Linton Wells, II, Ph.D.
Distinugished Research Fellow
Force Transformation Chair

Dr. Linton Wells II is a Distinguished Research Fellow and serves as the Force Transformation Chair at NDU. Prior to coming to NDU he was the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Networks and Information Integration). He assumed these duties on November 14, 2005 after serving as the Acting Assistant Secretary and DoD Chief Information Officer from March 8, 2004. He became the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence) on August 20, 1998 which became Networks and Information Integration in 2003. Prior to this assignment, he had served in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Policy) from 1991 to 1998, most recently as the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Policy Support).

In twenty-six years of naval service, Dr. Wells served in a variety of surface ships, including command of a destroyer squadron and guided missile destroyer. In addition, he acquired a wide range of experience in operations analysis; Pacific, Indian Ocean and Middle East affairs; C3I; and special access program oversight.

Dr. Wells was born in Luanda, Angola, in 1946. He was graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1967 and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in physics and oceanography. He attended graduate school at The Johns Hopkins University, receiving a Master of Science in Engineering degree in mathematical sciences and a PhD in international relations. He is also a 1983 graduate of the Japanese National Institute for Defense Studies in Tokyo, the first U.S. naval officer to attend there.

Dr. Wells has written widely on security studies in English and Japanese journals. He co-authored Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War, which was published in 1997. His hobbies include history, the relationship between policy and technology, scuba diving, and flying.