#52 Erika Gehlen and Frank Smith on Navy MISO and Competition

During this episode, CDR Erika Gelen and Prof. Frank Smith discuss their co-authored article: “Advantage At Sea Requires Rethinking Influence.” After reviewing the tri-service (Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard) strategy “Advantage at Sea,” they make the case that the US Navy handicaps itself in great-power competition--especially relative to military information support operations (MISO). They also have some concrete recommendations for senior leaders regarding competition.

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Links to full show notes

Guest Bios

Dr. Frank Smith is the director of the Cyber and Innovation Policy Institute (or CIPI), part of the Strategic and Operational Research Department in the Center for Naval Warfare Studies at the U.S. Naval War College. Smith was previously a senior lecturer in the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney. His interdisciplinary research examines the relationship between emerging technology and national security, particularly in cyberspace. He has a Ph.D. in political science and a B.S. in biological chemistry, both from the University of Chicago.

Cmdr Erika De La Parra Gehlen is a student in the Cyber & Innovation Policy Institute (CIPI) Gravely program at the U.S. Naval War College. She is an active-duty judge advocate in the U.S. Navy and, most recently, the legal advisor to Special Operations Command, Pacific. Her expertise in national security law ranges from counter-terrorism to information operations. She is a graduate of Princeton University and Whittier College School of Law.

About IPA

IPA is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the role of information activities, such as influence and cognitive security, within the national security sector and helping to bridge the divide between operations and research. Its goal is to increase interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars and practitioners and policymakers with an interest in this domain.

For more information, please contact us at [email protected].

Or, connect directly with The Cognitive Crucible podcast host, John Bicknell, on LinkedIn.