Paula Georgia Thornhill

Background and Education

Paula Thornhill is a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation and director of the Strategy and Doctrine Program within RAND Project AIR FORCE. Thornhill retired from the US Air Force in 2009 as a brigadier general. Her last assignment was as commandant of the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base from 2006 to 2009. She has taught at the Air Force Academy and been assigned to the Air Staff, the Joint Staff, the US Strategic Command, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense. She served as the dean of faculty and academic programs at the National War College and was special assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Just prior to her time as commandant, Thornhill served as principal director for Near Eastern and South Asian affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Thornhill received her BS in history from the United States Air Force Academy, her MA in history from Stanford University, her MS in strategic studies from National War College, and her DPhil in history from Oxford University.