SANDS Celebrates a Decade of Strategic Deterrence Education Published June 10, 2025 By Dr. Melvin G. Deaile This past May, the tenth class to complete the School of Advanced Nuclear Deterrence Studies (SANDS) concentration curriculum walked across the stage at Air University’s Air Command and Staff College. This milestone class represented a decade of SANDS fulfilling the vision of a school that would produce future leaders in the art and science of strategic deterrence. The class make-up is representative of the SANDS classes that preceded it. SANDS-10 graduated nine Air Force officers, one Army officer, one Navy officer, one civilian, and one international officer from the Netherlands. More importantly, of the 13 students in the class, 8 graduates walked away that day with a writing award for the dedicated and focused research on issues related to maintaining the US deterrent posture in an unprecedented geopolitical environment. A decade after its inception, SANDS is still fulfilling the vision cast years ago. Brief History of SANDS In 2015, Lt General Wilson, then Air Force Global Strike Commander, conceived of a school where Air Force officers, sister service officers, civilians, and, eventually, international officers would come to learn about strategic deterrence, nuclear strategy and operations, and nuclear stockpile management to become the deterrence experts on combatant command staffs. Deterrence remains the nation's top priority, but a school focused on teaching ‘the way of deterrence’ remained elusive until the advent of SANDS. In the summer of 2015, the first six Air Force officers showed up at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico to begin their SANDS education. For the next three years, Kirtland would host the SANDS program due to its proximity to nuclear labs, nuclear stockpile management, and modernization efforts. The initial classes took classes from visiting Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) visiting professors, took online courses from AFIT, and finished Air Command and Staff College’s On-line Master Program to receive Joint Professional Military Education Level 1 credit. Various trips within the United States as well as international trips reinforced classroom instruction. In 2017, General Rand, the first four-star Commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, felt the need, based on student feedback, to change the location of SANDS. He reached out to Lt Gen Kwast, Air University Commander and President, and Dr Jim Forsyth, Dean of Air Command and Staff College (ACSC), for options on integrating the SANDS program into the ACSC curriculum. ACSC integration offered a few benefits over the Kirtland location. First, ACSC was an accredited JPME granting institution reducing the need for students to take on-line courses. Because of the various schools around the Academic Circle at Air University, SANDS students would have more opportunities to hear from senior leaders across the force. Finally, the SANDS students would have a dedicated faculty to work with the entire year, vice visiting professors, to enhance their learning experience and thesis advising. After viewing the SANDS transition options, General Rand approved the move with the fourth SANDS class slated to begin in 2018 at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. A memorandum of agreement was signed between Air Education and Training Command (AETC) and Air Force Global Strike Command, where AFGSC would provide funding for the SANDS program while AETC would provide a dedicated faculty team to execute the program. The SANDS faculty would consist of three civilian professors with backgrounds in deterrence, civil-military relations, international relations and nuclear operations. Two military instructors would round out the five-person faculty team. A military deputy, typically a graduated squadron commander and a Weapons School graduate, would be the deputy of the program. This position is now a SDE credited position where the SDE select serves two years as the SANDS Deputy with a follow-on to Air War College. Additionally, one SANDS graduate stays an extra year after graduation to serve as a military instructor. This position is an IDE credited position. Besides their commitment to the SANDS program, SANDS faculty also teach outside the program to spread their vast experience amongst the larger ACSC population. Overview of the SANDS Program Each SANDS class begins with selection. Air Force students are Development Team (DT) selected; there is no application for SANDS other than the IDE process. A typical SANDS class has representation from the missile community, the bomber community, maintenance, force protection, and cyber. Each year Air Force Personnel Command holds a board to select an appropriate civilian to attend SANDS. Air Force Global Strike works with sister service representatives and international partners to fill out the remainder of the class. Candidates are identified about a year prior to attendance. After acceptance, each SANDS selectee must attend the Nuclear 300, Advanced Nuclear Concept Class, offered by AFIT’s School of Strategic Studies at Kirtland AFB. This course provides students with a firm understanding of the physics involved in nuclear weapons, an introduction into stockpile issues, and an overview of the major policy issues being worked on in the nuclear enterprise. The SANDS students begin in July and take 70 percent of the ACSC core curriculum. The initial classes focus on classic military thought, which lay the foundation for examining theory and operations throughout the year. Additionally, students take a core class on Leadership and the Profession Arms, which helps them understand their role as officers. Leadership classes also focus on facing ethical challenges, building emotional intelligence, and leading in a crisis. One of the distinctive aspects of SANDS is the focus on deterrence. In the second quarter, in addition to the core class on National Security and International Relations, SANDS students take a focused course on deterrence. The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the origins and evolution of modern deterrence theory, strategy, and policy. It provides a foundational basis in both classical and conventional deterrence theory and practice before moving to a detailed examination of modern rational deterrence theory and its various extensions, implications, and alternatives. The course then turns to an investigation of the impact of nuclear weapons on the strategies of the various states that possess them, from both a theoretical perspective and an applied one. The first SANDS focused course concludes by evaluating the historical record to determine whether and to what extent nuclear weapons shaped the practice of statecraft historically and whether this is likely to continue. In the third quarter, SANDS students take the second focused deterrence class coupled with a class on the challenges of leading and commanding. This course, Contemporary Deterrence, introduces students to the practice of deterrence in the modern strategic environment. The course begins with a study of nuclear proliferation, counterproliferation and the arguments for and against the existence and use of nuclear weapons. The second half of the course covers nuclear strategic planning, including an introduction to the practice of integrated deterrence and assurance. As a result of the course, students gain mastery over the practical application of deterrence concepts and can articulately and persuasively advocate for the U.S. nuclear enterprise. Curriculum is constantly updated as new scholarship emerge. Whether it is academic work on behavioral economics that challenges the rational calculus assumptions of deterrence theory or the need for a new model that address the multi-polar nuclear world that exists today. The SANDS year concludes with a course focused on operational and campaign planning. Under General Cotton, STRATCOM has funded the “Power Wargame” at Maxwell AFB, which is a deterrence and nuclear focused wargame. This provides SANDS students with an opportunity to merge their deterrence education with operational planning in a realistic scenario. Throughout the year, SANDS students take two electives. The fall elective focuses on elements that make nuclear strategies, campaigns, contingency plans, and operations unique when compared to their conventional equivalents. Furthermore, this course explores nuclear weapons effects and the interplay between civilian leadership and the military during the development of targeting guidance and employment. The spring semester elective is an independent research course where SANDS students conduct research and write their theses. The research students produce gets briefed to Air Force senior leaders the last week of school. Some SANDS students have gone on to present their research at conferences and a number of students have published this research as articles in academic journals or with Air University Press. Reinforcing Learning SANDS students do not just hold seminars and discussions all year long; they get out of the classroom to see the theory and concepts applied in the nuclear enterprise. SANDS traditionally visits STRATCOM Headquarters so that students understand how the functional command translates strategic guidance into operational plans. At Air Force Global Strike Command, SANDS attendees understand current modernization efforts, and how the command is advocating for more systems to ensure America’s deterrence remains capable. Both of these trips are conducted early in the academic year to help provide the students ideas about possible research topics. A major advantage of SANDS is the interactions students get with senior leaders to understand the thoughts and ideas that go into formulating a vision for these deterrence leading organizations. SANDS provides students the opportunity to visit various Department of Energy sites to understand stockpile management. These range from the Nevada National Security Site in Las Vegas, Nevada to the Y-12 plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Since there is typically a Navy submarine officer in each class, SANDS takes a trip to Kings Bay, Georgia each class year to comprehend how the Navy operates its leg of the strategic triad. The final trip of the year, and the most anticipated, is the trip to Europe, which typically covers three countries in 9-10 days. The trip beings with a visit to the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense to discuss nuclear policy and modernization efforts with British government. From there the trips can vary, but all trips usually involve a visit to NATO and SHAPE Headquarters, which provides an allied perspective on America’s deterrence posture as well as insight into the efforts of NATO nuclear policy experts. In the past, students have traveled to EUCOM Headquarters to get insight into efforts to contain the Ukraine-Russia crisis. As part of the trip, students will usually visit a Dual Capable Aircraft site to understand the conduct of host nation aircraft. When an international officer is in class, every effort is made to visit that student’s home country and interact with his/her government’s defense department. In the past, SANDS has visited the French Ministry of Armed Forces and its War College. This past year, SANDS students were able to interact with the general officer in charge of the Plans and Policy at the Netherlands Ministry of Defense. These engagements and trips allow students to see theoretical concepts explored in class put into practice at home and abroad. Impact of SANDS Graduates Since its inception, SANDS has graduated eighty-two students, which includes international officers from England, France, and the Netherlands. Included in the total number is the representation from Joint services as well, which is eight Navy submarine officers and ten Army officers. Since coming to Maxwell, eleven SANDS graduates have been accepted into the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies (SAASS), and one of the SANDS/SAASS graduates completed a PhD this summer. SANDS graduates have served on the staffs of EUCOM, INDOPACOM, STRATCOM, SPACECOM, AFGSC, HAF, and in the Pentagon’s National Military Command Center. In addition, several SANDS graduates have gone on to command at the squadron level. Recognition and tracking of SANDS graduates initially was done by spread sheet and email. While the ‘SANDS Patch’ represents a significant accomplishment for a year’s worth of hard work, SANDS graduates now receive a Special Experience Identifier (SEI) that aids in tacking SANDS graduates as well as making sure promotion boards understand the candidate’s accomplishments. Going Forward As SANDS enters its next decade of educating the future deterrence leaders of tomorrow, keeping the curriculum relevant and updated to the changing geopolitical environment will remain a challenge. There are several topics that future students will need to grapple with in the current environment. These include conventional-nuclear integration, the expiration of New START, deployment of Golden Dome and strategic stability, as well as right sizing the US nuclear stockpile for multiple adversaries. As students enter future classes, they will see the biggest onboarding of new nuclear weapon systems as all three legs of the triad will see new capability in the coming decade. SANDS is constantly reaching out and looking for more allies and partners to attend the course as countering Russia aggression and Chinese influence will require a multi-national effort. Despite these challenges, SANDS persists in fulfilling the original vision of equipping mid-career officers with the education, experience, and knowledge necessary to be the deterrence experts on command and functional staffs throughout the military. Dr. Melvin G. Deaile is the Director of the SANDS program and an Associate Professor at ACSC. A retired US Air Force colonel, he flew the B-52 Stratofortress and the B-2 Spirit and combat operations as part of Operations Desert Storm and Enduring Freedom, including a record-setting 44.3-hour combat mission. He holds a doctorate in American history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is the author of Always at War and Cold War Alabama.