Colonel Andrew Bernard a visiting fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center. He joined the Council as a visiting fellow through the Department of Defense’s SkillBridge program.

Bernard’s career in the US Air Force began when he was commissioned through the Reserve Officer Training Corps at Miami University, Ohio. He spent the majority of his career as a F-15E weapons systems officer, with multiple operational tours around the globe. Bernard taught at the F-15E Weapons School, commanded the 561st Joint Tactics Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, and served as the 4th Fighter Wing vice commander from 2014 to 2016.

In addition to his operational background, Bernard was a US Air Force foreign area officer with over a decade in Europe. After completing his senior staff college as an exchange officer with the Belgian military, he served as the deputy director of NATO’s counterterrorism advisory body—the Centre of Excellence Defence Against Terrorism—in Ankara, Turkey. Bernard also served as the US senior defense official/defense and air attaché to Portugal from 2018 to 2022, where he represented senior Pentagon leaders to Portugal while advising the ambassador and country team on political-military affairs. Bernard speaks French and Portuguese.

Bernard received a BA in history from Miami University. He also received a MA in national security affairs with honors from the Naval Postgraduate School and a MA in political and military science from the Royal Military Academy in Brussels.