Patrick G. Eddington

Guest Author

Patrick G. Eddington (@PGEddington) was senior policy advisor to Rep. Rush Holt for over 10 years. He is a Policy Analyst in Homeland Security and Civil Liberties at the Cato Institute. Prior to his career on Capitol Hill, he served as a military imagery analyst at the CIA’s National Photographic Interpretation Center for almost nine years. He received numerous accolades for his analytical work, including letters of commendation from the Joint Special Operations Command, the Joint Warfare Analysis Center and the CIA’s Office of Military Affairs. His 2011 book, Long Strange Journey: An Intelligence Memoir, provides an inside look at the world of imagery intelligence.
During his tenure at CIA, Eddington worked a wide range of intelligence issues. His analytical assignments included monitoring the break-up of the former Soviet Union; providing military assessments to policymakers on Iraqi and Iranian conventional forces; and coordinating the CIA’s military targeting support to NATO during Operation Deliberate Force in Bosnia in 1995.
Eddington received his undergraduate degree in International Affairs from Southwest Missouri State University in 1985. While at the CIA, Eddington took a one-year sabbatical to attend Georgetown University, earning a master’s degree in National Security Studies. Eddington spent 11 years in the U.S. Army Reserve and the National Guard in both enlisted and commissioned service.