Professor Sean P. Henseler
Professor Sean P. Henseler, J.D., Commander, U.S. Navy (Ret.) served with distinction for 20 years as both an intelligence officer and later as a Judge Advocate General. After supporting counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean in 1989, he then made two deployments with Attack Squadron 145 aboard the USS Ranger (CV-61) participating in strike planning for Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, and Southern Watch and earned West Coast Attack Squadron Intelligence Officer of the Year honors 1990, 1991, and 1992. After tours at the Office of Naval Intelligence and the National Military Joint Intelligence Center in the Pentagon, Henseler was one of only five officers selected in 1994 to enter the Navy’s prestigious Law Education Program where he graduated in 1997 and became a prosecutor and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney. Upon graduation from the U.S. Naval War College in 2001 as the President’s Honor Graduate, he spent the remainder of his career practicing operational law providing legal advice to commanders and planners on multiple Navy and joint staffs. He deployed multiple times globally at sea and ashore in the Middle East and Africa in support of a wide range of military operations to include maritime interdiction operations, critical infrastructure protection, freedom of navigation operations, escort operations, strike operations, as well as Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom where he earned a Bronze Star. Henseler was selected as the 2001-2002 “Outstanding Young Military Lawyer for the US Navy.”
After his retirement as the Howard S. Levie Military Chair of Operational Law at the U.S. Naval War College, Henseler joined the NWC College of Maritime Operational Warfare, earned the title of full Professor, and for 16 years taught over 1,000 staff and flag level students, consulted with nearly every U.S. Navy fleet headquarters, published numerous articles, and lectured around the globe on a wide range of maritime issues. From 2019-2025, in his positions as both Deputy Dean and Interim Dean, he was also the director for the highly regarded Combined Force Maritime Component Commander (CFMCC) course where he taught 300 flag and general officers from 53 nations. Henseler also led multiple mobile training teams teaching the Navy Planning process and other critical operational level of war processes to students from over 25 nations and was the course director for the annual NATO School Maritime Operational Law course from 2018-2025. For his outstanding service Henseler was awarded the Meritorious Civilian Service Award in 2017 and the Serge Lazareff Prize by NATO in 2024.
Henseler earned a J.D. from the Catholic University Colombus School of Law, a M.A. in National Security Studies from Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service, and a M.A. from the U.S. Naval War College.
