CIWAG Policy Papers
CIWAG Policy Papers are a collection of reports geared toward making sound policy recommendations to address difficult challenges in the international security environment. This body of research contributes to the mission of the U.S. Naval War College to study, research and publish relevant materials related to security, sea power, and the maritime environment.
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CIWAG Policy Papers #1: Seabed Warfare is Here: A U.S. - Led Global Strategy to Secure the Ocean Floor
Dave Brown
Dr. Jahara Matisek, James Langan, Andrew Rolander, and CIWAG Director David A. Brown, COL (Ret.) build on discussions from CIWAG's 2025 Maritime Symposium, co-sponsored with the Naval War College Foundation, and expanding on key insights shared in "The Trident" podcast episode on maritime sabotage, this paper demonstrates why protecting critical undersea infrastructure is no longer optional—it’s urgent. "Growing numbers of incidents and the destruction of pipelines and cables in the waters around Europe and Taiwan signal a global shift: the seabed has become a contested battlespace. The combination of difficulty of detection and attribution, plus the severe consequences to economic security, requires a unified transatlantic/transpacific strategy."
Authors:
Host David A. Brown, COL USA (Retired) is the director of the Center on Irregular Warfare & Armed Groups (CIWAG) and Executive Director of the Advanced Strategist Program at the U.S. Naval War College. COL Brown is a former military strategist with a 30-year career in combat units and military operations.
Co-host Jahara Matisek Ph.D. is a command pilot with over 3,700 hours in the C-17, E-11 BACN, T-6 and T-53 and is a Project Mercury innovation coach. He was recently a military professor in the National Security Affairs Department at the U.S. Naval War College and also served at the U.S. Air Force Academy as an associate professor in the Military and Strategic Studies Department. He has published over 120 articles on warfare, strategy, and national security and been a Fellow at AFWERX, Payne Institute for Public Policy, European Resilience Initiative Center, Modern War Institute, and Irregular Warfare Initiative. He has been a Co-PI on three DOD research projects on security assistance and Russian influence operations.
James Langan is a military policy advisor for the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) at the UK Ministry of Defence, where he focuses on hybrid threats such as the Russian Shadow Fleet and sabotage to Critical Undersea Infrastructure. Prior to this he was awarded a Chief of Airstaff Fellowship to complete a MPhil in European Security at the University of Cambridge. He was also the UK militaries’ chief Information Operations and StratCom instructor, and deployed as Commanding Officer of the British militaries’ Combat Camera Team during the 2021 Kabul and 2023 Sudan evacuations. James has also worked as a European energy commodities trader, and currently participates in the RUSI Maritime Sanctions Task Force. His research interests include Russian political economy, and the history of international sanctions policy.
Andrew M. Rolander is a senior IW analyst for Joint Staff J7 in the Office of Irregular Warfare and Strategic Competition (OIWC), responsible for formulating strategy and doctrine for the Joint Force. Andrew has expertise in special forces, intelligence, and para-military operations. He served as an intelligence analyst for the FBI and the CIA, and conducted fellowships on IW with USMC University, Grand Strategy as a George C. Marshall fellow, and History and Statecraft for the Clements Center, University Texas. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in maritime strategy and warfighting with the War Studies Department at King’s College London, and a Doctorate in National Security at the Institute of World Politics.
Articles/References:
- Podcast: Maritime Sabotage: The Hidden War Underseas on Digital Commons: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/the-trident/19/
