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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.

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

Drone Dominance Isn’t the Vital Lesson of Ukraine

By Gil Barndollar

May 5, 2026

In a forest somewhere between Kyiv and the front line, nine men are learning how to stay alive. They are […]

Op-edNATO, Alliances

NATO needs the Germans to be up

By Gil Barndollar

March 6, 2026

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

Three months, two thousand meters: a snapshot of the War in Ukraine

By Gil Barndollar

December 3, 2025

More from Gil Barndollar

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

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

Three months, two thousand meters: a snapshot of the War in Ukraine

By Gil Barndollar

December 3, 2025

Op-edVenezuela, Cuba, Western Hemisphere

Attacking Venezuela would be a giant mistake

By Gil Barndollar

December 2, 2025

In the mediaWestern Hemisphere, Military analysis, Venezuela

U.S. strikes on Venezuela drug smugglers raise legal questions about lethal force

Featuring Gil Barndollar

September 17, 2025

Op-edAlliances, NATO, Ukraine‑Russia

Who will wield all those shiny new weapons?

By Gil Barndollar

September 3, 2025

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