Josh Chang

Josh Chang is a defense analyst at RAND. His areas of focus include U.S. defense strategy, force planning, nuclear deterrence, airpower, missile defense, and East Asia defense issues.

He previously served as a policy advisor in the Office of the Secretary Defense (OSD), where he worked on force development issues and supported senior Department of Defense (DoD) officials. In this capacity, he served as one of the principal advisors and lead authors of DoD's defense planning guidance, which shaped the armed services' force planning investments in support of the National Defense Strategy. Prior to his time in OSD, Chang worked as an analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, where he supported studies for DoD clients and co-authored reports on topics ranging from U.S. Air Force posture in the Pacific to South Korean defense modernization. He has also worked for other think tanks such as the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Council on Foreign Relations, focusing on U.S. defense strategy in Asia and great power competition.

He holds an M.A. in security studies and a B.S.F.S in international politics, cum laude with honors, from Georgetown University and is currently pursuing a doctorate in defense and strategic studies from Missouri State University. He was a 2022 nuclear scholar with CSIS' Project on Nuclear Issues and is a recipient of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service.