Marine Corps War College Team are Finalists at Army War College Strategy Competition

QUANTICO, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES

04.28.2026

Story by Laurel Thoreson 

U.S. Marine Corps Training and Education Command     

MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. – A team from Marine Corps War College earned a second-place finish at the U.S. Army War College’s 5th Annual Strategy Competition held in Carlisle, Pa.

Over three days, 23 teams from across the academic and defense communities competed to develop strategic solutions to a contemporary global security challenge. This year’s competition focused on counterterrorism efforts in sub-Saharan Africa.

Marine Corps War College fielded two student teams. One of the teams advanced to the final round and briefed their strategy to a panel of eight judges, ultimately placing second behind the host U.S. Army War College team. This marked the first year Marine Corps War College participated in the annual competition.

Marine Corps War College Teams: Team 1:

• Lt. Col. Joshua Daleiden, U.S. Marine Corps
• Lt. Col. Eric Hoffman, U.S. Marine Corps
• Lt. Col. Joshua Conners, U.S. Marine Corps
• Sam Burke
• Lt. Col. Merritt Mitchell, U.S. Marine Corps

Team 2:

• Cmdr. James Toomy, U.S. Navy
• Lt. Col. Jason Woodly, U.S. Marine Corps
• Lt. Col. Jordan Schultz, U.S. Marine Corps
• Lt. Col. Oeyvind Berg, Norway
• Maj. Holger Lehman, Germany

For more information about the Marine Corps War College, visit http://www.usmcu.edu/.

• Date Taken: 04.28.2026
• Date Posted: 05.01.2026 09:09
• Story ID: 563759
• Location: QUANTICO, VIRGINIA, US