SEAL Team Two and current President and CEO of Metalexport-S USA Ltd, SEAL Team Advisory Missions to the ARVN in Vietnam and The Adaptation of Emerging Technology for Real-World Operations, class visit in HH386A History of Modern Counterinsurgency for CAPT Robertson    (1330-1445)

19 Nov 2015 – Master Sergeant (MSG) Sohail Shaikh, USA, Asymmetric Warfare Group: Strategic Messaging and Narrative: Fall 2015 Current Operations Brief for Iraq/ Syria and Voices of Moderate Islam (VoMI) Update. MSG Shaikh recently redeployed from Iraq in support of CJSOTF-I and SOFT-I missions. The support was specific to strategic messaging to degrade Daesh (ISIL) in Western Iraq. Additionally, in 2010, MSG Shaikh advised the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team as they initiated a program called “Voices of Moderate Islam” to help alleviate what they saw as a cycle of frustration in Afghanistan. Ultimately, members of the team accompanied 33 Afghan “Key Communicators” to Amman, Jordan and then to Mecca, Saudi Arabia to perform the Umra, or lesser Hajj. All 33 Afghans then returned to their villages to relate their narrative. (1330-1445)

03 Dec 2015 – Captain Matt Lampert, USMC, Electronic Warfare/ Cyber Domain Applications in the USMC. Capt. Lampert is a USNA '06 graduate and recipient of the Zembiec Award for Outstanding Leadership in the USMC Forces Special Operations Command. Class visit in SY485H Electromagnetic Maneuver Warfare in the Cyber Domain for CAPT Robertson (0830-0945).

Forum on Emerging and Irregular Warfare Studies (FEIWS) Events AY2014-2015:

25 Aug 2014 – Captain Aaron MacLean, USMC, Operation Moshtarak: Strategic Guidance vs. Tactical Application, class visit for CAPT Robertson (0855-0945, Sampson 115)

24 Oct 2014 – Members of SEAL Team 8 and Naval Special Warfare Support Activities 1 and 2, The Role of Intelligence in COIN Operations: Afghanistan 2014, (1230-1320, Mahan Auditorium)

27 Oct 2014 – Dr. Conrad Crane, Chief of Historical Services, Army Heritage and Education Center at Carlisle Barracks,  Observations on the Long War, class visit for LTC Klug (1430-1520, Sampson Hall classroom)

13 Nov 2014 – LCDR Kalohi Clark, Executive Office of the President and LT J. T. Kadz, FEIWS Deputy Director: Transnational Organized Crime, class visit and lecture (1230-1320)

17 Nov 2014 – LTC (ret.) John Nagl, USA, Knife Fights: A Memoir of Modern War in Theory and Practice, class visit and evening lecture for CAPT Robertson and LTC Klug (1430-1520, 1915-2030)  

19 Nov 2014 – USMC Panel, Iraq 2003-2008, 1915-2030, Rickover 102

24 Nov 2014 – Dr. Steve Metz, Chairman, Regional Strategy Department, Strategic Studies Institute, Future Warfare (class visit)

26 Feb 2015 – John Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), 1230-1320, Rickover 102.

9 Mar 2015 – Ben Drude, Conflict and Stability Operations, U. S. Department of State, The Syrian Opposition, 1230-1320

26 Mar 2015 – Jeff Stamm, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration Aviation Field Division, Counter-Terror, Counter-Narcotics and the DEA, 1915-2000

Forum on Emerging and Irregular Warfare Studies (FEIWS) Events AY2013-2014:

20 Sep 2013 – VADM Harry Harris, future Commander, U. S. Pacific Fleet, Pacific Pivot brief to Cyber, FEIWS and United Kingdom Scholars Midshipmen (1200-1345, Commandant’s Conference Room)

14 Nov – Jake Harriman (USNA ’98), CEO of Nuru International; Fighting Extreme Poverty with Nuru International. Jake Harriman is a former USMC Force Recon Platoon Commander who led Marines in four operational deployments throughout Southwest Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia, including two combat tours in Iraq. Jake’s personal experiences while serving and fighting around the world convinced him that extreme poverty is a contributing factor to the causes of 21st century terrorism and insurgency, and that a reduction in extreme poverty will impede their proliferation. To fight terrorism and insurgency from another angle, Jake left his career in the Marine Corps and enrolled at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business (GSB) to build an organization that could ultimately rid the world of extreme poverty in our lifetime. Nuru International field teams are currently deployed primarily to Kenya and Ethiopia. (1220-1320, Rickover 103)

20 Nov – Master Sergeant (MSG) Sohail Shaikh, USA, Asymmetric Warfare Group: Voices of Moderate Islam (VoMI). In 2010, personnel attached to the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team initiated a program called “Voices of Moderate Islam” to help alleviate what they saw as a cycle of frustration in Afghanistan. Ultimately, members of the team accompanied 33 Afghan “Key Communicators” to Amman, Jordan and then to Mecca, Saudi Arabia to perform the Umra, or lesser Hajj. All 33 Afghans then returned to their villages to relate their narrative. (2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th periods, Sampson G-14)

22 Nov – LCDR Kalohi Clark (USNA ’99), Executive Office of the President: Electronic Warfare, Insurgency and Transnational Organized Crime. Vast growth in the use of technology has changed how both we and our enemies wage war.  LCDR Clark is a former English major who, upon graduating, became a naval flight officer leading electronic warfare missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.  After serving as a warfighter and tactics instructor, he articulated his ideas about emerging threats and irregular warfare in a graduate thesis produced for the U.S. Naval War College titled “Electronic Warfare in an Asymmetric Conflict”.  His understanding of emerging threats qualified him for his current job at the White House in the Executive Office of the President, where he is tasked with advising the Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy on international issues such as Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) and illicit trafficking. (1220-1320, English Department Library)       

25 Nov – MAJ Mark Stoneman, USA, Asymmetric Warfare Group: The Insider Threat in Afghanistan. Insider attacks are not a new phenomenon but continue to be a serious threat to U. S. service members deployed abroad. MAJ Stoneman is an experienced embedded advisor with an in-depth historical understanding of past U. S. and foreign operations in which insider attacks occurred. MAJ Stoneman trains future advisors to recognize and counter motive, intent, capability and opportunity for future insider attacks.   

19 Feb 2014 – VADM (ret.) Joe Leidig (USNA ’78), former Deputy to the Commander for Military Operations, U. S. Africa Command: AFRICOM and the Future Fight against Al Qaida. (1915-2030, Rickover 102)

14 Apr 2014 – LCDR Matthew Vernon, Combat, Survival and Evasion in Afghanistan (1250-1320, Rickover 103)

22 Oct – Ben Anderson, filmmaker with Capt. Aaron MacLean, USMC and Capt. Carl Scott, USMC, “The Battle for Marjah” (1915-2030, RI 102)

20 Nov – John Canning, NSWC, Dahlgren Division, “Should the Robot Shoot Back at the Human: A Theory of Machine War and Ethics”, (1250-1320, SA G-14)

19 Jan – Max Boot, Council on Foreign Relations, “Is Guerilla Warfare the Asian Way of War? Myths and Realities of Low-Intensity Conflict: Past, Present and Future”, (0900-1030, Rickover 102)  

23 Jan – Dr. Noel Sharkey, University of Sheffield, “Ethical and IHL Issues in Military Robotics: Proliferation, Autonomy and Prohibition - Founder of the World’s First Robotics Arms Control Organization Visits USNA”, (1250-1320, Chauvenet 100)

26 Jan – Edward Luttwak, Strategist and historian, CSIS, “The Rise of China and the Logic Strategy”, (1000-1130, Rickover 102) 

9 Feb – Edward Marolda, Naval historian, “Ready Seapower: The U.S. 7^th Fleet and the Shaping of Modern Asia”, (0900-1030, Rickover 102)

27-28 Mar – NexTech Wargaming Series hosted by U.S. DOD Rapid Reaction Technology Office and USNA FEIWS, “Emerging and Future Technologies: The Evolution of Cyber, Robotics, Human Enhancement and Manufacturing”, Dr. Peter Singer

28 Mar – USNA Asia Forum’s Dr. Hayden Bellenoit, USNA History faculty, “India’s Economic Sputtering and Asian Growth”, 1915-2030, Sampson G-14)

11 Apr – Col. Paul Montanus, USMC, “MARSOC Lessons Learned in Afghanistan”, class lecture for CAPT Tom Robertson

8 June – FEIWS Affiliated Faculty: “CSTC-A Roundtable Discussion”, MA 226 (0930-1030)

2 Sept – Dr. Deane-Peter Baker, “Pamwe Chete: The Rhodesian Counterinsurgency Campaign, 1964-1979”, Mitscher Auditorium, 0830-1100

16 Sept – Dr. John Nagl, CAPT Mark Hagerott, Asst. Prof Aaron O’Connell, CDR Tom Robertson and 1stLT Aaron MacLean, “The Counterinsurgency Manual: From Theory to Practice in Afghanistan” (0830-1015, SA G-14)

6 Oct – CAPT (ret.) Dick Couch, best-selling author and U.S. Navy SEAL: “GPF/SOF Integration in the Battle of Ramadi, Iraq” (0830-0945, SA 103)

6 Oct – Sebastian Junger, best-selling author and filmmaker: “Lessons from Afghanistan: A Roundtable Discussion of WAR and RESTREPO

22 Nov – Major Brian Chontosh, Navy Cross recipient, “Operation Iraqi Freedom I and Operation Phantom Fury”, class lectures for CDR Tom Robertson

29 Nov – 1^st Lt Aaron MacLean, featured in HBO’s The Battle for Marjah, “Operation Moshtarak, Afghanistan”, class lectures for CDR Tom Robertson

18 Jan – Mike Tucker, author and former Marine officer, “Counter-terrorism Lessons Learned”, (1250-1320, RI 102)

9 Feb – CDR Pavlock, Naval War College, “Irregular Warfare and the Tamil Sea Tigers”, (1250-1320, SA G-14)

14 Feb – CDR Chris Rawley, USNR, Special Operations Command, “Strategy, Operations, Platforms and Tactics of Sea Shepherd”, (1250-1320, SA G-14)

16 Feb – Jane Taylor, USNA ’02, “Experiences and Lessons Learned as a Sea Shepherd”, (1250-1320, SA G-14)

31 August – Col. Walter Piatt, USA, “A Brigade Commander’s Views on Iraq and Afghanistan” (1915-2030, RI102)

1 September – Asst. Prof. Severine Autesserre, “The Trouble with the Congo: Local Violence and the Failure of International Peacekeeping” (1215-1320, NI G110)

10 September – CAPT. Mark Hagerott, USN, CDR Tom Robertson, USN, Maj. Guy Berry, USMC, “Current Operations Brief for USNA History Faculty – Afghanistan Experiences 2010” (1200-1315, SA 334, all USNA faculty welcome)

24 September – Col (ret.) Jim Wilhite, USA, “Forging Afghan Leaders: The Founding of the National Military Academy of Afghanistan” (1915-2030, Location TBD), classroom visits also scheduled F3, F5.

9 October – Peter Bartu, “Minority Status and COIN: Kirkuk and the Kurds” (0800-1200, SMT, Mitscher Auditorium)

13 January – Capt. Alexander Martin, USMC, “Magellan Star: Pirate Takedown, Force Recon Style” (1915-2000, RI103)

24 February – Frank Hoffman, “Hybrid Warfare and Future Combat: Training Leaders to Succeed in Tomorrow’s Conflicts” (1915-2030, Mitscher Auditorium)

2 April: FEIWS staff collaboration meeting/brief with St Cyr Coetquidan Superintendent, Academic Dean, Director of Research and Army Attaché, French Embassy(1600-1700, SA 114)

29 April: CAPT Kevin Askin, USN, “Aircraft Survivability and JCAT Forensic Analysis"

14 January – Mike Tucker, “VILLAGE TO VILLAGE: A Year in the Guerrilla War in Afghanistan”

Lunchtime Lecture, Rickover 102 (1220-1320)

14 January, Edward Luttwak, “Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire” Class visits, Midn Lunch in King Hall, Evening Lecture Rickover 102 (1915-2000)

21 January, Col T.X. Hammes, USMC (Ret.), Class lectures for Maj. John Williams and CDR Tom Robertson

28 January, RADM Phil Greene, Director, Navy Irregular Warfare Office, Class lecture for John Williams and CDR Tom Robertson

4 February, Steven Pressfield, Maj. Jim Gant (SOF) and Chief Zazai (Afghan tribal Chief), "It’s the Tribes, Stupid: The Way Forward in Afghanistan," class visits and lunch with Mids followed by evening lecture, Mahan Auditorium (1915-2000)

13 February, Nikolaus Biziouras, John Donahoe, Wayne Hsieh, Dan Masterson, Thomas Burgess and Mark Deets (Tom Robertson, moderator), “Civic States and Counter-Insurgency”, Saturday Morning Training for Plebe class and other midshipmen, Mitscher Auditorium, (0800-1100)

9 March, Trish Martinelli, “JIEDDO Red Team, Alternative Analysis and the Future Military” Class lecture for CDR Tom Robertson and John Williams

11 March, Ram Sidi, former IDF LtCol, “Experiences in Gaza and the West Bank” Class visit with CDR Tom Robertson and John Williams, Noontime lecture, Rickover 102 (1220-1320)

19 April, John Wukovits, author, “Lessons from the Combat Zone, Tarawa”, lecture in Mahan Auditorium, (1915-2030)