Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Andrew Ruszkiewicz is a retired U.S. Army Special Operations Governance officer with more than 21 years of active-duty service, the majority of which was spent in Army Special Operations Forces. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh, he was commissioned as a Field Artillery officer and went on to serve with 2ID in Korea, the 82d Airborne Division, before attending the Civil Affairs Qualification Course and spending the rest of his career in ARSOF. His operational experience includes deployments as a Fire Support Officer in Afghanistan, Special Operations Forces Liaison in TChad, Village Stability Coordination Center Chief in Western Afghanistan, Civil Affairs Planning Team Chief in East Africa, an operational planner for Operation Inherent Resolve, and Company Commander in Somalia.
Andy holds a Master’s degree in Political and Information Warfare from the Naval Postgraduate School—where he was a Distinguished Graduate of the Defense Analysis program—and a second Master’s focused on U.S. Foreign Policy in Sub-Saharan Africa. His professional military education includes the Naval War College, the ARSOF Civil Affairs Qualification Course, and numerous joint and special operations courses. He currently works at the defense technology company Sherpa 6, supporting innovation at the intersection of defense, emerging technology, and irregular warfare, while also serving as an Adjunct Professor of Security Studies at the University of New Hampshire.
He has spent nearly 2 decades in uniform focusing on governance, legitimacy, and partner-nation capacity in complex irregular warfare environments.