Benjamin Fernandes

Major Benjamin Fernandes is an Army Strategist working on the National Commission on the Future of the Army, which is tasked to provide Congress and the President with recommendations for the future size, structure, and force mix of the Total Army (Regular, National Guard, and Reserve).  Previously he worked at the National Counterterrorism Center and deployed to Afghanistan twice. Functionally his career has centered around the regions of South Asia, North Africa, and the Levant with a primary focus on counterterrorism, security assistance, and countering violent extremism issues.  

He is a part-time PhD student in the Public Policy program at George Mason University studying foreign assistance, state building, and security studies. His dissertation will focus on the relationship between U.S. security assistance and recipient governance. Previously he earned an MBA from Auburn, a Master’s in Strategic Intelligence and Foreign Denial and Deception Certificate from the National Intelligence University, and a Bachelor’s from the U.S. Military Academy. He is also a term-member at the Council on Foreign Relations.