The White House’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, began his military career in 1963 by attending the Air Force’s Signal Intelligence Officers Course as a distinguished military graduate from the University of Maryland. Clapper went on to serve combat tours in both South Vietnam and Thailand. In 1970, he obtained his master’s in political science from St. Mary’s University in Texas shortly before he was honored with a doctorate in strategic intelligence from the Joint Military Intelligence College.

Taking his classroom experience to the field, Clapper filled intelligence-oriented positions in Korea from 1985 to 1987. During Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm, Clapper held the post of assistant chief of staff for intelligence at the Air Force headquarters in Washington D.C. After a 32-year service to the United States military, Clapper spent nearly four years as Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency before retiring from the Air Force in 1995. FULL POST