Dr. Jonathan Schroden is a Principal Project Director at the CNA Corporation, where his work currently focuses on strategic competition, irregular warfare, Marine Corps and special operations, force design, and strategic and operations assessment. He previously served as the Research Director for the Afghanistan War Commission, acting Vice President and Director of CNA's Strategy, Policy, Plans, and Programs Division, the Director of CNA’s Countering Threats and Challenges Program, and the Director of CNA’s Special Operations Program. He is also the author of a forthcoming book on the history of U.S. counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan.
Dr. Schroden has been with CNA since 2003, during which time he has deployed or traveled 13 times to Afghanistan (twice at the request of the Commander, ISAF and once at the request of the Commander, CSTC-A) and twice to Al Anbar, Iraq; traveled throughout the Middle East; gotten underway with numerous Navy ships; and supported Hurricane Katrina disaster relief operations. Jonathan has served as a strategic advisor to the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, Multi-National Force – West in Iraq, US Central Command, and the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. He also served as CNA’s first interim advisor to the Marine Corps Special Operations Command. Jonathan is also a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the University of South Florida’s Global and National Security Institute and a Senior Advisor to the Global SOF Foundation. Previously, he served as a Professorial Lecturer at the George Washington University, Senior Advisor to the US Institute of Peace’s Afghanistan Study Group, and Adjunct Scholar with the US Military Academy’s Modern War Institute.
Schroden holds PhD and MS degrees from Cornell University and BS degrees from the University of Minnesota – Duluth (UMD). His decorations include CNA's Phil E. DePoy Award for Analytic Excellence, the Cornell University Tunis Wentink Award, and induction into UMD’s Academy of Science and Engineering. He has published in peer-reviewed outlets such as Journal of Strategic Studies, Defense and Security Analysis, Naval War College Review, Sentinel, Armed Forces Journal, Journal of the American Chemical Society, Journal of Chemical Physics, and Journal of Physical Chemistry. He has published online in venues such as War on the Rocks, Lawfare, Politico, The Diplomat, Modern War Institute, Real Clear Defense, The National Interest, and Small Wars Journal. He has been a frequent commentator on television (e.g., CNBC, BBC, VOA, TRT World, France 24, Indus News), radio (e.g., BBC NewsHour, NPR’s Morning Edition and Here and Now), podcasts (e.g., Lawfare Live, WarCast, Hidden Forces, PopularFront), and print (e.g., New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, NBC News, CNN, The Economist, The Diplomat, Financial Times, Politico, RFE/RL, Stars and Stripes, VOA, Reuters, Associated Press, al-Monitor, Military Times, Yahoo! News). You can follow Jonathan on X (@jjschroden), Bluesky (@jjschroden.bsky.social), and LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanschroden).