Christopher John Hickey

Christopher John Hickey is a retired U.S. Army colonel, strategist, educator and researcher whose work focuses on strategic planning, international security, organizational performance and decision-making under uncertainty. He retired in June 2026 after 33 years of military service. From 2015 to 2026, he served as a professor, program director and senior strategic adviser at the U.S. Army War College. From 2021 to 2026, he also served as a part-time senior research associate at the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM).

Hickey earned his Ph.D. in policy studies from the University of Maryland School of Public Policy. His dissertation, Assessing Motives for Russian Federation Use and Non-use of Force: An Approach to Improve the Strategic Planning and Policy of the United States, received the Yamamoto-Scheffelin Dissertation Research Award and is available to download through the University of Maryland.

At the U.S. Army War College, Hickey taught Introduction to Strategic Studies, Military Strategy and Campaigning, Game Theory for Policy and Strategy, Eurasian Regional Studies, European Regional Studies and Advanced Studies. He oversaw consulting projects for the Carlisle Scholars Program, previously taught in the Joint Warfighting Advanced Studies Program and served as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Professor of Military Studies. Earlier in his career, he taught strategy, operations and organizational change as an assistant professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Hickey’s research and presentations have addressed strategic planning, organizational assessment, international security, the Russian Federation, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) adaptation, professional military education and the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning into planning and decision-making. He has presented at conferences of the International Studies Association (ISA), the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM), the Joint Professional Military Education Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Forum and the U.S. Strategic Command Academic Alliance Conference and Workshop.

During his Army career, Hickey served as an infantry officer in the 1st Cavalry Division, the 82nd Airborne Division and the 3rd Infantry Division. As an Army Functional Area 59 strategist, he held U.S., multinational and NATO assignments in Iraq, Afghanistan, Germany and Norway. His work included strategy development, crisis-response planning, organizational transformation, multinational exercises, senior-leader decision support and advising teams operating across different authorities, incentives and national perspectives.

In addition to his Ph.D., Hickey holds a Bachelor of Arts in international studies from Johns Hopkins University, a Master in Public Policy with a concentration in financial markets and analysis from Harvard Kennedy School and a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College, where he was a distinguished graduate.