AN HPU GRADUATE'S ARMY CAREER COMES FULL CIRCLE IN THE INDO-PACIFIC

Long before Chris Jones built a U.S. Army career tied to the Indo-Pacific, the region was already an integral part of his life.

“My father was in the military,” Jones explains. “I was born in Oklahoma but lived mostly in Asia and Hawaiʻi. I spent quite a few years in Hawaiʻi, Korea, and Japan.”

After graduating from high school, Jones attended the University of Arizona, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and East Asian studies. While there, he decided to join the Army.

“I thought I would try it out. It seemed interesting,” he said. “I’ve loved it ever since.”

More than two decades later, Jones has built a career in Army logistics, operational planning, and senior leadership. His assignments have included roles in the 1^st Cavalry Division, in Europe, with Special Operations Command Pacific, Army Material Command, 1^st Special Forces Group, and the Pentagon. He has deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Trans-Saharan Africa, and his work has included logistics and operational planning tied to the Indo-Pacific region, including an assignment in the Philippines.

That broader global experience has reinforced, rather than diminished, his view of the Indo-Pacific’s importance. For Jones, the region remains one of the most strategically important areas for military support to diplomacy. He currently serves in Washington, D.C., supporting Army priorities at the strategic level.

 

Choosing HPU for Graduate Study

Jones came to HPU during a distinct point in his Army career. While stationed at Fort Irwin in California, home of the Army’s National Training Center, he had the opportunity to attend graduate school. The Army gave him flexibility in where he could study, and he began looking for programs that aligned with his interests in military operations, diplomacy, and the Indo-Pacific.

HPU’s Master of Arts in Diplomacy and Military Studies program stood out. A friend was planning to attend, and a senior Army officer that Jones knew had also studied at HPU. As Jones researched the program, he was drawn to the faculty and their areas of expertise.

“I researched the faculty and read some of their published works,” he said. “I thought what they were writing about was amazing. The professors and their areas of focus, like Vietnam, and the greater Asia-Pacific region, drew me to the program.”

Hawaiʻi was also part of the program’s value. Having the opportunity to study diplomacy, military operations, and national security through a Pacific lens while in the Pacific gave the coursework a practical connection to a region that was shaping many U.S. defense priorities.

“HPU sits at the intersection of all things Indo-Pacific with the Western Hemisphere. I thought it would be incredibly beneficial to be in that location, getting the opportunity to study things that aren’t just historically relevant but are also relevant for the operational environment and the global environment, especially at that time,” he said.

Jones attended HPU from 2010 to 2011. He describes that period as one marked by shifts in the United States’ relationship with China and continued engagement with allies and partners across the Pacific. The coursework gave him a way to think more deeply about the places he had lived, visited, or served in.

Studying the Region from Hawaiʻi

Jones brought lived experience into the classroom. He had lived in Japan and Korea, spent time in Hawaiʻi, traveled extensively through the region, and he knew he would soon be assigned to the Philippines. HPU helped him look beyond his own experience and examine the region through historical, diplomatic, and strategic context.

“The program also reminded me not to be so arrogant to think I know everything,” he explained. “Having lived in the places and been there in the military, I learned a different part of what it means to use the military element of national power to influence and achieve the broad objectives of the government.”

The program’s approach to analysis became one of the most lasting parts of his HPU experience. Rather than looking only at immediate circumstances, Jones said his professors challenged students to understand problems in context.

“The way we looked at the problems and the way that the professors challenged us helped broaden my view,” he said. “It also helped me rethink of things in time and space, because sometimes we maybe react to what is happening right now and not keep it in context to what it means historically and what we should do.”

Those lessons continued to apply after HPU. As Jones moved into more senior roles, he found himself drawing on the academic habits he developed in graduate school.

“They have helped me in areas where I’ve helped write policy or developed an approach toward planning where resources are applied,” he said. “The academic foundation I got at HPU has helped me think more broadly about problems.”

Preparing for the Next Level of Service

Jones was not enrolled through HPU’s Military Campus Programs. He was a regular graduate student who came to HPU while serving in the Army. His path reflects another way that military students connect with the university: through graduate study that aligns with their professional development, operational experience, and career timeline.

When he was at HPU, Jones had not yet completed his professional military education at the rank of major. He said HPU helped prepare him for that next step by strengthening his reading, research, writing, and analysis skills. The program also asked students to be intentional about what they wanted to study and why it mattered.

“The support of navigating the whole experience, I thought was phenomenal,” he said.”

For Jones, the academic support was not limited to completing assignments. The faculty pushed him and his classmates to produce work that had value beyond the degree itself.

“It was not just about enabling us to do it, but also asking why we wanted to do it,” he explained. “They challenged us to produce something that is academically worthy and that brings value not just to academia, but to us personally.”

Jones also valued the community he found at HPU. The program brought together students and faculty with different military, academic, and professional backgrounds. He remembers the academic events, speakers, and social connections as important parts of the experience.

“It was a great mix between academic rigor of the program with all those other opportunities to learn and grow,” he said.

Today, Jones remains connected to the HPU community and has reconnected with alumni through university events in Washington, D.C. Currently serving at the Pentagon, he expects to remain there through summer 2027 and is interested in future opportunities that could bring him back to the Indo-Pacific region, potentially in a role focused on policy, long-term strategic planning, and implementation.

For military-affiliated prospective students who are considering HPU, Jones points to the combination of high-quality education, military relevance, and location. Hawaiʻi gives students access to a region where defense, policy, and international partnerships are a part of the daily conversation.

“You get an opportunity to straddle a line between academics and what you may want to do next from a military perspective,” Jones concluded. “If I could do it all over again, I would.”