James S. Powell is a U.S. Army colonel and strategic plans and policy officer whose past assignments include tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and positions in the Pentagon as speechwriter for the U.S. Army Chief of Staff and as military advisor to the Director of Net Assessment in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He currently serves on the U.S. Army War College faculty and has taught at the School of Advanced Military Studies in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, as well as the United States Military Academy at West Point. Colonel Powell holds a PhD in history from Texas A&M University. His book, Learning under Fire: The 112th Cavalry Regiment in World War II, was published in 2010.