Sea Control - CIMSEC

By Ashley O’Keefe If you’ve turned on the news recently, you probably noticed that Russia has been dominating it. From their intervention in Syria, to the increasing range and scope of their naval deployments, and the release last year of their new Maritime Strategy, Russia – and the Russian Navy – have turned our focus … Continue reading Sea Control 127 – Dr. Tom Fedyszyn on Russian Navy Ops, Acquisition, and Doctrine →

By Matthew Merighi It’s the end of the year, so the CIMSEC team gets together to talk about the events of 2016 and does its best to look into the crystal ball to see what is on the horizon in 2017. Happy New Year from the entire CIMSEC team! Matthew Merighi is the Senior Producer for … Continue reading Sea Control 126 – End of the Year Episode 2016 →

By Sally DeBoer The ushering in of a new administration on January 20th has many wondering what campaign promises will materialize and meaningfully affect the U.S. Navy. Is it reasonable to expect movement toward a “350-ship Navy” and, if so, what might such a Navy look like? Where can increased military spending be focused to … Continue reading Sea Control 125: Bryan McGrath on Fleet Design, Distributed Lethality, and the 350-Ship Navy →

By Sally DeBoer Few platforms have introduced the degree of controversy that has resulted from the introduction of and growing pains associated with the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). From online message boards to the less-than-enthusiastic 72 page Government Accountability Office report on the program, one doesn’t need to search far to find exasperated and at … Continue reading Sea Control 124 – In Defense of the Littoral Combat Ship →

By Matt Merighi Welcome to the almost inevitable Brexit Podcast, this time with Alex Clarke (@AC_NavalHistory) and Chris Stockdale-Garbutt (@ChrisJStockdale). Between them they cover as much of the post-Brexit maritime and naval issues as they can in a little under an hour. Towards the end they also discuss the proposed ‘Book Review’ series, suggestions for which listeners should send … Continue reading Sea Control 123 – Brexit and Book Reviews Introduction →

South China Sea Topic Week By Sally DeBoer As a part of CIMSEC’s South China Sea topic week and our regular Sea Control Podcast, we bring you a discussion on the UN’s Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling on territorial disputes in the South China Sea with one of the China-watching community’s best known, most respected, … Continue reading Sea Control 122 – The PCA Ruling with CAPT James Fanell →

By Matt Hipple We interview Louis, the Marine Veteran of “PokemonGO in Kurdistan Meme” fame, and an independent foreign fighter with the Kurds in Iraq. We discuss his motivations for heading out to the fight, about his process of joining, integrating, and operating with the Kurdish forces in the field. We also discuss how he and his fellow western fighters coordinate … Continue reading Sea Control 121- An American Foreign Fighter in Kurdistan →

By Matthew Merighi Capitol Hill is integral to the continued success of U.S. naval forces. Yet most people outside the Washington, D.C. area have experienced the intricacies of how that institution goes about resourcing the military. Join Sea Control: North America for an interview with Katie Burkhart, a former Navy Surface Warfare Officer who now works in … Continue reading Sea Control 120 – Capitol Hill and National Defense →

By Natalie Sambhi Recorded along the sidelines of this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, find out how the region’s top strategic thinkers reacted to the big speeches, the posturing of the U.S. and China, the way forward on maritime disputes and the other security challenges we should be paying attention to like ISIS and climate change. Natalie … Continue reading Sea Control 119 – Action and Analysis from Shangri-La Dialogue 2016 →

In the aftermath of the Brussels attacks, the world is now paying closer attention to airport security and the unique threat posed by ISIS. But what exactly is going on and how are countries responding? Join Sea Control: North America for an interview with Max Leitschuh, an Aviation Security Analyst at iJet International, to discuss … Continue reading Sea Control 118 – ISIS Capabilities Against Civil Aviation →

Niger Delta violence returns as oil prices plummet and both the Nigerian government’s ability and willingness to pay off former militants decreases. As the Nigerian Navy moves to counter this new violence, a largely unknown group called the “Niger Delta Avengers” has responded by “declaring war” on the Navy. Dirk Steffen, who recently published a CIMSEC article on this development, … Continue reading Sea Control 117 – Niger Delta Pirates Declare War? →

In this week’s episode of Sea Control: Asia Pacific, Natalie Sambhi chats with Nadia Bulkin, a Senior Associate at The Asia Group, on Indonesia’s history of violence, its turn towards democratic nationalism and what that means for the country today. They delve into legacies and policy implications of military rule and colonialism. Natalie and Nadia also … Continue reading Sea Control 116 – Indonesia, A History of Violence and Horror Fiction →

Blue Water Metrics, 2nd Place Winner of Tuft’s 100K New Ventures contest, is on a quest to crowdsource data collection on the health of our seas; in short, the use of pre-existing maritime platforms, from ferries to fishermen, as homes for an array of data collection equipment all over the world. Matthew Merighi, our director of Publications and … Continue reading Sea Control 115 – Blue Water Metrics and Monitoring Oceans →

For a discussion on the South China Sea, Sally DeBoer, our Book Review Editor, brings in CAPT James Fannell (USN, Ret), the former Director of Intelligence and Information Operations (N2) for the US Pacific Fleet.  During the course of his thirty year career, CAPT Fanell specialized in Indo-Asia Pacific security affairs, with an emphasis on … Continue reading Sea Control 114 – South China Sea with CAPT James Fanell →

Most people know that Abraham Lincoln was an avid reader and self-educated man. But how much did this education influence his conduct during the Civil War? Join Sea Control: North America for an interview with Matthew “Matty” Keller, a retired member of the U.S. Navy who is working out the answer to that very question. During the … Continue reading Sea Control 113 – Abraham Lincoln’s Self-Education →