U.S. Naval War College cohort briefs U.S. Southern Command, Panamanian partners at PANAMAX 26
Students in the U.S. Naval War College’s (NWC) Maritime Advanced Warfighting School (MAWS) provided U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), a report on their regional capstone project on-site during the annual PANAMAX exercise in the Republic of Panama on Aug. 12, 2026.
Donovan has tasked the MAWS cohort with developing a joint, combined and interagency defense of identified strategic terrain in the region, and PANAMAX 26 offered an opportunity for the students to provide an update to the commander alongside Panamanian Minister of Public Security Frank Alexis Ábrego.
Led by military faculty member Cmdr. Robert Holt, U.S. Navy, the MAWS group will provide the general a final outbrief in early September before graduating from the NWC program on Sept. 10. The SOUTHCOM-focused project is one of two being executed by MAWS students, with another cohort working on a project focused on the Pacific.
“With the support of the experts and practitioners on our faculty, the students at the U.S. Naval War College apply the doctrine and warfighting principles they study here to building workable solutions and effective courses of action forcurrentdecision makers at the highest levels of our military,” said NWC President Rear Adm. Darryl Walker. “The warfighters enrolled at our institution aren't just thinking through historical case studies or hypothetical scenarios – they're also serving as a resource for fleet and combatant commanders grappling with real-world, real-time challenges of the highest priority. The plans our MAWS cohort is developing today may very well be implemented tomorrow.”
PANAMAX 2026 was a Republic of Panama-hosted, SOUTHCOM-sponsored training exercise that improved interoperability and strengthen collective capacity to conduct complex multinational and all-domain operations to ensure free flow of commerce through the Panama Canal and maintain security and stability in the region.
In addition to the U.S. and Panama, forces from Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Netherlands, Paraguay, Peru and the United Kingdom participated in PANAMAX 26.
During their Aug. 12 brief, the MAWS students in attendance provided a mission analysis and Phase 0 recommendations to increase security at the location in question, as well as potential adversary courses of action and possible deterrent responses to those actions.
“This is a new problem to look at for us, and a complex threat to address,” said U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Clay Groover, one of the 20 students in the cohort and one of three to travel to Panama with MAWS Director Capt. Blake Tornga, along with Cmdr. Andrew Tye and Lt. Cmdr. Brian Hagerty. “We’ve had to approach this problem set with the mindset that we’re supporting a combatant commander and we need to provide him COCOM-level decision space. This is a real issue that the commander wants us to look at, analyze and help his team with.”
Led by Tornga, MAWS is an in-resident program completed in conjunction with the College of Naval Command and Staff (CNCS) curriculum. The course develops strategic and operational leaders with the skills required to plan, execute, and assess combined, joint, and naval operations.
Students in the program are awarded additional credit on top of the CNCS master’s degree in Defense and Strategic Studies and Joint Professional Military Education Phase I certification. U.S. Navy students receive an Additional Qualification Designation (AQD), while U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Air Force officers receive AQDs similar to other advanced warfighting schools across the joint force.
Established in 1884, NWC informs today’s decision-makers and educates tomorrow’s leaders by providing educational experiences and learning opportunities that develop their ability to hedge aggressively, innovate continuously, delegate confidently, and command with clarity within complex battlespaces.
