I am Lieutenant Colonel James Davitch and I am currently pursuing a U.S. Air Force sponsored Ph.D. through Virginia Tech’s School of Public and International Affairs.
Previously, I was an instructor in the Department of Military & Strategic Studies at the U.S. Air Force Academy. The Air Force Academy faculty selected me to join their staff after I earned my second Masters degree through the Air Force’s “Blue Horizons” research fellowship program at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. I was one of sixteen hand-selected members in the program tasked to investigate which competitive strategies would prevail in future contested operational environments. I personally presented my findings to the Secretary of the Air Force, Air Force Chief of Staff, and the Air Force’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Programs. I authored a high-impact thesis on the future Air Force intelligence enterprise which was published by the prestigious Joint Force Quarterly. The staff of the National Defense University Press chose my essay on open source intelligence for the Maerz Award as one of the most influential Joint Force Quarterly articles of 2018. My past and current research emphasizes critical thinking, metacognition, and the role of defense intelligence in national security strategy. I have authored multiple articles in cutting edge journals to include the Strategy Bridge, Air & Space Power Journal, the Michigan War Studies Review and the Over the Horizons journal. I have also been an invited speaker by the United States Air Force Weapons School, the Air Force Global Strike Command, the Rocky Mountain Military Affairs Society, and the NATO Innovation Hub.
I am a 2007 graduate of the Air Force Weapons School. Upon graduation I became the intelligence Weapons Officer for the 3rd Wing at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska after which I was selected to return to instruct at the U.S. Air Force Weapons School. I was commissioned from Penn State University ROTC in 2002 with a bachelors in International Politics and in 2007 I earned my first Masters degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Oklahoma.
I live in Fairfax, Virginia with my wife and three children. My wife, Mindy, is also a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force and is superior to me in every way.