Carlton Haelig is a Fellow in the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). His research and expertise include defense strategy, force design and employment, and military innovation.
Prior to CNAS, Haelig was a postdoctoral fellow with the America in the World Consortium at the Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas and the Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. He has held prior research and analysis positions at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law, the RAND Corporation, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense Historical Office.
Haelig holds a PhD in security studies from Princeton University where he directed the Strategic Education Initiative at Princeton’s Center for International Security Studies. He also completed an MA in public affairs at Princeton, an MA in international security at George Mason University, and a BA in political science and history at Rutgers University.
The war with Iran has taken a tremendous toll on the American military’s munitions stockpile. Over half its inventory of high-end missile interceptors has been expended during the conflict, putting the Joint Force in a position where it is expending munitions faster than it can replace them while lacking magazine depth for peer deterrence.
With the continued growth of China’s nuclear arsenal, the United States will likely face two nuclear peer threats in the coming years. To defend its interests at home and abroad, the United States must consider how to deter and compete with two nuclear peers simultaneously.
In addition to his defense policy research at CNAS, Haelig's book project offers a new assessment of how states balance security commitments and military capabilities. American national security during the Cold War provides the familiar setting in which The Doctrine Gap explores the practice of national security strategy, the creation of military power, and the tradeoffs, compromises, and ingenuity required to bring them together.
For policy inquiries, expert commentary, or speaking engagements, connect directly through his institutional CNAS Expert Profile or professional networks: