Jeffrey T. Oppenheim

International Affairs Fellow in Japan, Sponsored by Hitachi, Ltd. 2009-2010

Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey T. Oppenheim is an Army Eurasian foreign area officer (FAO) currently serving at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia. As the chief of the defense threat reduction office, he currently leads a multiservice team focused on the security, elimination and nonproliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction. He previously served as a defense policy advisor to the U.S. Ambassador at NATO, as a strategic planner in the U.S. Military Delegation at NATO, and in various command and staff positions in the 82nd Airborne and 3rd Infantry Divisions. Jeff has been a senior FAO Fellow at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, worked on the U.S.–Russian Joint Commission, and attended coursework at the Russian Diplomatic Academy. He is a graduate of the Army Ranger, Airborne, Jumpmaster and Pathfinder schools, as well as the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. He holds a BS from the U.S. Military Academy and a MPA from Harvard University.

Jeff plans to study Russia’s role in the Asian Pacific region, in particular Russia–Japan relations and the implications of a resurgent Russia on the security interests of the U.S., Japan, and other allies in the region. This will include examining historical disputes, the Russia–China relationship, relations with other regional powers, economic and trade issues, competition for energy and natural resources, demographic challenges, and existing security agreements and alliance structures.