Dr. Dale Russell

OPERATIONAL SAFETY AND HUMAN FACTORS ADVISOR, COMMANDER, U.S. NAVAL SURFACE FORCES

05 August 2021 Dr. Dale Russell serves as the principle advisor for operational safety and human factors to the Commander of U.S. Naval Surface Forces and as an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the DoD’s Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, where he conducts mental/behavioral health and human performance research.

He is also a lieutenant colonel in the California State Guard (CSG). Before joining the CSG in 2019, LTC Russell logged 24 years of military service on both active duty and in the National Guard; notably, he has served in the Army, Air Force and the Navy. While serving in the military, he held a number of positions to include serving as an infantryman, a combat medic, a communications specialist, a medical operations and planning officer, an aeromedical research psychologist, a Federal Coordination Center military medical liaison, a research consultant to the U.S. Army Surgeon General, a space cadre officer, an officer recruiter, a NATO staff officer, and a Pentagon staff officer.

Russell is a graduate of the U.S. Army’s Command and General Staff College and the Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College. He holds an undergraduate degree in political science and business from the University of Arizona; an MBA from the University of Arizona; a Master of Science/Master of Law in International Studies from the University of Auckland, New Zealand; a PhD in Behavioral Sciences from the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands; and a post-doctorate degree in Prevention Science from UC Berkeley.

Dr. Russell retired from the active duty Army in 2016, whereupon he joined the Maryland Defense Force and served as the J5 before transferring to the CSG. Within the CSG, Russell has served as the Deputy Director for Civil-Military Affairs (G-9) with the 40th Infantry Division since Aug 2019.

On the civilian side, Russell has served as a university professor, a Deputy Sheriff, and as a Deputy Commander for a National Disaster Medical System Disaster Medical Assistance Team. Dr. Russell's research focuses on health promotion, organizational behavior, human factors/performance, and general mental/behavioral health. His research has been funded by the United States Department of Defense and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; and he is a twice selected Fulbright scholar.

In addition to his CSG duties, LTC Russell serves in the Civil Air Patrol, the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, and on a California Medical Assistance Team (CAL-MAT).