John Nagl

John A. Nagl (born 1966) is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army. He is former president of the Center for a New American Security and current headmaster of The Haverford School. Nagl is an expert in counterinsurgency and has published two books on military strategy.

Education and military career

Nagl was raised in Omaha, Nebraska, where he graduated from Creighton Preparatory School in 1984. He then attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he studied international relations and graduated near the top of his class in 1988. As a newly commissioned 2LT, he was chosen as a Rhodes Scholar and studied international relations at St John's College, Oxford, earning his MPhil in 1990.

Entering the Armor Branch of the US Army, Nagl led a tank platoon in the 1st Cavalry Division during the Gulf War. After returning from the Middle East, he commanded A Troop of the 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment in the 1st Armored Division in Büdingen, Germany and served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans for the 24th Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas.