Heritage Foundation Leadership for America

Mackenzie Eaglen, as The Heritage Foundation's Research Fellow for National Security Studies, specializes in subjects such as defense strategy, military readiness and transformation efforts. A policy expert within Heritage's Davis Institute for International Studies, Eaglen also focuses on the defense industrial base and the size and structure of the nation's armed forces.

Before joining Heritage in 2006, Eaglen was principal defense adviser to Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee. Eaglen previously served as legislative assistant to Rep. John E. Sweeney (R-NY).

Her commentaries have appeared in major newspapers, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, and in military-focused publications such as Armed Forces Journal, Defense News, Army Times and the magazines National Defense and Military Technology. Her paper, "A New Look at Readiness: Solving the Army's Quandary," was taught at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pa.

In addition to her Capitol Hill experience, Eaglen served for more than two years at the Pentagon as a Presidential Management Fellow. She researched and analyzed defense resources and budgeting, strategic planning, Iraqi reconstruction efforts and the U.S. defense industrial base. She also wrote speeches for Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for four years following the September 11 attacks.

Eaglen previously was a national security analyst at the Association of the United States Army's Institute of Land Warfare.

She has presented lectures at the Army War College, National Defense University, American University, Georgetown University, University of Georgia, Indiana University and Hofstra University. She also has appeared on defense panels at venues such as the National Guard Association, the Federalist Society, the National Defense Industrial Association, the Security Industry Association and the University of Pennsylvania.

Eaglen received her master's degree in national security studies from Georgetown University in 2001. She graduated from Mercer University, in Macon, Ga., with a bachelor's degree in international affairs while serving in the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps.