Lt. Col. Katherine Onstad

About

Lieutenant Colonel Katherine Onstad, representing the US Air Force, is a national security affairs fellow for the academic year 2025–26 at the Hoover Institution.

Lieutenant Colonel Onstad is a career cyberspace operations officer who has planned and executed non-kinetic effects throughout multiple areas of responsibility, deploying overseas several times. Most recently, she commanded the US Air Force’s largest Cyber Protection Team squadron, overseeing cyber defense operations supporting US European Command, US Space Command, and US Strategic Command. Lieutenant Colonel Onstad graduated from the University of Notre Dame and holds a master of science from the Missouri University of Science and Technology, a master of science and technology intelligence from National Intelligence University, a master of arts in international relations from the University of Oklahoma, a master of military operational art and science from Air University, and a master of philosophy in military strategy from Air University. Her research interests include economic coercion, grand strategy, and norms of behavior in cyberspace.