In early October, GSIPM professor Philipp Bleek traveled to Istanbul at the invitation of the Turkish Navy to assist with the countering weapons of mass destruction aspects of a new maritime security doctrine. The doctrine is being drafted by a new Maritime Security Center of Excellence, stood up by the Turks last year to help promote interagency and international collaboration on countering maritime risks and threats. The effort built on his work on a new U.S. National Defense Strategy for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction, on which he worked at the Pentagon while on leave from MIIS during the 2012-13 academic year.