Dr. Kalev I. Sepp is senior lecturer in defense analyst at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Until January 2009, he served as the

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Assistant Secretary of Defense is a title used for many high-level executive positions in the Office of the Secretary of Defense within the U.S. Department of Defense. The Assistant Secretary of Defense title is junior to Under Secretary of Defen ...

for Special Operations Capabilities. Dr. Sepp was responsible for the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...

global counterterrorism portfolio. This included policy oversight of all special operations worldwide, and formulation of the department's global counterterrorism strategy. He received his appointment in July 2007. A former U.S. Army Special Operations officer, he earned his PhD at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, and his

Combat Infantryman Badge The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces soldiers in the rank of colonel and below, who fought in active ground combat while assigned as members of e ...

in the

Salvadoran Civil War The Salvadoran Civil War ( es, guerra civil de El Salvador) was a twelve year period of civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front The Farabundo Ma ...

. His unit assignments included the 82d Airborne Division, the 2d Ranger Battalion, the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, and the 2d Infantry Division, among others. He was also an instructor at the

U.S. Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

. He served as an analyst and strategist in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, and as an expert member of the Baker-Hamilton Bipartisan Commission on Iraq, a.k.a. the

Iraq Study Group The Iraq Study Group (ISG) also known as the Baker-Hamilton Commission was a ten-person bipartisan panel appointed on March 15, 2006, by the United States Congress, that was charged with assessing the situation in Iraq and the US-led Iraq War and ...

. For his service in Iraq and the Pentagon, he has been awarded the Department of the Navy Superior Civilian Service Medal, the

Secretary of Defense Medal for the Global War on Terrorism The Secretary of Defense Medal for the Global War on Terrorism or Global War on Terrorism Civilian Service Medal is a medal awarded by the United States Department of Defense. It was authorized on August 9, 2007, but may be awarded for expeditiona ...

, and the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service. Dr. Sepp also graduated from the

U.S. Army Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

with a master's degree in Military Art and Science. Dr Sepp graduated from

The Citadel The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, commonly known simply as The Citadel, is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1842, it is one of six senior military colleges in the United States. ...

in 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts in History.

Publications

* ''Best Practices in Counterinsurgency, ''Military Review'', May–June 2005, pp. 8–12. * ''Weapon of Choice: U.S. Army Special Operations in Afghanistan'', with R. Kiper, J. Schroder, C. Briscoe (Fort Leavenworth: CGSC Press, 2004) * ''Case Study: The Maoist Insurgency in Nepal'' (

RAND The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is finan ...

, 2003) * ''The Renaissance Force'', with Brig. Gen. R.W. Potter, Jr., chapter in ''Leadership: The Warrior's Art'' (Carlisle: Army War College Foundation Press, 2001) * Review essay, Dana Priest’s The Mission: ''Waging War and Keeping Peace with America's Military'', in USNI Proceedings (September 2003) * ''Die atomare Vision. Der Einfluß von Nuklearwaffen auf die Führung der US Army 1952 bis 1958'', chapter in ''Fuehrungsdenken in europaeischen und nordamerikanischen Steitkraeften im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert'', trans. Gerhard Gross (Berlin: MGFA, 2001). Based on paper presented at 42d Annual International Military History Conference, Hamburg, Germany, 12 July 2000

External links

Kalev Sepp
at Naval Postgraduate School site * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sepp, Kalev American people of Estonian descent Harvard University alumni Naval Postgraduate School alumni United States Army officers Counterinsurgency theorists Living people United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni Year of birth missing (living people)