The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) launched a new video series, Nov. 14, featuring university faculty experts discussing the trends, technologies and tactics that shape modern naval power. Coined “Seapower Conversations,” leadership see the new series as an opportunity to share NPS’ resident expertise with the broader Navy and beyond.
“Your NPS faculty is a diverse group of academics with expertise in topics ranging from machine learning, cyber warfare, autonomy, unmanned systems, quantum mechanics and national strategy, and we hope to share some of that expertise with you,” said NPS President Vice Adm. Retired Dr. Ann Rondeau, as part of an introductory video kicking off the series.
Seapower Conversations kicks off with five episodes in an interview format between faculty associate Lyla Englehorn and lauded strategist and Dean Emeritus retired Navy Capt. Wayne Hughes, who discusses major themes present in the newest edition of his seminal book, “Fleet Tactics and Naval Operations,” co-authored by retired Rear Adm. Robert Girrier.
“The vision for this series is to provide information on the latest research and concepts coming from NPS that will influence the future of naval warfare,” said Professor of Practice retired Navy Capt. Jeff Kline, a key figure behind the effort. “We hope to inspire thought on new concepts and technologies through these videos that will affect the way we fight in the future, and the best way to do that is through the minds of junior and mid-career officers.”
The first episode of the series is titled “The Six Cornerstones of Fleet Tactics.” In this episode, Hughes shares his six cornerstones of naval tactics such as “fire effectively first” and “Sailors matter most,” and talks about their origins and significance.
Episode two is titled “Constants, Trends and Variables,” and focuses on constants, trends and variables present in naval tactics since antiquity.
The third episode, “The Impact of Information Operations,” looks to help us understand that information operations have been key in naval tactics for much longer than many may expect, and predicts the potential impact in any future naval conflict.
Episode four, titled “The Battle of the Aegean,” is designed to help the reader apply the concepts in his book in a fictional future naval conflict, The Battle of the Aegean.
The final episode, titled “The Salvo Equations,” features Hughes elaborating on The Hughes Salvo Equation, a well-known tool in operations research circles.
Produced in partnership with the university’s Graduate Education Advancement Center, Seapower Conversations is currently available on the NPS YouTube channel.