The US Naval War College (NWC) has graduated 41 officers from its in-residence spring program on March 6, 2024. The graduates come from the US Navy, Army and Marine Corps.
Graduates included 16 students from the College of Naval Warfare’s (CNW) senior-level leadership program and 25 from the College of Naval Command and Staff’s (CNCS) intermediate-level leadership program.
“Take the knowledge and experience you have gained here as a new lens through which to view the challenges you will inevitably face,” said Rear Adm. Peter Garvin, president of NWC, as part of his charge to the graduates. “Further, seek opportunities to interact with others whose specialties and viewpoints differ from yours so you can innovate, which is the key to future success.”
The keynote speaker during the ceremony was William S. Murray, the director of the Halsey Bravo Advanced Research Program and professor at NWC’s Strategic and Operational Research Department. Murray reminded graduates of the need for perpetual preparedness through continuous learning.
“In this age of artificial intelligence, hypersonic missiles, and the occasional pandemic, you make better wartime decisions by reading deeply and broadly,” he advised. “By reading, you’ll become better thinkers, better analysts, better writers, better officers, and more capable wartime leaders. It is a sure-fire path to self-improvement.”
The ceremony highlighted Cmdr. Timothy K. Battles, U.S. Navy, from CNW and Maj. Christopher M. Salerno, U.S. Army, from CNCS, both having earned the President’s Honor Graduate award.
Equipped with the ability to prepare strategically for the future, many graduates will assume leadership roles at staffs around the world, including Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) in Virginia Beach, VA; U.S. Second Fleet in Norfolk, VA; Joint Region Marianas in Agana, Guam; Third Marine Division in Okinawa, Japan; Naval Reactors in Washington D.C.; and U.S. Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Others will take command of ships, squadrons and other units where their mental strength and flexibility can be used to create a decisive warfighting advantage.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) assisted a What’sUpNewp journalist with the reporting included in this story.
