Foundations of National Security Leadership
Course Overview
Foundations of National Security Leadership (FNSL) educates your highest potential mid-career operational leaders who are poised to assume advisory, coordination, or command responsibilities. The course enhances participants’ ability to think critically, act deliberately, advise, and lead collaboratively in volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environments. By blending theory and practice, the course sharpens participants’ grasp of how strategy moves—enabling them to execute operations fully aligned with their organizations’ and senior leaders’ intent.
FNSL blends theory and practice to prepare participants for interagency coordination, strategic problem-solving, and real-time policy advising.
Course Curriculum
During the one-week course, participants attend lectures by leading scholars and senior practitioners, visit international embassies and other destinations, and participate in snap exercises that simulate national security crises under time constraints. Throughout the course, participants are provided intensive mentoring and peer-learning opportunities.
September 2025 Foundations of National Security Leadership
| Breakfast at leisure | |
| Topic | Institutional Contexts |
| Location | Lindner Family Commons (Room 602) |
| 0800-0900 | Registration |
| 0900-1000 | Introductions and Course Overview |
| 1030-1200 | Strategic Advising: Leadership at the Peak LTG (Ret.) Rick Waddell |
| 1200-1400 | Mentoring Lunch at DACOR Bacon House 1801 F Street NW, Washington, DC |
| 1400-1530 | Civil-Military Relations Mara Karlin, JHU-SAIS |
| 1545-1700 | Snap Exercise: Strategic Advising LTG (Ret.) Rick Waddell; Celestino Perez, U.S. Army War College |
| Breakfast at leisure | |
| Topic | Analytical and Leadership Skills |
| Location | Lindner Family Commons (Room 602) |
| 0845-0900 | Recap and Preview of Day |
| 0900-1030 | The National Security Council and the Interagency Process LTG (Ret.) Rick Waddell |
| 1100-1230 | Critical Thinking About Human Behavior Celestino Perez, U.S. Army War College |
| 1230-1330 | Lunch |
| 1330-1500 | Snap Exercise: Critical Thinking Case Study LTG (Ret.) Rick Waddell; Celestino Perez, U.S. Army War College |
| 1530-1700 | Team Leadership LTG (Ret.) Rick Waddell |
| Breakfast at leisure | |
| Topic | Site Visits to Capitol Hill and Embassies |
| Location | Lindner Family Commons (Room 602) |
| 0830-0900 | Recap and Preview of Day |
| 0900-1000 | Economic & Domestic Priorities for the 119th Congress Bharat Ramamurti & Matt Stoller, American Econ. Liberties Project |
| 1015-1115 | TRAVEL TO U.S. CAPITOL -- Room H-139 |
| 1130-1300 | Remarks by Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE); Working Lunch: Discussion on Congress and Foreign Policy James Hart, Office of Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO); Jason Steinbaum, American University |
| 1315-1400 | TRAVEL TO EMBASSIES |
| 1400-1700 | Embassy Visits |
| Breakfast at leisure | |
| Topic | Strategic Assessment |
| Location | Lindner Family Commons (Room 602) |
| 0845-0900 | Recap and Preview of Day |
| 0900-1030 | Systems Thinking and Complexity Celestino Perez, U.S. Army War College |
| 1100-1230 | Strategic Assessment Celestino Perez, U.S. Army War College |
| 1230-1400 | Working Lunch: Strategic Assessment Exercise Celestino Perez, U.S. Army War College; Matthew Levinger, GWU |
| 1430-1630 | Strategic Narrative: Forging a Shared Story Matthew Levinger, GWU |
| 1700-1900 | Happy Hour Conversation: Navigating Alliance Politics Facilitator: LTC Ralph Peter, NATO Allied Command Transformation |
| Breakfast at leisure | |
| Topic | Coalition Building and Strategy Formulation |
| Location | Lindner Family Commons (Room 602) |
| 0845-0900 | Recap and Preview of Day |
| 0900-1015 | Understanding Conflict and Building Coalitions Matthew Levinger, GWU |
| 1030-1230 | Simulation and Debrief Celestino Perez, U.S. Army War College; Matthew Levinger, GWU |
| 1230-1430 | Mentoring Lunch at DACOR Bacon House: Next Steps 1801 F Street NW, Washington, DC |
| 1430-1530 | Course Hotwash and Certificate Awards Ceremony |
Our latest course agenda, shown above, provides a comprehensive overview of the course. Please note, the agenda above only represents the latest course schedule. Each year, our course agenda evolves to align with changes to the national and global security environment.
Recommended Applicants
Foundations of National Security Leadership is open to military and government personnel at the O-3/4, E-8/9, W-3/4, GS-11/12/13, and equivalent levels for international and private-sector participants.
Participants represent a wide range of U.S. agencies and organizations, including:
- U.S. Army
- U.S. Air Force
- U.S. Navy
- U.S. Marine Corps
- U.S. Central Command
- Defense Threat Reduction Agency
- National Security Agency
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Course Fee
The course fee is $4,500 and includes tuition, curricular materials, and most meals.
Course Dates
The Foundations of National Security Leadership is offered once each year in September. For specific course dates, please visit our Apply Today page.