Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy

10/14/2026

Inaugurating “Ike Week” at the Eisenhower School.
The Eisenhower School kicked off Ike Week yesterday, celebrating our most famous alumnus, faculty member, and namesake, President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Activities of collaboration, competition, and community events include rounds of trivia, BBQ, karaoke, scavenger hunt, and, in tribute to the D-Day invasion, an “Ike drop!”

President Eisenhower’s legacy is central to our mission. As a five-star general and President of the United States, and veteran of numerous military engagements in World War II, he understood the need for a war college that would study and maintain the vital relationships between the military and America’s industry. His vision endures in ES so that the nation aligns our resources, industry, and military power with our national interests.

For over 100 years, ES has continued to produce strategic leaders who deeply understand the importance of this relationship to build military strength and provide a stronger and more potent defense industrial base.

To honor that legacy, our past and present commandants, Brigadier General Kirsten Aguilar, Major General (ret.) William Seely, and Brigadier General (ret.) Joy Curriera, kicked events off with a student town hall. A series of friendly challenges this week will culminate in the inaugural award of Ike’s Cup.

We will conclude the celebration with a special opportunity to welcome Ms. Susan Eisenhower, who will help us reflect on Ike’s enduring legacy as a distinguished statesman, military strategist, and family man.

Go Tigers!

10/08/2026

ES Faculty: Joint Force Must Build a Defensive Shield for Cognitive Warfare.
Terms like "information warfare" focus primarily on offensive capabilities, Colonel Jim Davitch, PhD, asserts there is a critical gap in military doctrine on defensive cognitive warfare (DCW). In his article in Joint Force Quarterly (JFQ 120): “Building the Mental Golden Dome: Arming the Joint Force for Defensive Cognitive Warfare,” Col. Davitch focuses on protecting friendly forces from adversary attempts to distort perception, disorient judgment, and degrade decision-making. Davitch argues that cognitive advantage is a prerequisite for victory and outlines a four-phase implementation plan to embed mental resilience into joint doctrine, training, and operational exercises:

“The decisive ground of tomorrow's wars will not be a hilltop, a seaport, or outer space; it will be within the human mind. Victory will belong to forces that can rapidly discern truth from deception. Adversaries across the world weaponize information to fracture alliances and erode unit cohesion... A unit unable to withstand cognitive attacks is unprepared for combat. Absent a shared definition, framework, or doctrine, the joint force remains susceptible to false sensory inputs, mental manipulation, and subconscious bias... Formalizing DCW will arm every commander with a shield equal to the information spear.”



https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Portals/68/Documents/jfq/jfq-120/building-the-mental-golden-dome-jfq-120.pdf

10/03/2026

Commandant’s Lecture Series: “Intrusive Leadership” means more than managing people. It means leading them.
At the Eisenhower School, CAPT Marcus Canady, U.S. Coast Guard, led an inspiring discussion on “intrusive leadership”—an approach that emphasizes the active responsibility leaders have for the people and teams they lead.

The discussion explored what it takes to:
• Earn and maintain trust
• Take a genuine interest in the people on your team
• Develop and retain high-quality talent
• Build a culture of accountability and high performance
• Lead in a manner that displays emotional intelligence

For senior leaders, these are not abstract management concepts. They are fundamental to building teams capable of performing when the stakes are high.

CAPT Canady is a graduate of the National War College and served recently as the U.S. Coast Guard Chair at ES. He is shown receiving honors from ES Deputy Commandant Katherine Dueholm.

09/25/2026

Meet the Eisenhower School Class of 2027 Student Council.
Seven leaders from across the national security community have been elected to represent their classmates and help shape the Eisenhower School experience this year:

President: CAPT Dewey Worker, USCG
Vice President: Ms. Cynthia Cook, US Department of State
Treasurer: LTC Deepak Mathew, USA
Secretary: Ms. Carla Carrillo, US Department of the Navy
International Fellows President (ES): Mr. Franklin Mabeya, Kenya
International Fellows Vice President (ES): CAPT Simon Charnock, United Kingdom
Private Sector Fellow: Mr. Andrew Olsen, Anduril

Together, they represent the breadth of experience that makes the Eisenhower School unique—military services, civilian government, international partners, and the private sector.

The Eisenhower School brings experienced leaders together to confront the hard questions at the intersection of strategy, resources, warfighting, technology, and national power. Our Student Council reflects that same diversity of perspective and experience.

Congratulations to our new officers—and to everyone who stepped forward to serve. We look forward to their leadership throughout the academic year.

Go Tigers!

09/18/2026

NDU International Fellows (IFs) – an integral part of the ES war college!

The Eisenhower School experience is richer because of the participation of military officers from allied and partner nations. To start the process, students learned about the School – and about America – over the Summer.

Integrated into each ES seminar, IFs provide perspectives that enhance the student body’s understanding of global circumstances. They enjoyed an ice cream social with faculty at ES, and engaged in other events related to their field studies, such as white-water rafting in Montana.

We learn from each other—sharing best practices, challenging assumptions, and providing solutions to strategic problems through different lenses.

Through a year’s journey at ES, students – both US and allied/partner – will build professional networks and relationships grounded in trust and friendship. These relationships are vital when nations need to work together, particularly in times of crisis and conflict.

And while our IFs learn what makes the United States exceptional, they help us better understand the world beyond our own borders. That exchange of perspectives—and the relationships it creates—is a critical part of how ES builds global leadership.

This year, ES ’27 includes military officers from: Japan, France, Norway, UK, Poland, Georgia, Brazil, Australia, Maldives, Bangladesh, Germany, Nepal, S. Korea, Estonia, Canada, Romania, Kenya, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Colombia, Kazakhstan, Israel, Turkey, Cyprus, Italy, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Jordan, UAE, Philippines, Nigeria, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Tunisia, and the Netherlands.

09/11/2026

ES Faculty Publishes Opinion: US Should Not End Strategic Ambiguity in Favor of China’s One China Principle.
Dr. Luke Bellocchi, Eisenhower School faculty, co-authored an article in Real Clear Defense: “Reconsidering Taiwan’s Sovereignty: History, International Law, and US Strategic Interests." This article pushes back on Paul Heer’s (former NIO) argument that the US should eliminate strategic ambiguity concerning Taiwan’s sovereignty in favor of Beijing’s One China Principle (i.e., that Taiwan is part of China). The article argues that the US should maintain its stance that Taiwan's sovereignty remains undetermined, as reenforced by historical record, the San Francisco Peace Treaty, and US self-interest:

“Mr. Heer is right that the status quo is unsustainable. But the solution is not to accept Beijing’s narrative of historical inevitability. It is to recognize the political, legal, and strategic realities of the present. Taiwan is not part of the PRC, and U.S. policy should reflect that fact rather than obscure it behind outdated 80-year diplomatic statements that were clearly superseded by treaty and do not reflect the current reality of U.S. and allied strategic interests in the region.”

https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2026/03/09/reconsidering_taiwans_sovereignty_history_international_law_and_us_strategic_interests_1169227.html

Paul Heer’s recent plea that sovereignty over Taiwan cannot remain “undetermined” revives an important and long‑neglected question in U.S. policy: “Does China have a sovereig

09/03/2026

ES Professor writes on Asymmetric Financial Warfare. Professor William Jannace, NSIB, Eisenhower School/National Defense University coauthored an article entitled, “The Seventh Domain of Warfare: Fighting Asymmetric Financial Warfare Against State and State-Supported Non-State Actors,” exploring the evolving threats and potentially new responses demanded of the financial services industry that a financially integrated world with an increasingly technologically sophisticated digital ecosystem, being exploited by State and Non-State Actors poses to the industry and the US .

The U.S. government continues to evolve its current defenses and approach to this new threat landscape-taking a “whole-of-government “ approach entailing public-private partnerships, greater data sharing and coordination and expanded use of data analytics. While this is taking place, the financial services industry has been subject to a comprehensive system of regulation and required to adhere to a traditional proactive-reactive approach (i.e., KYC, surveillance and monitoring, escalation, reporting, and remediation). The growing evolving threats to the US financial system increasingly necessitate a rethinking of this approach due to the lack of latency between threat and exploitation. While making the financial services industry a pillar of this whole government approach raises issues, its growing vulnerability and susceptibility to malign state and non-state actors warrants revisiting the traditional approach. Whether it be cyber, AI-enabled cyber, kinetic or a hybrid threat, they all fall increasingly under the Seventh Domain of Warfare-no time to waste, as in every conflict the enemy gets a vote and is casting it increasingly more frequently and in a sophisticated manner-the nature of war may endure but 21st century technology has certainly changes its character.

https://www.gfmi.com/articles/the-seventh-domain-of-warfare-fighting-asymmetric-financial-warfare-against-state-and-state-supported-non-state-actors/

08/28/2026

ES Professor published on Operationalizing Economic Statecraft.

Dr. Anita Kellogg recently authored "Operationalizing Economic Statecraft: A New Imperative for the Pentagon" in War on the Rocks. In this article, she argues that the increasing use of economic statecraft in conflict means that combatant commanders can no longer ignore this dimension of warfare. Instead, they need tools to help assess the risks of an adversary using supply chain chokeholds to affect mission operations.

This "will require greater technological sophistication to assess mission risk, novel mitigation strategies, and deeper cooperation between the private sector and the defense enterprise." It also necessitates a whole-of-government approach with the development of institutional architecture to coordinate responses to these economic threats. Weaponized economic interdependence is now found on the battlefields of Ukraine and Iran, as well as being a core component of increasing geopolitical competition. The U.S. needs to respond by operationalizing economic statecraft into the way it wages war and military actions.

https://warontherocks.com/operationalizing-economic-statecraft-a-new-imperative-for-the-pentagon/

Editor’s note: This article is the sixth in an 11-part series examining how the United States should organize, lead, and integrate economic statecraft

08/20/2026

ES New Strategic Presence Elective. This past academic year, the Eisenhower School introduced a new elective, "Strategic Presence: Leading with Influence in National Security," developed to fill an important need in the curriculum: helping senior leaders strengthen their ability to communicate, connect, and influence at the strategic level.

Although designed and led from the Eisenhower School, the elective was open to students across National Defense University's North Campus, bringing together leaders from the Eisenhower School, National War College, the College of Information and Cyberspace, and the College of International Security Affairs. That cross-college composition became one of the course’s greatest strengths, creating a rich learning environment shaped by diverse service, agency, functional, and international perspectives.

Strategic presence is more than public speaking. It is the ability to show up with credibility, clarity, emotional intelligence, humility, confidence, and purpose — especially in complex national security environments where leaders must influence across services, agencies, allies, partners, industry, and other key stakeholders.

Throughout the course, students examined how strategic leaders build trust, shape narratives, communicate with impact, lead difficult conversations, and align message with mission. They practiced translating expertise into influence and presence into strategic effect.

This work directly supports the broader aims of professional military education and national security leadership. The National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy call for leaders who can think clearly, communicate effectively, build partnerships, strengthen deterrence, and advance national objectives in increasingly complex strategic environments. Strategic presence is essential to that work.

What made this inaugural course especially meaningful was the caliber of the students. They brought candor, courage, reflection, and lived experience into every discussion. Their willingness to challenge themselves and one another demonstrated the kind of professional growth that prepares leaders not only to understand strategy, but to lead it.

At NDU, developing strategic leaders means preparing them to operate with insight, influence, and purpose. Strategic Presence contributes to that mission by helping students lead with credibility, communicate with impact, and build the trust required to move people, organizations, and missions forward.

Bravo Zulu to this outstanding group of leaders for helping bring this new course to life.

08/13/2026

ES Biotech Industry Study Visits Biotech Firms in Argentina.
As part of the field studies, students from the Industry Study visited Argentina, exploring a biotech ecosystem focused on industrial scale, manufacturing, and applied innovation across Buenos Aires and Rosario.

Students began their engagements at (Institute of Biotechnological Research), where they examined core biotech research, graduate training, and technology transfer. The cohort then visited the (FAN), a public-private platform advancing biomedicine and national nanotechnology applications.

At , a pioneer in Argentina’s biopharmaceutical sector, students observed industrial-scale production of recombinant proteins and biosimilars, along with insights into regulatory strategy and global market reach.

The group also engaged with , a startup advancing automated bioprocessing technologies, and , which supports early-stage biotech innovation through incubation and acceleration.

Students visited , one of the first mRNA vaccine manufacturing facilities in Latin America, and , a supplier to the USDA Vaccine Bank and one of the world’s top veterinary vaccine manufacturers. At , they observed advanced cell culture bioprocessing, including monoclonal antibody (biosimilar) production, along with industrial operations, quality systems, and export capabilities.

In Rosario, the students engaged with a diverse set of organizations advancing applied biotechnology and industrial scale-up. These included , developing enzymes for industrial applications; , an applied research institute focused on technology transfer and industrial platforms; , a leader in diagnostic solutions across Latin America; and the (PTR), a hub for technology-based companies operating under a university-industry-government model.

They also visited , a leading molecular biology and biotechnology research institute bridging basic science and applied innovation, and , a company specializing in sterilization, infection control, and biotechnology manufacturing.

At , the level of integration was particularly striking. Everything from research and development to manufacturing occurs under one roof. The company designs and builds its own equipment, including robotics, and has developed spin-off companies within its ecosystem. It is a powerful example of resilience and true independence in biotechnology.

Across Argentina, a clear pattern emerged: a strong emphasis on scale and production. The country is leveraging scientific expertise to build manufacturing capacity and compete in global biotech markets.

Argentina reinforces critical insights:
Innovation must scale to matter.
Biomanufacturing capacity is essential to translating discovery into strategic advantage.
Competitive advantage in biotechnology depends not only on innovation, but on the ability to integrate, scale, and sustain it. National Defense University