The Academy's Scholar-Practitioners
This unmatched blend of academic depth and real-world experience ensures that every lesson bridges theory and practice — equipping students not just with knowledge, but with the insight and judgment needed to lead.
PROFESSORIAL LECTURER
Dr. John A. Pennell
Dr. John A. Pennell is a contractor with the U.S. Department of Defense's Irregular Warfare Center (IWC) as Editor-in-Chief of PRISM: The Journal of Complex Operations and as an Instructor, Curriculum Developer, and Senior Practitioner.
He’s a Research Fellow with Arizona State University’s (ASU) Future Security Initiative and Professor of Practice with ASU’s School of Politics and Global Studies; a Non-Resident Senior Fellow with the Global & National Security Institute (GNSI) at the University of South Florida (USF); a Non-Resident Fellow with the Irregular Warfare Institute (IWI)-Europe Program; and a Senior Diplomacy Fellow with Narrative-Strategies.
Dr. Pennell is also a guest speaker and lecturer on information operations, hybrid warfare, post-conflict governance, and new technologies with U.S. and international universities, the U.S. State Department, and U.S. professional military education institutions.
Dr. Pennell is a retired US Senior Foreign Service Officer with 20+ years of field experience including in active combat and hybrid warfare zones.
He’s also a published author, including a 2024 book on Russia’s irregular warfare activities in Syria and Ukraine.
He holds a PhD from King’s College London and masters degrees from the National War College and American University.
