Robert O. Kirkland

Professor Robert O. Kirkland retired from the United States Army in December 2013 after 26 years on active duty. He is an independent scholar and consultant. Previously, he was the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Professor of Military Science at the University of Southern California from 2010 to 2013 where he supervised a team of instructors who recruit, train, and commission future Army leaders from Los Angeles' South Bay area. He is a 1988 graduate of the United States Military Academy, West Point, where he finished as the top international history major for his class and winner of the Omar Bradley history senior thesis award. After a variety of military assignments following his graduation from West Point, he returned to academia in 1996, earning a MA and PhD in 2001 in Latin American History from the University of Pittsburgh. He also received an advanced certificate in Latin American Studies from the Center for Latin American Studies and a certificate in National Security Studies from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs while at Pittsburgh. Since 1998, he has held teaching positions in the Department of History at the United States Military Academy- West Point, Claremont McKenna College, and the University of Southern California. He taught the following courses at each institution: United States Military Academy: World History, Latin American History, and History of U.S.-Latin American Relations. Claremont McKenna College: History of U.S.-Latin American Relations, U.S. Defense Policy, and Comparative Military Systems. University of Southern California: The American Military Experience and U.S. Military History. At USC, Professor Kirkland was a leader in campus involvement. Along with teaching history and military science courses, he lectured in the USC Sidney Harman Academy for Polymathic Study, where he, along with other distinguished USC professors, offered a series of conversational encounters intended to intensify polymathic (integrated interdisciplinary) awareness. Recently, he has taught courses at the Academy on Military Science and Veterans Issues. Prior to his arrival at USC, he served for a year as the Chief Historian for all Multi-National and United States Forces in Iraq. In this position, he served as the primary historical advisor to the theater Commanding General, Raymond Odierno, providing him singular expertise on historical preservation and documentation in order to ensure that future historians have a complete documentary record of this conflict. Professor Kirkland has an extensive background in Latin American Studies, including serving as President of the Pacific Coast Council on Latin American Studies (PCCLAS) from 2007 to 2009. In 2009, he was awarded the E. Bradford Burns award for singular contributions to the success of the organization. He is the author of Observing our Hermanos de Armas: U.S. Military Attaches in Guatemala, Cuba, and Bolivia 1950-1964 published by Routledge in 2003 and contributed to the United States Military Academy's student text, History of the World, with chapters on Latin America. He is also the author of numerous articles and book reviews, which have appeared in the most prestigious academic journals. He has appeared on the History Channel and Biography Channel and has been quoted by numerous media outlets including the Associated Press, Reuters, and the Houston Chronicle. He is a member of the Latin American Studies Association, the American Historical Association, and the International Studies Association. His military decorations in a 26-year career include the Legion of Merit and Bronze Star. He is also the recipient of the Combat Action Badge for actions in Iraq from 2003 to 2004 as well as having served in Operation Desert Storm in 1991.