James M. Minnich

Dr. James M. Minnich is an academic, author, and retired U.S. Army Colonel with in-depth experiences in Northeast Asia since 1982, including 15 years of duty in Korea. He is a professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies where he previously served as Associate Dean, Senior Military Professor, and Senior Military Officer before retiring in 2019 as a U.S. Army Colonel after 37 years of active duty. Dr. Minnich chairs the Center’s Northeast Asia Group and Women, Peace and Security Group, and manages the Indo-Pacific Orientation Course. Dr. Minnich has had extensive operational deployments and travels throughout Asia and in-depth professional experiences in Northeast Asia since 1982, including 15 years of duty in South Korea.

Dr. Minnich’s military assignments include Secretary of the United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission in Seoul, Korea, where for 3-years he led a multinational organization that negotiated and supervised armistice compliance on the Korean peninsula. As Director of the Afghanistan Program at the Defense Security Cooperation Agency for 2-years, he led the analyses, policy formulation and program execution of a $33Bn defense program that equipped, trained and sustained the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). As Acting Director/Deputy of the Security Assistance Office at NATO Training Mission Afghanistan in Kabul, Afghanistan for 1-year, he led four joint divisions in the management and execution of $45 billion that equipped, armed and sustained the ANSF. As Deputy Chief/Director of Policy and Operations, Joint U.S. Military Affairs Group Korea in Seoul, Korea for 2-years, he supervised U.S. security cooperation policies, operations, and foreign military sales. As Policy Branch Chief, U.S. Forces Korea in Seoul, Korea for 2-years, he planned, developed and implemented political-military policy on the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia.

Dr. Minnich earned a Doctorate of Education from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA; Artium Magister Degree in Regional Studies-East Asia from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in Cambridge, MA; Master of Science in Military Arts and Sciences from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, KS; and a graduate diploma in Korean Language Studies from Sogang University’s Center for Korean Studies in Seoul, Korea. He is a 2009 distinguished honor graduate from the Korean National Defense University in Seoul, Korea; and 2001 graduate of the Korean Army College in Taejon, Korea. His doctoral dissertation was “Societal Violence Against Woman and National Insecurity: An Evaluation Study on Teaching a Gendered Security Perspective.”