Catherine Lea

Catherine Lea is a research scientist with CNA Strategic Studies where she focuses on naval operations in the Asia Pacific region. She has been assigned to two Navy commands as the CNA field representative. She lived in Japan for three years where she conducted analyses on naval mine warfare and maritime battle-damage assessment. She is conducting analyses on the operational implications of political-military trends in East Asia.

Recent Work: Maritime Asia security issues; Future USMC force posture in Asia; U.S.-Indian security cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region, Korean Peninsula maritime crisis operations, U.S. Navy-Indian Navy partnership; Future U.S. Navy force posture and deployment patterns; Navy operations in an access-constrained environment

Previous Positions: CNA Field Representative to U.S. Fleet Forces Command and Amphibious Group Two.

Education: M.A. in National Security Studies from Georgetown University. B.A. in Political Science and Economics from the University of California at Berkeley

Publications of Interest:

• CNA Maritime Asia Project Workshop One: The Yellow and East China Seas, CNA, DCP-2012-U-001959-Final, May 2012.
• “India’s Extending Naval Horizons and Maritime Partnerships,” in Report on the CNA–S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) Bilateral Roundtable “Navigating the Indo-Pacific Arc” CNA, MISC D0026611.A1 Final, February 2012.