Colonel (Ret) Lance Lewis, PhD, USMC

Retired U.S. Marine Col. Lance Lewis, PhD, known as "Boil," earned his doctorate in War Studies from the Royal Military College in Kingston, Canada, and retired from active duty as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps in August 2024. Designated a naval aviator in 1999 and selected to fly the F/A-18, Lewis has extensive operational and tactical experience in the F/A-18, including two carrier and two land-based deployments, all in combat in Operations Enduring Freedom, Southern Watch, Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn. He also served in 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines as a forward air controller in combat operations in Iraq.

With more than 28 years of senior Department of Defense leadership experience, Lewis has succeeded in critical positions serving multinational coalitions, leading 13,500-person organizations and managing up to $7 billion in budgets and resources. He has led in intense geopolitical crises that shaped national policy, all in the highest-intensity environments and with extraordinary levels of responsibility. As a senior Marine officer, Lewis lived more than seven years in the United Kingdom and Japan; planned, supported and led operations across Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific; led hundreds of Marines in combat operations; engaged and partnered with host-nation leaders; and led personnel from as many as 70 coalition nations in support of U.S. national interests overseas. He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy with a major in American history and was awarded a Master of Arts in National Security Studies, with distinction, from the Naval War College and a Master of Science in National Security Strategy from the National War College.

Lewis is passionate about building and leading high-functioning teams that drive the operational success of large organizations. Since retiring from active duty, Lewis has spoken at George Washington University’s Elliott School at the National Security and Naval Power Bootcamp, and the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. He served as keynote speaker for the 250th Marine Corps Birthday Ball of the Marine Corps League of Ellis County, Texas, and was a featured speaker at the 2025 Society of Military History annual conference.