Intelligence Essay Contest Award Winners

The USNI Proceedings editorial board has selected the winners of this year’s Intelligence Essay contest which NIP co-sponsors. I think you’ll enjoy reading CDR (ret) MIke Dahm’s first place entry on A Design for Maintaining Maritime Information Superiority. Eric Pederson and Commander Chris Nelson have some interesting observations and recommendations on what Intelligence Officers should know about “Blue” forces. And the third place winner’s article by, LCDR James Landreth, focuses on Gray Zone style warfare off our coasts.

NIP had 30 entries this year and the vast majority were well written with interesting subjects. I’ve attached the top 8 articles that our NIP review team recommended and from which USNI selected the three winners. We’ll be recognizing the winners at our fall luncheon on 11 April.

1. NIEC #12-19 “A Design for Maintaining Maritime Information Superiority 2.0”
2. NIEC #28-19 “The Gathering Storm: A Charge to Fight the Information War”
3. NIEC #5-19 “Naval Intelligence and Information Warfare in the Gray Zone” (TIE for Third)
3. NIEC #26-19 “Strategic Prioritization for the Naval Information Warfare Community: The Israeli Model” (TIE for Third)
5. NIEC #10-19 “Too Much Information: Conquering Open Source Intelligence Would Help Drive the CNO’s Strategy”
6. NIEC #21-19 “Taking Charge of the Miracle: Actively Guiding Expectations into Outcomes”
7. NIEC #16-19 “Uncommon Knowledge: Naval Intelligence Doesn’t Know Its Own Navy––Here’s How to Fix It"
8. NIEC #19-19 “Naval Cyber Security: The Desperate Necessity of Enhanced Information Dominance and Cyber Security for a New Era of Warfare”


FIRST PRIZE: $5,000 + 1-year USNI Membership
“A Design for Maintaining Maritime Information Superiority 2.0” (NIEC #12-19)
By Commander J. Michael Dahm, USN (Ret.)

SECOND PRIZE: $2,500 ($1,250 each) + 1-year USNI Membership
“Uncommon Knowledge: Naval Intelligence Doesn’t Know Its Own Navy—Here’s How to Fix It” (NIEC #16-19)
By Commander Christopher Nelson, USN, and Eric Pedersen


THIRD PRIZE: $1,500 + 1-year USNI Membership
“Naval Intelligence and Information Warfare in the Gray Zone” (NIEC #5-19)
By Lieutenant Commander James Landreth, USN