Dr. Chase Spears is a combat veteran who served as a U.S. Army public affairs officer for 20 years, retiring from Fort Leavenworth on October 1, 2023. He turned down promotion to Lieutenant Colonel and chose to depart military service as a Major (Promotable) believing that he can serve the nation’s defense more effectively in a civilian capacity.
Chase started his military career as an enlisted man and was quickly encouraged to apply for a commission through officer candidate school. He went on to serve 17 years as an officer and paratrooper at the 55th Combat Camera Company, 4th Brigade (Airborne) – 25th Infantry Division, U.S. Army Alaska Headquarters, and the Mission Command Training Program at Fort Leavenworth. He deployed to Kuwait and served a combat tour in Afghanistan, in addition to serving partnership mission in Canada, Mongolia, Jordan, and Australia. In recognition of excellence in service, he was selected for a competitive U.S. Army fellowship to Georgetown University in 2017. The Army next selected him to attend the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College resident course, which is limited to the top 49% of officers.
Chase’s is the recipient of awards from the Command and General Staff College, Georgetown University, the International Public Relations Research Association, the interdisciplinary national honor society Phi Kappa Phi, and the International Association of Business Communicators (Kansas City chapter).
Dr. Spears is passionate about holding the military accountable to its Constitutional purpose. He is widely published on civil-military and political topics in publications that include The American Mind, Real Clear Defense, The Washington Post, and The Baltimore Sun. He has also authored chapters about communication professionalism in two books. Chase is often sought out for expert perspective by media organizations including News Nation, The Gateway Pundit, and American Family News.
Chase holds a Ph.D. in leadership communication from Kansas State University, where his research focused on the political realities of military norms, culture, and actions.
He recently founded a leadership practice that coaches principled leaders to find their spines, man up, ignore critics, lead boldly, and build substantive legacies.
Dr. Chase Spears 