Andrew Underwood

The son of a National Park Ranger, Lieutenant Colonel Underwood spent his childhood growing up in national parks and monuments across Oregon and California. Commissioned as a Military Intelligence officer after graduating from West Point in 2006, his early career included two combat deployments to Afghanistan with the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in Vicenza, Italy. He later served as the MI Detachment Commander and Intelligence Officer for the 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) in Okinawa, Japan. During this time, he deployed to Afghanistan for a third tour and supported special operations and combined-joint training events throughout the Indo-Pacific region. In 2013, he became a Foreign Area Officer, training in Polish language through the Department of State's Foreign Service Institute. He returned to Poland as Assistant Army Attaché (2017–2020), then joined the Joint Staff J-5 as a politico-military planner and executive assistant to the Deputy Director for Europe, NATO, and Russia. He most recently served as Office of Defense Cooperation Chief at the U.S. Embassy in Tallinn, Estonia. LTC Underwood holds a B.S. in International Relations from West Point and an M.A. in Regional Studies (Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia) from Harvard University. His military awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Combat Action Badge, Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge, and the Joint Staff Identification Badge. He is also a recipient of the Polish Army Medal in Silver.