Submissions Due: April 5, 2023
Topic Week Dates: April 17-21, 2023
Article Length: 1,000-3,000 words
Submit to: Content@cimsec.org

By Nicholas Romanow

The Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) ended the debate (for now) on whether the U.S. Navy needs a cadre of cyber officers. Section 1503 of the Act mandates that the Navy “establish and use” a cyber operations designator for officers and a cyber operations rating for enlisted personnel. It also prohibits members of existing information warfare designators from filling cyber-related billets and requires the Navy to submit a report to Congress in one year on the administration, training, and utilization of the Navy’s cyber personnel.

But the answer to this question opens up a range of new questions on cyber operations in the maritime domain. How should the Navy recruit, train, and retain cyber talent? What do cyber operations in a maritime environment look like? How will this investment in a Navy cyber community affect the Navy’s aviation, surface, subsurface, and special warfare communities? As the Navy develops this new cadre of talent, it needs to more deeply examine how it can leverage cyber in warfighting and peacetime operations.

Cyberspace is quite similar to the maritime environment. It is a domain wherein trillions of dollars of international commerce transits. It is not exclusively controlled by any single nation-state in particular. It is simultaneously a conduit for wealth and exchange yet also rife with peril and exploitation.

In theory, naval leaders should be in a prime position to understand the complex logic of cyberspace and tackle its dilemmas. Yet numerous other actors influence the maritime domain through cyber and depend on cyber for maritime access. What could be the risks of suffering malicious cyber effects on critical maritime infrastructure and platforms? How do maritime security and cybersecurity interact and depend on one another?

The Navy will finally have a specialist cyber cadre, but more remains to be done. As maritime and cyber connections grow and proliferate, these two domains will interact in complex ways to present advantage and threats across the spectrum of conflict. We invite authors to discuss these questions and more as we consider the future of Navy and maritime cyber. Send all submissions to Content@cimsec.org.

Ensign Nicholas Romanow, U.S. Navy, is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He is currently assigned to Fort Meade, Maryland, and working toward his qualification as a cryptologic warfare officer. He was previously an undergraduate fellow at the Clements Center for National Security. He is CIMSEC’s Social Media Coordinator.

The views presented are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Defense, Department of the Navy, or any other military or government agency.

Featured Image: Artwork created with Midjourney AI.

Submissions Due: March 16, 2023
Topic Week Dates: March 27-31, 2023
Article Length: 1,000-3,000 words
Submit to: Content@cimsec.org

By Nicholas Romanow

The Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) ended the debate (for now) on whether the U.S. Navy needs a cadre of cyber officers. Section 1503 of the Act mandates that the Navy “establish and use” a cyber operations designator for officers and a cyber operations rating for enlisted personnel. It also prohibits members of existing information warfare designators from filling cyber-related billets and requires the Navy to submit a report to Congress in one year on the administration, training, and utilization of the Navy’s cyber personnel.

But the answer to this question opens up a range of new questions on cyber operations in the maritime domain. How should the Navy recruit, train, and retain cyber talent? What do cyber operations in a maritime environment look like? How will this investment in a Navy cyber community affect the Navy’s aviation, surface, subsurface, and special warfare communities? As the Navy develops this new cadre of talent, it needs to more deeply examine how it can leverage cyber in warfighting and peacetime operations.

Cyberspace is quite similar to the maritime environment. It is a domain wherein trillions of dollars of international commerce transits. It is not exclusively controlled by any single nation-state in particular. It is simultaneously a conduit for wealth and exchange yet also rife with peril and exploitation.

In theory, naval leaders should be in a prime position to understand the complex logic of cyberspace and tackle its dilemmas. Yet numerous other actors influence the maritime domain through cyber and depend on cyber for maritime access. What could be the risks of suffering malicious cyber effects on critical maritime infrastructure and platforms? How do maritime security and cybersecurity interact and depend on one another?

The Navy will finally have a specialist cyber cadre, but more remains to be done. As maritime and cyber connections grow and proliferate, these two domains will interact in complex ways to present advantage and threats across the spectrum of conflict. We invite authors to discuss these questions and more as we consider the future of Navy and maritime cyber. Send all submissions to Content@cimsec.org.

Ensign Nicholas Romanow, U.S. Navy, is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He is currently assigned to Fort Meade, Maryland, and working toward his qualification as a cryptologic warfare officer. He was previously an undergraduate fellow at the Clements Center for National Security. He is CIMSEC’s Social Media Coordinator.

The views presented are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Defense, Department of the Navy, or any other military or government agency.

Featured Image: Artwork created with Midjourney AI.

Submissions Due: September 19, 2022
Topic Week Dates: October 3-7, 2022
Article Length: 1,000-3,000 words
Submit to: Content@cimsec.org

By Nicholas Romanow

Many of the current debates in maritime security and defense focus on things. In the U.S., military and national security experts are questioning whether the Navy has enough ships and whether the Marine Corps should maintain its legacy platforms like tanks. Abroad, Ukrainians and other European nations are constantly discussing what kinds of weapons are needed to repel Russia’s invasion, and Taiwan, South Korea, Australia, and Japan are also questioning if they have the right technologies to deter possible Chinese aggression. The rapid pace of technological change and the fixation on great power competition have further prioritized the development of newer, smarter, and faster things.

Warfare nonetheless remains a human activity, waged by and impacting humans. In just the last few months, Russian soldiers in Ukraine suffered significant issues with morale, and a scandal erupted after multiple suicides transpired within the crew refurbishing the USS George Washington. Even without these reminders, the military and the national security community both face the perennial issue of recruiting, training, and retaining personnel to compete and prevail in a conflict.

CIMSEC seeks articles that address the human factor in the future of war, strategy, and maritime security. How can the sea services and the defense community improve and sustain human capital to accomplish their missions? How will human capital affect the ability of states to wage steady state competition and war? What strategies can the national security enterprise employ to compete with the private sector for technological talent? How can institutions and leaders improve diversity and inclusion to succeed over peer competitors?

Authors are invited to address these questions and more as we consider the future of human capital in maritime and military affairs. We especially welcome contributions from authors from backgrounds and identities that are traditionally underrepresented in the military and national security communities. The admirals, generals, and civilians who will lead our national security enterprise decades in the future are joining the community today; therefore, recruiting, training, and retaining future leaders is an inter-generational challenge. CIMSEC is particularly interested in hearing from early career authors and junior personnel.

We look forward to publishing innovative ideas on improving human capital and talent management from the leaders of today and tomorrow. Send all submissions to Content@cimsec.org.

Ensign Nicholas Romanow, U.S. Navy, is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He is currently assigned to Fort Meade, Maryland, and working toward his qualification as a cryptologic warfare officer. He was previously an undergraduate fellow at the Clements Center for National Security. He is CIMSEC’s Social Media Coordinator.

The views presented are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Defense, Department of the Navy, or any other military or government agency.

Featured Image: EAST CHINA SEA (July 16, 2020) Operations Specialist 3rd Class Michelle Sejour, from Orlando, Fla., coordinates messages from the combat information center while standing watch as a phone talker on the bridge of the amphibious dock landing ship USS Germantown (LSD 42). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Taylor DiMartino)

By the Editorial Staff of CIMSEC and U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings

The Challenge

Fiction is a powerful tool for testing hypotheticals and imagining other worlds as a means of examining our own. Once again, CIMSEC and the U.S. Naval Institute have partnered to invite authors to ask “What if?” as a means of exploring different visions of the future of maritime security.

Authors might consider how conflicts might play out in the near or distant future. Or they might use historical fiction or alternate history as a means of illuminating something important about today’s international environment. All that is required is a compelling tale, a convincing narrative, and a chance to learn something about today through the author’s exploration of yesterday, today, or tomorrow.

Read last year’s top 10 contest stories on CIMSEC here.

Submission Guidelines

• Word Count: 3,000 words maximum (excludes endnotes/sources).
• Include word count on title page but do not include author name(s) on title page or within the text.
• Stories must be original and not previously published (online or in print) or being considered for publication elsewhere.
• The contest is open to all contributors.
• One submission per contributor.
• Submit story as a Word document at www.usni.org/fictionessay.

Deadline: September 15, 2022

Selection Process

The Naval Institute and CIMSEC staffs will evaluate all entries and provide the top essays to a select panel of military novelists for judging. All essays will be judged in the blind—i.e., the staffs and judging panel will not know the authors of the essays. 

Prizes

• First Prize: $500 and a 1-year membership
in the Naval Institute and CIMSEC.
• Second Prize: $300 and a 1-year membership in the Naval Institute and CIMSEC.
• Third Prize: $200 and a 1-year membership
in the Naval Institute and CIMSEC.

Publication

The winning essays will be published in Proceedings or on the Naval Institute and CIMSEC websites. Non-winning essays also may be selected for publication. 

We look forward to receiving your submissions and partnering with the U.S. Naval Institute to enhance the conversation around maritime security.

Featured Image: Art station/Aleksandre-Lortki Panidze