Naval Postgraduate School
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BORN OR BUILT? EXPLORING THE ORIGINS OF GRIT AMONG U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY MIDSHIPMEN
No full textThis capstone explores whether grit—defined as passion and perseverance toward long-term goals—is inherent or can be developed through the Naval Academy experience. Using data from the Hogan Personality Component Single-Items Inventory, the Grit-S assessment, and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, this study examines the relationship between personality traits, resilience, grit, and aptitude among Midshipmen. Findings reveal that while individual traits contribute modestly, structured environments like the Naval Academy play a role in shaping these attributes. The research offers actionable insights for leadership development, identifying key personality traits that can be cultivated to better prepare future military leaders for the demands of combat and command.Distribution Statement A. Approved for public release: Distribution is unlimited.Outstanding ThesisCaptain, United States Marine CorpsCaptain, United States Marine CorpsCaptain, United States Marine Corp
Faces of NPS: Vice Adm. Timothy J. White, USN (Ret)
Full text linkFaces of NPS features interviews spotlighting the students, faculty, staff and alumni of our Nation's premier defense education and research institution
FROM EARTH TO ORBIT: THE STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS OF U.S. AND CHINESE SPACE LAUNCH COMPETITION
No full textThe competition between the U.S. and China in space represents a critical dimension of their strategic rivalry. This thesis examines the comparative capabilities of both nations’ space launch industries in terms of technological advancements, economic sustainability, lift capacity, and future trajectory. It explores the implications of these capabilities for future U.S.–Chinese space power dynamics and evaluates policy options for the United States to maintain and increase its strategic advantages. The research highlights how space launch serves as a key enabler of military, civil, and commercial space activities, influencing broader geopolitical competition. Using a comparative case study approach, this thesis assesses government policies, funding sources, infrastructure, and individual companies and state enterprises comprising each nation’s space launch sector. The findings in this thesis point towards the U.S. having a much more robust, healthy, and capable launch industry compared to the People’s Republic of China. This provides opportunities for U.S. advantage over China when competing in the space domain—to include the military, civil, and commercial sectors. This thesis concludes with policy recommendations to expand the U.S. competitive advantage in space: place economic sanctions on Chinese commercial launchers, sunset SLS in favor of commercial options, and explore launch options for a U.S. military pLEO non-kinetic counterspace architecture.Distribution Statement A. Approved for public release: Distribution is unlimited.Outstanding ThesisCaptain, United States Marine Corp
HALLUCINATION OR FACT: PERCEIVED VERACITY OF LARGE LANGUAGE MODELS
No full textThe rapid advancement of large language models (LLMs) like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Anthropic’s Claude has positioned them as powerful tools for information synthesis, decision support, and natural language processing in both commercial and defense applications. Despite their fluency and coherence, LLMs are susceptible to generating hallucinations and exhibit high confidence even when uncertain. This research employs a multi-model experimental design to evaluate the reliability and uncertainty expression of these LLMs. Through 50 controlled prompt comparisons, this study measures self-reported confidence levels, entropy, entailment, neutrality, contradiction, and explicit expressions of uncertainty. A natural language inference (NLI), DeBERTa-v2 (MNLI fine-tuned), is used to assess semantic relationships across model responses. This analysis examines how frequently each model explicitly admits uncertainty when faced with ambiguous or unverifiable prompts. Findings reveal distinct behavioral patterns across the three models with substantial implications in military applications, where misrepresentation can distort intelligence assessments, policy recommendations, and strategic planning. This research underscores the necessity for robust verification mechanisms to mitigate hallucinations and overconfidence. While LLMs hold promise as supervised decision-support tools, they are not yet suitable for autonomous deployment in military application.Distribution Statement A. Approved for public release: Distribution is unlimited.Lieutenant, United States Nav
IMPROVING THERMAL PERFORMANCE OF DIRECT BAND GAP POWER DEVICES THROUGH OPTICAL EMISSION EXTRACTION
No full textPower devices are the key technology for controlling energy in computers, electric vehicles, and any object powered by electricity. Electronic warfare systems, directed energy weapons, and electric ships require both energy efficient and highly reliable power devices. The recent use of compound semiconductors, such as Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Gallium Nitride (GaN), in power devices reduces heat from electron scattering, as compared to Silicon devices, by one to two orders of magnitude. To further improve energy efficiency, this work investigates device cooling via extraction of internal light emission due to radiative carrier recombination, thereby removing this optical energy before it becomes heat. With reduced operating temperatures, devices can be built smaller and will have increased reliability. Results show that GaN power device temperatures can be reduced up to seven degrees Celsius through light extraction, which should extend device lifetimes up to 40%. Methodologies for optimizing light extraction in these devices are further explored.Distribution Statement A. Approved for public release: Distribution is unlimited.Commander, United States Nav
Naval Postgraduate School Commencement Ceremony / Class of June 2025
No full textString Quarter:Date of Commencement ceremony: June 18, 202
Guiding the Development of Simulation Conceptual Models for the US Marine Corps
No full textNPS NRP Executive SummaryProblem Statement: Simulation conceptual model (SCM) documentation provides modeling and simulation (M&S) practitioners with an implementation-independent description of the purpose, scope, technical approach, and design of a simulation. It should be developed before software design and implementation, but may be reverse-engineered from an existing simulation. Surprisingly, SCM documentation is woefully lacking across the DoD, and existing SCM documentation vastly differs in form, content, and levels of detail. Methods: The research team examined literature on simulation conceptual modeling and documentation to identify existing methods, standards, and best practices that have been employed. From the literature, the team synthesized and analyzed various methods for documenting SCMs, focusing on those that may be most effective at conveying necessary SCM information for different groups within USMC simulation domains. Results: The team discovered inconsistent and vague use of terms throughout the literature, and therefore developed key definitions necessary for unifying discussion, and clarifying the distinction between the SCM development process and documenting the SCM. The project then focused on the critical and often neglected task of documenting the SCM, distilling useful SCM documentation methods from the literature. A task was added to explore different intended audiences and purposes for SCM documentation and relevant content considerations. Conclusions: SCM documentation is a critical resource for various communities and purposes. Further work is needed in the development of guidance for USMC SCM documentation, and possible standardization of SCM documentation methods, to meet the needs of a variety of groups within the USMC. Recommendations: (1) further research into SCM documentation requirements from the perspective of different documentation users; (2) revive Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization (SISO) standardization efforts focused on SCM process and SCM documentation form and content; (3) consider curriculum enhancements for the NPS MOVES curriculum pertaining to simulation conceptual modeling and documentation for military simulation professionals.Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.This research is supported by funding from the Naval Postgraduate School, Naval Research Program (PE0605853N/2098). https://nps.edu/nrpChief of Naval Operations (CNO)Marine Corps Systems Command (MARCORSYSCOM
EXPLORING SLEEP AND MOOD IN US NAVY OFFICERS AT SURFACE WARFARE SCHOOLS COMMAND
No full text“Constitution, Mission, Service, Ship, Shipmate, Self” is a hierarchy, described by Colonel Paul Roush, USMC (ret.) in his essay “Constitutional Ethics,” ingrained in Navy Sailors; it is significant to note that each layer of the hierarchy depends on everything below it. ‘Self’ includes the overall well-being of a Navy Sailor and underpins the other five layers. Mental health is a large issue for the U.S. Navy, and sleep plays a major role in this matter. If mental health is not addressed adequately, it can be extremely detrimental to the quality of life of Navy Sailors and to the operational effectiveness of the Navy. In this study, we track the sleep and the well-being of Surface Warfare Officers and use descriptive and inferential statistics to determine sleep patterns and how sleep affects overall health and well-being. These results reveal that female Sailors and younger Sailors are more vulnerable to experiencing sleep disturbances and symptoms of mental health issues.Distribution Statement A. Approved for public release: Distribution is unlimited.Ensign, United States NavyDefense Suicide Prevention Office, Michael DiNicolantoni
COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF SURFACE-TO-AIR-MISSILES FOR GUIDED MISSILE DESTROYER LOADOUT
No full textThis thesis explores the tradeoffs in risk and costs for missile loadouts on Arleigh Burke–class destroyers with an eye towards firing doctrines. With China being the main threat in the Indo-Pacific, it is important to have a balanced approach to missile defense that is cost-beneficial and capable of protecting the ship and its crew from inbound Chinese missile threats. We focus on two missile doctrines and the estimated costs for an Arleigh Burke–class destroyer, crew, and the missiles shot. The two main missile-firing doctrines used for naval air missile defense are shoot-look-shoot and shoot-shoot-look-shoot. Our work demonstrates that a 60% SM-2 and 40% SM-6 ratio is the best loadout for a 96-cell VLS onboard a Flight I DDG with 50% capacity allocated for self-defense missiles. The SM-2 shoot-shoot-look-shoot firing doctrine has a lower net present value than the shoot-look-shoot SM-6 firing doctrine. This shows that the SM-2 missile doctrine increases the probability of survival, which lowers the risk to the ship and should be the preferred method between the two doctrines. This research recommends a 60% SM-2 and 40% SM-6 loadout plan. It also prioritizes SM-6 missiles with a shoot-shoot-look-shoot missile-firing doctrine for hypersonic missile threats. For a supersonic missile threat, an SM-2 with a shoot-shoot-look-shoot missile-firing doctrine should be used, and for subsonic missile threats, an SM-2 with a shoot-look-shoot missile-firing doctrine should be used.Distribution Statement A. Approved for public release: Distribution is unlimited.Lieutenant, United States Nav