John Spencer (military officer)

Last updated

John Spencer
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branch United States Army
California State Guard
Rank Major (USA)
Colonel (CSG)
Commands heldUrban Warfare Training, 40th Infantry Division
Battles/wars Iraq War
Alma mater Georgetown University

John W. Spencer is a retired United States Army officer, researcher of urban warfare, and author. He currently serves as the chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute, codirector of the Urban Warfare Project, and host of the Urban Warfare Project Podcast, at West Point. [1]

Contents

He has commented on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. His comments on the Israeli invasion of Gaza Strip have been controversial. [2]

Military career

He enlisted in the United States Army as a private, immediately after graduating from high school at the age of 17, [3] eventually reaching the rank of Sergeant first class, until receiving commission; he retired from active service with the rank of major. [4]

During his military career, he was infantry platoon leader and company commander, including two combat tours during the Iraq War. In Iraq, he served during the initial invasion in 2003 and later in 2008 during the Iraq War troop surge and the Battle of Sadr City. [5] [6] He was also assigned to Ranger School, Joint Chiefs of Staff, etc. Later he became a fellow with the chief of staff of the Strategic Studies Group, until he moved to Modern War Institute (MWI). [7]

Work

Spencer is currently a chair of urban warfare studies at the MWI and a colonel in the California State Guard, where he is assigned as the director of urban warfare training with the 40th Infantry Division. [8]

During the summer of 2022, while Russian invasion of Ukraine was still in progress, he visited Ukraine, "to study the battle of Kyiv." [9]

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he started giving advice on "how to resist the Russian invasions" through Twitter. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] This culminated in him releasing "The Mini-Manual for the Urban Defender: A Guide to the Strategies and Tactics of Defending a City", which was translated in more than 10 languages. [15] [16] [17]

He is also a contributing editor at War on the Rocks . [18]

Opinions on Israeli invasion of Gaza

John Spencer has praised the Israeli military's performance during its invasion of Gaza Strip, and hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. [19] According to a foreign policy adviser of Netanyahu, Spencer believes "Israel sets the gold standard in terms of preserving civilian lives". [20] Spencer argues that Israeli attempts to evacuate Gazan civilians, roof knocking and texting civilians ahead of an airstrike have never been implemented by any military before. [21]

Larry Lewis of Center for Naval Analyses has criticized Spencer's positions. [2] He argues that the IDF's order for 1 million Gazans to evacuate to in 24 hour was deemed practically impossible by experts, and that Israel attacked civilians while they were evacuating and then again once the civilians were in southern Gaza. Lewis also questions how many text message warnings got through, due to destruction of infrastructure, and argues that roof knocking can cause confusion which can reduce its effectiveness. [2]

In an interview on CNN, Spencer insisted that Israel's bombing of the Gaza Strip had been "proportional, very discriminate, very precise." [22]

Publications

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References

  1. ↑ MWI.USMA.edu - John Spencer
  2. 1 2 3 Lewis, Larry (12 March 2024). "Israeli Civilian Harm Mitigation in Gaza: Gold Standard or Fool's Gold?". Just Security.
  3. ↑ International Policy Digest - Conversation with Ret. Colonel John Spencer, Chair of Urban Warfare Studies
  4. ↑ MWI.USMA.edu - John Spencer
  5. ↑ JohnSpencerOnline.com - Urban Warfare
  6. ↑ MWI.USMA.edu - John Spencer
  7. ↑ MWI.USMA.edu - John Spencer
  8. ↑ MWI.USMA.edu - John Spencer
  9. ↑ WashingtonExaminer.com - John Spencer is a world-renowned expert on urban combat. Here’s how he thinks the war in Ukraine is going
  10. ↑ OpenCulture.com - West Point Expert Gives Ukrainians Advice on Conducting Effective Urban Warfare Against Russian Troops
  11. ↑ Marketwatch.com - Advice on how to fend off Russian army from urban warfare expert hits Twitter as battle for Ukraine’s capital Kyiv rages
  12. ↑ WashingtonExaminer.com - John Spencer is a world-renowned expert on urban combat. Here’s how he thinks the war in Ukraine is going
  13. ↑ KyivPost.com - Leading US Scholar Publishes Book on Urban Warfare Free to Read in Ukrainian
  14. ↑ Sky News - Ukraine invasion: Urban war expert’s advice on how Ukrainian civilians can defend themselves against Russian forces
  15. ↑ JohnSpencerOnline.com - Urban Warfare
  16. ↑ WashingtonExaminer.com - John Spencer is a world-renowned expert on urban combat. Here’s how he thinks the war in Ukraine is going
  17. ↑ KyivPost.com - Leading US Scholar Publishes Book on Urban Warfare Free to Read in Ukrainian
  18. ↑ WarOnTheRocks.com - John Spencer
  19. ↑ "John Spencer Interview of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 27FEB2024". 15 March 2024.
  20. ↑ Simon, Scott (February 17, 2024). "Netanyahu's foreign policy adviser comments on Israel's possible invasion of Rafah". Now, Col. John Spencer - he says that Israel sets the gold standard in terms of preserving civilian lives.
  21. ↑ Spencer, John (31 January 2024). "Israel Tried to Prevent Civilian Casualties More Than Any Nation in History". Newsweek.
  22. ↑ @SpencerGuard (December 5, 2023). "What the IDF is doing is proportional, very discriminate, very precise" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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