James Gutierrez

Lt. Col. James “Jim” Gutierrez is an Air Force National Defense Fellow and a research fellow at the Belfer Center’s Project on Managing the Atom and International Security Program at Harvard Kennedy School.  His research focuses on nuclear deterrence policy and counter-proliferation in the era of Great Power Competition.  

Jim is an Air Force Officer that has served for over 19 years in a variety of positions to include Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Maintenance (ICBM), conventional weapons maintenance, nuclear weapons maintenance, and aircraft maintenance along with ICBM Test and Evaluation.  He has been assigned to multiple units supporting the nuclear deterrence mission.  Most recently he was the Branch Chief for Nuclear Surety and Policy at United States European Command (USEUCOM) in Stuttgart Germany.  Prior to USEUCOM, he served as the Deputy Commander for the 31st Maintenance Group and was responsible for 56 combat-coded F-16’s C/D and five HH-60G’s aircraft valued at $2.4 billion, and provided force infrastructure support for 1,600 assigned military and civilian personnel.

He has commanded Munitions Squadrons in both Air Force Global Strike Command and United States Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces in Africa enabling the deterrence mission in multiple theaters.  He is a graduate of the United States Air Force School of Advanced Nuclear Deterrence Studies and the Advanced Maintenance and Munitions Operations School, Combat Support Course at Nellis AFB and has master’s degrees in Military Operations and in Nuclear Enterprise Operations Management.