Dr. Stacie Pettyjohn

Senior Fellow and Director, Defense Program

CNAS

Research Areas

Stacie Pettyjohn is a senior fellow and director of the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). She is a recognized expert in U.S. defense strategy, force planning, military posture, airpower, and wargaming. Her current work explores the future of warfare, with a particular focus on the operational implications of emerging technologies—including artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and drones—and the evolving dynamics of nuclear deterrence in an increasingly multipolar world.

Pettyjohn brings a wealth of policy experience and analytic rigor to her role. She recently chaired the Total Force Integration Subcommittee of the Reserve Forces Policy Board, a federal advisory committee within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where she helped shape guidance on optimizing active-reserve force integration. She has also worked in the Joint Staff’s Strategy, Plans, and Policy office, supporting efforts related to nuclear command and control.

Prior to joining CNAS, Pettyjohn spent over a decade as a political scientist at the RAND Corporation, where she led critical studies on airpower, force posture, multidomain operations, and strategic planning. From 2019 to 2021, she directed the Strategy and Doctrine Program within Project Air Force, and from 2014 to 2020, she coled RAND’s Center for Gaming, spearheading high-level defense wargames.

Her writing and commentary have been featured in top-tier outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, War on the Rocks, and Breaking Defense. Her insights have also been featured in The Economist, the Financial Times, and major broadcast media, including NPR, NBC, ABC, Fox News and the BBC.

Pettyjohn holds a PhD and an MA in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia and a BA in history and political science from The Ohio State University.