Col. Andrea Thompson

By Catrina DubianskySeptember 4, 2020

2020 Hall of Fame Inductee

University of South Dakota (1988)

Andrea L. Thompson as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hosts the Ceremonial Swearing-In Ceremony for Andrea L. Thompson as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on June 19, 2018. [State Department photo/ Public Domain] (Photo Credit: State Department) VIEW ORIGINAL

It was 1988 when Col. Andrea Thompson commissioned in the Army, through the University of South Dakota ROTC program, and her thriving future started. During her service, Thompson was deployed to Afghanistan, Bosnia, Germany, Honduras, Nicaragua, Belize, and twice in Iraq.

In 2004, Thompson served in Iraq as an intelligence taskforce commander for the 25th Infantry Division and in 2013 she became the senior military advisor to the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee. Thompson then went on to become the executive officer for the Under Secretary of the Army in 2014, and afterwards, she became the national security advisor to the House Committee on Homeland Security. After 28 long years of service in the Army, Thompson retired.

Following her retirement, Thompson became the director of the McChrystal Group Leadership Institute until 2017, where she was then appointed the National Security Advisor to Vice President Mike Pence. After being nominated and then confirmed as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs in 2018, Thompson left her position and has helped to co- author a book titled “Achieving Victory in Iraq: Countering an Insurgency.”

About the Army ROTC Hall of Fame

The ROTC Hall of Fame was established in 2016 as part of the ROTC Centennial celebration. The first class (2016) inducted 326 former ROTC Cadets who had distinguished themselves in their military or civilian career.

The Hall of Fame honors graduates of the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps who have distinguished themselves in military or civilian pursuits. It provides a prestigious and tangible means of recognizing and honoring Army ROTC Alumni who have made lasting, significant contributions to the Nation, the Army and the history and traditions of the Army ROTC Program.

Read more about all 16 of the 2020 Hall of Fame Inductees.