Background
Matthew Shoemaker is a former Intelligence Officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency. After spending years on the Russia desk overseas with European Command's Joint Intelligence Center, he used his expertise as a Chinese nuclear forces officer working closely with Strategic Command.
Raised in a hard-working military and law enforcement family, his ancestors served their community for almost 200 years including serving in the Continental militia in the American Revolution.
He graduated from George Washington University with a bachelors in Political Science and International Affairs and received a masters degree in Philosophy from Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. After his doctoral studies in Nuclear War Strategy at King’s College London, he moved to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii to work for the Navy’s Pacific Fleet.
Matthew returned to Washington, DC to accept a position as a Counterintelligence Officer with the Pentagon’s intelligence agency. He was assigned to the Russia desk in Quantico, Virginia as analytic support to operations and later was stationed at RAF Alconbury in the United Kingdom for several years where he led soldiers and sailors at European Command’s intelligence center, working closely with NATO partners. There, he was assigned to one of the most rigorous portfolios as an Eastern European expert on Russia and Ukraine.
In 2019, while still in the UK, Matthew commissioned as an Intelligence Officer in the United States Navy Reserve. The proudest moment in his life was receiving his first salute from his father, Coast Guard Command Master Chief Kurt Shoemaker, at his retirement ceremony.
He continued his Navy training at Newport News, Rhode Island, and Norfolk, Virginia and received a certificate in Strategic Defense Policy from the U.S. Army War College. After finishing his overseas assignment with European Command, he returned home to lead the China nuclear forces team at DIA.
Matthew has published articles for RealClearDefense, Defense IQ, and International Relations Today and he has been a commentator on numerous national broadcasts including Fox News, Newsmax, and PBS.