Jim Townsend is an adjunct senior fellow in the CNAS Transatlantic Security Program and co-host of the long-running weekly podcast “Brussels Sprouts,” which discusses transatlantic security issues.

In 2017, Jim completed eight years as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy, capping 34 years of working in defense and foreign policy in the Pentagon and at NATO. His work spanned the last decade of the Cold War, post-Cold War political unification in Europe, and dealing with the Russian invasion of Europe and its aftermath. His work with NATO involved him in the execution of US military engagements in almost every conflict from the Gulf War to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Jim received a direct commission in the US Navy Reserve (intelligence) and has been decorated by the Department of Defense and by 11 European nations, including the French Legion of Honor.

He is also an adjunct professor at SciencesPo Paris. Jim earned a BA from Duke University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.