THOMAS G. MAHNKEN
Dr. Thomas Mahnken is currently a Professor of Strategy at the US Naval War College and a Visiting Scholar at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Policy Planning from 2006-09.
As DASD for Policy Planning, Dr. Mahnken was responsible for the major strategic planning functions within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, including providing advice on strategy and policy to the Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary of Defense and Undersecretary of Defense for Policy and responsibility for the preparation of guidance for war plans and the development of defense planning scenarios. Dr. Mahnken also spearheaded the Secretary of Defense’s Minerva Research Initiative, which will provide $100 million in grants to universities to conduct basic research in the social sciences, and led an interagency effort to establish, for the first time in five decades, a National Security Council-run interagency policy planning body. Between September and October 2006, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Resources and Plans and Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Policy Planning.
Between 1997 and 2006, Dr. Mahnken was a Professor of Strategy at the US Naval War College, a Visiting Fellow at the Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies at Johns Hopkins SAIS, and Acting Director of the SAIS Strategic Studies Program. He has also served on the staff of the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction and has served as a National Security Fellow at the John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies at Harvard University.
Dr. Mahnken earned his MA and PhD in international affairs from SAIS and was a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Southern California, with degrees in History and International Relations (with highest honors) and a certificate in defense and strategic studies. In 2009, he received the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service.