Anthony “Tony” Johnson is the Chief of the Strategic Analyses Red Team in the Joint Advanced Warfighting Division at the Institute for Defense Analyses, where he oversees advanced research on strategic challenges in national security and military operations, and advises senior decision-makers on U.S. defense policy.
A 20-year veteran of the national security field, Tony began his career in public service as a U.S. Navy Officer serving in the U.S. 6th Fleet and on the staff of Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe. He has served in a variety of national security roles throughout his career including, U.S. Security Governance Initiative Country Lead at the U.S. Department of State, overseeing an extensive portfolio of security assistance activities in West Africa; Advisor for Special Operations and Irregular Warfare in the office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict at the U.S. Department of Defense; and special assignments at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the Defense Science Board.
Tony is passionate about developing future leaders looking to careers in military and public service. He advises IPF Atid, a network of rising Jewish and foreign policy young professionals—committed to advancing a pragmatic conversation in support of the two-state solution. As a member of the Truman National Security Project he co-founded the organization’s “TruDiversity Initiative” to advocate for greater diversity and inclusion in the U.S. foreign and national security policy community. As the Chairman of the Board of Fellows for the College of Liberal Arts at Norwich University, Tony ran the university’s undergraduate National Security Scholars experiential learning program.
Tony is currently engaged in postgraduate studies in Public Policy and Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education Program. He holds an M.A. in International Security Studies from Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, and a B.A. from Norwich University. Tony is a 2016 Institute for Defense Analyses Scholar, and a 2012 Aspen Ideas Festival Scholar. In December 2018, Tony was honored as one of 35 Black American National Security & Foreign Policy Next Generation Leaders “making a difference in the national security sector” by the Diversity in National Security Network.
Tony grew up in Las Vegas, NV. He currently lives in Washington, DC with his husband, Juan.