[1] CNA traces its origins to the Antisubmarine Warfare Operations Group (ASWORG), formed in 1942 to assist the U.S. Navy with scientific advice for finding and attacking U-boats that were sinking commercial ships off the Atlantic coast of North America.

[4] By the end of World War II, the organization had expanded to almost 80 scientists serving on eight military bases in the Atlantic and Pacific as well as at the Washington, D.C. headquarters.

[5] Though the group served the military, it was designed to be civilian and independent in order to preserve the objectivity of its analysis, and was administered by Columbia University.

Through the Center’s Field Program, approximately 50 analysts are assigned to Navy, Marine Corps, and Joint Commands around the world.

Field analysts are included in all functions of the command and provide real-time scientific and analytical support on operational problems of immediate concern to the military.

[1] It has four divisions: Education; Energy, Water, & Climate; Enterprise Systems and Data Analysis; and Safety & Security.

[14] The CNA Military Advisory Board is an American defense advisory group composed of retired three-star and four-star generals and admirals from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps that studies pressing issues of the day to assess their impact on America's national security.