Professor Canfield currently serves as a Professor of Practice specializing in Joint All Domain Operations (JADO). Before joining the Marine Corps University, he completed 31 years of commissioned service in the United States Marine Corps serving in a wide variety of increasing complex command, staff, and joint assignments.
He has a BS in civil engineering from Virginia Tech and holds four advanced degrees from a variety of civilian and military universities. A life-long student of the evolution of warfare and the profession of arms, he published articles in The Journal of Military History, Parameters, Joint Forces Quarterly, The Small Wars Journal, and the Marine Corps Gazette. He is the recipient of The U.S. Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award, the U.S. Army War College Bristol Military History Writing Award, the USMC School of Advanced Warfighting Joint Service Planner Writing Award, USMC Command and Staff College John Lejuene Writing Award, U.S. Army Land Power Essay Competition, and a two-time winner of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Strategic Essay Competition.
As a practitioner, he served as an infantry battalion operations officer during the initial invasion of Iraq, commanded in combat at both the Lieutenant and Colonel levels, and served as the Combat Development Director for MARSOC. He also held two high-level planning assignments (0505) as the Special Plans Branch Chief at USNORTHCOM/NORAD and as the Director of the MAGTF Staff Training Program (MSTP) where he supported numerous classified CCMD and MEF/JTF level exercises in both USPACOM and USEUCOM.
His teaching, research, and writing at the Marine Corps University focuses on the development of classified curriculum in support of MEF/JTF level warfighting within the larger context of Joint Force employment, the rapidly changing character of warfare, and military innovation in support of current and future OPLAN requirements.