Dr. David P. Oakley is a national security practitioner-scholar with over twenty-two years in the U.S. Army and Intelligence Community. He is currently an associate professor at Joint Special Operations University.  Dave previously served as an assistant professor at National Defense University in Washington, D.C. where he taught classes on terrorism, counterterrorism, irregular warfare, homeland security, and strategy. 

Dave began his career as a field artillery officer where he served in various positions ranging from platoon leader to battery/company commander in South Korea and Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Following his initial active-duty stint, he was selected for the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) Clandestine Service Trainee (CST) Program as a Staff Operations Officer (SOO). After graduating from the CIA’s SOO Certification Course, Dave served within the CIA’s Near East Division. Following his CIA service, Dave served as a contractor with the National Counterterrorism Center’s (NCTC) Directorate of Strategic Operational Planning. 

Dave returned to active duty as an Army strategist following his time at NCTC.  His first assignment upon returning to active duty was as a planner with the 1st Infantry Division (1ID) at Fort Riley, Kansas. In 2010, Dave deployed with 1ID to Iraq where he served as a liaison officer to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. In 2011, he moved to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas where he attended the Command and General Staff School followed by the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS). In 2013, Dave departed Fort Leavenworth for Fort Sam Houston, Texas where he served as a planner with 5th Army/Army North, where he focused on defense support to civil authority missions.

​

Dave's education includes a Ph.D. in Security Studies from Kansas State University, an MPA from the University of Oklahoma, a Master of Military Arts and Science (MMAS) from the Army's School of Advanced Military Studies, an MMAS from the Army's Command and General Staff College, and a BA from Pittsburg State University.

​​

Dave is a Visiting Research Fellow in the Department of War Studies at King's College London and is on the editorial boards for Intelligence and National Security and the Special Operations Journal. 

​

Dave's Awards include the 2020 Intelligence and National Security Alliance Sidney D. Drell Academic Award, 2017 Pittsburg State University's Kenneth Bateman Outstanding Alumni Award, and the School of Advanced Military Studies' Class 13-01 Interagency Writing Award. 

​​

Dave's book, Subordinating Intelligence: The DoD/CIA Post-Cold War Relationship, was published in 2019.

Home | davidpoakley.com