The Robert F. Byrnes, Russian and East European Institute at Indiana University welcomes its fifth U.S. Army War College Fellow, Lt. Col. Stephanie Baugh, for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Baugh’s year as a USAWC Fellow provides a significant change of pace after three action-packed years in Eastern Europe. While at REEI, she is auditing a course to refresh her Russian language skills.
Her other courses include Professor of Practice Michael Brose’s Eurasian Firewalls, Associate Professor Dina Spechler’s American Foreign Policy: Navigating the Nuclear Age, and Adjunct Faculty Jessica Storey-Nagy’s Anthropology of War and Conflict in Eastern Europe.
“An important part of my fellowship is serving as an Army ambassador to engage students, faculty researchers, and the public in both formal and informal capacities at REEI and HLS,” said Baugh. “I am excited to share my field experience as an Army Foreign Area Officer with the graduate students or anyone interested.”
Auditing courses provide Baugh with an academic perspective on her lived experiences. “I spent a year embedded with the Iraqi army at a remote location. What it looks like on the ground is different from zooming out and examining how countries move towards armed conflict and the impact of war on civilians through an anthropological lens.”
At the same time, Baugh appreciates the opportunity to share her own experiences of war. “An insight I can offer is that current military leaders, having served in combat, understand the lifelong impact of war on soldiers and their families; we are looking first for diplomatic solutions to prevent war while training to win if we are called upon.”
In addition to her classroom experience, Baugh regularly engages in outreach events for REEI and the broader campus. She has lectured in undergraduate classes, given an informational session to graduate students on careers in the Department of Defense and led a discussion on the geopolitical implications of the war in Ukraine. Baugh participated in an HLS dean’s roundtable discussion with U.S Marine Corps Brigadier General James A. Ryan II and helped REEI host a delegation from the Zhytomyr region of Ukraine. She also had the opportunity to interact with select members of the HLS Dean’s Advisory Council, including James Collins, former U.S. ambassador to the Russian Federation (1997-2001).
Baugh, a West Point graduate, earned an M.A. in National Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School and graduated with honors from the Defense Language Institute Russian Basic Course in Monterey, California. Most recently, Baugh was the senior defense official and defense attaché to Lithuania at the U.S. Embassy in Vilnius from July 2021 to June 2024. She represented the U.S. Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Commander of the U.S. European Command to the government of Lithuania and the Lithuanian Armed Forces
Baugh believes the USAWC fellowship is mutually beneficial for the Army and IU. “This program is incredible and unique,” she said. “It’s important for future Army senior leaders to have an informed strategic understanding of Russia, especially with the geopolitical situation we’re seeing – not just in Europe – but globally. I expect that as Army leaders coming to this program, we will contribute in a positive way and model Army values.”
Baugh is the fifth USAWC Fellow to be assigned to REEI since 2019. Hamilton Lugar School Military Relations Coordinator Elliott Nowacky, who has worked closely with all the fellows, agrees. “Our students have benefitted greatly from our fellows. They learn first-hand about the key roles they play while serving as attachés at U.S. Embassies and in other key leadership positions, as well as the importance of foreign language skills and cultural understanding,” said Nowacky. “Our students also gain insights on the challenges and rewards of military life.”
“For our fellows, this is a unique opportunity to take courses from world-class faculty, engage and learn from our students, and share their experiences with the local community and beyond about the important work they are doing on behalf of the nation,” he said.
REEI is among only 49 institutions worldwide to host USAWC Fellows, field-grade officers who complete individual learning plans designed to enhance their critical thinking, academic prowess, and professional skills while sharing their practical expertise and representing the U.S. Army with their host institution and community.
”For more than sixty years, the U.S. Department of Education Title VI has funded REEI as a National Resource Center and Foreign Language and Area Studies Center,” said REEI Director Halina Goldberg. “As one of the top Russian and East European Area Studies institutions in the U.S., we are proud to have the resources to provide the academic education sought by the USAWC Fellows. At the same time, our students and faculty benefit from the real-life experience fellows share while they are here.”.