"The resurgence of interest in, and the concern about, undersea warfare as a component of littoral and expeditionary warfare has resulted in initiatives at the Postgraduate School to enhance the academic and research content in several curricula with undersea warfare (USW) related material," said Rear Adm. John D. Butler, NUWC Commanding Officer.
The result of those initiatives, and the establishment of a USW Chair, places the Navy school as a major center of excellence for instruction, research, and analysis in the field of undersea warfare.
"This fills a critical need for not only NPS AND NUWC, but for the Navy overall, as littoral warfare has become an increasingly important warfare area," said NPS Superintendent Rear Adm. David R. Ellison. Ellison added that the incumbent would also serve concurrently as the director of NPS' USW Research Center and provide counsel to the school's Systems Engineering Academic Committee.
Among the duties of the new Chair will be the review and execution of curriculum content, as well as identifying the need for research topics and conduct of direct studies in the mine warfare and anti-submarine warfare areas. The chair will also provide wargaming support for the Office of Naval Research and other naval activities.
According to the memorandum, the appointment will be coordinated between the NPS Superintendent and NUWC Commander. Recruitment for the Chair of USW will be from the ranks of Navy and Marine Corps officers who have discharged senior responsibilities in USW-related activities and from academia, government, or industrial laboratories.
The Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC), with headquarters in Newport, R.I., is the Navy's full-spectrum research, development, test and evaluation, engineering and fleet support center for submarines, autonomous underwater systems, and offensive and defensive weapons systems associated with undersea warfare.
The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), located in Monterey, Calif. is a unique academic institution whose emphasis is on education and research programs that are relevant to the Navy, defense, and national and international security interests.