Roger Thompson

In 1991 I graduated from King's College/Dalhousie with an Honours Certificate in Sociology. Upon graduation, I was employed by the Department of National Defence in Ottawa to conduct a study on combat motivation in naval units. My resulting research paper "Combat Motivation and Behaviour Among Naval Forces: A Discussion Paper" earned international praise from admirals in many navies, including those from the US, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Chile, Germany, Italy, as well as our own Canadian Navy. The Chief of Staff of the Italian Navy gave me a medallion for my work, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Armada had my paper translated into Spanish and published. 

I was fortunate to complete my graduate work in political science at Dalhousie as well. There I learned a lot from my #1 mentor, the late Rear-Admiral Fred Crickard, and my MA thesis was published twice and endorsed by the youngest four-star admiral in American history: ADM Elmo R. Zumwalt, who as head of the USN, fought racial and sexual discrimination in the 1970s and had his picture on the cover of Time magazine. The acclaimed military sociologist, the late Charles Moskos, called me "The leading scholar in the sociology of naval institutions." My second book, Lessons Not Learned: The U.S. Navy's Status Quo Culture was published in 2007 and was endorsed by the world famous aircraft designer, the late Pierre Sprey, who was directly involved in the design of the legendary F-16 and A-10 aircraft.

I am currently an Assistant Professor at Kyung Hee University in South Korea, where I hold the distinction of being the country's first foreign civics professor and I also teach Korea's first Star Trek class (which focuses on ethics). As part of my civics class, I teach the civic ideals of President John F. Kennedy, which played a major part in my receiving a letter from his daughter Ambassador Caroline Kennedy for preserving his legacy. My civics class has also been praised by former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe Admiral James Stavridis. 

My Star Trek class was endorsed by best-selling Star Trek author and Hollywood writer/ producer Mark A. Altman, who said:  “Roger Thompson is one of the foremost experts on Star Trek in the world. His class on the ethics of Star Trek and insights into the sociological underpinnings of this unique pop culture staple should be part of any curriculum about this iconic television series.”

To sum up, I would not be where I am today if I had not received such a great undergraduate and graduate education from Dalhousie University. I am returning to Canada in 2024 to pivot to a new career as a full-time freelance military writer. For more information on my publications, please visit www.rogerthompson.ca.