Director of the Naval History and Heritage Command, and Curator of the U.S. Navy, retired Rear Adm. Samuel J. Cox reaches for a copy of one of his favorite books from the shelves of the Dudley Knox Library's intelligence collection during a tour of the facility, April 22. A career intelligence officer during his 37 years of active duty, Cox was on campus as a guest lecturer for the Center for Civil-Military Relations (CCMR).

As the lead investigator on the 2010 sinking of the South Korean Pohang Class ROKS Cheonan, Cox provided an insider's view to students currently studying responses to maritime terrorism. The course offering is part of the Expanded International Education and Training, and Combating Terrorism Fellowship Program course entitled Responses to Maritime Terrorism, offered through CCMR.

"It was up to me and my team to use forensic processes and provide evidence to who sunk the Cheonan. I was supposed to stay neutral and objective regardless of how obvious the blame could be directed towards North Korean leadership," said Cox.

After weeks of gathering evidence and scouring the bottom of the Yellow Sea for fragments of a device that could have caused such damage, Cox and his team discovered that it was indeed a North Korean mini-sub that had fired the torpedo that sunk the Cheonan, killing 46 crew members.

While on campus, Cox also took time to listen to student briefs at NPS' Littoral Operations Center Wargame Planning and Innovation Workshop. And later, while walking along Root Hall's breezeway examining the NPS Centennial History, Cox reflected on the university's role in Navy education, and in national security at large.

"I think that the sharing of ideas, the common bond and the camaraderie developed at NPS between each of our officer's services, and our international partners, spreads beyond the person learning here. Had I known of NPS in previous years, I would have come away with a different view of the institution," said Cox.