William "Bill" Combes

William “Bill” Combes, CAPT USN (ret) is the Director of the Department of Leadership and Management Studies at the Baltic Defence College in Tartu, Estonia. Before moving to Estonia, Bill completed a 27-year career in the U.S. Navy as a submariner and strategist. In addition to commanding a ballistic missile submarine, serving as Chief of Staff of a carrier strike group deployed to the Persian Gulf, and his last position as the Branch Head for U.S. Navy Strategy in the Pentagon, he was the U.S. Navy’s Fellow to Oxford University and the Changing Character of War Programme. The Baltic Defence College (www.baltdefcol.org) is a NATO-accredited, English-speaking international institution of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania providing professional military education at the operational and strategic level for military and civilian leaders of the Baltic states, their allies, and partners. The college conducts applied research, hosts and co-hosts conferences and seminars, and offers a fellowship program.