Ryan Vest

Ryan Vest is the Executive Editor of the Texas National Security Review at the University of Texas at Austin. He holds a Ph.D. in War Studies from King’s College London, where he focused on Russian military and maritime strategy. He also holds a MA in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College, and a BS in Systems Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy. 

Prior to joining the University of Texas team, Ryan served for 23 years as a Naval Aviator. During the last nine years of his active-duty career, he was a Military Professor at the U.S. Naval War College. He was a founding member, and later director, of both the Russia Maritime Studies Institute (RMSI) and the Holloway Advanced Research Program for the study of high-intensity conflict with Russia. 

He is finishing the manuscript of his first book, Some Principles of Russian Maritime Strategy: Understanding Maritime Power in Putin’s Russia and is under contract for a second, coauthored book, Hands Bound: Russia’s Post-Soviet Navy 1990-2025. He also teaches Warfare Studies and Making Decisions: Strategy and War for the Air Force Global College’s master’s degree program.