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Political Science Department

CAPT Matt Testerman, Ph.D, PMP

Captain Matthew Testerman, the son of a career US Air Force officer and the grandson of World War II Army and Navy veterans, graduated with distinction from the Naval Academy in 1993. He was designated a Naval Flight officer in 1995. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Rochester. Additionally, his education includes the University of Maryland, the U.S. Naval War College, and Narrabundah College.

As a Permanent Military Professor, he has served as assistant professor of political science,Chair of the Political Science Department, and as Military Deputy to the Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. His research focuses on civil wars and comparative politics. He teaches courses in these areas and in quantitative methods and U.S. government.

As an EP-3E electronic warfare mission commander, he was forward deployed to Rota, Spain with Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron (VQ) 2, liaison officer to the Combined Air Operations Center, Vincenza, Italy, completed a disassociated sea tour on USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) as Tactical Action Officer and task force over-the-horizon track coordinator, and a department head tour in VQ-1 as Southwest Asia detachment officer-in-charge and squadron maintenance officer. With those units he participated in Operations SOUTHERN WATCH, JOINT ENDEAVOR, DELIBERATE FORGE, ALLIED FORCE, IRAQI FREEDOM, and ENDURING FREEDOM.

His shore and staff assignments include the U.S. Naval Academy as a military instructor; USSTRATCOM Joint Functional Component Command - Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance as the liaison to Pacific Command for intelligence collection capabilities and requirements; and as a PhD candidate at University of Rochester. He is a graduate of the Carrier Airborne Early Warning Weapons School and of the Joint Advanced Tactical SIGINT Training Program.

Captain Testerman’s personal decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal Strike/Flight (3 awards), the Navy Commendation Medal (2 awards), the Navy Achievement Medal (3 awards), and various unit, service, and campaign awards.

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