James A. Gavrilis

Expertise

• Guerrilla warfare
• Insurgency and counterinsurgency
• Terrorism and counterterrorism
• Iraq
• Afghanistan
• Middle East, Eastern Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa

LTC James A. Gavrilis, USA (Ret.) is a senior advisor in the Stability and Development Program within CNA Strategic Studies. Gavrilis is a former U.S. Army Special Forces officer with over 24 years of experience in the infantry and special operations. He has served overseas in Africa, the Balkans, and the Middle East in training, peacekeeping, and combat operations. He has commanded and directed field operations focused on urban unconventional warfare, counterterrorism, counterinsurgency, and counter-proliferation in Iraq and in other parts of the Middle East. Gavrilis also served in the Pentagon and was responsible for the formulation of senior-level political-military operational analysis, policy, and strategy for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Combatant Commanders, and Service Staffs. He is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and George Washington University, and teaches counterinsurgency to Iraq provincial reconstruction team members at the Department of State's Foreign Service Institute.

Recent Work: “Counterinsurgency on the Ground in Afghanistan: How Different Units Adapted to Local Conditions.”

Previous Positions: Iraq Division, J5 Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate, Joint Chiefs of Staff 2005-2008; International Affairs Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations 2004-2005; 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) 2002-2003.

Education: Gavrilis is a resident Graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. He has an M.A. in International Studies from Old Dominion University and a B.A. in Political Science from the Pennsylvania State University.

Languages: Portuguese, German, Arabic

Publications of Interest:

• “Counterinsurgency on the Ground in Afghanistan: How Different Units Adapted to Local Conditions,” U.S. Marine Corps Press 2011.
• “Counterinsurgency 3.0,” Parameters, U.S. Army War College, June 2010.
• “A Model for Population-Centered Warfare,” Small Wars Journal, May 2009.
• “Army Must Embrace Unconventional Fight,” National Defense, August 2007.
• “Army Must Address Irregular Warfare Needs,” National Defense, March 2006.
• “The Mayor of Ar Rutbah,” Foreign Policy, November-December 2005.
• “Understanding the Sunni Boycott,” United Press International, Washington Times, Jan. 28, 2005.

Recent Talks and Presentations:

• Center for Naval Analyses, “Counterinsurgency on the Ground in Afghanistan,” September 2010.
• Leader Development and Education for Sustained Peace, “Insurgent Lifecycles and Models in Iraq,” 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, January 28-29, 2010.
• NATO-Land Component Command, “Applying the Population-Centered Warfare Model to Afghanistan,” Heidelberg, Germany, November 9-10, 2009.
• COIN Roundtable for Gen McChrystal, “Applying the Population-Centered Warfare Model to Afghanistan,” Pentagon, June 4, 2009.
• A Model for Population-Centered Warfare, Naval Post-Graduate School, Monterey, May 2009.
• George Washington University, National Security Studies Program, Department of Defense Senior Leaders Course, “The Theory and Practice of Counter-insurgency,” April 2008.
• National Defense University, Rule of Law and Governance as Stabilization Tools, “Local Governance in Iraq,” April 2008.
• Royal United Services Institute, Whitehall, London, “Spatial Socio-Cultural Knowledge: Concepts for Field Applications,” March 2008.
• Harvard University, CARR Center, “Intelligence Requirements in Counter-insurgency” Sep. 7, 2007.
• CIA University, Intelligence Fellows Program, “Special Forces Counter-insurgency Lessons Learned from Iraq,” August 2, 2007.
• Geo. Washington University, “Fighting the War on Terror,” June 14, and July 12, 2007.
• Geo. Washington U., C-SPAN, Voice of America, “The Status of Counter-insurgency,” Apr. 2, 2007.
• Claremont McKenna College, “The New Way Forward in Iraq,” March 5, 2007, Claremont, CA.
• Columbia University, “The Military’s Role in Governance and Democratization,” Feb. 9, 2007.