On September 13th, 2025, a Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessel entered the restricted waters around the Republic of China’s (ROC) Dongsha Atoll, also known as the Pratas Island, located approximately 400 ...

Principal Warfare Officers attended a special two-week course there. In my post-Navy career, I have had extensive interaction ...

“Despite the remarkable developments in military technology, despite the weapons and machines which have vastly expanded our ...

The time was a century ago for the SWO officer corps to accept that the future had arrived, and it is past high time for them ...

From the moment we leave our homeports, the ships of 7 th Fleet live under the shadow of Chinese weapons and in the ever-present gaze of their ISR network. We are far from home, and very near to those ...

“ The time was a century ago for the SWO officer corps to accept that the future had arrived, and it is past high time for them to do so now. The U.S. Navy surface warfare community must adapt ...

SWO specialization was a good idea for the last generation of officers, but time is now too short. Implementing it in 2026, with the possibility of great power war looming, would be self-destructive.

This week CIMSEC is publishing submissions sent in response to our Call for Articles on whether U.S. Navy surface warfare officers should specialize. The long-running debate between specialized and ...

The debate over whether Surface Warfare Officers (SWOs) should be “generalists” or “specialists” is an old and vigorous one. 1 For more than 125 years, SWOs have followed a generalist career path. 2 ...

Last week CIMSEC published submissions sent in response to our Call for Articles on whether U.S. Navy surface warfare officers should specialize. Authors offered a variety of viewpoints on this ...