Colonel O'Keefe joined the National War College faculty in June 2026. Prior to his current assignment, he served as Commandant and Dean of the Department of the Air Force's School of Advanced Air and Space Studies (SAASS), Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. In this role, he led 17 terminally-degreed faculty and three professional staff design and deliver a one-year graduate program leading to a Master of Philosophy degree. SAASS produces 45 joint and international military strategists annually as the Air and Space Forces' Advanced Studies Group program.
Colonel O'Keefe commissioned in 2000 through Air Force ROTC from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He served three assignments as a C-130E/H instructor navigator, during which he deployed in support of Operations ENDURING FREEDOM, IRAQI FREEDOM, and CJTF-HORN OF AFRICA. In 2009, he entered the Foreign Area Officer program and served a joint tour in the Commander's Action Group at Headquarters Southern Command, Doral, Florida. After graduating SAASS in 2015, he served as inaugural commander of the 621st Mobility Support Operations Squadron, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey. This unit was dedicated to joint air mobility liaising, and his Air Mobility Liaison Officers embedded within U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, and SOF operational headquarters at 20 operating locations across the globe, including in support of Operations FREEDOM'S SENTINEL and INHERENT RESOLVE. Having completed senior service school at the Ecole de guerre, Paris, France, Colonel O'Keefe became the Senior Executive Officer to the Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force, International Affairs, where he led staff of 250 military, civilians, and contractors conduct the Department of the Air Force's Security Cooperation portfolio.
Colonel O'Keefe holds a BS in International Affairs from the Georgia Institute of Technology, an MA in Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School, an MPhil in Military Strategy from the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, and a PhD in International Relations from American University. Additionally, he is a certified linguist in French and Spanish and a joint-qualified officer. He is a senior navigator with 2,100 (300 combat) flying hours in the C-130E/H.
FUNCTIONAL EXPERTISE: Civil-Military Relations, Organizational Behavior and Bureaucratic Politics, Strategic Decision-making, IR Theory
REGIONAL EXPERTISE: Europe, Latin America