“I’ve been a lifelong philosopher, writer, and artist of many colors. From storytelling, to poetry, to singer-songwriting, to training in the traditional martial arts—I find wisdom and refuge. In my work, I blend a life of both extreme adversity and great opportunity. From a troubled upbringing that pushed me to leave everything behind for the military, later finding myself thick in the global war on terror and struggling with the trauma born out of combat, to the healing experience of living in South Korea and training under a Kung Fu Grandmaster who had grown up up in Japanese-occupied North Korea and became a guerrilla fighter against the Chinese Communists, to building an amazing and beautiful family through it all who taught me my most valuable lessons. In my work, I strive to make tapestries of words rooted in the heart, mind, and soul…. ”
Veteran. Author.
Thought Leader.
Wes J. Bryant is a retired master sergeant and former special operations joint terminal attack controller (JTAC) in the elite special warfare branch of the US Air Force. He is coauthor of the book Hunting the Caliphate: America’s War on ISIS and the Dawn of the Strike Cell, a first-person account written alongside the former ground force commander of Iraq, Major General Dana J.H. Pittard. In 2014, he was a key member of the special operations response force sent to Baghdad to combat ISIS, and led the team that established the first strike cells to later take down the caliphate. As a senior targeting professional, certified by the US Central Command as an advanced collateral damage estimation analyst, he led three separate strike cells combatting ISIS and other terrorist entities across Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. Wes is now an author and analyst with focus on foreign policy, counterterrorism, and extremism, and works as a defense technologist innovating advanced, next-generation solutions for US warfighters.
Wes holds a Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies from the University of Maryland, Master of Professional Studies in Publishing through George Washington University, and a STEM MBA with a graduate certification in Management of Technology and Innovation through George Washington University. He has contributed to CNN, Washington Post, New York Times, Politico, Military Times, Insider, Task & Purpose, Real Clear Defense, Modern Warfare Institute, Institute for Irregular Warfare, and Lieber Institute for Law and Warfare at West Point. He has been a guest contributor on BNC News and a presenter and panelist covering US strike campaigns and rules of engagement in the war on terror at the Combatting Terrorism Center at West Point, the US Army War College, and the Duke School of Law's Center on Law, Ethics, and National Security.
You can follow Wes on Facebook, X, and Instagram @wesjbryant or visit his site at wesjbryant.com.