United States Air Force Academy

Go to home page

Colonel Robert Grant

Department Head

Department of Military & Strategic Studies

Col Grant
Contact Information

(719) 333-3259

Email

Bio

Colonel Robert L. Grant is the Head, Department of Military and Strategic Studies, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado. Commissioned in 2000 as a graduate of the Air Force Academy, Colonel Grant has served in a variety of command, staff, and operational leadership positions throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and the Pacific. In his most recent operational tour, from June 2021 to June 2022, he served as the Combat Plans Division Chief at the 609th Combined Air Operations Center in Al Udeid, Qatar, supporting Operation Allies Refuge and Operation Inherent Resolve among many other crisis action events. Colonel Grant currently leads an academic department of 30 military and civilian faculty, developing future Air Force and Space Force warfighter-scholars. The department hosts and runs the Strategy and Warfare Center, which is responsible for the Multi-Domain Lab and related research endeavors.

Education

Doctor of Philosophy, Security Studies, Naval Postgraduate School (2020)

Master of Military Arts & Sciences, Theater Operations, School of Advanced Military Studies, U.S. Army Command & General Staff School (2014)

Master of Arts, International Relations, University of Oklahoma (2004)

Bachelor of Science, Human Factors Engineering, U.S. Air Force Academy (1997)

Professional Experience

Department Head, Department of Military and Strategic Studies, U.S. Air Force Academy (Jun 2023 − Present)

Chair, Airpower Innovation and Integration, Department of Military and Strategic Studies, U.S. Air Force Academy (Jun 2022 − May 2023)

Division Chief, Combat Plans Division, 609th Combined Air Operations Center, Al Udeid, Qatar (Jun 2021- Jun 2022)

Director, Strategy and Warfare Center (and Assistant Professor), Department of Military and Strategic Studies, U.S. Air Force Academy (Jul 2020 − Jun 2021)

Commander, 39th Operational Support Squadron, Incirlik Air Base, Turkey (Jun 2016 – Jun 2017)

Chief, Commander's Action Group, 3rd & 17th Air Force, Ramstein Air Base, Germany (Dec 2015 – Jun 2016)

Chief Strategy Plans Team, 603rd Air Operations Center, Ramstein Air Base, Germany (Jul 2014 – Nov 2015)

Chief, Command and Control / Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Integration, U.S. Air Force Weapons School (Jun 2011 – Jun 2012)

Assistant Director of Operations and Instructor Air Battle Manager, 8th Weapons Squadron, Nellis Air Force Base (Nov 2009 – Jun 2011)

Flight Commander / Chief of Weapons and Tactics / Instructor Air Senior Director, 964th Airborne Air Control Squadron, Tinker Air Force Base (Sept 2005 – Nov 2009)

Chief, Operations Plans and Programs, 621st Air Control Squadron, Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea (Sept 2004 – Aug 2005)

E-3A Passive Controller / Squadron Executive Officer, Geilenkirchen NATO Air Base, Germany (May 2001 – Aug 2004)

Student, Undergraduate Air Battle Manager, Tyndall Air Force Base (May 2000 – Apr 2001)

Honors & Awards

SACEUR's Company Grade Officer of the Year, Allied Command Operations

Honor Graduate, Air Operations Center Initial Qualification Training

Distinguished Graduate: Instructor Senior Director Upgrade Training, Instructor Passive Controller Upgrade Training

Research and Scholarly Interests

Colonel Grant's research focuses in the fields of military innovation studies, airpower education, military strategy, and the profession of arms.

Publications

Military Innovation in the Third Age of U.S. Unmanned Aviation, 1991-2015, Naval Postgraduate School (dissertation, 2020)

Ryan Burke and Robert Grant, “Introduction to Operational Design” in Burke, R., Fowler, M., & Matisek, J, Eds. Military Strategy, Joint Operations, and Airpower, 2nd Edition, Georgetown Univ Press (2022)