Mike Studeman, the former Commander of the Office of Naval Intelligence and a retired Rear Admiral, is one of our nation’s leading national security professionals, with extensive global experience in intelligence, foreign policy, and defense matters. He is an internationally recognized expert on Asian affairs with deep expertise on China. Mike is a MITRE National Security Fellow and on the Board of Advisors of the National Bureau of Asian Research.
Mike led intelligence operations at every level from the tactical to the strategic, and in Navy, joint, national, and interagency assignments. He supported combat operations ranging from Desert Storm to the Balkans to Afghanistan. He also contributed to a range of counter-terrorism, counter-narcotics, and counter-proliferation operations. Mike also helped formulate strategies and execute operations to deal with challenges from Iran, North Korea, Russia, and China.
Mike’s joint assignments as a flag officer include National Intelligence Manager – Maritime for the Director of National Intelligence, Director of the National Maritime Intelligence Integration Office, three years as the Director of Intelligence (J2) for the nation’s largest Combatant Command, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, and Director of Intelligence (J2) for the U.S. Southern Command in Miami, Florida.
Mike was appointed by President Bush as a White House Fellow in 2005. He went on to become the only officer ever to serve as Special Assistants to the Chief of Naval Operations, Vice Chief of Naval Operations, and U.S. Fleet Forces Commander. He also held major command posts as a Captain, including commanding the Joint Intelligence Operations Center for U.S. Cyber Command and Commander of the Hopper Global Communications Center.
Mike’s alma mater is the College of William and Mary. He is an Honors Graduate in Mandarin Chinese from the Defense Language Institute, a Distinguished Graduate of the National War College, and a Distinguished Graduate in Asian Affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School.