U.S. Army Special Forces
International Affairs Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations

Major James A. Gavrilis is a career US Army Special Forces Officer. He has commanded in the 3rd and 5th Special Forces Groups (Airborne) and in the US Army Special Operations Command. He has served overseas in Africa, the Balkans, and the Middle East in training, peacekeeping, and combat operations. Over the last two years, he has focused on unconventional warfare, counter-terrorism, counter-insurgency, and counter-proliferation in Iraq and in other parts of the Middle East. During his previous assignment he commanded a large special operations force in Iraq through the initiation of hostilities, major combat operations, and into the civil administration that followed. He recently returned from his last tour in Iraq where he was responsible for the planning and execution of multi-national, multi-agency, and joint counter-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations, and for directing the operations of all US Army Special Forces teams operating throughout the country. 

Major Gavrilis is an International Affairs Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and an associate at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University.  Major Gavrilis earned his BA in Political Science at the Pennsylvania State University focusing on international and comparative politics and his MA in International Studies at Old Dominion University focusing on conflict and cooperation. He is a resident graduate of the US Army Command and General Staff College, where he earned the Master Strategist and Joint Planner designations.