Sea Control 586: What Moral Leadership Looks Like with William Spears

Links: Outsourcing Security at Sea—The Return of Private Maritime-Security Companies and Their Role in Twenty-First-Century Maritime Security, Naval War College Review Irregular Warfare InitiativePieter W.G. Zhao is a PhD Researcher and Junior Lecturer at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, focusing on history and international relations in the maritime domain. He’s also a Nonresident Fellow at the Irregular Warfare Initiative. His doctoral research analyzes the changing dynamics in the 21st-century maritime warfare and security environment from an applied historical perspective, focusing on non-state actors and irregular warfare at sea. He obtained his BA and MA in History from the Erasmus University Rotterdam, followed by a second Master’s degree in International Security studies from Sciences Po, Paris, and the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies in Washington DC.LinkedInBlueSkyContact PageJ. Overton is co-host of the Sea Control podcast and edited the essay collection “Seapower by Other Means: Naval Contributions to National Objectives Beyond Sea Control, Power Projection, and Traditional Service Missions.”

Guest bio: Elaine Helm is communications professional and former journalist who lives and works in the Seattle area. She was the military reporter for the Kitsap Sun and the founder and editor of the pioneering Northwest Navy News site. Links:https://www.linkedin.com/in/elainehelm/

Links1. "What Moral Leadership Looks Like," by William Spears, CIMSEC, July 16, 2025. 2. Stoicism as a Warrior Philosophy: Insights on the Morality of Military Service, by William Spears, Casemate, 2025.3. William Spears website.

Links1. "What Imperial Germany Teaches About China’s Naval Basing Ambitions," by Chuck Ridgway, Proceedings, May 2025.

Links1. Sebastian Bae Twitter.

Links1. Dr Ronald C. Po profile.2. Shaping the Blue Dragon Maritime China in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, by Ronald Po, Liverpool University Press, 2024.3. Dr. Xing Hang on the Zheng regime in Taiwan.4. Dr. Ling-wei Kung  on the Manchu's maritime awareness prior to establishing their capital in Beijing

Ships, Guns and Money: The Logistics of Revolution and Garibaldi’s Campaign of 1860 Garibaldi: Invention of a Hero (Yale University Press, 2007), by Lucy Riall. Enrico Acciai with a more long-term history of Garibaldi's legacy in the terms of war volunteeringMaurizio Isabella providing a good summary of histories of Italy in the nineteenth-centuryDavid Sims with using a "follow the money" approach to Irish nationalism in the same time periodAnd finally some background on the nineteenth-century Mediterranean

The Marine Littoral Regiment's Missing Link

Building Resilient Kill Chains for the Stand in Force

Links1. "Partnering Will Determine the First Days of Conflict in the Western Pacific," by Ben Van Horrick, Proceedings, December 2024.2. "Resolute Dragon: Reassurance, Deterrence, and a Call for Coordination," by Bill Matory and Ben Van Horrick, War on the Rocks, December 6, 2023.