Doctor of Statecraft & National Security
Counterintelligence Strategist · Scholar · Author · Institution Builder
Defending the Idea of America through scholarship, strategy, and service.
Dr. Shane A. McNeil is a national security scholar and practitioner whose career spans more than two decades of operational, analytical, and policy work across counterintelligence, strategic competition, and national security governance.
His career arc runs from combat engineering and field intelligence operations to senior advisory roles within the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff — where he served as Counterintelligence Policy Advisor before transitioning to independent scholarship and institutional leadership. He currently serves as Innovation Acceleration Advisor to the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security.
Intellectually, Dr. McNeil's work is grounded in the conviction that American national security is ultimately the defense of a philosophical proposition — the Idea of America — rather than a merely geographic or institutional interest. This framework animates his scholarship, his institutional work at the Sentinel Research & Policy Institute, and his approach to teaching and public engagement.
He holds a Doctor of Statecraft and National Security from The Institute of World Politics, a Master of Arts in Forensic Psychology from the University of North Dakota, and a Graduate Certificate in Executive Public Policy from Liberty University. His doctoral research examined the strategic evolution of counterintelligence as a warfighting function in the context of great-power competition with China.
Two decades as a CI special agent, team chief, senior instructor, and policy advisor. Doctoral research focused on CI as a warfighting function in the era of great-power competition. Author of foundational policy guidance and a JCITA-certified instructor.
View Publications →Published in the American Intelligence Journal, USNI Proceedings, War Room, and the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology. Author of a university-adopted cybersecurity textbook and Guarding the Republic.
View Books →Advising the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security on technology innovation and governance. Research on AI ethics, data privacy, and the intersection of emerging technology with national security policy.
View Leadership →Adjunct professor at Columbia Southern University. Guest lecturer at the University of Maryland and George Mason University. Available for keynotes, panels, and executive education on counterintelligence, statecraft, and strategic competition.
Invite to Speak →Joint Civilian Service Achievement Medal
Office of the Secretary of Defense — 2025
HPSCI Citation — SECURE Act
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
DoD CI Training & Education Award
Joint Counterintelligence Training Academy — 2021