Brent A. Alves

M.A. Political Science, University of Illinois at Springfield, 2019
B.S. Political Science, Northern Arizona University, 2015

Brent was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California, and is a graduate of Northern Arizona University, where he earned a B.S. in Political Science with minors in Sociology and Aerospace Studies. He currently serves as an active-duty United States Air Force officer specializing in Nuclear and Missile Operations. During his career, Brent has served in a variety of operational, instructional, evaluative, and leadership positions, including assignments in the United States and South Korea. He later earned an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois Springfield.

Brent’s most recent assignment was with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, where he served as a Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Regional Planner supporting security cooperation and strategic planning efforts focused on the Indo-Pacific. He was selected through the Air Force’s Nuclear Policy Ph.D. pipeline program to pursue his doctorate in Political Science and International Affairs at the University of Georgia, where he studies International Relations and Comparative Politics.

His research interests include nuclear deterrence, extended deterrence, alliance politics, nuclear proliferation, and Indo-Pacific security.

Air Force Nuclear and Missile Operations Nuclear Policy Ph.D. pipeline selectee (2025)

Recipient of multiple individual, team and installation military awards (2018-2024) listed below

• Flight Commander of the Year
• Operations Staff Officer of the Year
• Pacific Air Force’s Best Small Installation Node of the Year
• Professional Team of the Year
• Collaboration Team of the Year
• Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Crew of the Year

BS Cum Laude (2015)

One of ~300 individuals selected for the FBI Honors Internship program from a pool of over 15,000 national applicants (2014)

Indo-Pacific Security and Strategy; Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Policy; Military Alliances and Extended Deterrence; Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction; U.S. and China Strategic Competition