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Military analysis, Basing and force posture, Civil-military relations, Counterterrorism, Europe and Eurasia, Foreign and defense policy, and Middle East

Gil Barndollar

Non-Resident Fellow

Gil Barndollar is a non-resident fellow at Defense Priorities and a senior research fellow at the Catholic University of America’s Center for the Study of Statesmanship.

Barndollar served as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps from 2009 to 2016, deploying to Afghanistan twice, to Guantanamo Bay, and to the Persian Gulf. Barndollar has written for publications including The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, Los Angeles Times, and U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, and has appeared on CNN, Fox News, the BBC World Service, and other national and international media outlets. He holds an AB in history from Bowdoin College and MPhil and PhD degrees in history from the University of Cambridge.

In the mediaUkraine‑Russia, Europe and Eurasia, Russia, Ukraine

Ukraine’s newest attack drones are delivering the kind of strikes that its HIMARS couldn’t for years

Featuring Gil Barndollar

June 16, 2026

“In some sectors of the front, they appear to be having a meaningful impact on Russian logistics, which steadily affects front-line […]

In the mediaUS‑Israel‑Iran, Iran, Middle East

Middle East latest: Trump makes peace pact announcement with Iran

Featuring Gil Barndollar

June 14, 2026

In the mediaUkraine‑Russia, Europe and Eurasia, Russia, Ukraine

Ukraine’s mid-range drones are its new ace against Russia, but many don’t arrive war-ready, pilot says

Featuring Gil Barndollar

June 10, 2026

More from Gil Barndollar

In the mediaUkraine‑Russia, Europe and Eurasia, Russia, Ukraine

Ukraine’s newest attack drones are delivering the kind of strikes that its HIMARS couldn’t for years

Featuring Gil Barndollar

June 16, 2026

In the mediaUS‑Israel‑Iran, Iran, Middle East

Middle East latest: Trump makes peace pact announcement with Iran

Featuring Gil Barndollar

June 14, 2026

In the mediaUkraine‑Russia, Europe and Eurasia, Russia, Ukraine

Ukraine’s mid-range drones are its new ace against Russia, but many don’t arrive war-ready, pilot says

Featuring Gil Barndollar

June 10, 2026

Op-edUS‑Israel‑Iran, Iran, Middle East

Donald Trump’s Iran War Could Become America’s ‘Syracuse’—the Disaster That Ended an Empire

By Gil Barndollar

May 29, 2026

Op-edUkraine‑Russia, Drones, Europe and Eurasia, Russia, Ukraine

Drone Dominance Isn’t the Vital Lesson of Ukraine

By Gil Barndollar

May 5, 2026

Op-edNATO, Alliances

NATO needs the Germans to be up

By Gil Barndollar

March 6, 2026

Gil Barndollar Past Events

virtualUkraine‑Russia, Air power, Diplomacy, Drones, Europe and Eurasia, Land power, Military analysis, Russia, Ukraine

Ukraine’s critical choice: Pursue peace or fight on

April 16, 2025
virtualGlobal posture, Grand strategy

Refusing to choose: did the global posture review fail?

December 10, 2021

Gil Barndollar Featured Symposia

symposiumWestern Hemisphere

Americas first: A shift to hemispheric defense

February 10, 2026

ukraine flag
symposiumUkraine, NATO, Russia, Ukraine‑Russia

Lessons from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

February 13, 2023

symposiumAfghanistan, Counterterrorism

Lessons from Afghanistan

September 10, 2021