Aaron B. O'Connell is an Assistant Professor of History at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. His research areas are American Grand Strategy, the role of the military in American foreign policy, defense policy and the security implications of globalization.

Dr. O'Connell holds a Ph.D. in history from Yale University and a Certificate in Security Studies from International Security Studies at Yale.  His dissertation, "Underdogs: Culture, Power, and the Making of the Modern Marine Corps," is scheduled for publication by Harvard University Press in Fall, 2012.  Dr. O'Connell also holds a B.A. in American Studies from Trinity College, CT, an  M.A. in English from Indiana University, an M.A. in American Studies from Yale University, and a M.Phil. in History from Yale University.  

Dr. O'Connell is also a United States Marine, and recently completed an eight-month tour in Kabul, Afghanistan, where he served as a Special Advisor to General David H. Petraeus.   Previously, LtCol O'Connell served in the State Department, as a Strategic Analyst the Pentagon, and as a policy analyst in the PACOM theater.