Andrew S. Erickson

Cdr. Paul Giarra, USN (Ret.), “The Naval War College Review: Why Tom’s Harsh Assessment is Off Target,” The Best Defense: Tom Ricks’s Daily Take on National Security, 7 April 2011.

The short answer as to why you are wrong about the Naval War College Review is that, just as one example, even if the Review did nothing else but publish Jim Holmes’s and Toshi Yoshihara’s articles, it would be making a contribution of potentially historic consequence for strategists generally.

The longer answer: Listed below are some of the notable repetitive authors who appear in the Naval War College Review. I’ve selected them because they are friends and colleagues, but also because they illustrate one notable contribution of the NWCR: supporting the intellectual development of a cadre of serial thinkers. They publish elsewhere as well, and have notable careers separate from the Naval War College. Tom Mahnken is a great example of this, but the pattern repeats.

I’ve also highlighted the best two to four articles and reviews from each issue for the last 8 quarterly issues of the NWCR. This is not a scientific or even organized review, but it is indicative of the general excellence of the NWCR. …

Spring 2011

• From Bottle Rockets to Lightning Bolts: China’s Missile Revolution and PLA Strategy against U.S. Military Intervention – Vitaliy O. Pradun
• The Development of the Angled-Deck Aircraft Carrier: Innovation and Adaptation – Thomas C. Hone, Norman Friedman, and Mark D. Mandeles
• Hiding in Plain Sight: The U.S. Navy and Dispersed Operations under EMCON, 1956-1972 – Robert G. Angevine 

Winter 2011

• Places and Bases: The Chinese Navy’s Emerging Support Network in the Indian Ocean – Daniel J. Kostecka
• Neptune Triumphus [review essay] – Richard Norton

Autumn 2010

• Programs vs. Resources: Some Options for the Navy – Ronald O’Rourke
• Talking about Sea Control – Robert C. Rubel
• Taming the Outlaw Sea – Admiral James G. Stavridis and Lieutenant Commander Richard E. LeBron, U.S. Navy
• China’s “Antiaccess” Ballistic Missiles and U.S. Active Defense – Marshall Hoyler

Summer 2010

• Chinese Missile Strategy and the U.S. Naval Presence in Japan – Toshi Yoshihara
• The Zumwalt-Class Destroyer: A Technology “Bridge” Shaping the Navy after Next – George V. Galdorisi and Scott C. Truver

Spring 2010

• The Emerging Republic of Korea Navy: A Japanese Perspective – Vice Admiral Yoji Koda, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (Retired)
• China’s Oil Security Pipe Dream: The Reality, and Strategic Consequences, of Seaborne Imports – Andrew S. Erickson and Gabriel B. Collins
• Reflecting on Fuchida, or “A Tale of Three Whoppers” (essay) – Jonathan Parshall

Winter 2010

• China’s Aircraft Carrier Ambitions: An Update – Nan Li and Christopher Weuve
• Great Britain Gambles with the Royal Navy – Geoffrey Till
• How Will the DPJ Change Japan? – Tobias Harris

Autumn 2009

• U.S. Naval Options for Influencing Iran – Daniel Goure and Rebecca Grant
• Using the Land to Control the Sea? Chinese Analysts Consider the Antiship Ballistic Missile – Andrew S. Erickson and David D. Yang
• China’s Antiship Ballistic Missile: Developments and Missing Links – Eric Hagt and Matthew Durnin

Summer 2009

• Thinking about the Unthinkable: Tokyo’s Nuclear Option – Toshi Yoshihara and James R. Holmes
• Grasping “the Influence of Law on Sea Power”  – James Kraska
• Strategic Assessment: Getting It Right (Review Essay) – Richard Norton …