Russell Rumbaugh

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Russell Rumbaugh is a senior associate at Stimson and director of its Budgeting for Foreign Affairs and Defense program. He is a widely recognized expert on the institutions, processes and budgets of US national security. He has proven a perceptive and productive observer of these issues, in part by contributing new and groundbreaking analysis in reports on defense strategy, defense procurement, foreign policy personnel, public diplomacy and the costs of nuclear weapons. Rumbaugh is a sought-after speaker, and his work has been cited by The New York Times, The Washington Post and others.

Before joining Stimson, Rumbaugh was the defense analyst on the Senate Budget committee covering both the 050 Defense and 150 International Affairs accounts of the U.S. government budget. He also served as military legislative assistant for Congressman Jim Cooper from Tennessee, and was the lead staffer for Rep. Cooper as chairman of the House Armed Services Committee’s panel on Roles and Missions. In this role, he helped to produce the report “Initial Perspectives” in February 2008.

Rumbaugh previously served as an operations research analyst in the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Program Analysis and Evaluation, as a military analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency and as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army resigning with the rank of captain.

Rumbaugh holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Chicago and a Master of Science in security studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was awarded the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Award for Excellence as well as the U.S. Army Commendation Medal for his service in Kosovo.

Selected Publications

What We Bought: Defense Procurement from FY01-FY10 (Stimson, October 28, 2011)

Real Acquisition Reform (Joint Force Quarterly, September 2009)

Strategic Agility: Strong National Defense for Today’s Global and Fiscal Realities (Stimson, September 24, 2013)

Diplomacy in a Time of Scarcity (Stimson, October 25, 2012)

The Pentagon as Pitchman: Perception and Reality in Public Diplomacy (Stimson, December 6, 2012)

Resolving Ambiguity: Costing Nuclear Weapons (Stimson, June 5, 2012)

A Tax to Pay for War (New York Times, February 10, 2013)

The Logical Conclusion of the New Defense Strategy (CNN, January 6, 2012)

The Battle Between the Air Force and the Air National Guard (DefenseOne, August 29, 2013)

Also see BFAD’s Budget Analysis pages for Defense and Foreign Affairs

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