This report presents a conceptual discussion of the implications of maritime nuclear weapons for crisis management, and discusses the following themes: 1) strategic nuclear weapons have played significant crisis control and termination functions in the past; 2) current U. S. Navy maritime theater nuclear warfare capabilities, by virtue of their dispersal throughout the fleet, are very likely to be involved either directly or indirectly in future crisis responses by naval forces; 3) crisis response is a key feature of the Maritime Strategy's plan for deterring war and controlling escalation; and 4) maritime theater nuclear capabilities may both enhance and impede naval crisis management objectives. Keywords: Theater level operations; Military strategy; Deterrence; Naval planning; Military doctrine; Military nuclear forces deployment; Naval nuclear warfare theater; Crisis management; Maritime strategy; Tactical nuclear weapons. (edc)