Dr. Chris Yung

Dr. Yung currently serves as the Dean of the Marine Corps War College, Quantico VA.

His most recent position was that of the Donald Bren Chair of Non-Western Strategic Thought and the Director of East Asian Studies at Marine Corps University.  In that capacity he lectured and lead seminars at the Marine Corps War College, the School of Advanced Warfighting, the Command and Staff College, the Expeditionary Warfare School and all of the schools and education organizations under the MCU umbrella.  He received the 2019 Elihu Rose Award for Civilian Faculty Teaching at Marine Corps University. He specializes in Asian security issues, particularly strategic issues related to China and the Chinese military.  Dr. Yung researches, writes and has published widely on the People’s Liberation Army, has testified before Congress on Chinese military capabilities, and has made American and international media appearances both in print and televised on issues related to Asian security.  Dr. Yung is the former Deputy Director and Senior Research Fellow at the Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs, Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University.  In this capacity Dr. Yung provided research, analysis and counseling on Chinese military and strategic issues to the Office of Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the Intelligence Community and Combatant Commanders.   In this capacity Dr. Yung helped run a congressionally mandated research agency of the Department of Defense, oversaw research assistants and staff, and took part in annual dialogues with China’s People’s Liberation Army National Defense University (PLA NDU).  Also in his capacity as Deputy, Dr. Yung also was responsible for the coordination of PLA NDU general officer visits to National Defense University, the Joint Staff, and to PACOM, and was responsible for the NDU Defense Contact Proposal process—which allows Department of Defense personnel to meet with members of the Chinese military, government and academia.  Prior to government service Dr. Yung spent eighteen years at the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) where he provided analytical support to a number of different Department of Defense organizations either at the Pentagon or at Operational Commands.  Assignments included: Special Assistant and Senior Civilian Analyst to the Commander U.S. Marine Corps Forces Atlantic; Special Assistant and Senior Civilian Analyst to the Commander, Amphibious Group Two; Special Assistant and Scientific Analyst, Director of OPNAV Assessments Division (N81); and Special Assistant and Scientific Analyst, Director of OPNAV Political-Military Affairs Division (N52).  Dr. Yung is the author and editor to numerous books, articles and chapters on the Chinese Military.  He is also author of the Gators of Neptune:  Naval Amphibious Planning for the Normandy Invasion (Naval Institute Press, 2006) and other journal articles related to the naval planning for the Invasion of Europe.  Dr. Yung received both his PhD and his M.A. in International Relations and East Asian Studies from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University.  He also received language training from the Beijing Foreign Language Teacher’s College (Beijing China) and Columbia University.