Major Leo Matthews is a native of Rye, New York, and teaches courses in Terrorism and American Politics in the Department of Social Sciences at West Point. He previously served as a military intelligence officer in the 1st Ranger Battalion, where he conducted three counterterrorism targeting deployments to Afghanistan in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel (2018–2022). Before that, he served as an infantry officer in the 173rd Infantry Brigade.
Leo holds an M.A. in Security Studies from Georgetown University and an B.S. in Civil Engineering from West Point. His research focuses on counterterrorism strategy, civil-military relations, and the application of artificial intelligence to military intelligence. He and his wife, Dominique, have a son named Killian.
