Jaron Wharton

Jaron S. Wharton is an infantry officer who most recently commanded an airborne brigade in the US Army. His traditional military assignments were within the 82nd Airborne Division and the 101st Airborne Division. He also served on the National Security Council staff as a deputy executive secretary and later as the chief of staff to the deputy national security advisor for strategy. He is a former White House Fellow, Term Member at the Council on Foreign Relations, research Fellow at West Point's Modern War Institute (MWI), and military Fellow at both the Center for a New American Security and the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

He holds several military awards and decorations including the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal with three oak leaf clusters and “valor” device, the Ranger Tab, the Combat and Expert Infantryman’s Badge, the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, and multiple foreign awards. He holds a B.S. in Political Science from the United States Military Academy (2001), an MPA from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government (2009), and both an MA (2017) and a PhD (2019) from Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy.