National Defense University

Joint Special Operations Master of Arts Class of 2026 Graduation

Tomorrow, June 4, 2026 the National Defense University will celebrate the graduation of the College of International Security Affairs’ Joint Special Operations Master of Arts (JSOMA) Class of 2026 at Kennedy Hall, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. This ceremony marks the completion of a rigorous academic program for our nation’s elite operators, who are now equipped to integrate strategic logic with irregular warfare capabilities at the highest levels of command.

We are honored to welcome Army Brigadier General Kirk Brinker, Deputy Commanding General, USASOC, as our commencement speaker. He will address the graduates as they return to the forefront of global security.

📆Date: June 4, 2025
🕙Time: 10:00 AM EDT

The Sharp End of Strategy: As these specialized leaders transition from the classroom to the front lines, they bring a distinct warfighting advantage. Please join us in congratulating the JSOMA Class of 2026 and wishing them success in their next mission.

🎓🎉Share your congratulations in the comments below.



*Please note that this ceremony will not be live-streamed.*

The Future of Command: NDU Hosts End-of-Year Student Town Hall 🏛️🎓

On May 29, the National Defense University held a Student Town Hall, which featured a senior leadership panel, to cap the academic year as students enter the final countdown to graduation. The panel included NDU President VADM Peter Garvin, College of Information and Cyberspace (CIC) Chancellor Elizabeth Phu, and HADRIAN Vice President Mike Manazir. Senior Vice President of NDU, Ambassador Roxanne Cabral, moderated the discussion, which brought together senior civilian, military, and private-sector perspectives to prepare the Class of 2026 for their next roles in senior leadership positions.

Key takeaways shared from the panel:

✅ Leading Up and Down: Leaders need to help shape their bosses’ understanding of a problem and outline real options. Leaders also need to understand their teams to effectively implement their bosses’ decisions and policy.

✅ Understanding Direction: As a leader of any organization, it is critical to explain the “why” of a mission and remain focused on first principals.

✅ Hard Truths to Know: Leadership can be isolating, avoid that trap, networks are critical. Be authentic, be vulnerable, be empathetic, and be humble, be curious, be bold.

As graduation approaches, this event underscores NDU’s focus on preparing our students for leadership at senior levels so that they can generate strategic warfighting advantage for the Nation.

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Senior leadership requires applying strategic lessons to real-world challenges. To our graduates and alumni: What is the most important leadership lesson you will carry into your next assignment? Share your thoughts in the comments below. 👇

Strategic Logic in Action: National War College Class of 2026 Delivers Final Strategy Briefings 🏛️🎓

On Thursday and Friday, May 14-15, National War College (NWC) students took center stage at NDU to brief senior government officials on their Group Strategy Research Projects. This milestone marked the culmination of a year-long deep dive into the world's most complex national security challenges.

Applying NWC’s signature elements of strategic logic, these student cohorts developed innovative, actionable strategies grounded in rigorous academic research. It was an outstanding demonstration of strategic thinking, proving this class is prepared to transition from the classroom to national security leadership roles.

The significance of this milestone for our graduating senior leaders:

✅ Rigorous Strategic Logic: Students applied advanced analytical frameworks to dissect and address urgent real-world national security vulnerabilities.

✅ Actionable Policy Solutions: Cohorts pitched innovative, pressure-tested strategies directly to senior government and defense officials.

✅ The Final Step to Graduation: This presentation marks the academic culmination of their time at NDU and serves as the ultimate proving ground before they walk the stage.

This event caps the academic year at NWC and is a critical piece of the National Defense University’s mission to prepare graduates to outthink, out-decide, and outfight any adversary.

➡️ Next stop: Graduation!


🎓 The Countdown to June 11: As these leaders prepare to graduate during our historic 50th Anniversary year, they leave NDU ready to shape the future of the Joint Force. Join us in celebrating their hard work. Leave them a 'congratulations' in the comments. And while your there, sounds off ➡️ What do you believe is the most critical quality of a strategic leader in today's threat environment? Let us and the graduating class of 2026 know in the comments! 👇

The Countdown is On: National Defense University's 50th Anniversary Graduation 🎓

Graduation is right around the corner for the National Defense University Class of 2026. This year is especially significant as we mark 50 Years of Excellence (1976–2026) at the National Defense University.

Graduates from the College of Information and Cyberspace (CIC), College of International Security Affairs (CISA), Eisenhower School (ES), Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC), and National War College (NWC) have spent the past year strengthening their strategic vision. We are honored to welcome Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine as keynote speaker at graduation at Ft. McNair.

🗓️ June 4 at 10:00 AM EDT - JSOMA at Ft. Bragg, NC

🗓️ June 11 at 10:00 AM EDT - NWC, ES, CIC, & CISA at Ft. McNair, Washington, D.C.*

🗓️ June 12 at 10:00 AM EDT - JAWS – JFSC at NSA Hampton Roads, VA

💻 Can’t be there in person? Witness the Ft. McNair graduation live on DVIDS. Check comments for livestream link.

➡️ Tag an alumni, like, share and save the link below.
✅ Comment 'Congratulations !' to show your support for this year's graduates.



The Joint Staff | Joint Forces Staff College | College of Information and Cyberspace - National Defense University | The College of International Security Affairs | National War College | Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy | National Defense University Foundation | NDU International Fellows Alumni |

Educating for Warfighting Advantage: NDU Welcomes Under Secretary Elbridge Colby 🏛️🎙️

The National Defense University (NDU) hosted Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby as part of the National War College ’s (NWC) Kennan Lecture Series on May 19. NDU President VADM Peter Garvin and NWC Commandant RDML Chase D. Patrick welcomed Under Secretary Colby for an important address to students, faculty, and staff on Department of War priorities.

As the premier institution for joint professional military education, NDU bridges the gap between high-level policy and strategic ex*****on. Under Secretary Colby’s address gave our future senior commanders and national security leaders first-hand insights into strategy formulation at the highest level of the Department.

Key themes from the Under Secretary’s address:

✅ Military-Strategic Framework: The right strategy requires the disciplined alignment of military ends, ways, and means and contains the following elements:

✅ Denial Defense: Deny an opponent the ability to seize and hold the key territory of a U.S. ally or partner.

✅ Favorable Escalation Management: Place the costs and risks of initiating escalation on the opponent, keep them there, and progressively increase them.

✅ Binding Strategy: Structure the conflict so that an opponent’s attempts to escalate strengthen cohesion, deepen resolve, and reinforce opposition to aggression.

At NDU, we do not educate for the sake of education, but to guarantee national security. Direct access to our Nation’s policymakers ensures our graduates return to the Joint Force ready to outthink, out-decide, and outfight any adversary.

Read Under Secretary Colby’s speech. Check comments for link.

🌐 The Nexus of Strategy: Under Secretary Colby underscored that the right military-strategic framework needs three core elements: (1) denial defense, (2) favorable escalation management, and (3) a binding strategy. What else do you think is critical to include in a successful strategy? Share your perspective.

Honoring the Fallen: A Day of Remembrance 🇺🇸 🙏

Today, the pauses to remember and honor the heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation.

Memorial Day is a solemn reminder of the price of freedom. For many of our students, faculty, and staff, this day is deeply personal. We pay respect to the memory of friends, teammates, and loved ones who are no longer with us, whose legacy inspires the next generation to dedicate themselves to protecting our Nation.

May we never forget.

Mark Your Calendars! 🗓️🎓 Three graduations, one university!

The 2026 graduation season is almost here. Join us in celebrating the achievements of the National Defense University’s graduating class.

✅On June 4 at 10:00am, the College of International Security Affairs’ (CISA) Joint Special Operations Master of Arts (JSOMA) graduation will be held at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina.

✅On June 11 at 10:00 AM, the Eisenhower School (ES), College of Information and Cyberspace (CIC), College of International Security Affairs (CISA), and National War College (NWC) graduation will be held at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C.

✅On June 12 at 10:00 AM, the Joint Forces Staff College’s Joint Advanced Warfighting School (JAWS) graduation will be held at NSA Hampton Roads in Norfolk, VA.

We honor the hard work and commitment of our students, faculty, and families.

➡️🎉 Show your enthusiasm and support for this year’s graduates. Like, share, and comment ‘congratulations ’ to show your support for this year’s graduates!

Can’t join us in person? Follow NDU for updates, pre-graduation messages, livestreaming links, and more.

Strategy Meets Industry at the National Defense University’s Eisenhower School 🏛️⚙️

Last week, the Nation Defense University (NDU) was the place where resource strategists and private sector leaders met face-to-face. The Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy (ES) and the National Defense University Foundation proudly co-hosted 'Connection to Industry Day' on May 12 and 'Industry Distinguished Visitor Day' on May 15. These events were the culmination of a year of rigorous study, during which ES students undertook an intense examination of 19 industry sectors and traveled to sites across the United States and 20 nations. Last week, the students partnered with private sector leaders to address issues in those 19 sectors as well as the general erosion of U.S. industrial capacity.

The importance of these engagements for the next generation of strategic leaders:

✅ Global Industrial Analysis: Students applied insights gained from domestic and international field studies to real-world industrial base vulnerabilities.

✅ Strategic Resource Management: The week’s events fostered deep analysis and innovative approaches to issues in 19 critical industry sectors essential to national security.

✅ Senior Leadership Engagement: Industry executives and national security leaders collaborated to bridge the gap between policy and industrial capacity.

➡️ These engagements furthered NDU’s mission: educating not for the sake of education, but to guarantee national security. And these insights show us the hard work and dedication of the 2026 graduating class.

🎓Are you ready to watch them take the stage to cap a year of sustained, demonstrated excellence in an environment of academic rigor?

📆 Stay tuned for more information on 2026 graduation ceremony at Ft. McNair.

National Defense University Welcomes NATO Defense College!

On May 6, the National Defense University (NDU) hosted a delegation from the NATO Defense College 's (NDC) Senior Officer Course for discussions on U.S. and European defense priorities and the evolving global security environment.

NDU President VADM Peter Garvin, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. James Lepse, and Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) Director (INSS), Dr. Denise Natali, welcomed NDC Dean Dr. Suzanne Nielsen and NDC Academic Chief, BG Ferenc Molnar.

The discussions brought together experts from INSS, the College of Information and Cyberspace - National Defense University, Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy, National War College, and the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies.

The visit highlighted NDU’s global partnerships that support our mission to educate for warfighting advantage to win in competition, crisis, and conflict.

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Global security requires global partnerships. 🏛️🌍 What do you believe is the greatest strategic benefit of international educational exchanges like this one? Let's discuss below. 👇

Strategic Lethality and DOW Priorities: Secretary of War Pete Hegseth Addresses CAPSTONE 26-3 🏛️🎖️

National Defense University welcomed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth back to Fort McNair on May 11th to address the newly promoted General and Flag Officers of CAPSTONE 26-3. In his remarks, the Secretary underlined the Department of War’s top strategic priorities, focusing on homeland defense and revitalizing the defense industrial base.

As NDU’s premier course for senior leaders, CAPSTONE prepares fellows to integrate national power elements and master joint doctrine fundamentals. Secretary Hegseth’s visit gave the cohort a critical opportunity to engage directly with his strategic approach to global competition.

The importance of the Secretary's perspective for CAPSTONE fellows:

✅ Lethality First: A refocus on the primary mission of the warfighter—ensuring the Joint Force is prepared to outthink, out-decide, and outfight any adversary.

✅ Industrial Base Resilience: Highlighting the defense industrial base as a pillar of national power and a strategic priority for long-term deterrence.

✅ Strategic Leadership: A discussion on the decision-making required to lead across the full spectrum of conflict in a rapidly evolving security landscape.

Secretary Hegseth’s visit reinforces NDU’s mission to ensure our nation’s senior leaders are lethal, ready, and strategically aligned.

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(Photo courtesy of DoW)