- Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies
- Dr. Michael Bell - Distinguished Professor of N...
Dr. Michael Bell - Distinguished Professor of National Security Policy and Strategy
Dr. Michael S. Bell is a Distinguished Professor of National Security Policy and Strategy. He joined the NESA Center after most recently serving as Senior Director for Gulf Affairs in the National Security Council, and then as Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Senior Director for Middle East Affairs in the National Security Council.
Following graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1983 and commissioning as an armor officer, he served with armor, cavalry, and mechanized infantry units in a variety of command and staff positions in Europe, the continental United States, and Southwest Asia. He commanded 1-8 Cavalry, taught history at the United States Military Academy, and served at the National War College as Dean of Faculty and Academic Programs. Other noteworthy military assignments include Aide de Camp to the Commanding General, 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm; Special Assistant to the Commanding General, U.S. Army Europe/Peace Stabilization Force; Futures Chief, III Corps G-3; and strategist in the Directorate of Strategic Plans and Policy (J5), the Joint Staff.
While in the Joint Staff J5, his major projects included: the National Military Strategy and National Defense Strategy; lead writer for the National Military Strategic Plan for the War on Terrorism; staff lead for the Joint Strategic Planning System; member of the Kuwait Strategic Review team; lead writer for Kuwait’s National Security and Defense Strategy, and lead writer for the National Military Strategy of the Kuwaiti Armed Forces. The Strategic Studies Institute published his monograph, The Exigencies of Global, Integrated Warfare: The Evolving Role of the CJCS and His Dedicated Staff.
In 2008-9, then Colonel Bell served as the Director of the Commanding General’s Initiatives Group at Multi-National Force-Iraq headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq, and subsequently, at headquarters, U.S. Central Command. He returned to the National Defense University in 2009 as the Dean of the National War College and subsequently served 2010 through 2016 as the Chancellor of the College of International Security Affairs (CISA), the newest of the five colleges at the National Defense University (NDU) and the Department of Defense flagship for education and building partner capacity in combating terrorism and irregular warfare.
In January 2017, Dr. Bell was detailed to the White House as Senior Director for Gulf Affairs in the National Security Council. From July 2017 through July 2018, he served as Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Senior Director for Middle East Affairs in the National Security Council. Returning to NDU, he taught classes in Irregular Warfare and American Studies, served as a strategy advisor to planning efforts at the Department of Homeland Security, and led the team that produced the Joint Chiefs of Staff Vision for Professional Military Education and Talent Management.
Dr. Bell holds an MA and a PhD in History from the University of Maryland at College Park, a MS in National Security Strategy from NDU, and is a Distinguished Graduate of the National War College. Dr. Bell retired from the US Army in 2012. His awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star, the combat action badge, and the Joint Staff identification badge.
Areas of Expertise
National Military Strategy and National Defense Strategy
Stability and Reconstruction Operations
Counter-Insurgency Operations
Irregular Warfare
Middle East Affairs
Education
Ph.D., History, University of Maryland, College Park
M.A., History, University of Maryland, College Park
M.S., National Security Strategy, National Defense University
M.A., Distinguished Graduate, National War College
B.A., U.S. Military Academy, West Point
Fort Lesley J. McNair
300 5th Ave SW
Washington, DC 20319-5066
202-685-4131 (Telephone)
202-685-4999 (Fax)
admin@nesa-center.org(link sends e-mail)