Lt Col James W. Bryant Jr. is a military faculty advisor at the Marine Corps Command and Staff College. A career intelligence officer, foreign area officer (FAO), and advisor, he has extensive operational, regional, and language expertise spanning East Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East.
He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 2000 and graduated as a Korean Cryptologic Linguist in 2002. After serving as a tactics and special signals analyst at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, he was selected for an AFROTC commissioning program and commissioned as an intelligence officer in 2007.
Subsequent assignments included ISR Mission Commander at Beale AFB; Information Integration Officer and Flight Commander supporting the RC-135V/W Rivet Joint at Offutt AFB; AFPAK Hands advisor in Afghanistan; Country Director for Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and the Kyrgyzstan at U.S. Central Command; Air Advisor to the Royal Saudi Air Force in Riyadh; and Operations Officer and Assistant Professor of Aerospace Studies at AFROTC Detachment 190, University of Illinois.
A certified CENTCOM Foreign Area Officer, LtCol Bryant has served in multiple Joint assignments and deployments, including five deployments and five short tours. He has accumulated more than 900 flight hours aboard the RC-135V/W Rivet Joint.
He holds Associate degrees in Applied Communications Technology and Korean Studies, a B.A. in General Studies from Angelo State University, an M.A. in Global Security Studies from American Military University, and an M.A. in National Security Studies from the National Defense University.
LtCol Bryant is proficient in several strategic languages, scoring ILR 3/3 in Farsi, Dari, and Pashtu; 2+ in Tajik; and 2+/1+ in Arabic.
His decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (with two oak leaf clusters), Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Air and Space Commendation Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, and NATO Non-Article 5 Medal.