by Jonathan Movroydis
Cdr. Jeffrey Vanak, representing the US Navy, is a National Security Affairs Fellow (NSAF) for the academic year 2020–21 at the Hoover Institution.
In this interview, Vanak discusses his career as an intelligence officer, his work developing concepts in “human machine teaming” for the navy, and America’s interests in the Indo-Pacific Region.
Why did you decide to join the US Navy?
Growing up, I always wanted to be in the military. I looked up to my dad, who was a helicopter pilot in the Coast Guard for twenty-plus years. I actually wanted to fly myself, but it turned out that I am color blind, something I didn’t find out until I was eighteen years old taking a medical exam to get into the Naval Academy. While I always knew I wanted to join the military, the navy was not necessarily at the top of my list. However, after visiting the Naval Academy as part of a football recruiting trip, I knew it was the place for me. I was lucky enough to play defensive line for the academy and have enjoyed every moment of my career as a naval intelligence officer.
Could you tell us about your educational background?
Education was always a priority growing up. At the Naval Academy I majored in economics. Later, I attended the Naval War College, where I received my master’s in national security studies and was named the Honor Graduate. While at the War College, I also became an operational planner as a part of a program called MAWS [the Maritime Advanced Warfighting School], which was a great experience. One of the reasons why I applied to the Hoover fellowship is because I wanted to expand my education beyond just the military parameters. It’s been great to be at Hoover and Stanford to see the other side in the civilian world.
What is the nature of your work as an intelligence officer?
It’s a customer-service business. Our job is to inform the operators, whether it be on ships, aircraft, or submarines, about the threats in the maritime environment. These threats could be adversary navies, missile forces, airplanes, et cetera. As intelligence people, we ensure that these operators are best informed as to our adversaries’ capabilities and assessed future actions.
Where have you been deployed?
I have deployed to the Middle East a couple of times. During my first deployment, I was attached to VAQ-140, which was an electronic attack squadron in Whidbey Island, Washington. We deployed onboard the USS Eisenhower to the Middle East. When we arrived in the Middle East, our squadron conducted split-site operations, with half of the squadron operating in Al Asad, Iraq, and the other half on board the carrier.
My subsequent deployments have all been in support of special operations. I deployed to Afghanistan twice with special operations units, once in Bagram, and the other time in Jalalabad, which is farther east. My last deployment was to East Africa, which was a great experience. Technically I also deployed to London, England, serving as the liaison officer to the United Kingdom director of special forces. But if I tell anybody that was an actual deployment, they’ll laugh in my face. The London deployment was just one of those great opportunities that the military provides.
What will be your research focus during your fellowship at the Hoover Institution?
During the last three years, I had the opportunity and pleasure of working at the Pacific Fleet headquarters in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, which was a great learning experience. I had the chance to work with some really smart intelligence officers and operators there, and acquired knowledge about the growing threat of China and the importance of the Indo-Pacific to American interests. At Hoover, I have the opportunity to look deeper at some of these issues. That’s really where I want to prioritize my work. It just so happens that the Indo-Pacific is the focus of the military and especially the navy right now. My research thus aligns pretty well. In September, I wrote an article for the Washington Times about Chinese anti-ship ballistic missile tests in the South China Sea. I am currently writing a paper on war gaming.
What is the US interest in the Indo-Pacific region?
A large proportion of global trade runs through the Indo-Pacific region. Most resources imported into the United States are delivered through maritime routes including the South China Sea, the Strait of Malacca, the Indian Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean. Keeping those routes free and open is crucial to America’s economic and security interests. China also has an ability to negatively impact that space if we don’t effectively counter their ambitions in places like the South China Sea. It’s imperative that we work with our allies and partners to ensure that the peace in the region that we’ve established over the last eighty years is able to continue. This peace benefits not only the United States but the rest of the world in being able to trade and work with people in the region.
Can you talk about your work for the chief of naval operations?
I worked in the Chief of Naval Operations [CNO] Intelligence Plot. It’s an intel organization based at the Pentagon that provides strategic-level intelligence to the naval chief of operations and other navy leadership, so that they’re well informed to make long-term decisions on the future direction of the navy.
I also worked for the CNO Strategic Studies Group [SSG] in Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in the 1980s to develop innovative concepts for countering the Soviets. When the Soviet threat receded, the CNO Strategic Studies Group morphed into an organization that would take on projects of interest to the chief of naval operations. The year I was there, the work involved “human-machine teaming,” with our task to develop concepts for how complex machines could be efficiently and effectively integrated with humans to improve performance in various areas of the navy.
We had six to nine months to try to take on this challenge and develop some concepts. I think the nature of the issues was too big for us to really grasp. However, this experience enabled me to talk with academics and tech industry leaders and better understand the possibilities for the use of different technologies in the navy. I was particularly interested in how artificial intelligence and machine learning could impact our capabilities, as well those of our adversaries, to conduct intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, or ISR. Understanding and applying these tools could also help us gain an advantage in new forms of deception. During this tour, I talked about modernizing deception, and when I left SSG, I carried that work over to my War College studies. The SSG has recently been dissolved, but the navy has started similar organizations.
At Hoover, I have had the chance to speak with officials from the Defense Innovation Unit and experts from Silicon Valley. While there is still much work to be done, it has been great to see the progress the military has made in terms of prioritizing the incorporation of emerging technologies. The relationship between the military and Silicon Valley will be vital for our future national security.
Is there anyone at Hoover who's impacted your research or made you think differently?
The NSAFs recently gathered for a session with Senior Fellow Elizabeth Economy, who is an expert on modern China. After a full day of work and meetings, she was gracious enough to spend two hours with the NSAFs diving into everything from the political dynamics of the Chinese Communist Party to China’s Arctic ambitions to potential US regional policies. Her willingness to have an open dialogue, interests in our viewpoints, and fascinating insights stand out as one of the many highlights of my short time at Hoover.
Is there a defining moment in your career?
No, I don't think there's been any defining moment. When I go to work every morning it’s just another challenge and another day. I wish I could point to one thing and say, “Hey, that's the point I knew I wanted to be an admiral.” The navy is the first and only place I ever wanted to be in my career. I have enjoyed all my tours no matter where I was assigned.
For example, when I went through intel school, I was one of the people that said, “Hey, I'm never going to work at Chief of Naval Operations Intelligence Plot in the Pentagon, because it’s just too close to the flagpole.” It's not someplace that a lot of people want to be, but in hindsight it was one of the greatest learning experiences I ever had. It challenged me as an intel officer and it was very rewarding.
There have been a lot of special moments, and some of those are not necessarily military related. As I mentioned, I was stationed in London for nine months. My wife joined me, and that’s where we had our first son. When I deployed to East Africa, I went to an orphanage and played soccer with the kids who lived there. While not defining for the future of my career, these experiences certainly shaped the person I am today and my outlook on life.
What does leadership mean to you?
Leadership is integral to the work of the navy. Leadership is about convincing people on a team to achieve something that they previously didn’t believe they could do. I’ve had the opportunity to work for a lot of great leaders, and they've made a lasting impact on me. It’s hard to understand leadership by reading a book. You really have to experience leadership and see how it’s impacted you. For me, I have had leaders throughout my career who have been willing to one, get to know me and two, take time out of their days to talk and work with me on my tasks and projects. These experiences certainly made me a better person and leader myself. I think leadership is all about understanding your superiors, subordinates, and peers.
The stronger relationship you can build with your colleagues, the better you will be able to lead them and understand the problems they’re going through, and create an environment that enables them to succeed. Leadership is ultimately about trust. I think some of the best examples of leadership I have seen are when the people in charge have trusted their team members to do the right thing and gotten out of the way. The more power they placed in their team, the better result they got. I will try to emulate this mode of leadership in my future assignments.
