Dr. David P. Oakley is a scholar-practitioner specializing in national security, strategy, intelligence studies, and the education and development of current and future security professionals. He currently serves as Academic Director at the University of South Florida’s Global and National Security Institute, where he leads academic initiatives focused on practitioner education, strategic studies, and national security workforce development.

Dave’s career spans military service, intelligence operations, strategic planning, and higher education. He began his career as a U.S. Army field artillery officer before being selected for the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) Clandestine Service Trainee Program as a Staff Operations Officer within the CIA’s Near East Division. He later served as a contractor with the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center’s Directorate of Strategic Operational Planning.

Returning to active duty as an Army strategist, Dave served in planning and red team roles with the 1st Infantry Division and deployed to Iraq in 2010 as a liaison officer to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Following graduation from the Army’s School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS), he served as a planner with U.S. Army North focused on defense support to civil authorities and homeland security missions.

Dave’s final military assignment was as an assistant professor at National Defense University’s College of International Security Affairs, where he taught strategy, terrorism, counterterrorism, irregular warfare, and homeland security to senior military officers and government leaders from the United States and partner nations. Prior to joining USF, he served as an associate professor at Joint Special Operations University.

At USF, Dave has focused extensively on bridging scholarship and practice through initiatives centered on practitioner education, student development, and strategic collaboration. His work has included the development of programs connecting students and practitioners with leaders across government, academia, and the national security community.

Dave is also a Visiting Research Fellow with the King's Centre for the Study of Intelligence at King's College London. He serves on the editorial boards of Intelligence and National Security, InterPopulum: Journal of Irregular Warfare and Special Operations, and JSOU Press.

He is the author of Subordinating Intelligence: The DoD/CIA Post-Cold War Relationship, published by University Press of Kentucky.

Dave holds a Ph.D. in Security Studies from Kansas State University, an MPA from University of Oklahoma, graduate degrees from the Army’s School of Advanced Military Studies and Command and General Staff College, and a BA from Pittsburg State University.