Colonel Matthew T. Pope is a Military Instructor at the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy, National Defense University. He brings more than two decades of experience in defense acquisition, engineering innovation, international security cooperation, and joint military operations, with assignments spanning advanced weapons, flight test and operational test and evaluation, fighter aircraft modernization, strategic resource planning, and foreign military sales.
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Colonel Pope earned his commission through the Air Force Officer Training School. His career progressed from engineering, flight test, and operational test and evaluation assignments to leadership positions overseeing major acquisition programs, international partnerships, and strategic resource planning, contributing to the modernization and sustainment of critical Air Force and partner nation capabilities across the defense acquisition enterprise.
Before joining the Eisenhower School faculty, Colonel Pope served as Chief of Operations in the National Military Command Center, leading a team that integrated global military operations across the Services and Combatant Commands. His team's efforts prepared the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for meetings with the President, the Secretary of War, the National Security Council, and Congress.
Colonel Pope holds master's degrees in Business Administration from Louisiana State University, Materials Science from the Air Force Institute of Technology, Military Operational Art and Science from Air Command and Staff College, and National Security and Resource Strategy from the Eisenhower School, where his industry study focused on biotechnology. He has authored and coauthored several technical publications in the fields of warhead design and advanced materials.