Dr. Carlos R. Rivera
I first became interested in the navy and history as a military dependent while living in France between 1961 and 1966 and eventually pursued both interests professionally. In 1978 I earned the BA in History (Naval/Military, US Diplomatic, and Japan) at Columbus College (now Columbus State University), Georgia, then enlisted in the U.S. Navy (1980-1985), eventually earning a reserve commission and enjoying three deployments overseas. I left active duty in 1985, entering the U.S. Naval Reserve (and currently plan to retire in 2005). My active duty billets included 2 tours as Comm Officer on a destroyer and frigae, and one as First Lieutenant on a destroyer. Deployment locations included the Western Pacific (Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Philippines, Hong Kong, Japan, Guam, Korea, Thailand, Singapore), the Indian Ocean (Sri Lanka), and the Persian Gulf (Bahrain).

In 1988 I was awarded an MA in History (Naval/Military, US Diplomatic, and Japan) from Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, where I also began language studies in Japanese. In 1990 I entered the Ph.D. program in History at Ohio State University. Originally I had thought of working on the US Navy's war planning process before and during the Spanish-American War (1998) but I encountered a puzzling situation--that of an Imperial Japanese Navy officer seemingly in concert with the US Army and Navy during and after the war. That mystery led me to the mutual and mirroring war planning between the USN and IJN between 1890 and 1922. I was awarded the doctorate (Naval/Military, US Diplomatic, and Japan) in June 1995 with a dissertation entitled "The Big Stick and Short Sword: The American and Japanese Navies as Hypothetical Enemies before 1922". I used primary and secondary sources in English, French, Spanish, and Japanese.

Upon graduation from Ohio State I then served as the historian, military historian, and department head at the Ohio Historical Society, remaining there until 1999. For the next several years I spent time working on non-military creations, original soundscapes and compositions in a computer based recording facility. I have also taught on a part-time basis at Ohio State since 1995. Currently I am employed by the Franklin County (Columbus, Ohio) government. I also am returning to revisions on the dissertation for a manuscript.

My interest in the Russo-Japanese War stems from the role of Akiyama Saneyuki, Admiral Togo's famed operations planner, and subsequently, the role and impact that Tsushima would have on Japanese naval war planning to the Washington Conference.

I can be contacted at the following email addresses:

rivera@russojapanesewar.com
skydog@hotmail.com
carlosofcoronado@netscape.net