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

Dr. Linton Wells II is a Distinguished Research Professor and serves as the Transformation Chair at National Defense University (NDU). Prior to coming to NDU he served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) from 1991 to 2007, serving last as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Networks and Information Integration). In addition, he served as the Acting Assistant Secretary and DoD Chief Information Officer for nearly two years. His other OSD positions included Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence-C3I) and Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Policy Support) in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Policy).

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; and C3I. Recently he has been focusing on STAR-TIDES, a research project focusing on affordable, sustainable support to stressed populations and public-private interoperability (www.star-tides.net).

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, and scuba diving. He has thrice been awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service.