Gary J. Sampson concurrently a Ph.D. candidate at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University and a U.S. Marine Corps officer, now serving as a speechwriter and special assistant to the 20th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in December 1994 and served for five years as a Communications Intelligence Intercept operator/analyst with 1st Radio Battalion, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Afterward, he earned a Bachelor of Science in education and human sciences at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln. In December 2004, he was commissioned a Marine Corps second lieutenant via the Platoon Leaders Course.
Following The Basic School (TBS) and the Signals Intelligence Officer Course (SIOC), Second Lieutenant Sampson joined 3rd Radio Battalion, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. In 2005-06, he served as watch officer at the Operations Control and Analysis Center, Camp Blue Diamond, Ramadi, Iraq, and watch officer, Operations Control Element–8, Camp Fallujah, Iraq. After Operation Iraqi Freedom, he deployed in 2006-07 as commander of the Signals Intelligence Support Platoon, Joint Special Operations Task Force–Philippines. In June 2007, First Lieutenant Sampson assumed duties as aide-de-camp to the deputy commanding general, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific, Camp H. M. Smith, Hawaii.
In July 2008, First Lieutenant Sampson began studies at the Defense Language Institute–Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC) in Chinese-Mandarin. Afterward, he reported to Kaohsiung, Taiwan where he served as an Olmsted Foundation Scholar at National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU). In June 2011, he earned a Master of Social Science degree from NSYSU’s Institute of China and Asia-Pacific Studies.
From July 2011 to August 2014, Captain Sampson served as the Commanding Officer, Company A, Marine Cryptologic Support Battalion at Buckley Air Force Base, Aurora, Colorado.
In August 2014, Captain Sampson proceeded to III Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF), Okinawa, Japan. He served with the MEF as an intelligence planner, G-2 Plans officer, and G-2 Operations officer.
In July 2017, Major Sampson assumed duties as the Commandant of the Marine Corps Fellow at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. He is a doctoral candidate with concentrations in international security studies and Pacific Asia. His dissertation research focuses on China’s influence on the development of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program in the post-Cold War era. He is now concurrently serving as a speechwriter and special assistant to the 20th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Major Sampson is a graduate with honors from Officer Candidate School, TBS, SIOC, and the Marine Corps Command and Staff College Distance Education Program. He holds a Master of Science in strategic intelligence from National Intelligence University, Washington, D.C., and an Associate of Arts in Chinese-Mandarin from DLIFLC. Since 2012, he has been a Northeast Asia foreign area officer. His writings have appeared in the International Journal of Korean Studies, Marine Corps History, U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, the Marine Corps Gazette, Military Review, The Strategy Bridge, the Central Intelligence Agency’s Studies in Intelligence journal, and in conference proceedings on nuclear issues from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). From 2012-2015, Major Sampson was a member of National Defense University’s Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction Program for Emerging Leaders, and from 2013-2016, he was a Sasakawa Peace Foundation Non-Resident fellow with the Pacific Forum in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is currently an external fellow at Boston University’s International History Institute.