Brett Sylvia, a 20 year veteran of the U.S. Army, came to the U.S. Institute of Peace as a fellow in the summer of 2014 after recently completing command of a battalion conducting combat operations in Western and Southwestern Afghanistan. His research interests while at USIP are focused geographically on Nigeria, Bangladesh and China, and thematically on megacities, interagency processes and talent management. His career consisted of reconstruction, security sector reform, peace enforcement, combat and strategic level staff experiences in Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Washington D.C., working with the U.S. Army, other U.S. Armed Services, Interagency partners and with numerous NATO and host nation forces.
Brett’s field experience includes: peace enforcement missions in Bosnia in 1996-1997, clearing minefields and assisting reconstruction efforts; combat operations and building partner capacity in the Iraqi Surge and in Afghanistan in 2013; capacity building efforts and security sector reform in Iraq with the Coalition Provisional Authority in 2003-2004 and in the NATO Training Mission in Afghanistan in 2009 to 2011. He also served in Washington, DC on the personal staff of the Deputy Secretary of Defense (2002-2003), the Secretary of the Army (2003-2004), and the Joint Staff Director of Strategy, Plans and Policy (J5) (2008-2009). Following this fellowship, Colonel Sylvia will take command of a brigade combat team in Fort Campbell, KY.
Brett holds a M.S. in Engineering Management from the Missouri University of Science and Technology, a Masters of Military Arts & Sciences (MMAS) from the Advanced Military Studies Program (SAMS) and a B.S. in Environmental Engineering from the United States Military Academy.
Publications:
- “Sapper-Athlete-Warrior Program: An Integrated Approach to Periodized Warrior Fitness” coauthored with Maryrose Blank, Jessica Garza and Brian Wade (2014), in Journal of Sports Psychology in Action, 5:2, 73-87
- Empowering Interagency Capabilities: A Regional Approach (monograph), School of Advanced Military Studies, 74.