2012 STARS Hall of Fame

Dr. Peter Mansoor

Military Historian • Scholar • Strategic Advisor
Mira Loma HS

Dr. Peter Mansoor is a retired U.S. Army colonel and the Raymond E. Mason Jr. Chair of Military History at Ohio State University, where he also holds joint appointments in the Department of History and the Mershon Center. A Mira Loma High School graduate, he graduated first in his class from West Point in 1982, holds an MA and PhD in military history from Ohio State (1992 and 1995), and earned an MSS from the U.S. Army War College in 2003.

Mansoor served 26 years with postings across the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East, including command of the 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division during its 2003–04 Iraq deployment. He played a pivotal role as executive officer to General David Petraeus during the 2007–08 Iraq “surge.”

As an author, he has published several influential works: The GI Offensive in Europe (award‑winning, 2000), Baghdad at Sunrise (2008), and Surge (2013), the latter a finalist for the Guggenheim‑Lehrman Prize. His edited volumes on hybrid warfare and military alliances continue to shape scholarship.

Dr. Mansoor remains a respected voice in public affairs, appearing frequently on television: he most recently featured on Anderson Cooper 360 in June 2025 with Ambassador Brett McGurk to discuss the Israel–Iran conflict. He also appeared on NPR and C‑SPAN earlier in 2025, speaking on contemporary security issues.