John Nagl
Encyclopedia
John A. Nagl is a retired Lieutenant Colonel
in the United States Army
who is regarded as an influential expert in counterinsurgency.
After growing up in Omaha
, Nebraska
, he attended the United States Military Academy
at West Point, where he graduated near the top of his class in 1988. He was chosen as a Rhodes Scholar and studied international relations at St. John's College, Oxford. He served as a tank platoon leader during the Gulf War
, then returned to school to eventually earn his M. Phil
and D. Phil
at Oxford's St. Antony's College
. His research focus was on counterinsurgency: his dissertation was a comparison of the British
and American militaries as they dealt with insurgencies in Malaya
and Vietnam
, respectively. This work would later be made a book-length treatment published under the title Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife, after an observation by T. E. Lawrence
about the difficulty of fighting guerrillas.
After his studies, he was appointed to a professorship at West Point, which he held until deploying in 2003 as an operations officer with 1st Battalion 34th Armor Regiment
, 1st Infantry Division stationed near Khaldiya
, Iraq
. Recently, he co-authored the US Army's counterinsurgency field manual
(FM 3-24), and currently helps train MiTT teams
-- small groups of soldiers tasked to develop the Afghan National Army
and Iraqi security forces
. Already notable in military circles, his public profile was further raised with an interview on Comedy Central
's The Daily Show
on August 23, 2007.
The US Army's counter insurgency field manual
is in places remarkably similar to earlier texts.
Nagl is renowned for his extensive mentorship and tutelage of junior officers. He is affiliated with a rising group of mid-level military intellectuals, many of whom who have been tapped, at one time or another, to provide insight and recommendations to General David Petraeus
. These officers include, but are not limited to Colonel Michael Meese, Lieutenant Colonels Douglas Ollivant
, Mike George, Jen Easterly, Paul Yingling
, Bill Ostlund and Charles Miller, as well as Dr. David Kilcullen
. This crop of the new "best and brightest" were heavily influenced by their time together as associate professors at the United States Military Academy's Department of Social Sciences, which COL Meese now leads.
Nagl has retired from the U.S. Army and became a fellow on July 14, 2008, at the Center for a New American Security
in Washington D.C. He has also recently published a series of articles and op-ed pieces regarding the need for a permanent Army Advisory Corps. After its top leaders left for senior positions in the Obama administration, Nagl was named CNAS' president. He is a member of the Mission Essential Personnel Board of Advisors.
Nagl is married to Susi Varga, whom he met while a student at Oxford; they have one son, Jack.
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
who is regarded as an influential expert in counterinsurgency.
After growing up in Omaha
Omaha
Omaha may refer to:*Omaha , a Native American tribe that currently resides in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Nebraska-Places:United States* Omaha, Nebraska* Omaha, Arkansas* Omaha, Georgia* Omaha, Illinois* Omaha, Texas...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, he attended the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
at West Point, where he graduated near the top of his class in 1988. He was chosen as a Rhodes Scholar and studied international relations at St. John's College, Oxford. He served as a tank platoon leader during the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, then returned to school to eventually earn his M. Phil
Master of Philosophy
The Master of Philosophy is a postgraduate research degree.An M.Phil. is a lesser degree than a Doctor of Philosophy , but in many cases it is considered to be a more senior degree than a taught Master's degree, as it is often a thesis-only degree. In some instances, an M.Phil...
and D. Phil
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
at Oxford's St. Antony's College
St Antony's College, Oxford
St Antony's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.St Antony's is the most international of the seven all-graduate colleges of the University of Oxford, specialising in international relations, economics, politics, and history of particular parts of the...
. His research focus was on counterinsurgency: his dissertation was a comparison of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and American militaries as they dealt with insurgencies in Malaya
Federation of Malaya
The Federation of Malaya is the name given to a federation of 11 states that existed from 31 January 1948 until 16 September 1963. The Federation became independent on 31 August 1957...
and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, respectively. This work would later be made a book-length treatment published under the title Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife, after an observation by T. E. Lawrence
T. E. Lawrence
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, CB, DSO , known professionally as T. E. Lawrence, was a British Army officer renowned especially for his liaison role during the Arab Revolt against Ottoman Turkish rule of 1916–18...
about the difficulty of fighting guerrillas.
After his studies, he was appointed to a professorship at West Point, which he held until deploying in 2003 as an operations officer with 1st Battalion 34th Armor Regiment
34th Armor Regiment (United States)
The 34th Armor Regiment is an armored regiment of the United States Army formed in 1941.-Lineage:Constituted 28 August 1941 in the Regular Army as the 34th Armored Regiment and assigned to the 5th Armored Division...
, 1st Infantry Division stationed near Khaldiya
Khaldiya
' is a suburb of Kuwait City; it is located in the governorate of Al Asimah in Kuwait.* one of the mosques in Khalidya...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. Recently, he co-authored the US Army's counterinsurgency field manual
Field Manual
__FORCETOC__Field Manual is the second solo album by Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Chris Walla, released on January 29, 2008 on Barsuk Records. The album is Walla's first under his own name...
(FM 3-24), and currently helps train MiTT teams
Military transition team
A Military Transition Team, or Transition Team, is a 10-15 soldier team that and trains local forces. The term has been used in the context of the "War on Terror" to design groups training in particular the Iraqi Security Forces, Afghan Army and other Afghan security forces.- Mission :The primary...
-- small groups of soldiers tasked to develop the Afghan National Army
Afghan National Army
The Afghan National Army is a service branch of the military of Afghanistan, which is currently trained by the coalition forces to ultimately take the role in land-based military operations in Afghanistan. , the Afghan National Army is divided into seven regional Corps. The strength of the Afghan...
and Iraqi security forces
Iraqi security forces
Iraqi security forces is a U.S. Department of Defense term for all security forces of the Federal government of Iraq. They consist of the following organizations:*Ministry of Defence **Iraqi Armed Forces:*** Iraqi Army*** Iraqi Air Force...
. Already notable in military circles, his public profile was further raised with an interview on Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
's The Daily Show
The Daily Show
The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
on August 23, 2007.
The US Army's counter insurgency field manual
Field Manual
__FORCETOC__Field Manual is the second solo album by Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Chris Walla, released on January 29, 2008 on Barsuk Records. The album is Walla's first under his own name...
is in places remarkably similar to earlier texts.
Nagl is renowned for his extensive mentorship and tutelage of junior officers. He is affiliated with a rising group of mid-level military intellectuals, many of whom who have been tapped, at one time or another, to provide insight and recommendations to General David Petraeus
David Petraeus
David Howell Petraeus is the current Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, sworn in on September 6, 2011. Prior to his assuming the directorship of the CIA, Petraeus was a four-star general serving over 37 years in the United States Army. His last assignments in the Army were as commander...
. These officers include, but are not limited to Colonel Michael Meese, Lieutenant Colonels Douglas Ollivant
Douglas Ollivant
Douglas Ollivant is a Senior National Security Studies Fellow at the New America Foundation as well as a Principal of the O2 Group and an operating advisor to Monument Capital Group. Most recently, Doug was a senior counterinsurgency advisor to Regional Command-East, as part of the International...
, Mike George, Jen Easterly, Paul Yingling
Paul Yingling
Colonel Paul Yingling is an officer in the United States Army currently serving as a professor of security studies at the George C. Marshall Center in Germany...
, Bill Ostlund and Charles Miller, as well as Dr. David Kilcullen
David Kilcullen
David John Kilcullen F.R.G.S is an Australian author and consultant who is a leading theorist on counterinsurgency and counterterrorism. In 2007 he served as the Senior Counterinsurgency Adviser to the Commander of the Multi-National Force - Iraq responsible for planning and executing the Joint...
. This crop of the new "best and brightest" were heavily influenced by their time together as associate professors at the United States Military Academy's Department of Social Sciences, which COL Meese now leads.
Nagl has retired from the U.S. Army and became a fellow on July 14, 2008, at the Center for a New American Security
Center for a New American Security
The Center for a New American Security is a Washington, D.C.-based think tank established in 2007 by co-founders Michèle Flournoy and Kurt M. Campbell which specializes in U.S. national security issues...
in Washington D.C. He has also recently published a series of articles and op-ed pieces regarding the need for a permanent Army Advisory Corps. After its top leaders left for senior positions in the Obama administration, Nagl was named CNAS' president. He is a member of the Mission Essential Personnel Board of Advisors.
Nagl is married to Susi Varga, whom he met while a student at Oxford; they have one son, Jack.
Authored
- Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam (2002) ISBN 0-2759-7695-5 / paperback (2005) ISBN 0-226-56770-2. With a new preface by the author for the paperback edition.
Foreword by
- The U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual (2007) ISBN 0-226-84151-0 / FM 3-24. Foreword by Nagl to the University of Chicago Press edition.
- Instructions for American Servicemen in Iraq during World War II (2007) ISBN 0-226-84170-7
- "The New Counterinsurgency Era" (2009) ISBN 978-1-58901-488-6
External links
- Biography at Small Wars Journal
- An interview with Nagl for the Combat Studies Institute at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
- Link to Daily Show interview
- Interview on Learning to Eat Soup With a Knife at the Pritzker Military LibraryPritzker Military LibraryThe Pritzker Military Library is a research library for the study of military history in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded in 2003 by COL James N. Pritzker, IL ARNG to be a non-partisan institution for the study of "the citizen soldier as an essential element for the preservation of...