LTC Jim Gifford serves as an instructor at the Dwight D. Eisenhower School, National Defense University, Fort McNair, Washington D.C.
Prior to his current assignment, he led the Nuclear Wargaming team at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s (DTRA) Nuclear Technology Department in the Research & Development Directorate. In this position he supported over 30 major Joint Staff, Service, and Combatant Command wargames with nuclear weapon effects subject matter expertise. LTC Gifford also supported the Army Science Board’s 2023 study “An Independent Assessment of the Army's Ability to Fight and Win on a Nuclear Battlefield” as a senior military advisor.
LTC Gifford was commissioned into the Field Artillery in 2001 upon graduation from the United Stated Military Academy and served as a fire support officer during the initial days of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and later as a platoon leader during Operation Iraqi Freedom II. He was the distinguished graduate of the US Army Filed Artillery Captain’s Career Course and went on to teach gunnery at the Field Artillery school. LTC Gifford then taught chemistry and chemical engineering at the United States Military Academy. He became a Functional Area 52 (Nuclear and Counter-WMD Officer) in 2013 and has been assigned to DTRA twice.
LTC Gifford has a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the United States Military Academy, a Master of Arts degree in Management and Leadership from Webster University, a Master of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from North Carolina State University. His dissertation is titled “Characterizing Variance in Fallout Composition Due to Uncertainty in Thermodynamic Models of Fractionation”.
LTC Gifford is married to Natalie Gifford and they have 5 children: Cole, Alli, Avery, Cooper, and Rori.